Korea revelations

I am currently sitting on a bench in the Daegu train station. Soon, Skot will be here.

I was really, really excited about the train trip this morning. I haven't been on a train in something like 7 years. And, I'm happy to say that it met my expectations. Beautiful scenery of the countryside and mountains.

I'm finally feeling like I'm starting to get into a rhythm here. Work is just ok, but I'm learning to just leave it at the office (well, school) and not stress or think about it (too much) when I'm not there. It's just a means to an end, after all. And I really like most of the kids. It's the bosses I'm not crazy about.

I'm finally making friends and getting out more to see stuff. It really is beautiful here. The ocean, the cliffs by the ocean, the mountains. I think next weekend I will try to go see my first temple. So I'm finally having a good time. Is it what I expected? No. In some ways, it's better, and in some ways, it's worse, but it's definitely manageable. And I'm looking forward to my non-work activities over the next year. I think I can stop counting down the days/weeks/months till I go home.

I'm also learning some very valuable things about myself. Like that I really don't want to be a teacher. And that it's really, really hard for me to be the new girl. I've never really been "the new girl" before. There's always been other new people with me before. So, this is a learning experience.

There are some things about Korea/Korean culture that really bug me. Like how slow they walk, the smell, the lack of personal space, the people who don't let you get out of the elevator/off the subway before they get on, etc. But generally, people are also really nice and really helpful, so it's a balance I guess.

I still really miss Prague sometimes, but I know living there isn't realistic for me. Hopefully, I can go back and visit someday. More than once. And I would like to see more of Europe. Eurorail around. Again, maybe someday. When I have a real job and vacation time.

But I definitely do feel like I'm finding out more about myself and where I'm going from here (not for the rest of my life, just from here, but that's great progress for me, and I don't believe in long term plans anyway). So I'm starting to feel better than I have in a really long time. Maybe even since I quit grad school, and that was 14 months ago.