Remember how my last post dealt with the fact that it was half-time? At the time, I was writing to my best information and belief, but now there are some small inaccuracies. It wasn't really half time, more like 1/6th of the time. If you read carefully, you might have guessed that I quite like it here. It would be hard to pin down what excactly I like, I just do, and therefore wanted to stay as long as possible. In my head I've been weighing the options for a while and was leaning very much towards coming back next fall, after graduation, to study Korean some more.
However, one sleepless night some 4 weeks ago, I had an idea. Why not take a little break from my home school and enroll in the full-time Korean language program at KU? First, I was amazed at the sheer brilliance of that thought, but since my plans lately had been characterized by a certain extent of changeability and spontaneity, I remained skeptical and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out where the problem with that idea was. I didn't find it, so I enrolled to become a regular KU student of Korean language from January onwards.
Even though not finishing business-school in the minimum time had always been a major no-no to me, I somehow managed to convince myself that graduating being 22 instead of 21, while being able to speak a language that is not in the repertoire of the average Austrian, is not the worst of all things to do.
So much on the studying front. When it comes to living (I know, these shouldn't be separate and it shows I haven't fully immersed myself into Korean culture yet) there's been some progress too: Again, the Livingtel is getting some negative attention here, as in almost any entry before. But it'll be the last time, because complaining is one thing, changing the situation is something else. Also, my name, at least the Isa-part means "move" in Korean, which I took as a sign. So, I started a search, and at the time being, the shoe-box is a thing of the past. This week, I moved into a new place, in Itaewon, a multicultural and fun place in the center of Seoul. I have a room 2x as big, for a bit more than half the price. I live in a charming little neighborhood of old-style Korean houses, and have a view onto the Han River. And the best thing about it, I share the apartment with a really nice Korean couple, who's English-skills are somewhat limited, to put it nicely, forcing me to use all my (also somewhat limited) Korean.
It is a challenge indeed, as it means stepping outside your comfort zone as soon as you open your mouth, but you get used to it. Above all, I appreciate the open-mindedness of my roomies, who probably never had too much contact with weiguks, but welcomed and included me at once.
Studying, planning and the move have taken the lion's share of my time lately, so there's not too much else to talk about. I want to write more about Korean life, and devote an entry to eumshik (food), possibly next time. For now, I'll just close by quoting some words (not my own, unfortunately) to keep in mind. They work fine to justify most unconventional decisions, and more than that, are worth being lived by:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
(Mark Twain)
(Mark Twain)
Lanterns at Cheonggyecheon stream
