Thursday, April 24, 2008

Two Months!! (And an Answer to a Question)

Wow, I have officially been in Korea for two months now! I can't believe I'm 1/6 of the way through my contract already. It's a bit scary actually, when I realize just how fast the time has flown by. It's also hard to believe that it has been five months since I first decided to come here. And now my twenty-fourth birthday is getting eerily close. Where does the time go?

I remember how scared I was on the plane from Seoul to Busan two months ago. I had had such a horrible traveling experience, and I was terrified that I would find my director to be demanding and unreasonable. I was worried, too, that I would be a lousy teacher and that the kids would hate me for the entire year. I kept thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" I felt quite relieved when I met Cate for the first time at Busan airport, but the worry came back when I woke up the next morning.

At first I couldn't figure out where I was, and I thought that the entire day before had been just a dream. I thought about what I would fix for breakfast, and wondered if Dad and the dogs were up yet. Then it sunk in that I was no longer in the same country (or time zone, or continent) as Dad and the dogs, and I gave way to a moment of panic. I couldn't believe I had really come here. After a few tortured minutes, I dressed and left the bedroom. Cate cheerily greeted me, and fixed breakfast for me. My panic left me then, and I somehow knew that everything was going to be fine. I haven't had any regrets about coming since then, nor do I anticipate any. On the contrary, I think this is a wonderful country and I wish I had longer than just a year here. I may very conceivably come back after my TEFL course in Greece next year.

Aside from being the two month anniversary of the day I came to Korea, today is also the day I finally found the answer to something that has puzzled me since I got here. Most of the streets here are very narrow, with cars parked on both sides and barely enough room for one car to drive. In fact, my bicycle and I have often had to dodge behind a parked car to give passage room to oncoming traffic. So, I have frequently wondered exactly what would happen if two cars came from two directions at the same time on one of these streets (none of them are one-way). This morning, I finally witnessed this situation. The answer to my query is that the two drivers will continue to approach one another at the same speed until they both stop mere centimeters from collision. Both drivers apparently must then glare at one another for at least one tense minute before one gives in and starts slowly backing up, while the other continues to move forward (still glaring at the other driver). When the backing car reaches an empty space, they parallel park and wait for the oncoming car to pass.

Tonight, I have plans to meet some friends at Hwangseon Park for the final night of the Korean Traditional Drink and Rice Cake Festival. There are going to be fireworks and possibly fire-eaters, which should prove fun to watch. Afterwards, we're planning to watch a British comedy show together at somebody's apartment (most of my friends here are English). It seems a perfect way to spend my two-month anniversary.

No comments:

"Passage—immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not grovell’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?

Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! Are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

~Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"