Playing Catch-up

I have a bit of blogging to catch up with after my two weeks without a computer. This past weekend I made a trip up to Seoul and purchased a new computer. Macintosh is not very popular in Korea and there are no Mac stores, only authorized dealers. But in typical Korean fashion I was able to negotiate the price down a bit by paying for my computer in cash. The deal made the computer a better deal than I thought it would be and like a cherry on top, the nice computer guys threw in a free case and mouse. I was not very happy to be spending such a large sum of money this early in my year, but having a computer with Hangul (korean alphabet) keys is pretty cool.

My weekend in Seoul was a much needed break and was a great time to hang out with some fellow expats. My friend Aaron has a friend in Seoul that works for GM-Daewoo and showed us around his life in Seoul. We stayed at his house in the UN village, met the local tailor that makes custom suites for all of the guys at GM and lunched at the Seoul Club. The best part o

f my weekend was relaxing at a western style home, eating pesto, drinking great Italian wine and playing Nintendo Wii.

I have always known that I would reach a time in Korea when the honeymoon stage would end and I would start to realize that this is my life right now. This weekend is the three month mark for my time in Korea. I have already been here for a quarter of a year! I have learned so much and have had so many experiences.

I am also well aware at this point that many of my experiences this year might not be positive. During my honeymoon phase in Korea, I was a warmly welcomed guest. I am transitioning from my Korean vacation to the phase of living a typical korean life, but as an outsider. In most ways this has been a good thing. I am now allowed to help with the dishes and take care of more things on my own. Unfortunately, without the language skills that could take years to attain, I will never be completely independent in Korea. That realization is a difficult one to come to peace with.

Today I found a wonderful little coffee shop called the Book Cafe within walking distance of my house. With coffee by my side, things are looking up. I am confident that I will improve my language skills and that I will begin to embrace my Korean life as an outsider. This next week I will be begin planning my family's trip to Korea for Christmas and make plans for my winter break. Just thinking about the possibilities (Thailand, Indonesia..) is making me antsy about starting to plan.

Tonight: Watching The Office on DVD!