I met my friends Ji-un and Su-Jin today for the last time. About 10 months ago, when I was really struggling with the Korean language class, I grabbed a little flyer that was taped to a phone booth that said "Language Exchange Partner wanted." They are two graduate students at the women's university next to Yonsei. I gave them a call and we all got along really well, and it turned out that grabbing that flyer was a great, defining moment of my stay here.
To me, these two women were spectacular examples of the enjoyable side of Korea. They were fun, caring, and selfless. They helped me as I struggled through my Korean exams, and I helped them in their translation classes. After the first semester, I stopped taking the language class, but we continued to meet, but less often.
Today, they took me out to lunch, bought me a cup of coffee, and even bought me with a book, filled with amazing pictures of daily life in Korea. I didn't see that last part coming and I was speechless.
Although seeing them today was fun, as it almost always was (the only time it wasnt was when they were trying to explain the difference between subject and object particles. that, I didn't care for), but at the same time, it was also quite sad. Who knows when I'll come back here, if ever, so it is quite possibly the last time I'll see them again. I guess I still haven't taken in the idea that at this point in my life, 99% of the people I'll come across are only temporary fixtures and friends.
The idea of leaving Korea has been completely abstract, until today. Now it feels very real.
But enough sulking!!! I'm off to see DJ Shadow tonight, which is a nice little finisher to my stay. Now I just have to pack all my stuff (it's amazing how much crap I've managed to accumulate in a year) and get my self to the airport on time. I'll leave around 7 pm on the 10th, arrive in SF that night (because of the dateline thing), stay in SF with a friend, and then get to Portland the morning of the 11th. Freaky!
Freaky Deaky- see you on the flip side. mom
Posted by: mom | August 09, 2006 at 01:21 AM
Have a safe trip home. We are really looking forward to seeing you. Loved your blog, all year. Grammy
Posted by: Grammy | August 09, 2006 at 01:31 PM