More of a diary this time...

The plan was, to go to a beach in Jeollabukdo (전라북도) with a friend this weekend, but he had to cancel due to some last minute changes, something to do with something happening at the place where he does military service, and had to change his dates for his holidays. He found out the night before the change. Basically, in a nutshell, that is Korea - Borderline randomness, or as I like to call it "chaotically organised".

So, we rescheduled for next weekend, and hopefully, it will stay scheduled. I know the change of holidays was out of his control, but this has happened to me a lot of times. If I were to generalise, I would say that Koreans are just used to doing things last minute, sometimes even without thinking things though first. As my boss would say, when making a new time table the day before it kicks in (and then telling all the students, rather than checking it with his employees first), "This is Korea. This is how WE do things.". The "we-ness" and "This is Korea" excuse is another whinge for another time. *^^*

With only 57 days to go until I leave, I could go and meet some friends. Actually, I tried to make a plan with some good friends of mine, but they're busy this weekend, and some other friends that I want to meet, well, I've made plans to see them in mid-September. Also, other friends know where I live. I've been to visit them a few times. It's about time they got off their ass, stopped complaining that it's too far, and made their way down here.

For the people who live in bigger countries, (if I were to generalise again) many Koreans think their country is big. Also, they have a lack of patience. The combination of these means that many of my Korean friends are unwilling to travel 3 hours to see me. A few have, and they're the ones that I have no problem with going to see. Also, some people will think about the things that they can do, rather than the people/person that they are going to see. So, some Korean friends won't come to meet me, because they think Gwangju (a city nearby) has nothing exciting to do in it.

The change of plans leaves me with a free weekend. I am thinking about going to Yeosu for a day. I could relax, and make it a weekend, but that means staying in a hotel, but I'm on tight budget for the remaining time I'm here. I've thought about going to Yeosu for a while now, and this seems a good time to go, with the weather being good, and having some free time. It'll take me about 3 hours to get there (a bus from my place to Gwangju, then Gwangju to Yeosu), so, I'll have to wake up early, and leave Yeosu, to get back to Gwangju by 9pm, for the last bus back to my town. It's just an idea for now, and the idea of a day trip does sound nice. I don't want to spend my whole weekend, going to Gwangju, and just going to the cinema. With my change in timetable, I could do that in the morning before work.

I'm glad that there have been no major hassles at work lately. The boss asked me to write up a bit about the job, and the town in English, so that when people start looking at jobs, they've got a bit of info. Just had to keep it basic. But, I don't think that he'll be able to find someone. I mean, 3 years ago, when I was there, there were 3 other non-Korean English teachers here, which didn't make the town too bad. But now, there is only me that lives here. I'm not sure how many people would want to live here. Maybe if it was closer to Seoul, it wouldn't be much of an issue. Even though Gwangju is only 40-50 minutes away, it's no Seoul. But, there are enough non-Korean English teachers in Gwangju to meet and get trashed with. That's just not my thing.

Sure, if they're after a unique experience, and something that will challenge them, life wise, it would be good for them. Mainly, that is why I chose the countryside, rather than living in a big city. Out here in the countryside, I'm forced to use Korean, which is what I wanted. I wanted to learn Korean in a natural environment. Also, learning about the culture, and general Korean lives can be done in the countryside too. Another reason for choosing the countryside, was from seeing what my Korean friends did when they were in Australia. They would meet other Koreans (sometimes from their English classes), speak Korean, eat Korean food, do Korean things, etc. So basically, they didn't learn about Australia, the culture, or use the language in real situations. Then they said to me that it was too hard. I didn't want to be like that. I knew that if i lived in a city, it would be just too easy to just meet other non-Korean people, and turn into the borderline alcoholic that many of them do.

My students still don't know that I'm leaving yet. Well, three of them do - the boss' sons, and one of my other students, who I've known since I got here (he has come to the same hagwon, and we did Geomdo together) and is leaving to go to Gangwondo in September. So, I changed my cyworld a little, with a new skin that says "마지막 인사 (last greeting) - goodbye" and wrote in the diary section: 난 비밀이 있지만... 아직 못얘기해... 아마 곧 알 거야, meaning: I have a secret but I can't tell you yet. Maybe you will know soon. (I think I should have written 아직 얘기 못해... but anyway). The boss doesn't want me to tell the students yet, until at least he finds a replacement, also from a business point of view, he might loose students, if the parents know that the only hagwon in town with a foreign English teacher is leaving (without any info on a replacement). I feel that if I tell the students, they'll get a lot more restless and bad behaved than usual.

I bought some large boxes from the post office yesterday, so that I could send some things home. A few people saw me carrying boxes home, and some students as well. I'm waiting for some mothers to start gossiping and getting some rumours around that I'm moving or something. That is one thing I won't miss here. Mothers that go out and gossip and shop with other mothers, and send their kids to the hagwons a few hours before their classes, rather than being a real mother and looking after their kids.

Anyway, I've got mixed feelings about leaving Korea, but I know it's the right thing to do. I've been counting down since about day 300 (since I came back from Australia for a short holiday), and going to Japan for a holiday just reminded me of the same feeling that I got after coming back from Australia. It's time for me to move on. I'll miss some things in Korea, but I know that in Australia, I've got a better life, and a better future.

Lately, I've been having some strange dreams. Last night, I dreamt that I went to visit my family, but they had moved to America. Mum had divorced, and was now married to Hugh Jackman (but he never came to see her. lol). My family were doing the usual things that they do (such as jobs and schools). When I got off the bus, at a place near their town, it was snowing, and I was lost, and i found some kind of amusement part, but it was all weird and strange and no-one was making any sense. I tried calling a high school friend (who had also moved to the same place as my family, go figure), but he wasn't answering. Somehow, my family found me, and met up with them, and they showed me around the new place. Their house reminded me of the house my grandparents owned when I was young, especially the layout. I think it's just my subconscious telling me that when I go back home, some things will be the same, but some things are gonna be way different. Another dream was one of my cousins having her own sitcom. From what I remember it was pretty funny.

If I do go to Yeosu this weekend, I'll post some pictures here.