It's gotten down to a few weeks left in Korea, and the reality of leaving our home of a year and a half has left me with a lot of mixed feelings. Korea is a strange place, there's absolutely no doubt about that. The mix of tradition, modernism, and the contradiction between the two still blows me away, but I can't help but feel nostalgic as I look back on the year and a half that we've spent here.
Of course the thing I will miss the most will be the friends that I've made, of both the Korean and Foreigner variety. When in a country where everything is completely alien you've got to make friends to keep your sanity. Even if they're from a different country there is a common bond between the foreigners here that is really hard to describe. Friendships are in overdrive, and you become very close very fast. For example, when you're riding the subway here you WILL be stared at, there's just no getting around it. Everything about you, to a Korean, is out of the ordinary. It really helps to have people around that understand that feeling of insecurity, and sometimes anger. Then of course there are our Korean friends, who are some of the nicest people I have ever met. We had a friend in Seoul who literally gave us his umbrella because we had farther to walk than him. There are even people who don't speak a word of English that I'll miss: like the ladies at our local Gimbap Nara, a traditional Korean food place where we eat at least 3 times a week. They always smile and wave as we pass by, and have always been so wonderful to us. They saw John picking the onions out of his soup once, and ever since they have always made his soup sans onions. I'll never forget the friends I've made here, and I really hope I can keep in touch with most if not all of them.But then there are the people that aren't your friends... Korea is not unique in the sense that there are rude people. But the combination of very tight living quarters and a complete absence of personal space makes living here very tedious at times. Don't get me wrong, Korean's on a whole are SO generous, and SO nice... until you try to get that last subway seat. There is also a very weird view of foreigners here. No matter where you go, what you're wearing, or what you're doing - you will be looked at for the entire duration of your outing, and most of the time someone will try to talk to you. It doesn't bother me so much anymore, but for the most part I just don't understand it. I guess it's just a "how you were raised" kind of thing, but really, is it ever appropriate to point and laugh at someone? I guess it's just one of those cultural differences that I just can't get past.
Overall, being here has really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I feel like I've become a lot more understanding, patient, and outgoing. I didn't come here thinking I'd actually be changed as a person but I most defintely have, in a good way of course. On the whole I'm very glad to be getting back to see my family, friends, and basically just the good ol' US of A. I'll miss Korea, but it's our time to go. We've had so much fun here and I wish it didn't really have to end, but good times never last forever. I'm so appreciative of the time that I've had here, and I'll always have a special place in my heart for Korea. And who knows, we may end up back here in the future!So annyong he-gay-say-yo Korea, you'll be missed.
