Reflections on Close to a Year.

Hi again. I realize that I didn't post anything last week. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling all that motivated to get on this thing. Hmm..I'm back here now, and that's what matters. As my year is drawing to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to spend a little time in reflection. Don't worry..it won't be excessively sentimental!

In so many ways, I can't believe that almost an entire year has gone by. Where did the time go? Or more importantly..what did I do with all that time? Well, regardless, this year has flown by. I've had fun here for sure..and I'm looking forward to a new contract. I want to make the most of this next year..maximize potential, right?





Funnily enough, the cause of my reflections has had to do with household necessities. When I first arrived in my apartment, it was supplied with an incredibly large bag of toilet paper. I never thought I would ever make it through it all. And now, I'm down to the last few rolls. [I could insert some toilet joke here, but I'm not gonna do it.]

Anyway, it just really put things in perspective. Like, I've been here a long time. Long enough to go through a whole package of toilet paper.

Similarly, I've just recently finished off my bottle of shampoo. To me, this was strange. How could it take close to an entire year to go through a bottle of shampoo? I remember at home that shampoo bottles would disappear in a month, or maybe even a week! What's wrong with me...I guess this is just an insight into the bachelor lifestyle..with no one to share your stuff with..it goes the distance.

Again, though, it caused me to reflect, realizing that, yeah, I've put in my time here. On a connected point, I recently had to clean out my shower. I don't want to describe the absolute disastrous state my shower was in. Let's just say it was "bad." So, I did get it clean, and it was a great feeling. This was a huge moral victory for me. How is this connected? I'm not really sure..it just shows that now is a time of transition in my life??




Okay, story time kids. As a foreigner in Korea, I generally get two different reactions. One: I'm ignored. Two: I'm stared at. However, there are instances where these rules are broken, and that happened on Monday.

You see, I was waiting for the bus stop, not an unusual thing for me to do. I was sitting down. However, I noticed an older woman (an ajuma) looking for a seat, so I got up to give her mine. While I was standing, she motioned for me to sit down beside her. I politely declined. A few moments later, the entire bench (which was full of ajumas) noticed that I was still standing. They then proceeded to all shuffle over to make enough room for me to sit on the end. At this point, I thought it would be rude to say no!! So, I sat down, next to these 5 ajumas. It was such an awesome moment! A real feeling of compassion..Korean love. It made my day.

Had enough? I don't think so. Just when you think I'm storied out..I've got one more quick one. This is another episode of "Kids Say the Darnedest Things." Usually, when I first enter into one of my classes, the kids swarm around and ask questions, etc. It's funny..a lot of the time, it's as if they forget I'm their teacher. Like, "Oh yeah, right, you're that white guy that comes in here to teach us English." Anyway, a good chunk of that initial contact is spent talking about, looking at and touching my hairy arms. Well, one student, after checking over my hair, blurted out, "Wow..MADE IN CANADA!" I laughed so hard. So funny. So smart too. So, yeah, I had to blog about that. It was that good.

Okay, I'm really done now. Hope all is well!

Peace.

-Paul

Oh..and just a reminder: HJ and I are coming home on May 20..party time!