Monday Musings: All in a year's work.
It was my birthday on Wednesday. I love birthdays! To me it is a celebration of a year that has passed, adventures that have been lived, new things learned, old things forgotten. I am getting to an age where people are expecting you to have reached certain milestones: Get married? Have a stable job in a good company and climb the corporate ladder? Have a house? Have a car? I have none of those. But here is a list of things I did in the past year. Some of them are average. Some of them are huge. All of them make me thankful that I have lived another year.
1) I spent 3 weeks in a foreign hospital. I'm not going to lie to you. It is scary to be in a hospital where only one nurse can speak English. I shared a room with 5 Korean adjumma (old women) and learned the Korean for a bunch of medical terms.
2) I got fired from a job for the first time in my life. The school where I was working, had too many teachers and not enough students. They were looking for a reason to let someone go. I gave them one by being in the hospital (The fact that they refused to let me go to the doctor obviously had nothing to do with my condition)
3) I celebrated St.Patrick's Day. I made my first Irish friend the year before and was, of course, obliged to celebrate with her. I've met stacks of other Irish folk since and I have to admit, they are some of the best people around.
4) I went back home. By that time I hadn't been home in two years. I didn't want to go home, ever again. It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me.
5) I played tourist in my own country. My best friend, Maria-Lise, and I decided that we were always travelling around in Korea, but we have not really done a lot in our own country. So we went to Lesedi Cultural Village (A village that explains 5 of South Africa's tribes, how they live and their cultures) and Maropeng (In the cradle of Humankind. It is also believed that this is the place where humankind originated)
6) I saw my grandmother for the last time. She died shortly after I came back to Korea. I was very forunate to spend some time with her.
7) I went on a children's church camp. Children's church was one of my favourite things of being home. I helped out for a weekend and the kids were so much fun!
8) I came back to Korea. A friend organized another job for me on the same island. I had to promise my parents that this will be the last time. I think I broke my mom's heart.
9) I followed the Soccer World Cup with people from all over the world. Since the World Cup was hosted in South Africa, I felt obliged to watch it. The opening ceremony and first game were awesome! All of my friends (Canadians, Irish, American, Romanian, Korean, British, Kiwi) got together in a bar and watched / cheered / yelled as the South Africans tied their first game.
10) I sorted out a big issue from my past. It's amazing when you realize that the person who has hurt you and whom you have been hating for such a long time, is dealing with so much of their own stuff. And that the only reason they have that power over you, is because you give it to them. I set them free, and in turn got freed myself.
11) I partied. A lot. It seemed like there were birthdays every weekend in summer. The island was a colourful mix of people on Friday and Saturday nights. I made some of my best friends through all of the partying.
12) I went to a rock-climbing class. It was the first class and we were trying on the gear and climbing up the wall. I couldn't get on to the second step. I had to be pushed up and ended swinging around for a bit. I laughed so hard, I cried. Lesson learned: I suck at rock-climbing, but I'm awesome at making people laugh.
13) I started doing Origami. I have a friend who is obsessed with Origami and she hosted an Origami night. We made boxes and I was hooked. It is a great addition to my scrapbooking hobby.
14) I rolled in the mud. A group of us went to Boryeong for the annual Boryeong mud-festival. It was a weekend of rain, mud, swimming, wrestling, rolling, partying, playing and all-in-all just great fun!
15) I camped on the beach. I slept in a tent. I woke up to the sound of the waves crashing. I danced with a Ukrainian man. I had soju on the sand.
16) I took up hiking. There are lots of really nice hills on Geoje island and the Koreans hike on a daily basis. Its not uncommon to see them in their very expensive North Face hiking gear. In the week of my summer vacation, I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted to take a hike. I did and I haven't stopped since.
17) I got a cat. See the previous post.
18) I took up running. I'm still figuring out all of the tricks of the trade, but I'm hooked and it has made my life so much better.
19) I danced in the Great wall of China. Because just walking on one of the wonders of the world is boring.
20) I ate a snake, a scorpion, a cricket and a starfish. When in China, you should try everything, at least once.
21) I organized a kick-ass Halloween party. It was the 3rd one I organized on the island and it was the biggest, best one yet. I also realized that I LOVE organizing things. Events make me tick!
22) I got a scooter. The busses on the island are great and the taxis are cheap, but sometimes it helps to be just that little bit more mobile. My scooter is a maroon Daelim Plus scooter. I named her Soju Sookie (Soju because of my love/hate relationship with Soju and Sookie, the female lead in True Blood)
23) I went to a Da Vinci expo. I've always known he was a genius. I never realized just HOW MUCH of a genius he was. He was freaking brilliant.
24) I celebrated Hannukah. One of my closest friends is Jewish. She had a Hannukah party. It was also a Murder Mystery party, which was another first for me.
25) I spent two weeks with my best friend in the world. I was lucky that she wanted to come say goodbye to Korea and I got the chance to hang out with her.
26) I organized the Orphans' Christmas Party. This island is home to a lot of wonderful people. I would not have been able to host this party without everyone's help.
27) I learned how to ski. Sort of. I had a good friend who was a great instructor and I got the basics of skiing down. I'm definitely doing that again!!
28) I met (and said goodbye) to some of the best people I've ever met. The best and worst part of this kind of lifestyle, is that you are constantly meeting new people. My view of the world has changed so much. I've made friends from all over the world and saying goodbye to them has been very hard.
29) I decided to move back to South Africa. It has been a hard year for me and i realized I wanted to be closer to my family.
30) I fell in love. I fell in love with summer. I fell in love with running. I fell in love with snow. I fell in love with crafts. I fell in love with my freedom. I fell in love with the red leaves of autumn. I fell in love over and over. And if I had a chance to redo it, I'd fall in love over and over again.
Wow, when I started making this list, I thought it would be just a few things. Now that I look at this, I realize what a blessed year it was. The next one is going to be even better. I am looking forward to:
* Going home.
* Running my first 5km race.
* Seeing my family again.
*Seeing my cat play in a garden.
* Being able to go to my friends' weddings.
* And many many more!!
1) I spent 3 weeks in a foreign hospital. I'm not going to lie to you. It is scary to be in a hospital where only one nurse can speak English. I shared a room with 5 Korean adjumma (old women) and learned the Korean for a bunch of medical terms.
2) I got fired from a job for the first time in my life. The school where I was working, had too many teachers and not enough students. They were looking for a reason to let someone go. I gave them one by being in the hospital (The fact that they refused to let me go to the doctor obviously had nothing to do with my condition)
3) I celebrated St.Patrick's Day. I made my first Irish friend the year before and was, of course, obliged to celebrate with her. I've met stacks of other Irish folk since and I have to admit, they are some of the best people around.
4) I went back home. By that time I hadn't been home in two years. I didn't want to go home, ever again. It turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me.
5) I played tourist in my own country. My best friend, Maria-Lise, and I decided that we were always travelling around in Korea, but we have not really done a lot in our own country. So we went to Lesedi Cultural Village (A village that explains 5 of South Africa's tribes, how they live and their cultures) and Maropeng (In the cradle of Humankind. It is also believed that this is the place where humankind originated)
6) I saw my grandmother for the last time. She died shortly after I came back to Korea. I was very forunate to spend some time with her.
7) I went on a children's church camp. Children's church was one of my favourite things of being home. I helped out for a weekend and the kids were so much fun!
8) I came back to Korea. A friend organized another job for me on the same island. I had to promise my parents that this will be the last time. I think I broke my mom's heart.
9) I followed the Soccer World Cup with people from all over the world. Since the World Cup was hosted in South Africa, I felt obliged to watch it. The opening ceremony and first game were awesome! All of my friends (Canadians, Irish, American, Romanian, Korean, British, Kiwi) got together in a bar and watched / cheered / yelled as the South Africans tied their first game.
10) I sorted out a big issue from my past. It's amazing when you realize that the person who has hurt you and whom you have been hating for such a long time, is dealing with so much of their own stuff. And that the only reason they have that power over you, is because you give it to them. I set them free, and in turn got freed myself.
11) I partied. A lot. It seemed like there were birthdays every weekend in summer. The island was a colourful mix of people on Friday and Saturday nights. I made some of my best friends through all of the partying.
12) I went to a rock-climbing class. It was the first class and we were trying on the gear and climbing up the wall. I couldn't get on to the second step. I had to be pushed up and ended swinging around for a bit. I laughed so hard, I cried. Lesson learned: I suck at rock-climbing, but I'm awesome at making people laugh.
13) I started doing Origami. I have a friend who is obsessed with Origami and she hosted an Origami night. We made boxes and I was hooked. It is a great addition to my scrapbooking hobby.
14) I rolled in the mud. A group of us went to Boryeong for the annual Boryeong mud-festival. It was a weekend of rain, mud, swimming, wrestling, rolling, partying, playing and all-in-all just great fun!
15) I camped on the beach. I slept in a tent. I woke up to the sound of the waves crashing. I danced with a Ukrainian man. I had soju on the sand.
16) I took up hiking. There are lots of really nice hills on Geoje island and the Koreans hike on a daily basis. Its not uncommon to see them in their very expensive North Face hiking gear. In the week of my summer vacation, I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted to take a hike. I did and I haven't stopped since.
17) I got a cat. See the previous post.
18) I took up running. I'm still figuring out all of the tricks of the trade, but I'm hooked and it has made my life so much better.
19) I danced in the Great wall of China. Because just walking on one of the wonders of the world is boring.
20) I ate a snake, a scorpion, a cricket and a starfish. When in China, you should try everything, at least once.
21) I organized a kick-ass Halloween party. It was the 3rd one I organized on the island and it was the biggest, best one yet. I also realized that I LOVE organizing things. Events make me tick!
22) I got a scooter. The busses on the island are great and the taxis are cheap, but sometimes it helps to be just that little bit more mobile. My scooter is a maroon Daelim Plus scooter. I named her Soju Sookie (Soju because of my love/hate relationship with Soju and Sookie, the female lead in True Blood)
23) I went to a Da Vinci expo. I've always known he was a genius. I never realized just HOW MUCH of a genius he was. He was freaking brilliant.
24) I celebrated Hannukah. One of my closest friends is Jewish. She had a Hannukah party. It was also a Murder Mystery party, which was another first for me.
25) I spent two weeks with my best friend in the world. I was lucky that she wanted to come say goodbye to Korea and I got the chance to hang out with her.
26) I organized the Orphans' Christmas Party. This island is home to a lot of wonderful people. I would not have been able to host this party without everyone's help.
27) I learned how to ski. Sort of. I had a good friend who was a great instructor and I got the basics of skiing down. I'm definitely doing that again!!
28) I met (and said goodbye) to some of the best people I've ever met. The best and worst part of this kind of lifestyle, is that you are constantly meeting new people. My view of the world has changed so much. I've made friends from all over the world and saying goodbye to them has been very hard.
29) I decided to move back to South Africa. It has been a hard year for me and i realized I wanted to be closer to my family.
30) I fell in love. I fell in love with summer. I fell in love with running. I fell in love with snow. I fell in love with crafts. I fell in love with my freedom. I fell in love with the red leaves of autumn. I fell in love over and over. And if I had a chance to redo it, I'd fall in love over and over again.
Wow, when I started making this list, I thought it would be just a few things. Now that I look at this, I realize what a blessed year it was. The next one is going to be even better. I am looking forward to:
* Going home.
* Running my first 5km race.
* Seeing my family again.
*Seeing my cat play in a garden.
* Being able to go to my friends' weddings.
* And many many more!!
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