"I am going to Korea! What do I need? what should I take? what should I expect? I have only two weeks before I go, and I have no idea what I am doing." I spend a lot of time thinking these days, but, at such a time as this, it is important that I do. As I like to know a little about my destination before I get there, I pick up a book about Korea.

 

"A lot of people decided to teach English in a foreign country for an adventure, and others do it to find themselves. If you are one of the latter, Korea is not the place for you Thailand is much better suited for that." As my eyes scan the paragraph and my brain processes the information, I wonder if perhaps I have chosen the wrong destination. While I seem to know a lot about myself, I am always looking for the rest of me.

 

Since I have gotten to Korea, I have decided that one can in fact "find themselves" here. Either that or they can reinvent themselves. It has become clear that in any situation one finds themself in, they learn a little more about themselves, and I have found myself in many different situations since my arrival.

 

Enough of the babbling. Why am I tired? Well, I think the main reason may be that I didn't get home until 4am! Saturday is MS Echo day for me, and it started no different than any other Saturday. I got up and waited for time to pass. I went and got on the bus that takes me to the University. For some reason the card reader doesn't seem to work, so, even though I have a card, I still have to pay cash. I wish I could ask what is wrong with the machine, but I don't know the words to be able to do that.

 

Upon my arrival, I realize that none of the other members are there. I am a little disappointed, but I sit down to wait. I look at my watch: ten till two. I suddenly realize that class isn't until three! I don't know what caused me to make that mistake, but I used the time to go for a little walk. People were there at three, just like every other Saturday. On this particular day we had 20 people show up.

 

After the meeting (at which I was supposed to have prepared the debate topic, though nobody had told me) we went out to eat, as usual. I got to sit with the two high school and two middle school girls that have been coming the past two or three weeks. The high schoolers wanted to speak with a native Englsih speaker. I learned that these two are sisters and usually go to church on Saturdays. I questioned this and found out they are Catholic, so we talked about catacisim (I have no idea how to spell it) and communion. I was interested to hear what they used for communion as I heard that many churches use rice cakes instead of bread (which was confirmed when the one who was translating asked me if we used rice cakes in America): they use bread.

 

After dinner a group of us went out to Cappela again. I am begining to feel like a regular. We talked about the Western influence on Korea, the "memorial services" they perform for their ancestors on or around the Lunar New Year, and the drive people have for money. This seems to be a common topic with these people.

 

One of them brought up that he had never seen a play, and that someone told him that he should, so he is going to try to go to Masan to see one. The plans aren't definite, but, if he goes, it will be him and a couple of others. He invited me, and then said that I probably wouldn't want to go because it would be in Korean. I then explained to him that it didn't matter: "If it is a good play, I should be able to understand it by the actions and the facial expressions. Language doesn't matter." I am not sure if he agreed with me or not, but another one  did.

 

I thought that would be the last of my philosophical dealings for the evening, but then Addy called the two girls with whom we had went to the singing room two Saturdays ago. This time we went to  a place and had raw fish, lettuce, and peanuts. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't like the texture. Joon-nee tried to invite me somewhere for the 30th and 31st, but I have to work until 7:30pm on the 30th. I didn't even get a chance to hear where she was inviting me.

 

I talked with Kyoung-hee about schools in America. She thought that the high schools were all private it seems to be the case here. We talked about some of the bad situations in education and then Phil stopped us and said it was getting too serious. Addy started making fun of Kyoung-hee's freckles. I took the opportunity to ask about her hair: she had it died red. She said she wanted it orange, but it turned out red. She chose the color because it went well with her complection. She also said she wanted her black hair back, but it will take a couple of years to grow out she only died it because there is some kind of treatment in the die that improves hair, and hers was damaged. I figured that was as good as reason as any (probably better than most).

 

After that Phil and I went to this place in the bacement of the International Hotel. They have a band of what I was told were Philapenos. They sing wonderfully in English and Korean, with little or no accent. They sing everything from Brittney Spears to the Eagles to Korean tunes. Phil told them it was my birthday, so they sang happy birthday to me. I was a little embarrased, but I think he likes doing that to me.

 

Then we went to the night club. As I have said previously, I am not a big fan of night clubs, especially when everybody stares at me. But go I did, and I actually danced. While dancing, there was this girl dancing right next to me with this serious look on her face. I tapped her on the shoulder and told her to smile while imitaitng a smile with my index fingers across my face. She smiled, looked at her friend, and started to laugh. I think I may have embarresed her .  During the second set, I was up dancing, and this random girl starts dancing with me. Her friend backed away and wouldn't come closer even when the girl motioned for her to do so.  I think the most amazing part of all this is that I had fun! Can you believe that? We all know how hard that can be for me, but I pulled it off last night.

 

After that I went home, fell on my bed, and went to sleep. That is pretty much my story one day. I guess that is alright though because that is how I live my life, one day at a time (at least that is how I try to live my life).