One Year. Wowza.

Thursday marked my one year anniversary of initially arriving in Korea.  Since the last year has had the most profound of impacts on my life, I'm going to spend a little time in reflection.  Get excited.

When I signed up to come to Korea, I had (literally) no idea what awaited me.  I had done a fair amount of research on the possibilities, but never in my wildest dreams could I have conjured up any kind of idea that would come even remotely close to what would become my Korean reality.  The last year has meant many things to me: stepping seriously out of my comfort zone on an almost daily basis in one way or another, doing some serious soul searching and self discovery (and being happy with what I found), crossing some fairly unexpected items off my life's to-do list, and honestly, simply surviving.  Let me explain:

Driving around Iowa City with my mom on one of my first days in Iowa in 11 months, I shared with her that my first couple weeks in Korea were a little... unsettling.  Everyone was nice and welcoming, but I couldn't help but wonder what the hell I was doing signing up to live in a country whose culture, food, way of living, dressing, pretty much everything was not only completely (and obviously) foreign to me, but foreign in ways for which I could not possibly have prepared.  I was a long way from Iowa and my first couple of weeks here were a crash course in so many things: living alone, teaching (!), being a minority, dealing with a serious language barrier, and to some extent, moving on.  I had gotten exactly what I wanted, but I wasn't so sure why I had wanted it in the first place.  I hate doing most things by myself, so why had it seemed like such a great idea to move halfway across the world all on my own?

Then, I began to get the hang of things.  I made some invaluable friends in and out of school.  I took full advantage of skype, e-mail and Facebook.  I grew a pair of proverbial stones and decided that this would be a life changing experience no matter what happened.  And, it was.  It continues to be.

I cannot accurately (or concisely) put into words the multitude of things I have learned this year: things about life, things about myself, things about people in general, but I have noticed and continue to notice their impact on my outlook and experience here and at home.  My time in Korea so far has been exactly what I needed it to be, and, at the same time, so much more.  I was hoping for an experience abroad to satisfy my craving for something completely different from anything I had previously known.  I wanted some time for self discovery and reflection.  I wanted a time in my life on which I could look back and fondly remember as an integral part of defining who I am and how I came to be that way.  And, let's be honest, I wanted some fun stories to tell.  I got all of that, and so much more.

The experiences I have cultivated outside of school, from the exciting and surprisingly profound (Vietnam (and Jill's visit in general), Bonguensa Temple, Jeju Island, the DMZ, Saturdays in Seoul, K-Pop concerts, Sunday coffee dates with Yeeseul (and more importantly, our conversations), and crashing Rejoice Singers sleepovers - to name the biggies) to the fairly mundane, but nonetheless valuable (eating out, people watching, shopping at E-Mart, walking around the Gwanj, walking to school in the morning - you get the picture) - all of these things, and countless others are what have contributed to making me a pretty happy camper here (which I realize may or may not be the understatement of the year).  But, the one thing I go back to, again and again, that has made this year so successful, enjoyable and unabashedly rad in every possible way, is Kyunghwa EB.

I look around my school, taking everything in:  how adorable, smart, clever and funny our students can be, and the seemingly simple (and sometimes not so simple), but heart-warming and delightful interactions with teachers, the principals and Dionne and I can't help but think about how utterly blessed I am to be able to be a part of such an incredible school and an extraordinary group of people.  People (both in Korea and at home) often comment on how obviously elated I seem to be, and all I can do is point to the unbelievable situation in which I find myself.  There is no doubt in my mind that this is exactly where I am meant to be right now.  I don't know how long I will stay here, but I do know that Kyunghwa EB's lasting impact on me will endure long after my time here has come to an end.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for following me on this crazy journey of mine.  I cannot express how much your words of support, e-mails and general interest in my life here comfort me and make me feel less far away. Honestly, just knowing people read this silly account of my experiences and observations here means the world to me.  You're all peaches.  Each and every one of you.  Big, sweet, juicy Georgia peaches.

I'm Baaaaaack!

I literally don't even know where to begin.  Since I haven't posted in such a long time, I guess I should start by apologizing for my absence...  So, sorry for that.

The last six weeks have been a blur, but the most delicious blur for which a gal could ask.  We finished up the first semester of the school year, only to jump right into Summer Camp.  We did an American themed camp and at the very least, Dionne and I were able to fully understand why the students at our school are so dear to our hearts.  We had a great time with the camp, and really enjoyed getting to know a whole group of girls, but those girls also made us really appreciate how good we have it at Kyunghwa EB.  Enough of that.

The weirdest (and most disgusting) thing happened during camp: we accompanied our students to Yongsan Army camp for a field trip.  For lunch, we all ate Pizza Hut pizza - like, authentic, American-style pizza, which, trust me, is WAY different from Korean Pizza Hut's product.  Many of the girls complained of the abundance of salt (thank you, processed meat) and grease on the pizza.  We thought nothing of it until the next day when only 14 of our 34 students showed up.  Why?  They were ALL sick.  From the pizza.  Gross.

My principal pals 

The very next day following camp, I left for Iowa.  Words cannot describe how excited I was for this trip!  I experienced a little culture shock going through customs in Dallas - being able to eavesdrop on conversations (and understand what was being said!) was SO strange (and a little uncomfortable...) as well as the sea of white people in which I found myself.  Very strangey. 

Without spelling out every single detail of my almost four weeks at home, let me just say it was the most satisfying, grounding, reassuring, comfortable experience for which I could have possibly asked.  Not one day was misspent, and though the time flew by at warp speed, I have returned to Korea completely rejuvenated and ready for another year.

Highlights from Iowa, in no particular order, include, but are not limited to:
1 > FINALLY meeting the Drewster.  I think I'm going to enjoy being an aunt.

2 > Spending a TON of time with family - the Pluegers, Kirk, the Banachs, Nick and Jess, Mom and Dad - I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment!  I'm a pretty lucky gal to be able to call all of these wonderful people family!

Plueger Cousins

A little family picture action....

3 > One of the most badass class reunion weekends imaginable.  It is still amazing to me that somehow, we never seem to skip a beat.  Some of my best friends in the world are from high school and I wouldn't have it any other way.

4 > Some AWESOME Theta time - being at the house after a whole year away felt completely normal.  Witty banter with Mona, chatting with Mom Anne, helping with recruitment and lounging with Alyssa never felt so natural.

5 >  Being able to share a little Korean culture with Iowa - I cooked four Korean meals for various group of people and I couldn't have been more pleased with their reception.  I was a little nervous about how people would feel about the food since they'd never had anything like it before, so when all went well at every dinner, I was so, so excited.  In some weird way, it was comforting to be able to share something about which I feel so strongly with some of the most important people in my life.

Korean dinner at the Banach's house - notice how Ross is flexing his muscles.  He's such a stud :)

Being able to spend almost four weeks at home was absolutely fabulous.  It honestly felt like I never left, which is far from what I anticipated.  Returning to Korea has yielded the same results.  Walking to school this morning, it felt like I hadn't been home.  It's so strange (but also quite comforting) to feel so unconditionally at home in a place no matter how long you are absent.  I guess that's a good thing :)