The Last Week

The last week in Korea went by slow enough. I am satisfied. (The last hours in Jecheon, however, were filled with nervousness, sadness, and other "leaving a familiar place" emotions).

Let's start with Monday. Even though I'd taken the week off, I came to school on this day. It was just to make sure the piñata mess was really cleaned up, and to talk to my mentor teacher whom was finally returning to school after her vacation. That evening, I boarded a train to Seoul (Hongdae to be exact) in anticipation for my second-ever LanguageCast visit! It led to spending some quality time with a Korean friend I'd made way back at orientation; officially meeting Noe of ROK On! (noealz1 on Youtube); and eating some of the tastiest Japanese ramen in the... ok in MY world.

Tuesday, I had come back to Jecheon. That is all I remember right now. I believe I was running errands (mailing packages, writing post cards and thank-you letters, washing clothes, etc.) on this day. I also most likely visited my friends' phone shop. I made sure to spend most of my free time there since it was the last week.

Wednesday evening, I went to Jipyeong. It's this small country town on the way to Seoul (by train) where my nurse friend and her family currently live. Upon arrival, we drove into the nearby town (whose name escapes me right now) and met a very wonderful artist and her family. Oh! That reminds me! I need to send her a message!

Thursday I came back to Jecheon. More errand-running and phone-shop-haunting.

Friday night, I headed back to Seoul for a night of whatever-happens-happens. What happened? I met up with some more friends that I wanted to say farewell to, and they wanted to go clubbing. Around 3:30 AM,  a completely sober (there was a conversation about how ridiculous I was for not drinking alcohol), danced-out Me parted ways with the last friend. I headed to a manhwa cafe that I'd visited only once before and quietly snoozed in the comfy chairs until the subways opened up again. I caught the first subway back to the train station and attempted to sleep ... but to no avail. It's really hard to sleep when you fear missing your stop, no matter how long the trip.

Saturday I went to the phone shop (I'd promised them that I'd buy them lunch). Actually, first I went home to rid myself of smoke-filled clothing and all-nighter's fatigue. The former was a success. Even after lunch, I was having a hard time looking alert. So I went home and took another cat nap before heading off to another scheduled good-bye dinner with friends.

Sunday was full of cleaning and packing, none of which I finished that day. In the evening, I had a third good-bye dinner with some of the other foreigner English teachers. We feasted on ribs that tasted out of this world. They honestly belonged in the States, and even though I would be returning to the U.S. in a few days, I really felt it necessary to eat there before going "home."

I tell you, I ate A LOT that week. The weekend before all of this, I'd gone to Times Square (Korea's version) with a Korean friend and pigged out on yummy food as well. That makes 3 planned goodbye meals and 3 separate trips to Seoul in a 7-day period. There were plenty of unplanned feasts that week as well, but it's not necessary to count. :)

'Til next time,
-Shirby

Hey!

I just want to say I'm back! I'm back in the States. I will take some time to write about my last week (and final hours) in Korea. I have much to say. I even wrote a little while waiting for the first plane. Those notes will be copied here. I feel like even though my journey in Korea has ended, my writing here hasn't. I still have untold memories and accounts to mention (all in due time).

Meanwhile, it has been two days since I landed in the U.S. Today was the first day in a year that I drove a car. I have many errands to do (including manually adding phone numbers into a new phone, and buying a new laptop). With that in mind, it may take awhile, but I'm dedicated to finishing those stories untold.

There are many projects that I will start once things settle down. One includes "wrecking" a journal (thanks to my friend, Adina). I'd like to film the process. It should be entertaining. I also want to develop my multimedia skills. That means a lot of video editing in my future!

So, yes, even though I've left Korea, I can continue to talk about it. I am keeping in touch with Korean friends via KakaoTalk. I am staying up-to-date on the latest crazes (like that Korean Les Miserables parody video that's viral right now). I can finally play all those smartphone games like Dragon Flight and Anipang (both of which I still suck at playing) on my own phone. Yes, Korea has stolen a piece of my heart it seems. Through troubles and triumphs, I'm glad to come to that conclusion.

More later!

'Til next time,
-Shirby