Thoughts on Korea and Personal Enrichment

Today is the final day of my program. It has been a really enriching experience personally and educationally. I have made friends from around the world that I hope I will keep in contact with for the rest of my life. If not, I believe I am a better person for knowing each and every one of them and have learned more about the people of many countries in this world. this experience has confirmed what I have always thought, that being that even though we come from different backgrounds, religions and experiences, people are essentially the same when it comes to our core hopes and desires. We all want safety and happiness for ourselves and the people we love, we want to live a fulfilling life (whatever that may mean to each of us), and we enjoy interaction with others and grow from the friendships that we cultivate along the way.

In 48 hours I will be boarding a plane in Busan that is headed for Beijing. I will be sad to leave my new friends and sad to leave this beautiful country, but at the same time I am happy to be able to see Rebecca and am looking forward to being home in a couple of weeks to reconnect with old family and friends. In this spirit I have made a list (in no particular order) of the things I will miss and the things I will not miss from my time here.

Things I Will Not Miss About Korea and the UIP Program

1. Being away from my beautiful wife Rebecca. (Even though the list is in no particular order, this is the thing I will not miss the most) Everytime I am away from home it simply confirms the fact that she is my soulmate and the person I am will happily spend the rest of my life with.
2. Living in a dorm. I enjoy and get along with all the people here but do not enjoy the noise and constant activity of living on a floor with so many other people. Partly has to do with the fact I am so much older than the rest of the guys and just not into being loud and rambunctious any more. Also confirms the fact that not buying a condo near the University was a good idea.
3. Humidity. Walking outside and being immediately wet is not my idea of a good day (unless it is raining.) For all the weather problems we have in Saskatchewan at least we our heat is a dry heat. Being a big guy, dampness already comes naturally on a hot day, I don't need the atmosphere to help me, although it is nice that everyone is wet.
4. Being in a loud group. I am a quiet person, when I travel to cemeteries or temples or office buildings, I think you should be quiet. Tough to accomplish when you are with a group of 60 people in their early 20's. This is part of travelling in a group I realize, but has been my biggest annoyance during my time here. I think I am just too old.
5. Trying to dry clothes on a drying rack. This ties back to the high humidity here. On a hot summer day in Saskatchewan your clothes are dry in like an hour. Here you are lucky if your clothes are dry in 2 days. By then your clothes already are starting to smell funky again.
6. A lack of sidewalks. Most streets here are very narrow, have parking on both sides and have no sidewalks. Add the fact that there seems to be a serious lack of traffic rules and that although the streets are barely narrow enough for one car but are always open to 2 way traffic and walking is definitely an adventure. The saving grace is that vehicles drive quite slow and always watch for pedestrians. Drivers are always considered at fault in a car/pedestrian accident but I think this would be of little consolation after getting hit.

Things I Will Miss About Korea and the UIP Program

1. The Korean people. From the moment I arrived the hospitality has been amazing. From the program coordinator to the student staff and the rest of the students, all we have to do is ask for anything we need. They seem to enjoy having us, but I am sure they will be happy when we are gone and they do not have to act as translators/babysitters for a bunch of foreigners anymore.
2. The rest of the students in the program. As I mentioned, the best part of this program has been the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. I know that if I ever travel to Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Romania, Czech Republic, Germany, Morocco, and parts of the US, I will have people I can talk to if I need advice and people I can call on when looking for a good place to eat and a good person to eat with. And I hope they feel they can do the same if they are ever in Regina (it being the travel hotspot that it is.)
3. Korean food. It is generally hot and spicy and almost always relatively healthy. The social aspect of eating, although a new experience for me, has been fun. I have enjoyed 95% of the things I have tried (although I couldn't bring myself to eat the bugs they sell on the street) and am bringing some recipes home that I hope Rebecca will enjoy. I have never been a huge fan of pork but have enjoyed it here (which is good because it is in alot of dishes.)
4. Korean T.V. Soap operas are big here, every morning in the dorm all the guys and girls are sitting one way so they can see the soaps that are on the big TV. Andrew and I have been enjoying a particular one that is set in ancient Korea. The shows are shown straight through followed by 10-15 minutes of commercials (which are almost always hilarious). I am not a fan of reality TV but a show with 5 celebrity guys that do a serious of different jobs or tasks is quite funny. Now if only I could understand what they are saying.
5. Business districts. 4 or 5 story buildings towering like canyon walls on either side of the narrow street, every floor having a business with a brightly coloured and lit sign. Stores that are smaller than my bedroom that are packed with goodies. Street vendors selling all kinds of food from deep fried stuff(??), waffles filled with ice cream (which I hear are quite delicious), and huge trays of cooked grubs line the street level, intermixed with clothing and shoe stores and small restaurants. The areas are usually crowded with people and feel alive.

Although my list of things I will not miss is longer that the list of things I will miss, I can assure you that with the exception of missing Rebecca, the things I will miss far outweigh the things I will not. I hope this helps give you some insight on my personal experiences and thoughts on Korea. I will be off to my graduation ceremony, group supper and party and will spend the next two days saying good bye to friends. After that I am off to meet Rebecca in Beijing to spend two weeks touring that country. As long as I have access to the Internet, I will continue to post updates and will probably update at least one more time before I leave Korea.

Have a great weekend everyone!