My final Korean posting

Well, it's been about 14 months since I first came here and I was urged to make a reflective final posting. I'm not sure if it'll be funny, so you can stop here if you so choose.



I've booked my ticket home and I'll be leaving and arriving in Toronto on the 5th of March.



It's been a hell of a ride. I'm watching my 3rd Simpsons episode of the night (a staple in my nightly routine) and it's a clip show. I thought I may be able to get away with a similar "recyclage de chose". I think I will talk about things that I've experienced over the year, that I may or may not have already talked about on here.



Hapkido

So I did about 6 months of training 3 times a week and I achieved the level of "green belt" which, unfortunately, meant I was able to start doing cool stuff. For the 6 months before I was working with a class of very young children and some older ones, but they were mostly special needs kids. Although I was very nice to them, I felt like I was doing something really wrong so I was relieved when I started training with two older black-belt guys who'd taken a while off and were just getting back into it.

I was then faced (well, only in the mirror) with my eye thing, and the doctor told me that I needed to stop Hapkido so it could properly heal. He gave me the reassurance that any martial art was unnecessary in Korea as it was a safe country, and I should just call police. I could have argued that in a country where almost every person was trained (often to black-belt) in Taekwondo or some similar kick-centric pass-time and every male over the age of 21 had basic military training, that it was my responsibility to learn how to kick another guy in the head.

I kept going despite Doctor's orders. The thing swelled after being tossed to the floor.
Turns out the doctor wasn't making up his diagnosis.
So ended Hapkido.

I saw the younger guy who was my instructor, walking down the street. I thought it would be a good time to tell him I was going home soon, but our conversation was quite limited. I expressed that I would be going home in a few weeks using a combination of English and fragmented Korean, and he replied saying that I was "good". I assumed that meant in most aspects of life including Hapkido and thought it was a rather kind compliment.
And that's the end of that episode.


General conclusion

I started writing this with a very episodic plan of talking about more hilarious things that have happened, but I can't think of anything now that I've started to write.

It's been a wicked year. The job was pretty consistent and treated me well. The staff was fun and I didn't really experience any jarring changes or anything like that so I'm pleased with the way things have gone. The area was nice. I got to know some shop-keepers and was able to meet a friend on the street walking to or from work.

I managed to maintain a rather good relationship with the owner of my school. I was concerned around August that my attempts to undo the "dungeonizing" of our classrooms would put a bit of strain on our relationship, but I got through that just fine.

Background story **When I came back from summer holidays, the classrooms, which all had large windows and most had direct sunlight at some point in the day, were all wallpapered so as to only let in a dulled version of natural light. In protest I wrote a letter highlighting the financial, educational and emotional benefits of transparent glass. He liked the idea of the letter, not so much the logic it conveyed.
As a compromise, he took me out for dinner and ignored my suggestions.

The kids were fun, for the most part. They said hilarious things and really liked to rub my face. I was able to throw them around (in a playful fashion), and I think that most of them liked me. I think my immune system has been reinforced 10-fold since I came to Korea, but my finger nails seem to be as black as a mechanic's. I'm not sure these are related issues or how the kids do it but I thought it important to stress that, most of the time, my finger nails are really dirty.

I have figured out a way to play guitar and sing at the same time. I thought I wasn't able to do that successfully before I left, but I was thrust into it enough to force me to learn. I've learned a few songs, and had people singing along to them the last time I played. My name appears on the board outside the pub every now and then as a way to draw patrons. Every time it's there, the night is wildly successful. The owner never tells me when he puts my name on, however, so I often miss those nights and the general success has nothing to do with my playing (or does it...?).

My Korean language skills have improved dramatically since my first posting on this topic. I am able to formulate sentences with scathing wit, and I have learned that some of the worst swear words in Korean are very close to the words for 18 and "dog baby" and are intensified if they are used together. I can order pizza or deep fried fish on the phone. I can object to (and be ignored by) cabbies and their elongated routes and inflated fares. I am able to give street directions to old Korean women looking for E-Mart.

I feel happy about my achievements and I only have 2 more things to do- I will eat live writhing, fresh octopus and try dog soup (spare me your personal opinions on this - octopi are as edible as the next creature). I think I've done a fair amount this year, and I have no regrets.

See you soon; a few palm leaves would be a suitable welcome.