The Revival

After a great deal of consideration, I've finally decided to start posting on this blog again. I began this blog with the intention of using it as a type of travel "journal"so people back home could keep up to date with everything I do in Korea. This failed for a couple of reasons. The first reason is due to my inability to withhold major information and interesting life events from Facebook. Pretty much everyone who matters to me has access to my FB page and therefore knows every major (or semi-interesting) detail of my life. The Second reason this blog failed is because... wait for it... I already HAVE a journal!!! Sadly, I've been just as lazy with my other journal as I have been with this. Regardless, the redundancy has made it nearly impossible for me to keep motivated with this. Not to mention, I tend to look at a "journal"as a means of keeping private thoughts and personal opinions stored in a secure location. A public, online blog is obviously not the best place for such a thing, which resulted with me constantly censoring each blog post I put up to a certain degree.

The list goes on...

So why start again???

I recently had somewhat of an epiphany. I've been in Korea for almost two years now (the anniversary will be in a couple of weeks).  I have signed my third commitment to teaching here... at the same, wonderful school with the same, wonderful students. I can say, with almost absolute certainty, that this will be my final year as a teacher in Korea. Meaning, starting from my upcoming "time in Korea"anniversary, all annual events, holidays, and somewhat meaningful days will be referred to as my last in Korea. One final Christmas in Korea... one more new year in Korea... one last birthday in Korea... etc. When I first realized this, I became rather nostalgic. On paper, two or three years in a foreign country can easily be brushed off as insignificant and uninteresting. I can imagine meeting someone in a few years... and telling them I lived in Korea for three years. They would probably respond with a "Wow, that's pretty cool! What did you do there?" The conversation would most likely include a 2 minute summary of my teaching experience and a few questions like "What was your favorite food?" and "Was it dangerous living so close to North Korea?" When all is said and done, this conversation won't last long and will be nothing more than an interesting anecdote for this person to share with his/her friends later. I'm fine with this. I'm fine with the fact that most people will never fully understand what life was like for me while living in a foreign country. Not to mention, a foreign country that, barring decisions made by three people, could have been the place I called home. It could have been the place where I went to school, met my first friends, learned to read and write (in a slightly different way). The fact is, even though I'm a proud American who grew up deep in the woods, in a small Upper Michigan town, with the most loving, White-American family you'll ever find... I still have ties to Korea. And those connections have become stronger and more emotionally present in the past couple of years.

Even though my time here will be very small in the minds to some other people, it will always remain a monumental, life-changing experience that helped promote the largest chunk of adult growth and education in my life (up to this point). Given the right catalyst of questions or random ideas, I could go off on endless tangents about experiences and interesting stories about my time here. I'm so immersed in the culture right now that I've almost forgotten what would be considered normal back home, as opposed to what's normal here. At some point, after I've returned to the States, that will begin to fade away. Korean culture and lifestyle will become nothing more than a memory to me. And I will no longer be able to fully grasp what it felt like to be somewhat "Korean".  

So why is that little story about meeting a stranger relevant to me keeping up with this blog? I want to have something to go back to. Something, in my own words, that can explain the differences between life here and life back home. Even if I can't tell that stranger all about the things I've seen, heard, and felt over here, I want a way for SOMEONE to learn these things. I want something I can look back on and say, "Man... I remember what that was like. I remember how that made me feel." I know I'll go back to my old, American ways once I'm gone from here. But the biggest reason I've been able to do so well for the past two years has been my ability to adapt to the culture and embrace the lifestyle... despite being from a foreigners standpoint.

So let me break it down to ya. Here are the basic reasons why I'm doing this, as well as how I intend on keeping up with the blog from now on.

1. For the Reader : I'm pretty sure I've lost my 9 or 10 faithful readers who originally started following this blog. I'm really sorry for dropping the ball. Hopefully you regain some faith in me and periodically check up on this again. My entries should be more interesting and even educational for you from now on. My hope is to have answers for all the questions that you might have for me the next time we meet, right here in this blog. Of course, I'll still keep out the personal, "dark" parts ;)

2. For the Future ROK Explorer: I have hopes of one day giving speeches to or even just mentoring people who are interested in teaching in Korea. Even for people who just want to visit, I feel like I have a mass abundance of useful, as well as random unnecessary information that I can share with them. This blog will hopefully help prevent any major culture shock to people who plan on visiting. Most of it has simply become everyday life for me.

3. For Sheer Entertainment: I've been saying this for the past two years now... things happen in Korea that you never expect to actually happen in real life. Things ranging from "The Trifecta", hunting with strength and honor, having a phone stolen from right next to my head, and making friends with crazy-rich, construction company presidents who love treating foreigners to a night out... you've gotta admit, it's worth documenting.

4. For a Sense of Accomplishment: As I mentioned earlier, I've grown and learned a lot during my time here. As an English teacher, as a global traveler, as a person. I often think back to the way I was when I first arrived here. I was just a kid. And yeah, I still am very much a kid (especially by Korean standards). But I am rich with priceless knowledge and experiences that most people will never have the pleasure of knowing (especially by Upper Michigan standards). And I don't want to just tell people, "Yeah, I did 'this', 'this', and 'this'." I want to actually remember the road I took to get to those destinations. Learning Korean, Taekwondo, Salsa, and whatever else... they all have a story.

5. For My Own Revival: I am already aware of what will happen once I return home. Although the decision to come home after this year is solely my own, I know it will not be easy. Correction... it will be damn near impossible. I miss my home. I miss my family. I miss my friends. But my sadness comes from knowing that I have to wait another year before I see them all again. Here in Korea, I have settled into a place where I can, in a way, call home. I have become integrated into the lives of people who I have become so close with, I refer to them as my family. And of course, no person alive who has lived as happily as I these past two years could have done so without the comfort of good friends. My sadness will come when I realize that the next time I see them will always be uncertain. In some cases... the result will be never. Once my mind fully accepts this realization, a part of me will die. It will be unbearable. But with this blog, I will be revived with the wonderful memories that we created. I will remember that even though my time here with these people has passed, a new chapter will begin and new memories will be made. And although I'll be forced to start again in some new, unfamiliar area with no knowledge of what to do or who I will meet... I'll remember that that's exactly how I started in Korea. This blog will help me relive the great times I've had here in Korea... as well as help me survive in the future.