Farewell Korea

March 7, 2010

Only when you board the plane headed for somewhere else does the reality set in of where you have just been. The memories of awkward teaching moments, drinking Cass beer on top of a mountain after a great hike, poor song choices at Noraebang and the occasional treat of something moving on your plate due to a language barrier replays in your mind as you try to get comfortable in your seat.

Then once the plane has taken off you realize this experience, whether it was for personal growth, change, adventure, money or an extension of college drinking, was (for some) an unforgettable and even meaningful year in your life. An experience to step out of the mundane life wherever you may have called home and try something new. Even if that meant only trying kimchi once.

Though you may crave an NYC bagel, a good lager, and a nice sleep in your own bed, as the turbulence begins, you often wonder why you bothered leaving-well this is what happened on my plane ride anyway...It could have been my panicked thoughts before the Xanax kicked in.

After the plane landed in Beijing and I exited the airport, I felt similarly to when I first arrived in Korea just 14 months before: baffled, curious, inspired and not awake. A teacher of 4 years in Korea once told me "you have to leave a place for the same reasons you intially came or things become too comfortable." And that is why he left. Not sure if that is such a bad thing but I'll think more about that later. I hope my travels over the next 3 1/2 months will give me further insight about these thoughts. For now though, my first and only priority at 934am in Beijing- dumplings.