KRISTINE IN KOREA: Good-bye Korea!

I spent my last week in Korea eating out and saying good-bye to the friends that I got to know over the past year. Our last weekend in Gwangju marked the last time most of us would be together in Korea and anywhere else for that matter. We witnessed a unique experience living out in the sticks of Jeollanam-do, but we found kind friends to keep us sane and good company to occupy our idle time. We shared a wonderful opportunity to experience a different culture, eat delicious Korean food, work with children, and meet people from all wakes of life in different stages of their educations and careers.

I can honestly say that I never would have met any of my friends outside of TaLK. Everyone was just so different from anyone I would have talked to back home. Sometimes I felt like I was looking for similarity in a sea of difference. But under close proximity and a shortage of English-speaking allies, we learned to accept one another for our distinct personalities.

I will always remember my year in Korea. I will always look back on it with mixed feelings: neither feeling glad that I subjected myself to a year of confinement on a homogeneous peninsula nor regretful that I went at all. I come away with a better understanding of Korean culture, a palette for good kimchi, an irreversible fear of children, and a belief that anything is possible as long as you can speak the language. Thanks for the memories, Korea.

July 20-21 (Friday-Saturday): Farewells in Gwangju