A year gone by

My time in Korea is quickly coming to an end. I currently have 7, that's right 7 teaching days left. I can't believe it! At times this year couldn't have gone any slower, but for the most time it really has gone by unbelievably fast. I still can't believe that in a week and a half I will walk out of that building and NEVER have to return. The feelings of excitement are almost unbearable. Honestly, I am not at all excited or ready to leave Korea. The part I am excited about is to finish at Langcon English in Maegok-dong. This has been a really trying year, there were so many low points teaching at Langcon. I had to yell and be a downright b* to get what I was suppose to get (like my paycheck...). I won't forget this year that is for sure and when I look back on my year at Langcon/Little America I will be able to laugh at the times I had to be held back from punching my boss in the face. I can remember the really low points at Little America, after the Korean teachers all quit. One day in particular, my boss asked Dan why he didn't type up worksheets for every book/every class. He said he didn't have enough time and that he would get to it (we only had one computer, that she was always on). She called me into her office and asked me the same thing, except I was yelled at and treated like crap for not having it done. I walked out of her office fuming, not sure if I should cry for being yelled at like that or break something for being so angry at her. Had Dan not been there to calm me down and make me laugh I probably would have done something irrational. The past month and a half I've been the only foreign teacher, teaching as many as 13 classes a day plus 2 hours of kindergarten. It's been ridiculous and tiring. I had to fight for my plane ticket out of here (a fight I again won). I started getting paid overtime once Dan left, something I again had to fight for. Since I booked a flight out of Korea, I have been relaxed and relieved. I know I'm leaving her school and her reign. No matter how horrible these kids treat me these next 7 days, nothing can bring me down right now. I've made it, I've done it and I'm happy.

I'm thankful for a lot of things that came out of this year. The most important thing has been some of my new friends. I know I can count on them and will be friends with a lot of them in the future. I read a quote the other day and it went along the lines of "people come into your life and you know from the moment you see them that they are going to change your life" When I read it one person immediately came to mind...

Dan and I

I knew from meeting Dan that we would be really good friends. We have a lot in common and could talk easily with each other. He's become one of my best friends and I can honestly tell him anything and vice versa. We were there for each other through the really low points and of course through the great days. We spent absurd amounts of time together and each day brought a new memory and more laughs. I might be having a really bad day and could look at him and count on him to put a smile on my face. We spent nights out together, movie nights in, meals during the week and so many stories. His contract finished a month and a half before mine. I couldn't imagine working without him. The days have been quiet, there hasn't been anyone to break out in Lady Gaga songs or to just say ridiculous things that would make me laugh. It has been hard to go to work everyday knowing he wouldn't be joining me, to help me get through each day. Even when he was in Canada though, I knew I could send him a message and he would respond and still make me smile miles away. I'm thankful for his friendship and that he has become a part of my family. This past week he returned to Korea. We had dinner last night and he made a comment about something. I couldn't help but laugh, I forgot how much I use to tell him (apparently it's been everything.)

Since February a lot has been going on. My computer once again crashed. A friend of mine spent a month trying to fix it, but it still wasn't quite right. I gave in and bought a new computer from home and had it sent to me. I finally received it in April. In that time I had a lot of time to catch up on books that were sent to me for Christmas. It was a pretty productive few months and luckily for me I always had Dan's computer to use when I needed it.

In March I went with a few ladies to Jindo for a Sea Parting Festival. People lived on the island of Hoedong for many years after the were exiled in 1480. They lived there for more than 200 years, life was very tough for them. They were constantly being attacked and killed by the tigers also living on the island. Finally they decided to take a raft and head to the neighboring island of Modo. Unfortunately, Grandma Ppong was accidentally left behind. She prayed everyday to the Dragon King of the Sea to be reunited with her family. One night the Dragon King came to her in her sleep and told her to cross the rainbow path he would provide for her. The next morning she went to the sea and a path opened between Hoedong and Modo. Grandmother Ppong was so excited at being reunited with her family, she started the walk to the island. Her family on Modo began walking towards her. Grandmother Ppong got so tired at the excitement and the long walk that she collapsed. Her family held her in their arms and she said she was happy because she was finally reunited with her family. If you want the scientific version, once a year the tides pull in opposite directions and cause a path between both islands to open up. Thousands of Koreans and foreigners alike come out to see this phenomenon. It was a gorgeous day and an awesome experience to see the sea parting and being able to walk through the middle of the sea!

starfish in Jindo

the ladies and I at the Sea Parting Festival

the herds of people walking in the middle of the sea

pre sea parting

Another weekend in April, the ladies and I headed to Masan. We were meeting up with a few gentlemen we had met at the Sea Parting Festival. After we met up with them we headed to Jinhae, a mere 50 minutes from Masan for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was another spectacular day. We enjoyed a lot of laughs together and saw so many beautiful Cherry Blossom trees. It's weekend adventures like that, that help to make the adventure in Korea so worthwhile! Getting to Masan was easy, turns out getting home would provide to be a challenge for us. We got to the bus terminal at 7 pm and to our dismay found that the last bus to Gwangju was at 7:10 pm and already sold out. Guess we should have planned a head and checked that out, but were is the fun in that, right? Some quick thinking on our toes, lead us to buy bus tickets to Busan about an hour from Masan. We jumped on the bus and headed to Busan where we hoped and prayed that we would be able to get a bus to Gwangju as it was a Sunday evening and we all had work the next morning. Luckily we got a 9 pm bus to Gwangju and waited around before our 3 1/2 hour bus ride back home.

Krysta and I in Jinhae

the group at the Cherry Blossom Festival

Cherry Blossoms

This past weekend Megan and I met up in Seoul to do the DMZ tour. It was definitely an eye opener and it's really sad to think about the troubles the 2 Korea's have been having with each other. More so to think about how the North Koreans are treated and starving because of their crazy ruler. The tour took us to many different, but important places in the DMZ. At one point North Koreans dug as many as 20 tunnels into South Korea. Only 4 have been found so far (and of course, closed off). We had the opportunity to walk through the 3rd tunnel, which is said to be the most dangerous. As many as 300,000 North Koreans could storm Seoul in one hour! It was an impressively long tunnel. We also had the opportunity to visit an observation area where we could look through binoculars and see North Korea. Of course, the area we could see look beautiful, but we all know that is just the show part with fake villages that no one can afford to live in. It's sad to think that many of those North Koreans are starving and barely able to make money. I hope one day that there can be peace between the Korea's.

Freedom Bridge

walking to Seoul

ribbons of love

It has surely been a crazy year. I am thankful that I came to Korea. I'm thankful that Megan and Danielle joined me. I'm thankful for the friends that I met along my way. The friends that provided so many good memories, laughs, and tears. I'm thankful that I had the chance to meet up with friends from Lock Haven during my vacations. I'm thankful on how much I learned from people this year, things I learned about myself. This year hasn't always been easy, but I never once regretted my decision of coming to Korea. I've becoming stronger, more independent and know that I can do anything.

I'm not finished with Korea, just yet. I still feel like I have some unfinished business, so I will be returning. I am looking forward to the 3 month break, but I know I'll be more than excited to return to Korea.