Half Way In: Birthdays, Goodbyes and Half way points

It is now September, seven months from when I first came to Korea and began working for EPIK and stepped foot into Korea for the first time. Before I get too far into details, I will say that this is going to be a slightly sentimental post on all of the things that I have seen and witnessed since coming to Korea. However, this was not a blog post that was planned or even given second thought. There were no plans to celebrate my anniversary in Korea and the time spent here.

The truth is that if I were not writing this post, I would have probably forgotten about how long I have been here. The old line of feeling just like yesterday has never made more sense to me since coming to Korea. Time seems to go so fast here. There’s always work to go to, people to visit and places to go. I used to enjoy the quiet moments of doing nothing and being lazy but with this new, upbeat lifestyle change, I find it hard to sit still more than a day. I am always wanting to move around and always wanting to get outside, even for a bit and get some fresh air. I am slowly becoming a man of motion, and stopping for anything feels odd and like a waste of time.

It's not a birthday without cake

The last couple weeks have been significant in contributing in the nonstop lifestyle. I recently celebrated my birthday with my first birthday party with friends in my life. It was a small and simple event but one that I was very fun to take part and of and very thankful to participate in. I always used to feel that celebrating your birthday was a slightly selfish act of self indulgence and always felt slightly embarrassed for wanting to have one, however this was a lot of fun. I loved having some good friends around to eat, drink and have a fun time. It’s taken 25 years but I finally figured out that the best birthdays aren’t the ones where lavish attention is spent on the birthday boy/girl, but rather its using your day of birth to spend time around and remind yourself why you are thankful for being alive for and kicking for this long.

Last week also marked two events held at the same time, the birthday of one of my dearest friends and the departure of another good friend.

Our histories go back a few years. The person celebrating their birthday was someone I knew from back in the day as a university student. We became good friends and quite close before she had to go back to Korea and I went my separate way. It was not until this year that I would actually see her again.

As for the person leaving, this person was the best friend in Korea to my friend from the university (still following?). I ended up becoming friends with her and despite the short time of knowing her, got to become good friends.

The group assembled 

The party was a dual celebration of one friend leaving and one friend’s birthday. What made it special was the attendance. I had meet friends and friends of friends through various networks and meet ups through these two people. When I was finally able to see most of them all in one place, in the same room, talking to one another, it was a great moment for me. I was always a sucker for uniting groups of people for common causes and it was especially heartwarming to see all of us coming together to give one person one last goodbye and another person some birthday wishes.

My months in Korea have been memorable and exciting. I have learned, grown as a person and discovered more about myself and others than any other point in my life so far. I hope my remaining time in Korea can be spent learning more, growing more and meeting more people.

Despite being miles from home I can say with complete conviction that I am content and happy with my life. I don’t have all the answers yet, but right now, I don’t need to. Life is simply on auto pilot now. The top is down, the skies are clear and the road is long and empty for miles on end.