Time to Go

Now it is time to leave Korea. I have had nothing if not an interesting adventure in Korea and it is something that will be with me forever. You may ask if I considered staying in Korea longer. I did, but those thoughts were swiftly squashed by these tell-tale signs that I have been in Korea too long.

1. I am getting gray hair. Can you believe this? I have no less than four gray hairs. I am 23 and that is unacceptable. These kids just take it out of you.

2. I sing along to Korean ringtones. I caught myself on the subway singing "Hot Tigga Tigga Hot Tigga Tigga Hoooooot." I didn't kill myself thanks to Carrie who put me on strict suicide watch for 2 weeks after the incident. Subsequent counseling sessions have put most of the emotional damage behind me.

3. I take precautions against fan death. When enough people tell you that you can die from sleeping with the fan on in a closed room you start to wonder if so many Korean people can be wrong. The answer of course is, "yes, they can be."

4. I say things like, "me (point at myself).... no (make X with arms).... big (make a big circle).... piece(point at the cake)" when I want a small piece of cake. I talk with my hands now.*

5. I eat rice for breakfast. It's good!

6. I answer negative questions with a positive. Carrie says, "you didn't clean the bathroom?" I reply, "Yes, I didn't."

So, that is it for me. I am done in Korea for now and will miss it a lot. Please check out my new blog: Joe's adventures in Canada.

*With apologies to Matt Blake who actually said this. I have said similar things, but he was talking to Carrie at the time which makes it much worse.