Late

I've never had insomnia.  Not real, stay up all night, tossing and turning, mind whirring, insomnia.  The closest I've come is an hour or two falling asleep or upon waking in the middle of the night -- and these are extremely rare instances.  I get this trait from my father, who falls asleep the minute his head hits the pillow.  There should be a word for that -- upon pillow-hit.  He says his deep sleeping is the sign of a clear conscience.  I'm not sure what that says about my mother.

Tonight, I have decided to pull an all-nighter.  Or rather, the all-nighter was decided for me when I realized I had three hours of sleep left.  Actually, it was decided when I -- according to custom -- grossly underestimated the amount of time I would need to pack and clean before my flight.

As a non-insomniac, I find myself without an armory of middle-of-the-night distractions.  Compounding matters is the decision I made at a cafe this evening that went something like this:

Me: What should I get?
Lauren: Do you want caffeine?
Me: No.

Past Siobhan is clearly an optimistic little fuzz bunny.  I'm also thanking her for vowing off online TV for Lent.

**

I've had a very difficult time deciding what music should accompany during my vigil.  My gut reaction was something peppy to energize me, but that quickly sounded obnoxious.  New music is too much of a gamble.  So I went with classical: non-invasive, good company.

I'm terrible about the names of classical music.  I'm bad with composers, too.  Even pieces of music that I've played for years.  There are certain types of information that, if I'm not intentional, will slip through my mind the minute I hear them.  Classical music names, strangers' names, directions.

My classical music slips into Backstreet Boys, which is the best way to keep oneself from becoming pretentious about music: remnants of middle school tastes.

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Day 357 - What I will miss about Korea

I'm not exactly sure what day I'm on, but it must be around the 357 range, because my contract is a year, and I'm leaving in five days, a bit before it officially ends.

I am sometimes very bad at creating closure with people, places, ages, etc., but my goodbye to Korea has been slow and long, so I thought I'd take a moment to write out some of the things I will miss.

Things I will miss about living/teaching in Korea:

- Walking around by myself past midnight and feeling completely safe.  I have never felt as safe in a country as I do here.  (Which is ironic, as I'm on the border of a crazy-eyed, nuke-happy dictator). 

-  Low crime in general.  I haven't had to think about pickpockets.  My friends have had phones and wallets returned to them.  I've left my bags outside for one reason or another. 

- Public Transportation.  It costs me a couple of dollars to get to Seoul -- an hour away -- on a direct bus.  The buses are direct and extensive.  The metro is clean, fast, and extensive.  It's great not having to be dependent on a car.

- Not worrying about taxes when shopping or eating out.  The price listed is what you'll pay.  How pleasant.

- And on that note, not worrying about tipping in general.  I'm not miserly, and I know that tipping in the States is the bulk of the waiter/waitress' salary.  But it's nice that it's built in here.  And that it's still cheaper (Korean food), or similarly priced

- Korean food.  Mmmm.  Inexpensive access to delicious Korean barbeques, soups, bimbimbop, kimbop, etc.

- The tight knit community of foreigners in rural areas.  I live near a small town called Geumchon, and it's pretty cool to walk around and bump into friendly faces. 

- Free rent, inexpensive health care, cheap phone bills.

- "Service".  Service is what Koreans call little gifts that are thrown in for free with purchases.  Free drinks, free time at noraebong, free random stuff...

- Noraebong!  Noraebong is Karoake in a purer form.  It's private rooms with couches, tamborines, and giant TVs and mics set up for singing.  You and your friends choose all the songs, and you can be as ridiculous as you want.

- Kind and hospitable Korean people.  I've had so many stringless free lunches here.  And people who come up to me and help me carry things (suitcases, guitar cases, etc.), or just want to chat.  Strangers who help me with directions. 

- The children here.  Are. So. Incredibly. Cute.  It's absurd.

Ilsan 

- My students and the quirky, sweet things they say.  The ones who really want to communicate with me, so they come up and repeat "How are you?" over and over, or say "This is for you," and hand me random things from my desk (I think every ESL teacher grows to resent that lesson...).  The students who insist on taking photos with me, who try to have Google Translate conversations with me, who request Justin Bieber songs...And the quiet sweet ones who bow at me and murmer "Hello."  The artwork and failed attempts at spelling and grammar....

- My co-teacher.  Her muttering to herself in English and Korean and then saying "Why?!" when I laugh at her.  Her endless dramas with her bf.  Her existential crisis over teaching.

- My apartment.  It's a good size, and it's in the middle of a street that has restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries, convenience stores, etc.  I love living alone.

- Pizza School. These are a chain of pizza places that have 5 dollar pizzas (actually, more like $4.50 if you convert it.)  Pretty delicious...

- All the quirky things I take for granted.  Subway arrival music.  Larva cartoons on the bus.  Street food.  The everpresent feel of Psy...

**

There are probably many more things, but these are the ones that came to mind first. 

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The one about Valentine's Day

When I was eight, my classmates drew names for Valentine's and then decorated a cupcake and made an acrostic out of the person's name.  A kid called Justin (I think?) got me and used the "I" in my name to write "I like her a lot," which we both got teased about. 

Korea is the mother of cute.  Really.  Everything is ribbons, pink, hellokitty, skirts, dresses, heels, kpop, cursive all-year-long.  Couples wear matching outfits -- shirts, pants, shoes, coats, hats, all-year-long.  (As my friend Lauren asked: When/how do they have that talk?  Is it around the three month mark?  Are the guys into it?) 

My wardrobe has not been immune to the cute.  Pink is now all over my wardrobe, I have floral headbands, multiple hair ties with flowers, little bow hair clips, etc.  But I digress.

Valentine's Day in Korea, is the first in a three month celebration of love/singleness.  February 14, March 14, and April 14 are all holidays that revolve around the subject.  February is for girls to give to guys, March (White Day) is for guys to give to girls, and April (Black Day) is for singles to get together and eat black noodles. 

Apparently Valentine's Day is about chocolate and White Day is about candy.  Two of my Korean friends have told me they have made chocolate for boyfriends on past Valentine's Days.  It feels much less inyourface here -- I haven't seen any flower/chocolate deliveries to the school, and definitely don't feel the advertising in the same way. 

Chocolate companies do make specialized chocolate bars like in the States, though.  Here's one I got: 

I'm pretty sure there's no good way to interpret "Calorie Down" written on each block of chocolate.  The bar itself was wrapped in a pink HelloKitty valentine wrapper, so these weren't meant as weight loss treats.

**

I like holidays.  I like traditions.  I like that they add and remind us of the meaning in our lives.  I like that New Years is about growth, Valentine's Day is about love, Easter is about hope, Independence Day is about patriotism, Thanksgiving is about gratitude, Christmas is about Love.  Birthdays and mother/father, etc. days are about celebrating lives of individuals.  They are all about community, celebration, appreciation; and they allow us to give and receive and be cheesy.

 
That said, I do think that turning romantic events (V-day, proposals, asking someone to prom, etc.) into crazy huge pressure competitions is usettling and sad.  Kudos to the guys and girls who go all out because they are genuinely intense romantic people.  (Though they make everyone else look bad.)

An especial kudos to the gentleman who thought it would be a good idea to tie the ring to a helium filled balloon when proposing:   

  And the dude who knocked his girlfriend out:

And of course, the following viral proposal is fabulous:

Alright, and here's some real romance.  If you haven't watched the movie, you're cutting corners. 

Happy Valentine's Day!  :)

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