Well Hello There

Long time, no type.

I have been feeling a massive case of guilt over the fact that it has been more than a week since I last wrote. . . it took my mom's guilt trip to actually make me sit down and do it though. Leave it to my mom. No seriously, just leave it to her. She can make me do just about anything - except make me not go to Illinois for college and Korea for teaching. Selective disobedience is key in a Catholic household.

So I went to Seoul again last weekend. I realize that there are tons of really fun stories that I would have regaled you with, had I sat down and typed this the day after, but life move on. I had a really great time hanging out with three of the other teachers at my school. I saw an incredibly beautiful palace that was built around the same time that the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, got lost and walked for about three miles in an underground Mall, ate Korean burger king, and had several glasses of red wine and champagne to celebrate Arthur teacher's birthday.

Really, to be honest, Korea is starting to grow on me - and I don't even mean in the I-have-to-put-on-a-brave-face-and-lie-through-my-teeth-to-people way anymore. I feel like I belong now. Don't get me wrong; I am still a circus attraction to strangers on the street, but at work and in my neighborhood, I feel like a fixture. I get thumbs up from the same people on the running trail each night, I am setting up a comfortable routine for my students at school, I got a huge grin when I finally spoke a few words of Korean to the two women at my tiny supermarket's register, and it seems to me that the same awkward 15 year old school boy searches me out at my bus stop every Thursday after work. I guess when everyone told me to just wait a month for it to get better, they were actually speaking the truth....huh....imagine that.

My marathon training probably had a huge hand in making me feel better about life. Having a schedule and a goal set months down the road has forced me to make plans for the future in Korea - not to mention the endorphin rush that I get after my runs....Oh! And the weight loss is cool too, but that could just be the fact that Koreans eat the healthiest stuff in the entire world. No baked goods, cheese, cookies, or cakes? Thats like 3/4 of my diet in the states. Recently, as the weather is currently below freezing for the high, I have been questioning my sanity for deciding on a March Marathon, but once I am actually out on the trails, I feel like such a badass. Only hardcore people run in the freezing weather. i am so hardcore. Aaaaand then I lose feeling in my face - - - Suddenly, I am not so hardcore.

I got paid today. In cash because I don't have an alien registration card yet and thus, no bank account. 1,000 Korean Won is approximatly the equivalent of one American dollar. Imagine how street it feels to be holding a fistful of 50,000 won bank notes. I could almost imagine they were dollars. Almost.

So I guess that's it for now. I feel much better.

I love you, I miss you