world without strangers

in light of my two most recent posts, i've had a mind to amend my list of new year's resolutions.

it goes a little something like this....

2) tell more about actual life and living in korea

3) tell more about my school and teaching kindergarten kids

most of my posts have been about my training for my first marathon.

and i'd like to continue blogging about that.

endurance sports have become me.

triathlons, marathon running, whatever fix is next.

but i'd like to let you, the reader, in on more of what it is like not to live in the u.s.a.

what it is like not to live in the west.

what it is like to live, literally, on the other side of the globe, where it's day to your night.

i'd like to be your eyes into a foreign kindergarten, taught by a 22 year old punk, who in fact doesn't like kids.

i'd like to illustrate how it is a young alien teaches to young children.

i'll have to expand each resolution later.

i just want to use this blog to lay down a preface and offer an hors d'oeuvre.

working backwards, in respect to resolution #3, please refer to my post before this one (the photos).

that's the appetizer for that one.

as for #2, i'd like to send you over to a blog upon which i stumbled whilst googling 'bob dylan korea 2010' (i heard he's coming sometime this year and was vaguely interested).

and i can tell you know, i feel as though my view will be skewed because i'm half korean and i have serious motivation to be here (see new year's resolution #1).

but, to borrow the words of a great news medium, i want to be fair and balanced.

so, i want to offer you the opposing point of view.

please refer to this guy.

take a peek.

think what you will.

if you want to know what i think about a particular topic, please ask me.

i'll probably also cover a lot of topics he does, just to offer my own point of view.

this guy is more like the app. combo for resolution #2

here's to the start of the new year.

lots of love,

jo

dressed to kill

me, circa christmas 2009

lots of love (especially to the bandi kids.....(>.<))

jo

so, this is the new year?

and i don't feel any different.

(how many times have i said that one?)

i've even given myself almost 2 full weeks to taste the last year of the decade.

yeah, you read that correctly: 2010 is the final year of the current decade.

just think about this: was there a year 0 A.D.(for the widely-used gregorian calendar)?

answer: no.

ergo, the years anno domini started with year 1.

google or wiki it.

i challenge you.

somebody needs to spread the truth.

it might as well start with me.

since i only speak the truth.

i spit hot fire.

but in all seriousness, 2010, eh?

bid farwell to the old year and warmly welcomed the new in good style: with good friends having good times.

but other than that, it's just another year.

or is it?

the year 2010 opens with me growing up faster than i realized i would.

that in part is due to the fact that, according to the korean age-year system, i'm now 24.

as opposed to my 22 (soon to be 23) american years.

the year 2010 unfolds with me living a world away from the world i knew.

and this fact leads me to my new year's resolutions....

1) be more korean-american

and that's all i've got.

(why i've only set one goal is probably due to a lack of preparation, lack of imagination, or my inherent fear of failure or any combination of the afore mentioned..)

as i told a friend not too long ago, i prefer more qualitative goals over the more quantitative.

clearly, my goal is heavily qualitative.

but, joe/joseph/joe c./jo, how exactly do you plan to be more 'korean-american?' you may ask.

i'm not entirely certain, to be honest.

i think the first, and most important step to the entire process, is to learn korean.

learn a lot of it and learn it as quickly as possible.

of course, as with any language acquisition, this takes considerably time and effort.

but, hey, i've got all the time in the world.

after all, i haven't set a deadline for my living in korea.

but, it is important to note i'm not trying to be a full-fledged korean, simply more korean-american.

i think i've got the latter half of that one down.

i just need to work on the first part, being more korean.

there's probably no way i'll ever be wholely korean, even if i wanted to be.

of course, that means i don't want to be completely korean.

for me to be completely korean would be to forget about half of me, my father's half.

i'm not living in korea to forget about me; i live here to realize me.

i'll stray from using such phrases as "find myself."

i'm not into that business; i think you can find direction, but you'll never need to "find yourself."

i mean, shit, did you lose yourself?

that's another post.

i live in korea now to attempt to strike a better balance in me.

i want to even the scales, one side holds my 'korean,' the other my 'american.'

and look at that; i'm already getting some of this confucian stuff.

after learning the language, i'm not sure what comes next.

maybe reading a lot of books.

maybe surrounding myself with koreans.

i don't know.

but something tells me i need to learn the language first.

maybe after that i'll see what i'm supposed to do next.

maybe i'll receive a sign of sorts.

baby steps.

lots of love,

jo