It's been a while

Hello? This is Jackie calling from Seoul, Korea....

I'm very sorry that I have been such a bad keeper of a blog. Although there have been many moments when I think of good things to write, when the opportunity comes to actually do some writing I don't feel as inspired. And, so the months are quickly passing by and the unwritten blogs & folders of pictures to post are quickly piling up.

So far I have been really enjoying my time in Korea. I have been keeping busy going on hiking trips , visiting temples and taditional villages, traveling to Gyeongju and Pohang, and trying many new foods (eel, octopus, squid, silkworm larvae, raw fish, fresh crab, sea squirts, unidentifiable yet edible roots and weeds, fermented rice wine, rice cakes of various shapes and sizes...). Now that it has been three months, I'm beginning to understand better the phases that a person goes through when they move to another country. Looking back I can see how the first few months were a whirlwind of excitement and discovery. There were so many new and interesting things to try, see and do. But now, I feel as though I have settled into a routine. I have grown (somewhat) accustomed to some of the strange novelties (like: spicy kimchi, fashion trends, walking on the opposite side of the stairs, motorbikes/scooters driving on the sidewalks, billboard signs plastered all over the sides of buildings with large korean letters and neon signs, masses of people pushing their way through overcrowded markets while vendors shout out their bargain prices of their wares...) And yet I have only become more comfortable because what was once strange has now become familiar. (but still I realize that this is only the tip of the iceberg...this is a big world we live in and there is so much more to discover and learn)

Life is a journey--no matter where we are. We live and we learn. And life is more meaningful when we can love and share our experiences with others. I'm so thankful for the great friends that I have made and for my supportive and kind co-teachers. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to better share all my experiences on this blog with you, but I hope to give you a glimpse every once in a while. And so I leave you with a picture of the sunrise over Seoul on the morning of the first snow (Nov.30).