time flies...

it's been about 7 weeks since i said goodbye to all that was familiar to me and boarded a plane to korea. the first three weeks were challenging to say the least. i've heard it said that the main things that can cause real anxiety is moving, changing careers, or ending a romantic relationship. all three of these things happened to me within the first two weeks of my arrival in seoul. not to mention i moved from one continent to another with no knowledge of the language and very little understanding of the culture. i would like to believe as i ponder over the last 7 weeks, that i handled everything fairly well. tears were shed, i'm not going to lie. but that had more to do with a broken heart than any anxiety i might have experienced in this old world with strange customs.

adjusting takes time but it can be accomplished. and while i spent the first two weekends alone in my apartment or wandering the streets of my neighborhood because i feared the subway system, i finally found the courage to explore this new world. now i'm hailing taxis and taking the subway without a second thought. i find the most stressful part of living here is the language barrier. you can adapt to people's culture to an extent, but without language, things are so frustrating. i find the most simplistic of tasks complicated. today i spent ten minutes staring at the milk aisle trying to determine which carton of white liquid was soy milk. i finally succeeded, but only because i discovered a carton with a drawing of beans and guessed that it must be soy.

while there are the challenges and those occasional moments where i find myself wanting home and all that is familiar, this is by far the best decision i could have ever made. it isn't because i am having the most fabulous time of my life. i am enjoying my time. i'm meeting a lot of interesting people. but relationships are everything to me and i find that most relationships here are centered around partying and having a good time. i always want to go deeper. i've never been very good at maintaining surface relationships. and i'm also particular about those i allow myself to get close to which i suppose adds another variable. it is the best decision because it is opening my eyes to what it is like to be the outsider. i'm getting an education through my own life experiences. i know what it feels like not to be able to communicate.i've experienced the hostility of people that do not want me here. and i have also experienced the kindness of complete strangers who have helped me when i needed help. i always wondered while in the states why foreign people always flocked together. now i understand.

the photos below are random ones of seoul taken with my little camera phone. enjoy!




it wasn't the squatting that prevented me from using it. it was the smell and not knowing why the floor was wet...

yum! nothing like good old bloody soup!

there are no words

personal space is not a necessity in korea!
urinals in girls bathrooms because....???




things are tiny in korea...