Transitioning
It is now July, and I've now been in Korea for over 10 months. My contract is up August 18th. In just a few weeks, I'm heading to Japan for about 8 or 9 days for my first vacation since December. This is going to be a good warm up for things to come when I finish my contract and head off on a grand adventure.
Overall it seems as though Korea has treated me well. I did go through a time when I was pretty miserable, wanted to get out and move on to other things. Now though, things have turned around significantly. I'm out climbing regularly, exploring many mountains, and doing everything I love to do. It seems as though in these last 2 months I am most dedicated to teaching, and trying to do a good job with what little time I have left. I am growing a bit attached to some of the students, and some have mentioned they'll be sad when they get a new teacher. It's amazing that so much time has passed.
Seems like not long ago that I was climbing Mt. Hood, backpacking in the Olympics, climbing in Leavenworth. Now what I have to look forward to is exploring the steppes of Mongolia on a horse.. Trekking in little traveled areas of China, where modernity has not yet gained a footing. Walking in the shadow of the Himalayas, and attempting to climb a 20,000+ feet mountain. Learning to cook Indian, Thai, and Szechuan cuisines.. Climbing on the beach in Thailand, exploring jungles and millennia old ruins. Meeting other adventurers with grand wanderlust like myself, and experiencing new and foreign cultures, and in theory being a decent ambassador of my own.
I don't know exactly where my journeys will bring me, or even when I will return, but I miss many people from my life back in the reality of America. Lao Tzu said, "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."
It seems as though my photo host is no longer available, so I'll work on finding a new one to host the pictures, and I have every intention of updating things more often when I do start exploring new and exciting places.
Overall it seems as though Korea has treated me well. I did go through a time when I was pretty miserable, wanted to get out and move on to other things. Now though, things have turned around significantly. I'm out climbing regularly, exploring many mountains, and doing everything I love to do. It seems as though in these last 2 months I am most dedicated to teaching, and trying to do a good job with what little time I have left. I am growing a bit attached to some of the students, and some have mentioned they'll be sad when they get a new teacher. It's amazing that so much time has passed.
Seems like not long ago that I was climbing Mt. Hood, backpacking in the Olympics, climbing in Leavenworth. Now what I have to look forward to is exploring the steppes of Mongolia on a horse.. Trekking in little traveled areas of China, where modernity has not yet gained a footing. Walking in the shadow of the Himalayas, and attempting to climb a 20,000+ feet mountain. Learning to cook Indian, Thai, and Szechuan cuisines.. Climbing on the beach in Thailand, exploring jungles and millennia old ruins. Meeting other adventurers with grand wanderlust like myself, and experiencing new and foreign cultures, and in theory being a decent ambassador of my own.
I don't know exactly where my journeys will bring me, or even when I will return, but I miss many people from my life back in the reality of America. Lao Tzu said, "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving."
It seems as though my photo host is no longer available, so I'll work on finding a new one to host the pictures, and I have every intention of updating things more often when I do start exploring new and exciting places.