no sleep til christmas!
just kidding. christmas is in SIX weeks. and our "thanksgiving" in two! not that i'm counting down the seconds. i actually had a momentary "attitude shift" this weekend as i was riding the bus to the train station. it was a beautiful day, and there were the usual kids and autumn leaves and warm sunlight in play outside ... but somehow it made me feel really positive about korea. it only lasted a couple of hours - but nevertheless, a useful affirmation of our hypothesis that all we need to have a good time here is a cheery attitude! right!
and not that i'm not having a good time :^D i'm pretty well settled into a routine here, and i'm even going to start tae kwon do tonight. distractions are key. like finally planning my winter break travel. applying to more jobs. there is really nothing to make me unhappy here, especially not the fact that i'm losing weight! i think homesickness and a general culture shock are more to blame for feeling kind of bleh right now. and that is something which it will be healthy to overcome. oh, and don't forget the 75% lack of autonomy in my everyday life! actually that's a lie.
but all this talk is really boring. my host brother went to a slipknot concert last night and came back without his glasses but covered in "water, beer, sweat, and tears." and we spent a beautiful weekend in suncheon, checking out sonamsa temple and the suncheon bay (where there were no red reeds to be found but plenty of other kinds). when i came back, there was some intimidating seafood soup on the table and a couple of my host mom's work colleagues were there, shootin the shit. they were introduced to me and asked me the usual litany of questions..."where were you born / when did your parents move to the states / what was your major / how long will you be here / how do you like korea..." and one guy actually was writing down my answers.
and not that i'm not having a good time :^D i'm pretty well settled into a routine here, and i'm even going to start tae kwon do tonight. distractions are key. like finally planning my winter break travel. applying to more jobs. there is really nothing to make me unhappy here, especially not the fact that i'm losing weight! i think homesickness and a general culture shock are more to blame for feeling kind of bleh right now. and that is something which it will be healthy to overcome. oh, and don't forget the 75% lack of autonomy in my everyday life! actually that's a lie.
but all this talk is really boring. my host brother went to a slipknot concert last night and came back without his glasses but covered in "water, beer, sweat, and tears." and we spent a beautiful weekend in suncheon, checking out sonamsa temple and the suncheon bay (where there were no red reeds to be found but plenty of other kinds). when i came back, there was some intimidating seafood soup on the table and a couple of my host mom's work colleagues were there, shootin the shit. they were introduced to me and asked me the usual litany of questions..."where were you born / when did your parents move to the states / what was your major / how long will you be here / how do you like korea..." and one guy actually was writing down my answers.