Realizations

Traveling & living abroad teach you a lot about who you are, your limitations, the world, people cultures and perspectives. Guaranteed there is more that you learn (if you don't know how to read a map you may just acquire that skill along the way), although I feel that the little lessons along the way can fit into these broader categories.

I have been in Korea now for 7 months (where has time gone seriously!?) & here are some things I have learned on this journey thus far...

• Your biggest limitation is yourself, if you want to do something the only one who can stop you when you live thousands of km's from home is yourself. Sure your new friends can influence you BUT there has been times on this journey where I've wanted to do something and it didn't work out with my friends schedules. This meant traveling alone.
• This brings me to my next point, traveling alone means you have ample time to figure out what you really want or don't want. I suppose if you asked me now what "I want" I can't tell you. I can tell you what I don't want though. 
• A huge realization that sure sounds a little stupid but within the past 12 months I have been in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Peru, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, and South Korea. I have seen the rich, middle class and poor, stayed in places with one hour of power a day and 5* hotels, and believe it or not, all people are the same. Now before you shoot me down for saying this with "our genetic pigmentation is different" or some other snazzy jazzy comment think about it we really are. We all want our needs to be met (legit needs here... don't tell me you "need" a new snazzy decked out car because your current one dosen't have AC) and to be happy. The more of the world I see, the more I realize how money causes so many problems. Sure you need money to solve problems but it just creates a whole other vicious circle of problems. Also I am realizing that the more money one has the less happy they are. 
• I still don't like dentists regardless of where I live in the world. 
• I have made Ramen / Ichiban / Mr. Noodles wrong my whole life. Thanks Korea for teaching me the ways.
• Maps & cellphone GPS is your friend. Getting lost is great to figure your way out through a city but every once in a while its great to "find yourself" again.
• You only live once, make the best of every situation, stay positive, move forward and follow your dreams. There are far bigger things in life to stress over than your flight being canceled, a weekend trip you were hoping to take tickets are sold out or you missed the last subway. One little hick-up won't kill you in the long run. 
• Dreams eh? Follow them, chase them and don't let them out of your site. Now that I am living on the other side of the world I consistently remind myself that when I leave Korea I probably won't come back all that often so I may as well experience everything I can while I am here. This brings me to my announcement that I am leaving for Japan mid April. Ali, John and myself wanted to head to Osaka for Buddha's birthday but flights were far to expensive AND we would only be there for two days anyways when you account for all the crazy flights. SO we decided to pay 1/2 the amount, go for two days anyways, have awesome flights and hotels & not stress over a long weekend when everyone else is running around stressed. 
• Limitations - you'll learn what they are and where they stand. Push them every so often and see what you're made of. Did I ever think I would eat live octopus, live sea urchin, fried tarantula and grilled guinepig at the start of 2011? Nope. Did I give em a go and try it out? Of course! Did I die? No. What did I learn along the way - Guinepig dosen't taste like chicken, tarantula is crunchy and still has little hairs on it after being fired, sea urchin tastes like you are eating the ocean and a whole lot of salt and octopus suckers stick to your cheeks so chew quickly.
• You meet so many people in your travels & even more when traveling alone or with one friend. Traveling in a large group can be fun but is also quite difficult.
• I really enjoy Taekwondo! Its a great sport where you push yourself to your limits. Sure team sports can be fun, but something about mastering that one kick because you've worked so hard and spent so much time practicing makes me feel all warm, fuzzy and awesome inside.
• Although I learned last semester how much work blogging with grade 6 students can be, I chose to do it again. Sometimes learning a lesson once isn't sufficient. Sometimes in life you have to give it your all again and learn AGAIN the same lesson.  Yes blogging with approx. 180 grade 6 students is CRAZY, yes I love it but it is quite the task. 
• Best classroom 'tool'  is candy and books. Sure SMART boards can be cool (or really frustrating at times), or that really sweet youtube video you've found can be a great addition to a classroom but without candy (energy) the day just dosen't seem to go as smoothly (for both teacher & student). Yes Canada food guide I hear what you're saying that there is better healthy food options and I can't disagree BUT seriously sometimes a little treat is needed & can put a big smile on someones face, making their day far more spectacular. 
• Weddings around the world are SO different. The Korean wedding I attended took less than 1 hour total. I arrived at the subway station at 12:30 and walked out of the venue at 1:24pm. In that time I watched the bride walk down the isle, meet the family (my boss), eat food and see my colleagues. Wam-bam-ala-ka-zam! This brings me back to the comment I made above - there is somethings I am learning that I don't want and a 1 hour wedding all in, is something I don't want. Wedding (one day), yes. One hour, all said and done, I don't think is for me. 

Anyways I think that is about enough for now. I am certain that there are many other things I have missed BUT such is life... they can come in a later post. It's time for this gal to get some rest before the big test tomorrow - goin' for blue (the sweetest color of belt I think - vibrant BLUE!). Pretty stoked; I even worked really hard to get my side kick lookin' awesome & ready to break thick boards. Wish me luck! Photos will come soon. :)