Today was a rather nostalgic day for me. I was brought back to some fond memories of Michigan Tech by a few of the rare, fellow Huskies here in the ROK. Back in my final year at Tech, long before I ever decided to teach English here, I was introduced to a few Korean girls who were studying abroad. One of them was a girl named Ahyoung. We've been in semi-steady contact ever since I got here. She lives in Daegu, which is in the south-eastern part of the country and about a 2 hour KTX (express train) ride away from Seoul. She's been up to my area a handful of times over the past two years, while I've been down to visit her once (twice actually, but the second time was actually to visit someone else and she was busy that weekend). Anyway, Ahyoung came to visit today and she invited a couple of other fellow Michiganders who are in the country.
We met up in Myeong-dong at 2:00 and had some kal-gook-su (I would type the Korean, but I don't have the characters on my computer yet). Basically, it's a really tasty noodle soup. This version of the soup also had a little beef and a few mandu (dumplings) in it. After our late lunch, we went to the Cheong-gye cheon, a man-made river running through Seoul, near City Hall. The yearly lantern festival was still going on and half of us had yet to see this year's display. We wanted to see them lit up, so we killed some time in a Baskin Robbins. It was in this cozy little ice cream shop that we began to reminisce about our days back at Tech. After the ice cream and checking out the lit lanterns, we took a bus to Seoul station and grabbed some McD's before Ahyoung's trip home.
The day was fun and I really enjoyed the company, but our activities were nothing out of the ordinary. My friend Alan, who also tagged along, pointed out that I've got the "two year apathy" feeling going on. He noted this when I said that the lantern festival was rather disappointing compared to previous years. He's probably right, though. If we had taken this day and played it out two years ago, I would have thought that today was the most exciting and adventurous day ever! But all in all, the day really made me realize some things.
First, my days at Tech are becoming VERY distant memories. One of Ahyoung's friends, Ben, reminded me of some people that we both happened to know at school. People that I hadn't necessarily forgotten about, but people I haven't had the occasion to think of in a really long time. It was kind of scary to realize how unfamiliar those types of discussions have become. The feeling I had was kind of similar to the way I feel when I look back at pictures on Facebook. I realize that it's all stuff that I had been a part of, but it feels like I'm kinda looking back on someone else's story. Kind of an unfamiliar familiarity if that makes sense.
At the same time, the day was filled with activities that I've done on numerous occasions in the past two years. The food was something I know well, the river is a place I've been countless times, and Seoul station has become such a familiar transportation hub that I can navigate the entire place effortlessly. It's almost like I've lived here forever!
What's the point in all of this? I guess it's sort of a verification that my time in Korea is on its last leg. I had some great times at Tech. I met some awesome people, did some amazing things, and made more memories than I can even recall on my own. But once I got settled in and comfortable there, I realized that I needed to move on to the next step of my life. On to the next adventure, if you will. The same feeling is beginning to fall on me here in Korea. I have no regrets of my time here. And there are an infinite amount of things that I'll miss once I'm gone. But falling into a feeling of normalcy and complacency isn't something that I desire yet. I'm starting to get anxious to walk into the unknown again and give my life story another shake-up. Obviously, this isn't an ideal way to live life on a long-term basis. But for now, it's what I've come to enjoy and find fulfillment in. I'll make my final year in Korea the best experience possible. But after that, my life here will simply become something to look back on... and reminisce about with old friends.
