It's funny how life doesn't work out how you think it will. You can plan and dream and scheme all you want, but sometimes...things just go wrong. And you know what? I've learned to embrace the mistakes and failures, because I've found they lead to something better in the long run - everything happens for a reason.
When I last posted, I had just been coming off of about five weeks of inactivity - three weeks of being sick followed by two weeks of injury. I had had big plans for training and studying and being productive...and then I felt all was lost. My spring was over! I wasn't going to accomplish anything! Well, life continued on. I still got to do all the amazing things I had waiting for me, even though I felt like I didn't deserve to do them. I changed my race to the 10K, rerouted my training plans, and ended up deciding to cancel my GRE test, as it turned out I didn't really need to take it again. And you know what? I had the best spring ever.
First up: Lady Gaga comes to Seoul. She started her world tour at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Korea, despite many protests that popped up regarding her image, and boy did she put on a good show. I wouldn't consider myself a diehard fan, but her music has definitely been a staple on my workout playlists since university, and so when my friend Katie (pictured) asked me if I wanted to go, I figured - hey, why not? So began a five week obsession with both of her albums, which took high precedence on my iPod pretty much all the time. I went to the concert with a fun group of girls, and between getting up to Seoul, getting ready, almost missing the show due to heavy traffic, (and protests, as we learned later) and then the actual performance - it was pretty much one of the best nights of my life. You can YouTube 'Lady Gaga Seoul 4/27' if you want to see clips!
Next up: The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival. Not quite Lady Gaga caliber, but what made it an awesome weekend was the group of people who braved the trek to little Hampyeong, to make for a really fun evening of friends. Basically, each Korean town has its own special festival once a year, and for some reason - Hampyeong has butterflies. The festival grounds were actually really pretty - well manicured lawns and flowers and plants - please note the butterfly groomed mountain, marking the glory of Hampyeong.
We ate food, drank beer and Korean rice wine (festival staples) and even made it out the noraebang (sing room) to sing a few rounds of karaoke. But our fun wasn't over by the time we went to sleep. A few of us slept outside in tents, since our host didn't have too much room in his apartment. We set up camp in a nice area right outside his apartment building...and then were awoken bright and early the next morning by a Korean man yapping at us. My first thought, as I was inside the tent and couldn't see anything, was that we were on his property and that he was angry at us, but I turned out to be completely wrong.
Me: (still in the tent) "Hey, is he mad at us?"
Alyssa: (outside) "No, he's inviting us to breakfast!"
Turned out this nice old man felt so sorry for us foreigners who had to sleep outside on the ground that he told his wife and invited us inside his home. We followed him just a few yards down to his house, figuring it would be rude to refuse, and proceeded to enjoy a hearty Korean breakfast of soup, rice, kimchi, fish, and even some eggs and coffee thrown in (just to make us feel more at home.) They didn't even join us for the meal, just checked on us every so often to make sure we were doing okay. It was one of those experiences you just have to look back at and laugh upon, (like Pat above - "what is going on right now?!") as well as marvel at what genuine kindness and generosity Korean people possess.
Moving on: K-Pop concert.
Yes folks, if you remember my obsession with K-Pop last year, you'll remember that I'm quite a fan of this bubble-gum, sometimes sickeningly annoying cacophony of sounds that has made Korea world famous. In my defense - some of it is actually pretty good. Either way, the beginning of May marked the annual Dream Concert, which is a performance of tons of famous K-Pop groups, only a couple of their best hits each, all under one roof, for very cheap ticket prices. I believe the reason behind the Dream Concert is to give K-Pop fans a chance to see their idols, since tickets are usually expensive and difficult to obtain. And of course, so that crazy foreigners who figure out the online ticket system can go too.
So, for about five bucks a pop, another group of girls and I made our way up to Seoul's World Cup Stadium for an evening of screaming fans, sing alongs, and balloon waving (each section passed out free balloons with whatever group that section would represent... but I made my way over to the MBLAQ section and grabbed a balloon from the box so I wouldn't be a traitor when they came on stage.)
It turned out I knew well over half of the songs by heart - they had been staples on my playlist last fall - and there were so many groups I didn't realize would be there. I was with my friend Sokhom, (in the back of the picture, behind me) who introduced me to K-Pop and helped fuel my obsession last spring, so it was really special to be there with her, as a fitting goodbye to Korea and K-Pop.
And last, the end of my spring was celebrated by completing not the half marathon like I'd hoped to do, but by finishing the Gwangju May 18th Memorial 10K run. This run was really special to me because I saw it as a way to help celebrate Gwangju, not only in memorial of its tragic fight for democracy 30 years ago, but also because I've had such a great time living here - I've never lived in a city of a million people before, and it's been such a wonderful experience. I wanted to do the May 18th run as another way to say goodbye and thank you to Gwangju.
It was a great morning for a run - a little overcast and cool. The run went well, though I took it out too fast and hated pretty much every minute of the second half, but I got a time within my goal range, so it was worth it. After the run there was a fundraiser bake sale that we effectively demolished, and then Katie (middle) had her birthday celebration that night - a very happy Gwangju weekend!
The GRE was supposed to mark the end of my spring training, but since I had cancelled it a few weeks before, I had to start switching gears and mentality after the run: it was almost summertime! I have a lot of work to do this summer, between saying goodbyes, getting a few final trips in, and preparing for my year to come.
So, this spring, though I learned that when things don't go as planned you just need to make a new plan, I also learned another equally as cliche, but equally as important lesson. I learned how important friends are and how much you really need them in your life. The friendships and relationships I forged when I first arrived in Korea, as well as the more recent ones, have grown and flourished in a way that only living in Korea can do. As teachers, we have no one else out here for us but our friends, and because we live such a dynamic life, our friends quickly become our family.
Now as I look ahead to my final ten weeks in Korea, I can't wait to spend the rest of it with my 'family,' as we focus on nothing but enjoying the rest of our time in Korea and appreciating every last moment we will have with each other here. Though I have already made numerous plans to meet up in the future in different countries, nothing will ever be the same. It hurts, but it's a part of life here - at some point you have to 'graduate' and leave Korea.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer and enjoy the sunshine!
When I last posted, I had just been coming off of about five weeks of inactivity - three weeks of being sick followed by two weeks of injury. I had had big plans for training and studying and being productive...and then I felt all was lost. My spring was over! I wasn't going to accomplish anything! Well, life continued on. I still got to do all the amazing things I had waiting for me, even though I felt like I didn't deserve to do them. I changed my race to the 10K, rerouted my training plans, and ended up deciding to cancel my GRE test, as it turned out I didn't really need to take it again. And you know what? I had the best spring ever.
First up: Lady Gaga comes to Seoul. She started her world tour at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Korea, despite many protests that popped up regarding her image, and boy did she put on a good show. I wouldn't consider myself a diehard fan, but her music has definitely been a staple on my workout playlists since university, and so when my friend Katie (pictured) asked me if I wanted to go, I figured - hey, why not? So began a five week obsession with both of her albums, which took high precedence on my iPod pretty much all the time. I went to the concert with a fun group of girls, and between getting up to Seoul, getting ready, almost missing the show due to heavy traffic, (and protests, as we learned later) and then the actual performance - it was pretty much one of the best nights of my life. You can YouTube 'Lady Gaga Seoul 4/27' if you want to see clips!
Next up: The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival. Not quite Lady Gaga caliber, but what made it an awesome weekend was the group of people who braved the trek to little Hampyeong, to make for a really fun evening of friends. Basically, each Korean town has its own special festival once a year, and for some reason - Hampyeong has butterflies. The festival grounds were actually really pretty - well manicured lawns and flowers and plants - please note the butterfly groomed mountain, marking the glory of Hampyeong.
We ate food, drank beer and Korean rice wine (festival staples) and even made it out the noraebang (sing room) to sing a few rounds of karaoke. But our fun wasn't over by the time we went to sleep. A few of us slept outside in tents, since our host didn't have too much room in his apartment. We set up camp in a nice area right outside his apartment building...and then were awoken bright and early the next morning by a Korean man yapping at us. My first thought, as I was inside the tent and couldn't see anything, was that we were on his property and that he was angry at us, but I turned out to be completely wrong.
Me: (still in the tent) "Hey, is he mad at us?"
Alyssa: (outside) "No, he's inviting us to breakfast!"
Turned out this nice old man felt so sorry for us foreigners who had to sleep outside on the ground that he told his wife and invited us inside his home. We followed him just a few yards down to his house, figuring it would be rude to refuse, and proceeded to enjoy a hearty Korean breakfast of soup, rice, kimchi, fish, and even some eggs and coffee thrown in (just to make us feel more at home.) They didn't even join us for the meal, just checked on us every so often to make sure we were doing okay. It was one of those experiences you just have to look back at and laugh upon, (like Pat above - "what is going on right now?!") as well as marvel at what genuine kindness and generosity Korean people possess.
Moving on: K-Pop concert.
So, for about five bucks a pop, another group of girls and I made our way up to Seoul's World Cup Stadium for an evening of screaming fans, sing alongs, and balloon waving (each section passed out free balloons with whatever group that section would represent... but I made my way over to the MBLAQ section and grabbed a balloon from the box so I wouldn't be a traitor when they came on stage.)
It turned out I knew well over half of the songs by heart - they had been staples on my playlist last fall - and there were so many groups I didn't realize would be there. I was with my friend Sokhom, (in the back of the picture, behind me) who introduced me to K-Pop and helped fuel my obsession last spring, so it was really special to be there with her, as a fitting goodbye to Korea and K-Pop.
And last, the end of my spring was celebrated by completing not the half marathon like I'd hoped to do, but by finishing the Gwangju May 18th Memorial 10K run. This run was really special to me because I saw it as a way to help celebrate Gwangju, not only in memorial of its tragic fight for democracy 30 years ago, but also because I've had such a great time living here - I've never lived in a city of a million people before, and it's been such a wonderful experience. I wanted to do the May 18th run as another way to say goodbye and thank you to Gwangju.
It was a great morning for a run - a little overcast and cool. The run went well, though I took it out too fast and hated pretty much every minute of the second half, but I got a time within my goal range, so it was worth it. After the run there was a fundraiser bake sale that we effectively demolished, and then Katie (middle) had her birthday celebration that night - a very happy Gwangju weekend!
The GRE was supposed to mark the end of my spring training, but since I had cancelled it a few weeks before, I had to start switching gears and mentality after the run: it was almost summertime! I have a lot of work to do this summer, between saying goodbyes, getting a few final trips in, and preparing for my year to come.
So, this spring, though I learned that when things don't go as planned you just need to make a new plan, I also learned another equally as cliche, but equally as important lesson. I learned how important friends are and how much you really need them in your life. The friendships and relationships I forged when I first arrived in Korea, as well as the more recent ones, have grown and flourished in a way that only living in Korea can do. As teachers, we have no one else out here for us but our friends, and because we live such a dynamic life, our friends quickly become our family.
Now as I look ahead to my final ten weeks in Korea, I can't wait to spend the rest of it with my 'family,' as we focus on nothing but enjoying the rest of our time in Korea and appreciating every last moment we will have with each other here. Though I have already made numerous plans to meet up in the future in different countries, nothing will ever be the same. It hurts, but it's a part of life here - at some point you have to 'graduate' and leave Korea.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer and enjoy the sunshine!
