ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall-- wait...

Here it is, that epic 99th post...

I've got a lot of stuff on my mind this morning, and a relatively free morning a school (because of exams), so this might just be sort of a feeling-dump. If you're not interested in that, just wait for entry #100.

Actually, I suppose I should first pay some respect to the fact that today is officially my one-year anniversary in Korea. (Actually, I know we left on the 7th, and I think the 8th is possibly the day we missed completely by going forward 13 hours and travelling 12 hours, but whatever, it's a momentous day.) Just now I looked back at my first week of blog entries, and had a few good laughs. Some highlights:

"For roughly 100 USD, I can have four lessons a week from a world-renowned expert in tae kwon do (henceforth TKD) for the new month. I'm actually really tempted, because I think it would be fun and a good way to meet people, but I don't really want to spend all that money."
Ha! Me? Tae Kwon Do? Funny.

"The rice was the same as all white rice, there was a horrible looking noodle dish which had chunks of what I'm told was potatoes and meat with some kind of dark-brown sauce on it, but it was really pretty gross."
This meal I'm describing is, I assume, JaJangMyeon, the infamous "Black Noodles" which Korean single people eat on "Black Day" (April 14, the "solo" person's Valentine's Day). I still don't believe that those gross chunks are actually potatoes and meat, but it's a little less gross to me now.

"It tastes a little like vodka, but less vile."
When did I ever think soju tasted better than vodka? I must've been really drunk.

"I've come to accept that I'm just going to have to eat kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) with every single meal, especially if the main dish is some gross whole fish that I don't want to eat."
Ha! It's true that kimchi is SERVED with every single meal, but now I have a much more profound understanding of the different kinds of kimchi. And it's true, usually I do eat at least a little with most meals. And little did I know then, the main dish will ALWAYS be some gross whole fish that I don't want to eat.

"Ended up going out with another guy, Tim, for dinner-- Mandu (dumplings) and donuts from Dunkin Donuts. It was tasty. He's a gay Women's Studies major, and a cool guy."
How wrong I was. Just kidding, Tim.

"My size 14 jeans are still a little tight, but I think if I give it another week, they'll be looser."
I'm actually surprised that I haven't lost more sizes with all this weight. I'm wearing a size 12 Gap skirt today at school, and it's definitely a little too big, so I'm hope hope hoping to put on my first size 10 item in more than... I'm not sure. At least more than 6 years. I did go from a size 22/24 shirt to... probably a size 10 or 12 now, so I guess that's where it came from. Oh, progress.

I could probably find some better tidbits if I went through more of that first month, but that will suffice for now. I had some good laughs at how naive I was, and especially at my early tribulations with language class and complaints about the food. These days I've been hating Korean food a lot... not sure why. It could just be that I know how soon I'll be eating American fare. Plus, host mom's really just not been trying as hard lately... three days of spicy bean sprout and kimchi soup is enough to make anyone long for a cheeseburger, I think. I guess I'm just tired of eating shit I don't fucking like every meal of the day. My bitterness is especially sharp at breakfast, because host mom's been giving me a hard time and summoning me for Korean style. So usually I go along with it, but I'm pissed the whole time, 'cause I don't like eating rice in the morning. I never will. And if all you're giving me to flavor that rice is bean sprout soup... blow me. See? Korean food has been raising my blood pressure lately, despite being so allegedly good for you. I'm amazing at what I'm able to eat now, though. I can de-spine a fish, chew through the little tiny bones, which are, I guess, meant to be eaten. I practically weep with joy when I see cucumbers in the kimchi, one of the vegetables I have a new, profound appreciation for. It's amazing though... my standards have just been lowered... so much. What will I do in America, with a whole Publix at my disposal? Where I can cook food that is both healthy... and delicious? I can't even imagine.

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Next topic: I saw Amy, my Orientation roommate and friend who lives in Nonsan, for the last time this weekend. She came down to Naju and we met Tim, and together had a really lovely time. Noraebang, hof, pizza, Korean "deli," movie theather... All the makings of an excellent, though expensive, weekend. Meghan too will be leaving soon. The three of them are the people I've really been close to in Korea, and unlike Korean people, we actually are aware of how big America actually is, and thus, how unlikely it is that we'll see each other anytime too soon. I mean, we can keep in touch, of course, and I'm sure I'll visit them sometime, but this is our last week together in Korea, and we'll almost surely never live this close again.

I probably haven't grasped yet how lucky I am that Tim is also extending. I mean, yeah, there'll be new ETAs coming to Naju (they've probably already arrived to Orientation), and I'm not nearly as isolated as I was at first anymore (I'm friends with my co-teacher, and I get along much better with my family unit nowadays). But still... in Meghan I always had someone to call who was never more than 15 minutes away (unless she was in North Korea), and who spoke English rapidly and creatively. A go-to person. And I suspect I wouldn't have realized how much I really missed and needed that until my first day back in the Naj without her. It's crazy... she and I didn't really run in the same circles or hang out much at Orientation, and then fate threw us together in Naju (with a bunch of other crazies as well), but I can't imagine how the last year would have been without her. Selfishly, I'm just glad I'm leaving first, because I think I'd get really morose if I were being left behind. I am the co-dependent one. Plus, I'm paying a lot to leave those two days early. lol.

It's weird to imagine that I'm going to be away from Korea for a full month. And then, even when I come back, I only have about 5 months. With Amy and Meghan leaving, this is certainly the end of an era. The last 5 months will just be... different. Good, I'm sure, because the very proximity of the end will probably cause a rose-colored glasses effect. But nothing will be the same again after 8 days from now. And that's exciting and scary. One of the things I'll do while I'm home is sit down and figure out how I can make the most of my last half a year... what I really want out of my remaining time in Korea. I don't want to leave any regrets here.

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Seoul 6:05pm KT (5:05am AT)
Atlanta 7:00pm AT (6:00am KT)

Atlanta 9:15pm (8:15am KT)
Fort Myers 10:54pm (9:54am KT)

Does this make sense? Man, figuring this out was way hard. I couldn't decide if the times listed on my itinerary were local times or not, and then with the 13 hour difference... I was just stupid. I hope this is accurate anyway. I'm sooooooooooo excited.

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While I'm home I need to figure what I want to do after I get home from Korea. I spent the morning perusing the TFA website again, and it's still something that appeals to me a lot. More, for some reason, than just randomly looking for a job in Orlando. Probably because, although I like Orlando a little bit, I don't really see myself living there for a long time. Plus, with TFA, there'll be that super public service aspect of it, plus all the support that comes along with it. Anothero ption is graduate school, which I'll also start looking into this fall. Peace Corps is pretty much out the window now, in case you were curious. HA.

Alright, I suppose I should try to be at least a little bit productive today. I have four lesson plans to make before Thursday, and I've managed to make exactly 0 of them during my time at school on Monday and Tuesday. Blah. Introspection is over. Back to work.

Tomorrow, entry #100....