It's a question on nobody's minds, but I figured hey, it's preposterously late at night so I might as well write an update. I figure if I update this blog nine times this month I should be right on track with my previous average, and having done so my readership should have dropped to exactly zero so...you know, problem solved.
Damn, it's been almost two and a half months since I returned from the Philippines, hasn't it? What do I even say here? I've visited a few places since then, like Jeongju (lots of amazing food and traditional houses, definitely a great place to go for a crash course in pre-20th century Korean culture) and Pohang (went fishing with some other teachers from another branch of my academy then partied in a pub by the beach). I could go into more detail about each of those but, knowing me as well as I do, it seems unlikely that I will.
As of posting this I've been in Korea just shy of 11 months now, and I don't know if I've posted this for sure in here yet, but I've already been talking with my bosses about extending my contract for another year! It's exciting; I feel like there's still so much here that I want to do and it's gratifying to know that I have a lot more time to do it in. Plus of course things have been going very well with my girlfriend; we have been dating for over four months as of now. That's been interesting in and of itself; one of the traditions for couples in Korea is to celebrate every 100 days, so we were able to enjoy that together a few weeks ago. So life here has been going pretty fantastic overall! I'll have to post something celebratory on the anniversary of my first full year living abroad. I'll have to actually goddamn remember to do that in the first place, but hey, it's something!
The only problem right now is the homesickness. Maybe it has something to do with it being summertime, and seeing lots of my friends and family post pictures of things happening in Canada that I'm missing out on, but I've been feeling unaccountably homesick the past few weeks. It comes and goes in waves, and a few of my fellow teachers have been on a bit of a nostalgia trip lately, so it least it seems like it's not just me. But I miss some things about being home. I miss my cottage, and I miss Canadian beer (the beer here is plentiful but it tastes like how beer would describe itself if it was vaguely embarrassed). And of course I miss all of you reading this.
To be honest, it makes me pretty sad not to be a part of people's lives in the same way anymore. I'm watching people I've known for years get married from 10,000km away. I'm not around in any kind of meaningful way, so I don't even have the option. There's a strange kind of helplessness to being so far away. I feel like the guy from The Martian except there's food and chairs and stuff.
It's funny how things change, I suppose. Looking back, I was so anxious about actually travelling here that I remember thinking, "Don't worry, it's just for a year and then you get to go back." And now, homesick as I am, the fact that I'll be staying for another year still makes me really excited. There's so much still to do and see. And there's tons of things I'll miss about Korea when I move home, so I guess I'm screwed either way. But seeing as that's the case, might as well enjoy myself when I'm here!
Don't wait up!
Today's title:
Damn, it's been almost two and a half months since I returned from the Philippines, hasn't it? What do I even say here? I've visited a few places since then, like Jeongju (lots of amazing food and traditional houses, definitely a great place to go for a crash course in pre-20th century Korean culture) and Pohang (went fishing with some other teachers from another branch of my academy then partied in a pub by the beach). I could go into more detail about each of those but, knowing me as well as I do, it seems unlikely that I will.
As of posting this I've been in Korea just shy of 11 months now, and I don't know if I've posted this for sure in here yet, but I've already been talking with my bosses about extending my contract for another year! It's exciting; I feel like there's still so much here that I want to do and it's gratifying to know that I have a lot more time to do it in. Plus of course things have been going very well with my girlfriend; we have been dating for over four months as of now. That's been interesting in and of itself; one of the traditions for couples in Korea is to celebrate every 100 days, so we were able to enjoy that together a few weeks ago. So life here has been going pretty fantastic overall! I'll have to post something celebratory on the anniversary of my first full year living abroad. I'll have to actually goddamn remember to do that in the first place, but hey, it's something!
The only problem right now is the homesickness. Maybe it has something to do with it being summertime, and seeing lots of my friends and family post pictures of things happening in Canada that I'm missing out on, but I've been feeling unaccountably homesick the past few weeks. It comes and goes in waves, and a few of my fellow teachers have been on a bit of a nostalgia trip lately, so it least it seems like it's not just me. But I miss some things about being home. I miss my cottage, and I miss Canadian beer (the beer here is plentiful but it tastes like how beer would describe itself if it was vaguely embarrassed). And of course I miss all of you reading this.
To be honest, it makes me pretty sad not to be a part of people's lives in the same way anymore. I'm watching people I've known for years get married from 10,000km away. I'm not around in any kind of meaningful way, so I don't even have the option. There's a strange kind of helplessness to being so far away. I feel like the guy from The Martian except there's food and chairs and stuff.
It's funny how things change, I suppose. Looking back, I was so anxious about actually travelling here that I remember thinking, "Don't worry, it's just for a year and then you get to go back." And now, homesick as I am, the fact that I'll be staying for another year still makes me really excited. There's so much still to do and see. And there's tons of things I'll miss about Korea when I move home, so I guess I'm screwed either way. But seeing as that's the case, might as well enjoy myself when I'm here!
Don't wait up!
Today's title:
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