the good, the bad, and the ugly

It seems I’ve had my first bout of homesickness, tinged with panic at the thought of being here for another year (wait.. 11 months and two days.) The feeling descended and managed to cloud every thought for a day or so, sapping the joy of adventure and the excitement of achieving my goals this year.

Thankfully, though, the clouds dispersed to once again let the sun shine in. This year brings me closer to what I yearn for, and with that in mind, it’s not so hard. Just have to try not to wish away this year. Remember to Live Juicy, and not waste the present. Right. Good call. Cliches aren’t bad if they’re true.

Bits and pieces from the last week or so:

My son, sitting amongst a small crowd of Korean kids and adults, eating cake with chopsticks.

An elderly Korean teacher telling my adult students (in English, while pointing to me), “Don’t be shy. Just speak! Remember, you speak two languages. They can only speak one. You are better than them!” Yep, that made me feel real good. I did point out to him that I also speak Japanese, but he only replied, “I also speak Japanese.”  Righto, did I mention I got dux of my school? How about them apples, mister. And I was sports captain of Malu in primary school. Kapow!

Biting into (what I thought was) a steaming hot donut.. ahh bliss! And then.. biting into the hot centre of bean paste. “Almost.. but not quite.”

Walking through the markets in Busan with my friend Mel and my son, seeing an elderly Korean ajimah pulling on Mel’s arm as she tried to light up a cigarette. Mel offering the old woman one of her cigarettes.. until realisation strikes that the ajimah was telling her not to smoke. Way to go, Mel. Love it.

Asking the Subway Ticket Officer if there are markets in Nampodong: Us: “Are there markets in Nampodong?” Him: “Nampodong.” Us: How do we get to this stop?” Him: “Nampodong. Yes.”  Us: “Oh, are the markets there? Not the fish markets, the big markets?”  Him: “Nampodong. Yes.”   Us: “What’s the time?” Him: “Nampodong. Yes.”   Uh huh. (Okay we didn’t ask him the time.. not that mean.)

Me telling every Korean who speaks Korean to me in the street, what I thought was “I don’t speak Korean”, but I actually just found out I was telling them, “Me, writing Korean characters, no.”   One smart foreigner. No wonder I’m officially an alien here.

And.. I’m spent.