Answers Part Il-gop

Question: What are your top moments since leaving the U.S.?

It's only fitting I save the best question for last. When I first read it, my initial thought was "Whoa, I haven't even thought about that. This will take forever to answer." I must be honest here. I still haven't thought about it! I've been so busy this week reading, playing on the internet at work, working on my Christmas puzzle-I know, I know, my life has been hard these past couple of weeks.

Thinking out loud, I can conjure up a few things.
Things like:
Doi Suthep
Sunday Walking Street
Khao San Rd
River cruise down the Chao Phraya in Bangkok
Namsan tower in Seoul
Gyeongbuk Palace
Changdeok Palace
Lotte World
G20 concert
Hwaseong Fortress
Insadong
Soedaemun Prison
National Arboretum

These are all good and fun, but as I reflect on these past 146 days (is that all?) I'm realizing that my top moments seem to be the smallest and simplest ones.

In no particular order here they are:

1)Early morning walk in Chiang Mai: On my third morning in Chiang Mai, I woke up early and decided to venture down the other direction of the street. Of course, the day I chose to do this, it started raining. This turned out to be all for the better, because I saw the monks who walk the street every morning taking their collections doing the exact same thing, while holding umbrellas. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but for some reason it touched my heart. These monks are so dedicated and peaceful. The generosity of the Thai people just pushed this moment even deeper into my heart. As the monks walked the street each morning, the Buddhist people were always waiting outside for the monks to pass, so they might feed their stomachs with food, and feed their souls with offerings for Buddha.

2)Seeing a movie at the paragon and enjoying a Starbucks meal: After my trek to the Korean embassy, I simply couldn't make it all the way back to Khao San Rd. I stopped at the Paragon (Galleria of Bangkok), all sweaty and gross, and ordered a chocolate pastry with an iced green tea latte. I wrote and wrote and wrote out all my frustrations and thoughts on the backs of the extra visa application I had with me. I love moments like those, when all of the sudden my mind just floods my fingers with words. After that, I wanted to sit in just about the only cold place in Bangkok: the movie theater. Even though I watched the most atrocious movie ever made, I was happy.

3) My first walk down the Tancheon river: On my second day in Seongnam, I had the day to unpack, buy necessities, and get a general feel for my new home. I took a long walk along the Tancheon river in the afternoon. As I walked down the tartan path following the meandering river, I couldn't stop gazing at all the mountains around me. My eyes still wander over to the mountains all around me on my walks to school. I don't think I'll ever get over the initial "wow!" factor of seeing mountains all the time.

4) Sitting down to lunch one day and not dropping a single thing with my chop sticks: This may sound dumb, but I felt so accomplished that day! My first couple of weeks during lunch was so hard. I was rushing so much to eat at the same pace as everyone else and was constantly dropping things or having to just give up and use my spoon. Amy would be finished with her meal and I would just be half way through. But, one day after I finished (at the same time as her), I realized that I had eaten everything with chop sticks and didn't even struggle. What a relief.

5) Hiking Seoraksan: At the time, I probably wouldn't have ever put this on my top moments list. It was just so damn hard and not all what I expected. Hiking trails in Korea are more like rock climbing or an endless stair master if you ask me. But, the fact that I finished it, and that my students were all amazed when I told them what I did that weekend, made it all worth while. But only that one time.