I know that I am a few days late (OK, a week!), but I have
been absolutely swamped with friends and family, not to mention the last of my
graduate school applications and getting around the down right frigid weather.
(I may or may not have pretty much slid down more than one set of subway stairs
due to some ice and snow build-up)
Being in Seoul is not always an easy thing.
It can be challenging to build meaningful friendships and not just feel like
you are killing time with random acquaintances. The
foreigner culture in Seoul is beyond transient and can be down right gypsy-like
with people shuffling jobs, apartments, and leaving the country at a moment's
notice. That super cool girl you met at an art show who you were looking
forward to hanging out with? Yea, she left last Tuesday and the group you have
been carousing with will be disbanded in little more than 6 months.
Boo.
I have made sure to make the most of the
friendships that I have made because I know that time abroad is a precious and
fleeting thing that is meant to be shared with others, and not wasted away in a
PC-bang(net cafe). After discussing what to do on New Year's
Eve, my husband and I offered our place up to our group of friends who were
stuck working until around 10:30 pm that night. Yes, I know! Such is the life
of an English teacher in a Hagwon (private school). We didn't want to rush around, barely squeeze into an overcrowded bar with over-priced drinks, and then shell
out money for a cab fare. So instead we stocked up on PLENTY of
wine and bubbly, snacks, and prepared to greet the New Year among friends.
We had an awesome time drinking, laughing, and
trying to figure out whose New Year's resolutions we had in our hands. I
printed out a stack of resolution cards from Real Simple and they were a blast.
Because the solar New Year is not that big of deal in South Korea it was
impossible to find New Years Eve decorations so we made due and I found some
great wire that had gold stars attached to make into party crowns. This New
Year's Eve, I was reminded that friends and family are what make times special
and our get-together was one of the most memorable and fun New Years parties
that I have ever been to. Things don't need to be extravagant to be special and
heart felt, and I am going to embrace this in the coming year.
SO,
on to the New Year's resolutions! Here, are my top FIVE, yes, I have more than
5. ;)
1.
MASTER
HANGUL. I have been learning the language while in S. Korea, but I have
committed myself to becoming fluent this coming year and I will be spending
some extra time in the library working hard to build on my current level.
2.
Get rid of NEGATIVITY.
This year I am going to be cutting out the negative and embracing the positive.
I not only mean myself, but ANY sources of negativity. I will no longer allow
my joy to be marred by someone else and will be taking a hard look at my
friendships to make sure that I am not allowing myself to get sucked into a
gloomy tornado.
3.
Earn my
Black belt and deserve it. I am
currently three belt tests away from my black belt and I want to be able to
make not only my master proud, but myself when I finally achieve it.
4.
Get Fit-ER. I am pretty fit right now, but I
want to take it to the next level and will be kicking this off by participating
in the Biggest Loser Challenge that is going on in my area. I am so psyched for
the workouts and cannot wait to see what level I will get to.
5.
Have perspective. I can be OCD and get lost
in the details, so this year I want to relax and focus on the big picture. This
last one is going to be a doozy and I am going to have to work hard to take a
deep breath and chill. :)
Well
those are my resolutions! What are yours and what are you hoping to achieve
this year?
AND
새해 복 많이 받으세요!!
(Happy New Year!)
