When the clock struck 12, I was running down a street in Haeundae (a beautiful beach area of Busan, South Korea) with one of my best friends (Tonya), releasing balloons that held our "wishes" for the new year. * My wish: health and happiness for my friends, family, and myself. *
We were on our way to meet some of our friends to celebrate a wonderful previous year, and to cheers to a new year. But wait, allow me to re-wind this story since you've missed a lot of what happened before this fabulous moment...
2012 December 23
It's 12:15pm and I'm hangry (hungry + angry = hangry, a typical occurrence when you haven't had coffee or food). For once in my life, I'm on time. I'm meeting Tonya at the subway station so we can walk together to meet Fran for lunch at one of my favorite Western-style sandwich cafes. Tonya misunderstood our meeting time, so she thought we were meeting at 12:30. As we all know, being hangry mixed with waiting (one of my dislikes--I'm usually late because I don't like to wait). "I'm going to punch you." "I'm throwing your clothes in the garbage." "I'm sending a hit man." Only a few of the lovingly joking messages I send Tonya while waiting. While waiting, my mind starts to wander....
Yesterday was an amazing day. I got up early to visit an orphanage that one of my friends told me about. I was unsure as to whether or not this was a good idea because that night was going to be our "Ugly Christmas Sweater Party". Of course, sleeping in and relaxing before the party would be nice, selfish of course, but nice. However, once my heart is attached to something, it's impossible to separate it. So, when I heard that many of the children at the orphanage are students of my friend's school, my heart made an immediate attachment. And, as it would turn out, I'm glad it did, because visiting the orphanage was a life-changing experience.
It's easy to get too comfortable in Korea--to take things for granted because we are literally living the dream. I make more money than I did in the States, have no rent, only teach 4 classes per day, live in one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, and get to travel to many places for super cheap. Uh, could it be any better? But, it's also easy to lose sight of the things you love, to forget where your passions lie. This definitely happened to me. I got so distracted with the lack of responsibility and abundance of free time I have, that I lost sight of the interests and activities that set my mind, heart, and soul afire.
The trip to the orphanage not only helped the children, but it helped me as well. Painting little girls' nails and then letting them paint mine, watching the smiles and laughs, seeing their faces light up when Santa walked in with loads of presents wrapped in mutli-colored paper--uh, now THAT is what living really is. It woke me up. It brought me true, genuine happiness to see these amazing little people happy. There was one girl in particular that was somewhat standoffish when I met her. My friend, her teacher, said she was one of the smartest in her class but she was refusing to talk to him or speak English to anyone. She also "booed" Santa which put a damper on the other kids' excitement. So, I bent down and started talking to her, finding topics maybe she would like, giving her an opportunity to use some of the English she knows. It worked. Thirty minutes later, she was covering my hands with stickers, giggling, and telling me what each sticker picture was in English. She even lit up when I urged her to go get her picture taken with Santa. First she refused, but after some encouragement, a large, humble smile slowly took over her entire face.
Later that day, we were doing crafts--painting Christmas ornaments. Yes, all of us were covered in paint, but it was great! While painting, I attempted to write my name in Hangul (Korean alphabet). I messed up, of course, but didn't think anything of it. A few minutes later, the little girl turned her ornament towards me and said "Tiffany." She had made a new Christmas ornament and written my name in Hangul on it. -------- Here I am, sitting outside in the cold, with a little girl who doesn't have parents to tell her they love her, no parents to make her hot chocolate when it's cold, no parents to tell her everything will be ok when she doesn't think it will be, and SHE is doing something kind for me. She wasn't doing it to get recognition or get a reward, she was doing it because it would make me feel better, because she knew I had messed mine up. She was putting others before herself, despite her situation. THIS was a wake-up call.
Spending time with these amazing children reminded me of things that inspire me, things that I really enjoy--writing, teaching, helping others, etc. For example, I became a teacher because I love children and love using what I know and can do to help them. Seeing them gain understanding and knowledge is rewarding to me. Watching my students succeed, move on to bigger and better things, and accomplish goals they've set is exciting for me. I'll never forget the moment when I gave my 11th grade American Lit students one of their final exams. They were to watch a movie (Wall-E) and explain why I showed them the movie--how it connected to themes, characters, etc in Fahrenheit 451, a book we read as a class. Though some thought I was crazy because it's wasn't a "normal" test, the result was great! The students impressed me with their mature writing, analysis, and understand of the concepts I really wanted them to grasp. Though they may not know it, this was one of my favorite moments of teaching!
Sometimes we forget about the interests that make us truly happy because aren't doing them. Once we start doing them again, we're reminded of how much passion we feel, how much fulfillment we get, and how much of a better version of ourselves we can be when we are doing what we love. I owe it to myself and others to do what I love each and every day.
... Oh the things my mind can analyze while having time to itself. Anyways, I was lucky enough to share all these thoughts with Tonya, Fran, and Katie when we met later. It's nice having friends who you can share your many thoughts with. :)
Our delicious lunch was followed by a trip to Costco. Yes, Korea has a Costco. We wanted to buy a bunch of food so we could spend Christmas Eve together, vegging out, then wake up late and have a big brunch together on Christmas. That plan sounded great!!!! However, the things with "plans" is that they sometimes don't work out...
Case in point: that night, I was sitting at my computer desk and started feeling weird. I decided to go to bed early because of this. Once in bed, I realized I had a fever--hot/cold, blurry mind, the works. Then, nausea followed. Next thing I know, vomiting and diarrhea (yes, I just said "diarrhea" on my blog) started and continued every 10-15 minutes alllllllllllllllll night and morning. At about 10:30am (Christmas Eve), my co-teacher came and picked me up and took me to the hospital. At this point, I hadn't slept or drank water at all, only puking and, well, you know. Even while waiting for the doctor, I had to run to the bathroom to puke. Ugggghhhh. After seeing the doctor, he ruled it as food poisoning (I had already guessed--from a samgipsal, meat, dinner I had Saturday night). He prescribed some meds and suggested I get an IV because I was dehydrated. So, I spent my Christmas Eve with my first IV (painful, not my favorite thing in the world), by myself, in a foreign country. After the 2 1/2 hour IV, I tried to get up but almost passed out. Of course, I don't speak Korean so couldn't call for help. After a while of panic and discomfort, I pulled myself up, went down to get the meds, and took a taxi home. Needless to say, I spent Christmas Eve, Christmas alone, and a few days to follow in my apartment, only able to consume hot water, watching a mix of good Christmas movies and repeating Lords of the Rings movies on TV. Not what I had planned.
2012 December 31 (9pm) - 2013 January 1
Fast forward to New Years Eve. Due to my just recently acquired ability to consume solid food, I decided to take it easy on New Years Eve. Tonya, who has been sick for weeks, concurred. So, Tonya, Ellaine, and I met for a delicious dinner at a chic restaurant in Haeundae. First, a simple brushetta and cocktail. My cocktail: a basil margarita. Next, entrees, mine a set of chicken and vegetable skewers paired with another cocktail: orange, cucumber, strawberry, lime, and basil w/ gin. Light but delicious.
At first, we had planned to go home early, but we decided to go meet our friends at Wolfhound before we left. We headed over there, releasing our wishful balloons along the way. Once there, we were greeted with screams, claps, and warm hugs from some of the best people to ever exist. How could we not stay now!?! Unexpectedly, Tonya and I stayed at Wolfhound and danced with our friends until 4am, sober! I must say, this was one of, if not THE, best New Years celebrations I've ever had. Dancing like crazy with people I love was absolute perfection! Follow that by grabbing KFC, heading to my house, eating it while we watch some Avatar, bed, then a jijimbang in the morning (Korean spa where basically a bunch of naked people sit in giant pools of all temperatures together then scrub each other down--sounds scary but is amazingly clean and relaxing...will explain in a future post). BEST NEW YEARS!
Now 2013 January 10
So, this new year, I am not going to make "resolutions" that I won't be able to keep or that have the depth of the kiddie pool. Instead, I'm going to make it my daily goal to live life to the fullest, doing things I love every day. When I do things I love, I feel happier; I feel more like me, the better version of myself. And, when I'm a happier me, I'm able to be better to the people around me--kinder, more understanding, etc etc. It's like an interesting cycle, how my internal passion and happiness can effect a lot of other people even when I don't realize it. So, if I'm really living my life, it will be more fulfilling for myself and others. Simple but powerful.
So, people I love, I hope that you have a healthy and happy year. And please, DON'T forget about the things you love to do, the things that make you happy--not a temporary happy, but a truly fulfilled happiness. THOSE are the things you should be doing every day, even if you only have a little bit of free time; fill those extra little moments with the things and people that set your heart on fire!!! :)
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| Help! |
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| New Years! |
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| Busan Aquarium |
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| Nail-Painting Time! |
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| presents! |
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| At the orphanage |
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| SHARK!!! |
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| First snow in Busan!!!(it is RARE to see snow here) |
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