Today I basically wasted time until about 1 o clock when I went to the main gate I was supposed to meet a bunch of my Korean/foreigner friends and go to a movie after being interviewed by KBS, the main Korean broadcasting station.
However, to my chagrin, there wasn't going to be a movie, and I couldn't bring my Korean friend. I was so embarrassed because I asked him to go with me. I didn't know he couldn't go. He told me it was ok, but I was still really embarrassed.
So about the whole KBS thing. We were never told where we were going or anything, but luckily it was really fun. We made kimchi (for reals), which was delicious, and we had lunch and spent time with nice Korean old people. I gotta say, actually understanding stuff and being able to communicate in korean is so much fun.
This might be the dangerous part about study abroad. I kind of think as the whole experience of learning a new language as a mountain. At the bottom is the student who is newly arrived in the mysterious country which he/she is studying in. As the student progresses in his journey up the mountain (which can sometime be very steep), he/she is met with little townships along the way. Each township gives the student a sense of accomplishment and makes the surrounding time kind of nice. The harder a student studies and converses in the new language, the faster their progression up the mountain. Furthermore, as you go up this gargantuan mountainside, the townships get bigger and bigger, until eventually they turn into villages, and then to cities, metropoli and so on. At the very top is a shining eutopia, in which the student has successfully conquered the previously unassailable mountain.
Right now, I'm sitting in a pretty big village. I honestly feel like I could stay here and just study until I reach that eutopic summit. I have real friends here. As funny as it sounds to say, I am definitely going to miss this place, and I don't think I want to go back home. Here, people are pretty much always happy to see me. I can go places, and people want to talk to me. People I don't know say hi to me randomly. I can actually communicate how I feel. I can make complex grammatical sentences. It really kind of makes me sad that right as I'm reaching the place I wanted to be in the first place, I have to leave.
Also, and here's the crazier thing: I'm pretty sure if something did happen with N. Korea and the country was thrown into war, I (while being worried and hopeful that the South would win) would be happier than going back home right now. While that may sound radical, I'm pretty sure noone will actually read this entry anyways. I'm pretty much surprised anytime I hear from anyone back home, so that probably contributes to my feelings about going back.
Besides the trip, I just hung out with my friends and came back home. here's hoping I blog tomorrow.
For Now
Aron Huckaba International Vagabond
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