A learning experience

I know most of my blogs are about the random and crazy things that happen here in Korea. But I also find myself changing a little bit here as well. Not in a major sense, but becoming more happy and secure with myself. I've never once in my life been entirely alone. I've always been surrounded by a close network of family and friends. I will never again take that for granted. Here, slowly, and bit by bit, I am learning just exactly what I'm capable of.

I live in a country where nobody speaks English. The tiny little things that I take for granted back home become a chore here. If I need cough drops, I have to find someone that can understand me. I can't get directions anywhere because I don't know any addresses and I can't understand the language. Grocery shopping now takes 3 times as long because I can't read labels. The fact that grocery shopping involves memorizing package coloring and looking at pictures sometimes makes me laugh. A lot of communication is done with hand signals, nods, and fingers. It's very childlike sometimes, but it gets the job done.

Customs here are so different from back home. Pushing and shoving into people without a second thought is normal here, so when I get angry at being shoved I calmly remind myself that it's normal here. And then I shove back. You never hand anyone here anything with your left hand, and it's considered rude. You don't write with red pen here, as it has something to do with the Japanese invading and they consider it back luck. You bow to old people. Even I find myself bowing every time I say hello to an elderly person.

Interaction with other foreigners here is also quite interesting. I find myself working with 12 people from all over the world. We come from all walks of life, with different views, different upbringings, and different morals. With that come different likes, hobbies, attitudes, and styles of living. These are mostly the same people I come into contact with every day, and I find myself wondering, "If I was at home, would I be friends with any of these people?" At home we go to work, and then we live our lives. Our lives are not intertwined with those of our co-workers. Here I feel odd because we're all together, in a foreign country. Should I spend time with people even though I have nothing in common with them and wouldn't be friends with them otherwise? I think not. I don't think there's anything wrong with it either. I'm here to work, not make friends. If I make good friends in the process, I consider it a bonus. One thing that I'm always good at is entertaining myself. I like travelling alone, and doing things that I want to do. I don't think that just because there's people here that I HAVE to become friends with them. That is not how life works.