We're Halfway There

Hey guys,

This blog post is slightly different from others because it marks the halfway point of my Korean vacation. I thought I would sum things up a bit in an effort to communicate my thoughts on how things have went so far.

I'm sitting here, typing, using a calendar on my shitty chair that I made as a tool for reference. It helps me keep track of important dates like when I first arrived, or when the halfway point of my adventure is, or when I leave. It also records the things I did on particular weekends and has the exact number of weeks I will be in Korea. Technically, the halfway point is actually tomorrow. But I feel like posting to my blog today, so I will consider it as today. The halfway point for when I finish work has already passed. Anyway, maybe you'll be able to disect the structure in some of the paragraphs I'm about to write for you.

First, I want to do a genreral summary of the beginning and the stuff I was feeling at that time.

When I first got off the plane in Daegu, I think the thought process in my head was something like, "Holy fuck! I'm actually in Korea," and then I proceeded to gaze with wide eyes at the most mundane shit ever, just because it was in another language and looked different. Later in the week, culture shock hit me fucking hard and I will admit that there were a few points when I felt like packing the bags up and cutting my losses. However, I decided to give it some time and see if it picked up.

Soon I was moved into my apartment and was finally unpacked. Things were better as I was no longer living out of a suitcase in strange, sexual-themed motels and the fact that I could make my own food. That weekend was quite enjoyable too as I got wasted in Korea for the first time. What would turn out to be the first of many "wasted" weekends. Hahahaha.

Things had picked up, but over the course of the month, I inevitably found myself wondering what I wanted to do with my life. I spent all of the time since I got out of school in late December knowing that I was going to Korea and feeling quite comfortable with the knowledge that decisions about my life did not have to be made immediately. When I got to Korea, I started to think about how I had no plan after that. After thinking and thinking, I finally decided that I wanted to turn this into a summer vacation and pursue some chemistry or related employment.

The decision was not an easy one and was made at the huge risk of stirring a pot too small to be stirred. The foreign community of teachers is quite small compared to the population of the city, so I had to make sure people understood my reasons. I still think that very few people do but I think that people are aware that the logic and emotions side make sense to me.

The second real weekend I was in Korea, I ended up going to Seoul. That was huge, as any other plan would have seen me hitting Seoul much later in the journey. It was fun as hell but I don't feel like I got to see so much of the city because the city itself is just so big.

Being from New Brunswick means that most cities you go to, you generally know the layout of things and where you can find almost everything because they are just small cities. The cities have the ammenities you need but are on a small scale. There's nothing wrong with that. Being in a bigger city is somewhat different than what I am used to. If I stayed twenty years, I wouldn't be able to see every single detail like I obviously would in Fredericton, Saint John, or Moncton. For that reason, I want to see each big city once. That being said, Busan is next on my list of places to see.

I feel like that's the thing with Korea: no matter how long you stay, you will never manage to see everything and that time goes by so quickly that, before you know it, you're almost two months in. I know three months is a short time by any perspective but at least I won't be stuck in a never-ending and enigmatic loop by remaining. So I guess we can take that as a plus.

Much of the stay has been business as usual; except that business as usual seems to take on a different flavour every week. I can honestly say that I've had no two weekends that were the same - and that's a good thing. I think it's part of the reason why time tends to go by so quickly in Korea. Before I knew it, my 7th weekend in Korea (right now) has come to a close.

I've hit Seoul, many places in Daegu, and had an epic drunk at the onset of the World Cup. Not bad for a summer so far.

I've mentioned earlier that it took a while settling in. Well, once you do, I find that your perspective changes drastically and then subtly for each successive week you spend. You never know what's coming next, and the things that you thought you knew were constantly changing. I will admit that it's hard to find an anchor here. But the internet is a bridge into the way life was back home and I can cross it at will until I return. Clearly, there are things that I miss about home, but I am very glad to have had this experience and have had a lot of fun on the way. I intend to have even more fun on the rest of the trip and maybe bring back a few thousand bucks too.

Anyway, it's time to talk about the week and weekend.

This week was pretty straightforward. I had to pay $100 for my phone, which sucks since I'm on a budget. But the good news is that I'm still on track to make the right amount of money this month. I've always been a good saver.

Friday night, I said that I would not drink much. I drank with Alex and Krissi until 6:00 in the morning. Sigh...Oh well, I had fun, so that's fine. Saturday, I kept to my word. All we did was go to see the A-Team. The movie was crap but was funny nonetheless. So it has been a quiet weekend. I have resolved to drink a little less and I think I will soon make an effort to get into better shape, possibly starting as soon as tomorrow, depending on how early I wake up. As for today, I plan to go to the store to buy water and then maybe to write another chapter or two for my novel.

Wish me luck!