How has Korea changed me?

I often find asking myself this question, more than my friends asking me... How has Korea changed me? Thought I might spend some time trying to answer this question.

Learning to deal with different, unknown, and downright confusing situations can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes, you just gotta get in there, deal with shit, do the best you can, make the decisions that you gotta make, and see how it goes. Sometimes, you've gotta step up, and take charge, and have the courage and the balls to do what is right, because no-one else has the balls to, or to do what you have to do to survive, because, bottom line is, when you're alone in a foreign country, the only person who can truly look after you is yourself. Saying these things, and knowing these things, is very different to experiencing these things. Korea has changed me, so that I know what I need to do, to get things done. Knowing whose toes to step on to get shit done, is better than stepping on anyone's and everyone's toes to get shit done. Knowing when to be subtle, and when to be an asshole to people, not only for your benefit, but for theirs as well. Knowing how to chose the right moments can still be a bit tricky as well.

Being smack bang in the middle of nowhere, has been interesting as well. I'm in a place where less than 1% of my town can speak English fluently enough to have a decent conversation. I've learned Korean, by experience, to the point where I can have a simple conversation, and get things done. At first, not knowing Korean was a damn hassle, but with time, I've learnt enough to get buy, and to even make jokes at times. Also, being in the countryside, and being the only white guy in your town, does put a bit spin on things. Getting off the plane, and then being a minority within a minority (a white guy/foreigner, that doesn't speak "american"), has been very interesting to deal with. Korea has some big issues to deal with in the 21st century, when it comes to racism, discrimination and equality, and I've learned a lot from being not part of the majority.

Korea can be very random at times, and it still is hard for me to keep on my toes all the time. Just today, the boss decided to change one of my classes, 3 minutes before it started. I've had friends cancel plans, an hour or less before we were meant to meet, and I'm on the bus, heading to their city for the weekend. I've been in situations, that aren't what they were meant to be, and I've had to make quick decisions about the direction of my life at that moment, and deal with it on the fly. Basically, I've learned to make lemonade out of the lemons that life has given me in Korea. Sometimes, certain lemons need a bit more winging and complaining, to make them into more tastier lemonade. ^^

Life is hard - deal with it, or it deals with you.

Any questions? put them in the comments. I've had over 200 hits in 2 weeks. Some slackers need to write some comments ^^