December: The Short Version (What the hell has Kyle been doing in December?)

Korea has been a very exciting place ever since December has started.  A presidential election and shifting of grades at my school have been some of the major events but here are a few others:

- The first major snowfall came to Gimcheon a few weeks ago. Not only was it the first major one, but one of the largest snowfalls Gimcheon has seen in years. In fact, it’s been a very uncharacteristically cold winter for Korea. Combine this with the large amount of rainfall this summer and you got a weather season for the record books.

- With some help and encouragement from a friend, I have started a regular workout routine, twice a week, for about an hour and a half at a time. It’s a simple start but with a combination of lifting weights and watching what I eat protein wise, I feel much better. I actually look forward to working out, something that I can honestly say I haven’t felt in a long time. Also, my girlfriend seems to appreciate the results as well, which is always a good thing.

- November and December have both been very pricey for me.  This has meant that my traveling and leisure options have been limited along with my purchasing options. When you combine this with the biting cold weather, it leaves a lot of weekends spent at home playing games, watching movies and eating cheap food. This leads me to another realization…

- I used to not mind doing this at all. In fact, I used to love simply doing nothing but gaming and watching movies however as I grow older, and especially since coming to Korea, I seem to dislike long periods of doing nothing or having nothing productive to do. Even on vacations if I’m not out and about, simply relaxing feels not as enticing as it used to. Make no mistake I still love movies and games but the hours of movie and gaming marathons become less and less appealing.

- I have made it official that I have resigned my contract and will be staying one more year teaching in Korea at the same school. Not only is the pay level and benefits enticing, but the students and teachers are overall very good. Combine that with a ability to teach older students useful materials, I feel like this is the best option as the job market for me back at home still isn't as welcoming as I would like it to be.

- Along with resigning for another year, EPIK gives its teachers a two week vacation bonus to go and do whatever they wish. While it’s not set in stone yet, I am planning on going home during the month of February to see family and friends again. I am enjoying the time and the people very much in Korea, but I do miss my family and friends quite a bit.

- Korea has elected its first female president Park Geun-hye as the new leader of Korea. While some people predict that given her party affiliation, many things in Korea will continue to stay the same I am hopeful that given her position and her attempts to shrug off the image of her father and make some progressive changes for Korea.

- I saw the Hobbit this weekend and overall enjoyed it very much. I was able to see this with HFR 48 FPS and Dolby Atmos and I can now vouch for this new technology firsthand. The images at first appear slightly fast and super clear (similar to a documentary or drama), but becomes much better once your eyes adjust and instead offers a highly detailed look and feel to the movies. Also, as someone who usually dislikes 3D, I can say that the 3D in this movie was extremely well done and probably the best display of 3D I have ever seen. As for the movie itself, it was a lot of fun. It dragged slightly during the middle but overall was fun to watch with some great performances by the actors, some spectacular CGI work (especially Gollum) and a nice fantasy feel.

It’s been a busy month and it’s not even Christmas yet! I love the fast paced living in Korea and continue to consider myself lucky that I have a paying job that allows me to participate in events like this every day. 

"I'm Going on an Adventure!": How The Hobbit is related to all of us

This was a slightly unusual week for students (and many other foreign teachers) in Korea. I had a two day mini weekend during the Tuesday and Wednesday this week. My school is currently in the process of enrolling new students at our school along with the election of the new president on Wednesday. This meant two days spent doing anything but coming to work. I did the two most logical things I could think of: I visited my girlfriend and we saw The Hobbit.

I had previously read The Hobbit when I was younger. I was still just a middle school student, and the first part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was about to be released to theaters. I was curious about the source material, so naturally I tracked down all four books and began reading away.

The Hobbit at the time was a book that I found enjoyable but a bit simple. It wasn't until years later after taking a more in depth look at its narrative structure and characters that I realized that this seemingly simple tale was something so much more than that. It was a book that went beyond a simple journey to slay the dragon. It was a deeply personal journey about having the courage to leave your comfortable and familiar world behind. It was the call to adventure that we all harbor inside us, but sometimes lack the courage to find.

Watching The Hobbit reminded me of this, and given the current circumstances, was the perfect time to watch and be reminded of where I have gone and where I want to go.

As I finish up my first year in Korea and my first major job overseas I have watched many things change. 

Coming to Korea has changed me on many levels. In just one year I have learned more about myself than any other point in my life. I learned where I stand on issues and how I choose to interact with people. I discovered that the purest joys in life come from the little things and most importantly, I have discovered that my biggest areas of growth came from discover and exploration. I discovered that curiosity usually always equaled rewards and that failure didn't always mean the end.

There are several points during The Hobbit where Bilbo decides to go home or continue on his journey. Always afraid of the consequences of leaving his comfortable home and having several opportunities to turn back, he always decides to continue on. He knows that he can die any minute. He knows that if he returns, he will not be the same person he was before. He goes along willingly. He knows that opportunity for reward and adventure outweighed the fear of death and failure.

There are moments that like Bilbo, I miss my home. I miss the comfort of people and places that I saw daily. I miss the comfort of lying in my own bed in my own home. I miss the ease of simple tasks such as communication. The US is, and always will be my home. This will never change. There is not a doubt in my mind that I will return home one day. Perhaps for a little while, and perhaps indefinitely.

However, I can also say that I still have a little time left in me. I still have a yearning to explore and travel. I still have a yearning to see the world beyond the scope of my own home. While I can still afford to, while I can still manage too I will remain open and ready for the next big adventure, whatever it may be or whenever it may come.

I think The Hobbit is such a resonating work of fiction that still holds up decades later in both print and moving picture form is that we are all Bilbo. All of us like peace and comfort, knowing that it is around the corner whenever we need it, but at the same time, there is the yearning to break out beyond our walls and explore the bigger world. Humans are curious by nature. I believe that inside all of us, there is a burning need to indulge our knowledge and wanderlust. I believe that we all need the thrill of adventure once in awhile to make us feel alive. To show us that we are more than a biological drone that goes through the daily motions. Some just need a bigger push than others.

Korea was my unexpected journey, but now, I cannot even imagine my life if I never came here. I have had opportunities that I could only dream about back at home and have met people who have made a lasting impact on me. I've learned to be afraid and feel despair. I've also learned to find joy and happiness from life. I've fallen in love with the adventure and the people in it. Some of whom I love and cherish more that I thought I was capable of.

My adventure in teaching continues. One more year awaits and I cannot wait to see what else happens. As Bilbo said: “I’m going on an adventure!”

Snowfall and the future

After a false start, and a few flakes of snow slowly drifting past my window, the first real snowfall happened yesterday in my town of Gimcehon. When you combine that with the dropping temperatures and frozen droplets of water on my bedroom window, it is no longer a fact that is able to be hid, winter is here in Korea.

My hometown was only one hour from Chicago, and therefore only one hour from Lake Michigan, which in the winter would be responsible for some of the coldest winter and largest snow drifts you could imagine. I imagine it would be worse in other parts of the world, but to someone growing up with it every winter, the snow and cold was a permanent part of living in the Midwest.

Snow brings a new mood and a feeling freshness to any setting you’re in. Its clean white flakes drifting in the air and falling lightly on the ground always stood as a symbol of purity and fresh beginnings. I welcomed the first snowfall like I welcomed the first orange leaf or blossoming flower, with excitement and a sense of a new chapter beginning again.

I feel eager to start another year in Korea. I was recently asked if I wanted to re-sign my contract, and by choosing yes I am now able to pursue a second year with both the experience gained from my first and a selection of new ideas and lessons to present to the students. I have been told that as with many things in life, a second chance brings with it the opportunity to do even better if you embrace it.

Admittedly, I have been thinking about the future lately, and how I fit into the coming years. I had always had a solid plan of what I wanted to do and where I want to go next. While I still retain this plan and have an idea of what I want to do, the methods and the timing of achieving this have changed, a year in a different country has brought forward new possibilities and new options. Admittedly I don’t want to think of all of these options quite yet as I do not have a solid plan of what I’m doing next. All I know is what I want, how I get it is a plan in pending.

For now, thoughts of the future and what ifs are left to dwell at the back of my mind, my attention is now on my present situation.  While it may look like I’m putting off the inevitable, I would say that I am instead choosing to enjoy and experience on what is in front of me. The future will soon become the present and just like everything in my life, I will deal with it appropriately.

For now, I have a lot to focus on and a lot to enjoy. I have a lot to worry about and a lot to accomplish. I have a lot of things in my present, the future can wait.

For now I watch the snowfall, because just like the future, the snow will give away to a beautiful layer, then a dirty slush to be melted away by the rain, to give way for the spring and a new future.

In my life, snow has never lasted forever so I enjoy it while I can, for as long as I can.

“I never think of the future- it comes soon enough” – Albert Einstein. 

Taebeak Mountain 태백산 설경