final thoughts

In a dreadfully slow manner the week has come to an end and I am returning to America tomorrow. I am having difficulty believing that 24 hours from now I will be flying 30000 feet above the ocean.

I spent the past week anticipating the next 24 hours and as such the hours have stagnantly trickle past. Nonetheless, I am very excited that my homecoming has finally arrived. I feel a bit like a convict that has spent the last several months in the same confined space..... My heart is yearning to experience the public sphere; restaurants, movies, and social gatherings. I am ready to express myself in complete sentences and fully comprehend signage. I cannot wait to hug my family and friends!

Although I eagerly anticipate American soil, there are several parts of Korea that I will miss. First and foremost I will miss my students. Interacting with my students I learned a lot about Korean culture and myself. I am still amazed with the significantly long amount time kids spend in school. Elementary school students stay out till 11 o'clock at night studying at private academies and many attend class Saturday or Sunday. Without my students I would have never understood Korean holidays like Chusok and many other intricacies of Korean life. Teaching classses also helped me formulate several conclusions about my own life. For instance, I now want to have my own children after closely observing the beauty of young minds. I am more committed to finding a long-term job geared towards the assistance of others.

Living in Korea has provided me with many insights into life. Many of my beliefs about humanity have been affirmed through anthropological observations. I plan to use these affirmations to direct my energies for the next several years. Now more than ever I understand and appreciate the love and support of my friends and family. I know that without these people my life is colorless and fragmentary. Furthermore, lacking the access to so many components of my former life leaves me that much more grateful and cognitive of my good-fortune. It is easy pass up experience when they are abundant and consequently encounter a limited subset of impressions. I feel more empowered to proactively pursue different situations and comprehend the unfamiliar phenomena.

My lasting impression of Korea will be a nation of truly kind and polite people. My everyday existence was exceptionally brightened by the essentially wordless communication that littered my time in Korea. Kindness from the bakery couple, who gave me gifts every other visit, or the smile of the convenience store owner are emblazoned in my memory. The basic respect that is incorporated into all basic gestures and phrases is truly admirable.

Besides Korean people, I am most grateful for my coworkers. I think I would have gone insane if it were not for the English conversation we shared in the teacher's room. I think the strangeness of our situation encouraged much more rapid friendships that would rarely occur in the states. I will miss them all.

I want to thank everyone at home for reading this blog, sending me emails, and listening to my complaints. Without my connections in California, I probably would have fallen into some deep depression. I love you all very dearly and cannot wait to see your faces!

Now before I attempt to sleep, which I doubt will be successful, I have one request........... Would you like to meet me for American or Mexican food in Los Angeles or Orange County?

Affectionately yours
-Holly-