Today, I returned from almost a week in Japan, and it was a much needed break from the craziness of working in a middle school! I almost missed my flight this morning because I had the time wrong, and I made it to the gate as boarding was starting. I'm tired as I work my night shift tonight, but it was one of the best weeks I've had in quite a while. I'll summarize some of what I wrote in my journal below.
2/21/15, Tokyo
Tokyo has been a lot of fun with MJ and Ice. We visited the fish market, saw Harajuku street, ate lots of sashimi, and in general just kind of wandered the city. It's been nice having some companionship, but I'm looking forward to the days alone to clear my head and recharge. Last night, I hung out in the hotel bar when we got back and had some long-awaited Blanton's bourbon and bought a box of Cuban cigars. It was a great treat for myself, but not so much for my wallet.
2/22/15, Hiroshima
What a surreal day. The photos of charred bodies and shadows of people literally vaporized into thin air were too much to handle. Photos of fat dripping off of people's fingers as they melted and blood boiling up under the skin of people unfortunate enough to survive for only a few hours or days after the explosion. Radiation still killing people decades later. I wonder if the rest of the world thinks Truman is a war criminal. I'm sure the Japanese do. How could they not? I am certainly thinking that right now. Not to say that Japan didn't do their own messed up stuff in World War II, but I've never seen anything quite like this. Just complete and utter disregard for other humans. It's so sad that it's been reduced to a number, and more so how insane that number is. It was striking to see all the photos of the dead at the exhibit. It was 150,000 people instantly dying, but it was 150,000 individuals. They had mothers, fathers, siblings. They had friends. They played games and liked music. It's so sad to think of all they could have been, but instead we wiped out a whole city (two really) of civilians, and tried to claim it was justified. I think this day has been pretty life-changing.
2/23/15, Miyajima
I'd seen photos of the floating torii before, but I didn't know it was accessible from Hiroshima. Thankful I found out! I went with Alexis, a traveling Italian, Seamus, an Irishman, and a Korean girl whose name I butchered all day. You'd think after half a year living here, I would have pronunciation down for names. She was kind about it though, and she appreciated that I knew any Korean at all. That's one of the things I love about staying in hostels. It's a blast to meet random people and bop around with them. We climbed Mt. Misen and had a really cool view of the coast from the island. It was a tough hike, but well worth it. Then we took the cable car down and enjoyed a small dinner. I had a weird moment in the Miyajima train station today. It was like a split second where it hit me how lucky I am and how unreal it was that I was in Hiroshima. Everyone learns about it, but how many people are fortunate enough to go? I felt sure of myself, which felt good. It was like a weird butterfly in my stomach that came and went quickly.
2/24/15, Tokyo
I had the same feeling today where I realized how ridiculous it was that I was walking the streets of Tokyo amidst beautiful temples and cherry trees. I passed on going up in the SkyTree because it was so expensive. It was too early to see cherry blossoms, but I saw the buds, so I guess that counts for something, right? It occurred to me that I've developed Asian eating habits as I slurped my noodles with freight train volume and ferocity tonight. I'll have to reign that in if I ever want to eat Chinese food in the States around other humans. I really like the symbol of paper cranes from the exhibit at Hiroshima. The Sadako Sasaki story is pretty cool. Maybe a paper crane tattoo? Back to work tomorrow. Going to be a ridiculously long day, and back to workplace drama and all of that jazz. Only a short while 'til spring break!
It was an incredible trip! Pictures are up on Facebook. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
고생 끝에 낙이 온다
고생 끝에 낙이 온다
"After troubles comes happiness," or that's the extent of it, I suppose. It's been a rough few weeks since Christmas break with the boys, to say the least. It really felt like things spiraled out of control, and the boys showed me how capable they are of trying my patience. Changes have been made, and it seems like as far as the job, things are on the upswing. I like that proverb a lot, and it seems like that's kind of been the theme for me for a while now.Suffice to say, I'm happy. The island is still freezing, much to my dismay, but I'm still in the same personal groove I found when I got back to Korea. I get off campus often to read and write, and I'm trying to enjoy the beauty of the island. I'm going to Japan in about a week, and I just booked a trip to Nepal for May. All is well here.
I've been having a lot of Skype and FaceTime sessions, and I've got a few pen pals at this point. The contact with home has been really nice, and I feel missed, which is really uplifting to feel. I miss everyone a lot, too, wholeheartedly, and talking to people from home really makes my days. Time is going by more quickly than ever, and I'm certain it will only continue to go by faster.
I'm certain now that I'll miss it here when I'm gone. Despite all previous admissions, due to some administrative difficulties, it's beginning to look like my tenure in Korea will end in June. That's not to say I've made a decision, but it's most likely that I won't be back. It's kind of out of my control, but I'm really not all that sad. On to something different. It's crazy the change that's occurred in my brain in a short few months. Not knowing isn't nearly as terrifying as it was coming out of college. I don't wonder every day and let it nag at me constantly. I'm working to figure out what I'm going to be doing in the coming year, but that's just it. It's not going to go any faster or be any more efficient if I'm constantly worrying about it.
Baseball season is drawing near, and I'm as excited as ever. Pitchers and catchers report in 10 days. I'm already dreaming of being home and having a hot dog at the ballpark. I'm going to have to force myself to watch the games delayed and get out when the weather starts to get nice! Getting my boys out to play some baseball on the weekends should start happening. I hope the Cardinals have an open spot at Spring Training come 2016. I'll be ready.
I can already feel the time dwindling. It won't be long before I'm on a plane to Japan, to the DMZ, to Nepal, and finally home. It's a lot of activity for a few months, but I've never lacked in the scheduling department. I wonder when my body will catch up with my desire to keep doing things. My knee already slows me down a bit, but I figure I can keep doing twenty hour itineraries for flights at least until I'm 75 right? Especially with advanced medical technology. I guess we'll see.
That's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, as always.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Setting Goals and Climbing Mountains
I just left my refrigerator door open for several hours after buying groceries. I fear my food is spoiled. What an end to the day!
Today was a sore one. I woke up at 1pm, and my whole body ached with a pain unfelt since I ran a marathon a few years back. My knees, my abs, my back, my quads, and just about everywhere else screamed at me to not roll over and get out of bed. The reason for this terrible pain, is that yesterday, I climbed the tallest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan, or Mount Halla in English.
Michael Chu and I have been talking about summiting the mountain for a while now, but the timing never worked out until this Monday. We borrowed some crampons anticipating ice at the top, but both of us underestimated what we were in for. It ended up being a 13 mile hike when it was all said and done. The first couple of miles in the morning starting at 6:30AM were relatively easy. It was a slight incline, and we rolled along at a solid pace. The incline got progressively higher though, and by the time we reached "base camp," we had been going pretty straight up for a while. The last 45 minutes of the hike up were the most brutal though. We battled a snowstorm as we reached the summit of the mountain, fighting gale force winds, ice, and snow. We joked later about how truly frightening the experience had been. You could see a long way down off the side of the mountain as we climbed, and all of the trail markers were buried in snow. The only thing holding us to the mountain was our crampons, and we had to stop and brace ourselves with each blow of the wind. When we finally reached the summit, we didn't want to stay long. It was so unbearably cold that we were losing feeling in our fingers and toes. We took some pictures and video and hightailed it back to warmer, thicker air.
Climbing the mountain was so worth today's pain, and it was an unforgettable experience. Today, as I downed Advil and wished I was dead, I realized that there was a really important reality and metaphor that came with climbing the mountain. The fact is that climbing a mountain gives you a goal. It gives you something to strive for. If I compare climbing Halla to doing the same 13 mile workout on a stair-stepping machine in the gym, I know I would not have been able to do it. Setting a goal for myself was the only reason I was able to push through and get it done. It was the same with running the marathon. I wouldn't just go out and run 26 miles on my own if there wasn't a clear goal in mind. I find that this sort of mentality is important in all that I do.
I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't set the goals for myself, and I realize how important it is for me to keep my eye on the prize. Keeping my eye on the prize is what allows me to take joy in the process. Knowing I was heading towards the summit of the mountain was the reason that I wasn't crying in pain the entire way up and down. It was an enjoyable time the whole time, not just the few minutes we were at the top. If the goal is to clean my room, the prize is the clean room. If the goal is to fill out all of the applications and apply to grad schools, the prize is getting into a school. It seems so simple, but I think I needed a reminder that I need to be conscious of why I do the things I do.
Anyway, tonight I tried making my first mustard-based barbecue sauce, and I fear it came out with too strong of a mustard flavor. I'll need to come up with some ideas to try to counteract that next time, I suppose. Tomorrow is back to the work grind! I just found out that my dear friend Cayla Turain, who is studying in Vietnam for the semester, is going to try to come visit Jeju in a few weeks! She was a freshman when I studied abroad in Rome, and it's crazy to think we will be abroad together again. Time to start planning places to take her!
I heard from my dear old friend Conor Duncan today, and that also did wonders for making this a good week. If anyone has any desire to write letters or emails, let me know, because I love communicating via both! We've had some issues with disrespect towards the staff with our eighth graders in the last few weeks, and I think the big project for this week is getting that under control. So, it should be a busy one. I wish you the best of weeks.
-Ryan
Today was a sore one. I woke up at 1pm, and my whole body ached with a pain unfelt since I ran a marathon a few years back. My knees, my abs, my back, my quads, and just about everywhere else screamed at me to not roll over and get out of bed. The reason for this terrible pain, is that yesterday, I climbed the tallest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan, or Mount Halla in English.
Michael Chu and I have been talking about summiting the mountain for a while now, but the timing never worked out until this Monday. We borrowed some crampons anticipating ice at the top, but both of us underestimated what we were in for. It ended up being a 13 mile hike when it was all said and done. The first couple of miles in the morning starting at 6:30AM were relatively easy. It was a slight incline, and we rolled along at a solid pace. The incline got progressively higher though, and by the time we reached "base camp," we had been going pretty straight up for a while. The last 45 minutes of the hike up were the most brutal though. We battled a snowstorm as we reached the summit of the mountain, fighting gale force winds, ice, and snow. We joked later about how truly frightening the experience had been. You could see a long way down off the side of the mountain as we climbed, and all of the trail markers were buried in snow. The only thing holding us to the mountain was our crampons, and we had to stop and brace ourselves with each blow of the wind. When we finally reached the summit, we didn't want to stay long. It was so unbearably cold that we were losing feeling in our fingers and toes. We took some pictures and video and hightailed it back to warmer, thicker air.
Climbing the mountain was so worth today's pain, and it was an unforgettable experience. Today, as I downed Advil and wished I was dead, I realized that there was a really important reality and metaphor that came with climbing the mountain. The fact is that climbing a mountain gives you a goal. It gives you something to strive for. If I compare climbing Halla to doing the same 13 mile workout on a stair-stepping machine in the gym, I know I would not have been able to do it. Setting a goal for myself was the only reason I was able to push through and get it done. It was the same with running the marathon. I wouldn't just go out and run 26 miles on my own if there wasn't a clear goal in mind. I find that this sort of mentality is important in all that I do.
I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't set the goals for myself, and I realize how important it is for me to keep my eye on the prize. Keeping my eye on the prize is what allows me to take joy in the process. Knowing I was heading towards the summit of the mountain was the reason that I wasn't crying in pain the entire way up and down. It was an enjoyable time the whole time, not just the few minutes we were at the top. If the goal is to clean my room, the prize is the clean room. If the goal is to fill out all of the applications and apply to grad schools, the prize is getting into a school. It seems so simple, but I think I needed a reminder that I need to be conscious of why I do the things I do.
Anyway, tonight I tried making my first mustard-based barbecue sauce, and I fear it came out with too strong of a mustard flavor. I'll need to come up with some ideas to try to counteract that next time, I suppose. Tomorrow is back to the work grind! I just found out that my dear friend Cayla Turain, who is studying in Vietnam for the semester, is going to try to come visit Jeju in a few weeks! She was a freshman when I studied abroad in Rome, and it's crazy to think we will be abroad together again. Time to start planning places to take her!
I heard from my dear old friend Conor Duncan today, and that also did wonders for making this a good week. If anyone has any desire to write letters or emails, let me know, because I love communicating via both! We've had some issues with disrespect towards the staff with our eighth graders in the last few weeks, and I think the big project for this week is getting that under control. So, it should be a busy one. I wish you the best of weeks.
-Ryan
Monday, January 12, 2015
Time and Solitude
It's been kind of a thoughtful day for me, and I figured it would be remiss if I didn't write some of the thoughts down.
First, time. Recently, my workouts have consisted of a lot of interval work. For instance, today I did 2 minutes of low resistance high speed, 2 minutes of high resistance and as high as possible speed, for an hour on a bike. Same thing with running a few days ago (as much as the knee will permit!). 2 minutes sprint, 2 minutes light jog.
One of the things I've noticed as I do these types of workouts is that the easy portion always flies by, and the hard portion always drags on and takes forever. I think life is kind of like that sometimes. It's tough for us to really revel in our good times because we're in the moment, but when something bad happens, we really want it to be over, so it seems like it takes forever. I wish there was a way to rewire that part of our brains to make it the opposite, eh? I'll come back to another story about timing after I discuss something else briefly: solitude.
My mom has laughed at me a few times because something I like to do every once in a while is see a movie by myself. Tonight was one of those nights when I felt like I needed to get away, process the recent events of my life, and be alone. I think these types of nights are essential to my functioning as a human being. Reflection is something that often goes undone in today's world. We're a society of constantly doing and doing but never stopping to smell the roses. Alone time is like a battery recharge for my patience and character. I wouldn't be who I am daily without it.
Anyway, I went to see Unbroken, and I rode my motorcycle 45 minutes each way in the freezing cold Korean night to do it. I left campus at 9, and it was chilly, and I was cold, but I knew the way back would be worse. I had brought some hand warmers, and after the movie was over, I heated them up, stuck them in my gloves, and got to riding.
By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my fingers, my legs were tingly, and my toes were near frozen. The stupid hand warmers didn't help much. As I hopped off my motorcycle, all I could think about was getting back to my warm room. I raced up to the door of my building, got almost all the way to my room, and then had an "oh, shit" moment. I'd left the keys in my motorcycle. After a fair amount of cursing under my breath, I went back outside to retrieve them.
To my surprise, it wasn't so cold outside (the wind whipping at 90km/h on a motorcycle apparently makes things colder). As soon as I stepped back out, I noticed a star-filled sky, so clear that every few seconds I was seeing a shooting star or a bright star blinking wildly. I walked slowly down to my motorcycle, neck craned toward the sky, got my keys, and meandered back to the dorm. I was pretty glad I had forgotten my keys.
When I got to my room, I thought to myself, man, isn't timing everything? Sometimes life just works out the way it needs to. Sometimes the universe knows you need to notice the spotlessly starry night, so it makes you an airhead, and then you forget your keys. Sometimes you think you have a plan, but screw your plans. Get ready for life to change them. Just because you're dealt a bad hand doesn't mean you can't play it a certain way. Making plans is a necessary life strategy, but if you can't adapt and figure things out when they go sour, you're stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a raft surrounded by sharks and enemies without food or water (shameless Unbroken reference). And like I said before, when things go sour, like finding yourself on that raft, it tends to last longer rather than shorter. Your brain pays more attention when things go bad. I think the happy people are the most adaptable ones.
I have been happy with my adaption to Korea. Sure, things didn't go as planned, but thank God, or I wouldn't have been there tonight to see those stars. I am not being sarcastic. Life finds a funny way of putting you where you need to be when you need to be there, whether it's your dream or not. We'll see where my next dream takes me.
Also, random, it occurred to me that our bodies need carbs before we workout and protein after perhaps for evolutionary reasons. Like when our ancestors were nomads, what they could gather (berries, nuts, other carbs) was their energy for the hunt, and if they were subsistence hunting or on a long track, they would need that energy, but when they killed the animal, that meal was obviously protein filled. I'm sure this brilliant epiphany is written somewhere by some famous scholar, but I thought about it while I was showering this morning. I digress.
That's been my day. Grocery shopping, Indian food, relaxing, cooking, sending a letter to my dear friend Mary Whitmore (who has become quite the best pen pal), and then the movie/motorcycle/starry night extravaganza. Life is good.
I miss you all at home. I'll catch you on another time.
-Ryan
First, time. Recently, my workouts have consisted of a lot of interval work. For instance, today I did 2 minutes of low resistance high speed, 2 minutes of high resistance and as high as possible speed, for an hour on a bike. Same thing with running a few days ago (as much as the knee will permit!). 2 minutes sprint, 2 minutes light jog.
One of the things I've noticed as I do these types of workouts is that the easy portion always flies by, and the hard portion always drags on and takes forever. I think life is kind of like that sometimes. It's tough for us to really revel in our good times because we're in the moment, but when something bad happens, we really want it to be over, so it seems like it takes forever. I wish there was a way to rewire that part of our brains to make it the opposite, eh? I'll come back to another story about timing after I discuss something else briefly: solitude.
My mom has laughed at me a few times because something I like to do every once in a while is see a movie by myself. Tonight was one of those nights when I felt like I needed to get away, process the recent events of my life, and be alone. I think these types of nights are essential to my functioning as a human being. Reflection is something that often goes undone in today's world. We're a society of constantly doing and doing but never stopping to smell the roses. Alone time is like a battery recharge for my patience and character. I wouldn't be who I am daily without it.
Anyway, I went to see Unbroken, and I rode my motorcycle 45 minutes each way in the freezing cold Korean night to do it. I left campus at 9, and it was chilly, and I was cold, but I knew the way back would be worse. I had brought some hand warmers, and after the movie was over, I heated them up, stuck them in my gloves, and got to riding.
By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my fingers, my legs were tingly, and my toes were near frozen. The stupid hand warmers didn't help much. As I hopped off my motorcycle, all I could think about was getting back to my warm room. I raced up to the door of my building, got almost all the way to my room, and then had an "oh, shit" moment. I'd left the keys in my motorcycle. After a fair amount of cursing under my breath, I went back outside to retrieve them.
To my surprise, it wasn't so cold outside (the wind whipping at 90km/h on a motorcycle apparently makes things colder). As soon as I stepped back out, I noticed a star-filled sky, so clear that every few seconds I was seeing a shooting star or a bright star blinking wildly. I walked slowly down to my motorcycle, neck craned toward the sky, got my keys, and meandered back to the dorm. I was pretty glad I had forgotten my keys.
When I got to my room, I thought to myself, man, isn't timing everything? Sometimes life just works out the way it needs to. Sometimes the universe knows you need to notice the spotlessly starry night, so it makes you an airhead, and then you forget your keys. Sometimes you think you have a plan, but screw your plans. Get ready for life to change them. Just because you're dealt a bad hand doesn't mean you can't play it a certain way. Making plans is a necessary life strategy, but if you can't adapt and figure things out when they go sour, you're stuck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a raft surrounded by sharks and enemies without food or water (shameless Unbroken reference). And like I said before, when things go sour, like finding yourself on that raft, it tends to last longer rather than shorter. Your brain pays more attention when things go bad. I think the happy people are the most adaptable ones.
I have been happy with my adaption to Korea. Sure, things didn't go as planned, but thank God, or I wouldn't have been there tonight to see those stars. I am not being sarcastic. Life finds a funny way of putting you where you need to be when you need to be there, whether it's your dream or not. We'll see where my next dream takes me.
Also, random, it occurred to me that our bodies need carbs before we workout and protein after perhaps for evolutionary reasons. Like when our ancestors were nomads, what they could gather (berries, nuts, other carbs) was their energy for the hunt, and if they were subsistence hunting or on a long track, they would need that energy, but when they killed the animal, that meal was obviously protein filled. I'm sure this brilliant epiphany is written somewhere by some famous scholar, but I thought about it while I was showering this morning. I digress.
That's been my day. Grocery shopping, Indian food, relaxing, cooking, sending a letter to my dear friend Mary Whitmore (who has become quite the best pen pal), and then the movie/motorcycle/starry night extravaganza. Life is good.
I miss you all at home. I'll catch you on another time.
-Ryan
Friday, January 2, 2015
2014: A Year of Growth and Change
Hello dear compadres!
Happy New Year! Currently writing from my living room in St. Louis, and it's incredibly weird to me that I was in Korea a week and a half ago, and I will be back in Korea in 3 days. A ton of travel! Twenty-something hours on planes each way, and I have to work as soon as I get back. I hope the kids are feeling merciful. It's been an incredible trip home. I got to see my cousins Liz and Catherine in Los Angeles on a long layover, as well as my old friend Joel Schmidt who I haven't seen in at least three or four years. That was a great start. Then, I got back to St. Louis to see my family, went to Chicago for a few days to see my Beazley family, Brad and Kim Zandstra, and countless other friends. Now, all of my friends are in St. Louis for Alex's wedding, and it's been a few amazing days of catching up. I am loving home, but in a way, I'm also excited to get back to Korea after the beautiful wedding celebration tomorrow. As the year has wrapped up, I wanted to take some time to reflect and look forward.
2014 started much like this year has. I got to see some great friends on New Years, including my dear Laura Welp, and it was a blast. Last year, I couldn't wait to get back to Loyola to finish up my last semester and enjoy the final stanza with my friends. The year was one of lots of ups and downs. The spring was truly one of the best of my life, and I felt like I grew and learned a lot about myself and what I want out of myself, others, and life in general. I had a pretty concrete plan for life after college. I was pretty confident I would get hired for a job in Rome; I was relatively ready to try to make a long-distance relationship work; I was way overly confident in just about everything I imagined would happen to the point of naivety.
To make a long story short, in a matter of a week, I didn't get the job and had a break up. I hit a low in the next few weeks after that, and I kind of felt like the floor was pulled out from under me in one of the most important transition periods of my life. I remember saying to Alex that I felt like my foundation for the future was pulled and that I felt lost.
At the beginning of June, Mikey and I left for a month-long trip to Europe, and the day before I left, I found out I would be taking a job in South Korea beginning in the fall. As I rushed to get my documents in order for Korea, I hopped on a plane with Mikey, and suddenly my life had the pace and direction back that I needed. The good times I had with Mikey brought me back up, and the fear and anticipation of Korea made me both ecstatic and completely crazy at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, and I was proud of myself for taking the leap into the unknown.
The first semester of Korea has been filled with ups and downs also, but overall, it's been really incredible. The island is gorgeous. I've made great friends. The job is good (besides when the boys drive me insane). I've traveled to Seoul, Hong Kong, and U-do Island. I've accomplished all I want to and more. I've missed home like never before, and for the first time, I really feel like I'm a whole world away. I've learned how to be more independent. I've learned how to move on and move forward at the same time instead of dwelling in my defeats. I've truly felt the importance of family and friends in a sense much deeper than I've ever known before.
I return to Korea hopeful. I decide in the next few weeks if I go back for another year, and I've decided I'd like to if the school will give me the opportunity. My last few days in the States will be well spent, witnessing the marriage of the two people who are more in love than anyone else I've ever seen, two of my best friends. I'm truly honored to stand next to Alex as her marries the love of his life, and I'd have traveled home three times for it if I had to.
2014, there were days I thought you would stand as a reminder of defeat. You taught me that control of my life lies with no one but me, and turned out to be one of the best years yet. 2015, you've got a lot to live up to.
Finally, my New Years resolutions, because if you put them in writing on the Internet, you have to fulfill them:
1. Lose 40 pounds by the beginning of school next year.
2. Do more nice things for people for no reason.
3. Maintain the relationships that matter, no matter where I am in the world.
4. Prioritize what's important, and treat it as such.
5. Uphold my own ideals. Love, forgive, and listen to others.
Thanks for being the best, folks. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year! Currently writing from my living room in St. Louis, and it's incredibly weird to me that I was in Korea a week and a half ago, and I will be back in Korea in 3 days. A ton of travel! Twenty-something hours on planes each way, and I have to work as soon as I get back. I hope the kids are feeling merciful. It's been an incredible trip home. I got to see my cousins Liz and Catherine in Los Angeles on a long layover, as well as my old friend Joel Schmidt who I haven't seen in at least three or four years. That was a great start. Then, I got back to St. Louis to see my family, went to Chicago for a few days to see my Beazley family, Brad and Kim Zandstra, and countless other friends. Now, all of my friends are in St. Louis for Alex's wedding, and it's been a few amazing days of catching up. I am loving home, but in a way, I'm also excited to get back to Korea after the beautiful wedding celebration tomorrow. As the year has wrapped up, I wanted to take some time to reflect and look forward.
2014 started much like this year has. I got to see some great friends on New Years, including my dear Laura Welp, and it was a blast. Last year, I couldn't wait to get back to Loyola to finish up my last semester and enjoy the final stanza with my friends. The year was one of lots of ups and downs. The spring was truly one of the best of my life, and I felt like I grew and learned a lot about myself and what I want out of myself, others, and life in general. I had a pretty concrete plan for life after college. I was pretty confident I would get hired for a job in Rome; I was relatively ready to try to make a long-distance relationship work; I was way overly confident in just about everything I imagined would happen to the point of naivety.
To make a long story short, in a matter of a week, I didn't get the job and had a break up. I hit a low in the next few weeks after that, and I kind of felt like the floor was pulled out from under me in one of the most important transition periods of my life. I remember saying to Alex that I felt like my foundation for the future was pulled and that I felt lost.
At the beginning of June, Mikey and I left for a month-long trip to Europe, and the day before I left, I found out I would be taking a job in South Korea beginning in the fall. As I rushed to get my documents in order for Korea, I hopped on a plane with Mikey, and suddenly my life had the pace and direction back that I needed. The good times I had with Mikey brought me back up, and the fear and anticipation of Korea made me both ecstatic and completely crazy at the same time. I had no idea what to expect, and I was proud of myself for taking the leap into the unknown.
The first semester of Korea has been filled with ups and downs also, but overall, it's been really incredible. The island is gorgeous. I've made great friends. The job is good (besides when the boys drive me insane). I've traveled to Seoul, Hong Kong, and U-do Island. I've accomplished all I want to and more. I've missed home like never before, and for the first time, I really feel like I'm a whole world away. I've learned how to be more independent. I've learned how to move on and move forward at the same time instead of dwelling in my defeats. I've truly felt the importance of family and friends in a sense much deeper than I've ever known before.
I return to Korea hopeful. I decide in the next few weeks if I go back for another year, and I've decided I'd like to if the school will give me the opportunity. My last few days in the States will be well spent, witnessing the marriage of the two people who are more in love than anyone else I've ever seen, two of my best friends. I'm truly honored to stand next to Alex as her marries the love of his life, and I'd have traveled home three times for it if I had to.
2014, there were days I thought you would stand as a reminder of defeat. You taught me that control of my life lies with no one but me, and turned out to be one of the best years yet. 2015, you've got a lot to live up to.
Finally, my New Years resolutions, because if you put them in writing on the Internet, you have to fulfill them:
1. Lose 40 pounds by the beginning of school next year.
2. Do more nice things for people for no reason.
3. Maintain the relationships that matter, no matter where I am in the world.
4. Prioritize what's important, and treat it as such.
5. Uphold my own ideals. Love, forgive, and listen to others.
Thanks for being the best, folks. Happy New Year.
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Worldwide Winter
Alas, winter has struck my little island paradise. It's in the 40s and 50s, and the wind is strong, and I know everyone in the northern part of the States is sending a big old "kiss my ass" in my direction. We did have our first bit of snow the other day, but none of it stuck. Despite the temperature for winter being a bit higher here, it has the same effects. The bright green island of the summer turned to beautiful oranges and reds, and those have turned to browns and branches.
As the natural landscape around me has decayed, it so seems that the rest of the world has gone with it. I don't see many good things happening around the world; all of the Facebook posts and news stories are dismal. I need some good news, people! The days are shorter, a bit of the old seasonal affective stuff is kicking in, and I'm not sleeping nearly as well as I had during the brighter months. It's more difficult to get away from campus, in part because it's tough to ride a motorcycle very far in freezing temperatures.
Despite all of this, life is still going pretty well. I've been doing a lot of cooking, and I'm trying to perfect my first strain of homemade barbecue sauce, a sweet/spicy combination. We will see how it plays out as I continue to try to perfect it. The boys really enjoyed the first batch and have been asking me for more!
One of my friends here and I went on a whole day adventure this past week on my days off, and it was definitely the refresher I needed to make it through to Christmas break at home. We went first to get coffee, then found a Chicago hot dog place, then went to a beautiful waterfall on the beach, then went to an awesome art museum (the Bonte Museum), which coincidentally was modeled after the Pulitzer Foundation in St. Louis. It's such a small world sometimes. It really blew my mind that this place could have any connection to my home, and I found two in the same day in the form of a hot dog and a Picasso.
Exactly two weeks from today, I will be on a plane to Los Angeles. I will hopefully be seeing my dear cousin Liz Buhn, which will be a nice holiday treat! I can't wait. This week's hurdle with the boys has been personal space. They don't seem to get it. They're fascinated by the fact that I have hair on my arms and face, and they constantly want to touch it. They are amazed that I have a belly, so they constantly poke it (talk about a motivation to diet after Christmas...). I've had to get a bit stern with them in telling them that it's inappropriate to hang on me, and I'm not really sure that it's gotten through entirely.
I scheduled a trip to Japan for February, and a roadtrip around the Korean peninsula for March. I'm pretty pumped for both. In Japan, I'm flying into Tokyo, and hoping to do a few days in Hiroshima as well to satisfy my WWII historian cravings. I will most likely be flying solo for that trip, so that should be interesting! The esteemed Michael Chu and I are going to take the road trip in March, and we're flying into Seoul, doing a DMZ tour, and then getting the car and driving all over. It should be a lot of fun. Looking forward to traveling more lightly for these two trips and taking it easy.
I'm bringing home a lot of Korean goodies to share with everyone! Looking forward to seeing friends and family soon. Have a great week.
-Ryan
As the natural landscape around me has decayed, it so seems that the rest of the world has gone with it. I don't see many good things happening around the world; all of the Facebook posts and news stories are dismal. I need some good news, people! The days are shorter, a bit of the old seasonal affective stuff is kicking in, and I'm not sleeping nearly as well as I had during the brighter months. It's more difficult to get away from campus, in part because it's tough to ride a motorcycle very far in freezing temperatures.
Despite all of this, life is still going pretty well. I've been doing a lot of cooking, and I'm trying to perfect my first strain of homemade barbecue sauce, a sweet/spicy combination. We will see how it plays out as I continue to try to perfect it. The boys really enjoyed the first batch and have been asking me for more!
One of my friends here and I went on a whole day adventure this past week on my days off, and it was definitely the refresher I needed to make it through to Christmas break at home. We went first to get coffee, then found a Chicago hot dog place, then went to a beautiful waterfall on the beach, then went to an awesome art museum (the Bonte Museum), which coincidentally was modeled after the Pulitzer Foundation in St. Louis. It's such a small world sometimes. It really blew my mind that this place could have any connection to my home, and I found two in the same day in the form of a hot dog and a Picasso.
Exactly two weeks from today, I will be on a plane to Los Angeles. I will hopefully be seeing my dear cousin Liz Buhn, which will be a nice holiday treat! I can't wait. This week's hurdle with the boys has been personal space. They don't seem to get it. They're fascinated by the fact that I have hair on my arms and face, and they constantly want to touch it. They are amazed that I have a belly, so they constantly poke it (talk about a motivation to diet after Christmas...). I've had to get a bit stern with them in telling them that it's inappropriate to hang on me, and I'm not really sure that it's gotten through entirely.
I scheduled a trip to Japan for February, and a roadtrip around the Korean peninsula for March. I'm pretty pumped for both. In Japan, I'm flying into Tokyo, and hoping to do a few days in Hiroshima as well to satisfy my WWII historian cravings. I will most likely be flying solo for that trip, so that should be interesting! The esteemed Michael Chu and I are going to take the road trip in March, and we're flying into Seoul, doing a DMZ tour, and then getting the car and driving all over. It should be a lot of fun. Looking forward to traveling more lightly for these two trips and taking it easy.
I'm bringing home a lot of Korean goodies to share with everyone! Looking forward to seeing friends and family soon. Have a great week.
-Ryan
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Cultural Differences
For some reason, the urge to write always dawns upon me late at night. I've had a few people in the last week ask me what the biggest cultural differences are between Korea and the US. I have only my opinion, but I shall spell out what I see as best as I can, in no particular order.
1. Eating. Besides the obvious chopsticks, it's been weird for me adjusting to the way that my boys eat. Eating here is a heck of a lot more audible than at home. If it's noodles, the polite way to eat them is literally to grab as much as you can with the chopsticks and slurp. Apparently, audibly eating is a sign of respect, as if to say, "This is so good that I'm eating it like a hungry bear." It's actually quite liberating when you're noodles to just dig in without the formalities. The diet is way different. Rice and kimchi are available at every meal. At restaurants, there's a whole side dish course that comes out before the food and is free. Eating culture in general here just caught me by surprise.
2. Driving. I'm not trying to perpetuate any stereotypes, but the driving test here must be as easy as writing your name at the top. The following clip demonstrates all too accurately what you deal with regularly here.
Basically, it's an free-for-all, and you better be hyperaware of those around you. Surprisingly, I don't see 20 car pileups every day, so maybe a crippling fear is all we really need in the States to avoid accidents.
3. Bowing. This sounds like a ridiculous one, but every Korean you acknowledge, you're usually doing it with a bow. I know that when I'm home in December, I will be bowing to everyone I see without thinking about it.
4. The Internet. Sorry, folks, but the US is millennia behind. I'm really surprised if I'm somewhere and I don't have fast, free WiFi here. It's ridiculously fast. I rarely if ever have issues with Skyping, and it is glorious. Downloads happen in seconds instead of in minutes. It is absolutely wonderful, and the US needs to take notes.
5. Health and fitness. Everyone is as thin as a rail, but there doesn't really seem to be any emphasis on health or working out. My boys enjoy sports, but the idea of running or lifting weights is pretty repulsive to most of them. As far as staff, I see two Korean gentlemen in the gym from time to time, but besides that, all foreign staff. The boys would rather eat Ramen for every meal than anything else, and I get the feeling that when they're home, they're spoiled, and it literally is Ramen and fried chicken for every meal.
6. Music. K-pop, man. It's everywhere. The boys like lots of American pop, but generally like really epic Korean ballads and K-pop are their go-to. I was lucky with my group, and they all have interest in guitar, so they like John Mayer, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. Otherwise, I may have been wearing noise canceling headphones a lot more often.
7. Parental relationships. Tons of pressure from the parents on everything. Most of the boys have never heard their parents say they love them. They show that they care in other ways, such as making sure they're fed at all times. I noticed it a lot when I met parents at the soccer tournament earlier this year; on the surface, it looks a lot like a strictly-business relationship, but you can see that the parents do what they do because they care.
8. Masculine/Feminine roles. My boys are super feminine. It took me a while to get used to their morning routines which involve blow drying their hair, applying excessive amounts of cologne, and ironing their shirts. Emotion is more readily displayed with the boys I've come to find. Sitting on each other's laps and holding hands in the hall way is normal. As far as girls, the roles seem to be more traditional than at home, but the school also does a good job of making sure that girls don't just slide into a role that they're expected to assume. It seems to be a newer thing than at home that women are coming out of the household and into the workplace, but maybe I'm misinterpreting.
9. Gaming. At home, if you're into World of Warcraft or League of Legends, you might be considered a nerd. Here, people are making money doing it. The kids are obsessed and watch YouTube videos of the best players. The boys are never happier than when they're at their computers gaming, which is half horrifying in that I worry it cripples their imagination, and half helpful because I get silence when they have MacBook time.
10. Age Distinctions. I think I mean multiple things by this. First of all, unless a Korean is really old or really young, it's really hard for me to distinguish how old they are. I have coworkers who I thought were 20 who are in their late 30s. Some of my boys look like they could be in 2nd grade instead of 7th. Additionally, the way that ages treat each other is strange. The older kids can really hold things over the younger kids heads. Apparently, a lot of bullying occurs based on age. For instance, apparently, one of the kids told a younger boy he had to prostrate him self to him every time he saw him. Strange stuff, man.
Anyway, I'm feeling the yawns, and that's the first ten that came to my head. Have a good weekend, people.
1. Eating. Besides the obvious chopsticks, it's been weird for me adjusting to the way that my boys eat. Eating here is a heck of a lot more audible than at home. If it's noodles, the polite way to eat them is literally to grab as much as you can with the chopsticks and slurp. Apparently, audibly eating is a sign of respect, as if to say, "This is so good that I'm eating it like a hungry bear." It's actually quite liberating when you're noodles to just dig in without the formalities. The diet is way different. Rice and kimchi are available at every meal. At restaurants, there's a whole side dish course that comes out before the food and is free. Eating culture in general here just caught me by surprise.
2. Driving. I'm not trying to perpetuate any stereotypes, but the driving test here must be as easy as writing your name at the top. The following clip demonstrates all too accurately what you deal with regularly here.
3. Bowing. This sounds like a ridiculous one, but every Korean you acknowledge, you're usually doing it with a bow. I know that when I'm home in December, I will be bowing to everyone I see without thinking about it.
4. The Internet. Sorry, folks, but the US is millennia behind. I'm really surprised if I'm somewhere and I don't have fast, free WiFi here. It's ridiculously fast. I rarely if ever have issues with Skyping, and it is glorious. Downloads happen in seconds instead of in minutes. It is absolutely wonderful, and the US needs to take notes.
5. Health and fitness. Everyone is as thin as a rail, but there doesn't really seem to be any emphasis on health or working out. My boys enjoy sports, but the idea of running or lifting weights is pretty repulsive to most of them. As far as staff, I see two Korean gentlemen in the gym from time to time, but besides that, all foreign staff. The boys would rather eat Ramen for every meal than anything else, and I get the feeling that when they're home, they're spoiled, and it literally is Ramen and fried chicken for every meal.
6. Music. K-pop, man. It's everywhere. The boys like lots of American pop, but generally like really epic Korean ballads and K-pop are their go-to. I was lucky with my group, and they all have interest in guitar, so they like John Mayer, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. Otherwise, I may have been wearing noise canceling headphones a lot more often.
7. Parental relationships. Tons of pressure from the parents on everything. Most of the boys have never heard their parents say they love them. They show that they care in other ways, such as making sure they're fed at all times. I noticed it a lot when I met parents at the soccer tournament earlier this year; on the surface, it looks a lot like a strictly-business relationship, but you can see that the parents do what they do because they care.
8. Masculine/Feminine roles. My boys are super feminine. It took me a while to get used to their morning routines which involve blow drying their hair, applying excessive amounts of cologne, and ironing their shirts. Emotion is more readily displayed with the boys I've come to find. Sitting on each other's laps and holding hands in the hall way is normal. As far as girls, the roles seem to be more traditional than at home, but the school also does a good job of making sure that girls don't just slide into a role that they're expected to assume. It seems to be a newer thing than at home that women are coming out of the household and into the workplace, but maybe I'm misinterpreting.
9. Gaming. At home, if you're into World of Warcraft or League of Legends, you might be considered a nerd. Here, people are making money doing it. The kids are obsessed and watch YouTube videos of the best players. The boys are never happier than when they're at their computers gaming, which is half horrifying in that I worry it cripples their imagination, and half helpful because I get silence when they have MacBook time.
10. Age Distinctions. I think I mean multiple things by this. First of all, unless a Korean is really old or really young, it's really hard for me to distinguish how old they are. I have coworkers who I thought were 20 who are in their late 30s. Some of my boys look like they could be in 2nd grade instead of 7th. Additionally, the way that ages treat each other is strange. The older kids can really hold things over the younger kids heads. Apparently, a lot of bullying occurs based on age. For instance, apparently, one of the kids told a younger boy he had to prostrate him self to him every time he saw him. Strange stuff, man.
Anyway, I'm feeling the yawns, and that's the first ten that came to my head. Have a good weekend, people.
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