Hello Friends,
First off Happy New Years! As I am writing this the time in
Minnesota is just before midnight, so most of you will probably be too
incoherent to read this. Therefore, I have given you the opportunity for some
excellent reading while you are hungover in bed tomorrow. Last night we went to
City Hall and watched the celebration for the new year. We counted down in
Korean, and then they rung the big Buddhist bell in one of the temples in the
City Hall area. I celebrated the new years with a bunch of Brazilians and made
the last night of 2012 a truly unforgettable one. My Christmas was also very
memorable. On Christmas Eve, Jack, my roommate Michael, and myself went to
midnight mass at the famous Myeong-Dong Cathedral in Seoul. This was the site
of the first Christian church in Korea (later prosecuted) and was very
beautiful. What we were not aware of was that the entire mass was in Korean (my
fault). However, this was easily the best part of the mass. By not knowing
exactly what they were saying, we were able to focus much more on the spiritual
presence of God and what this mass and holiday was really about. It truly was an
inspirational experience and one of my favorite parts of this semester. While
the holidays have been tough being away from ya'll (Monica) I have been very
thankful for what has happened to me. This semester has completely flown by. I remember the beginning of August coming up and thinking, "wow I am going to be in Korea for a long time." Now it almost seems too short of a time. I went into this experience with the expectation that I would really enjoy being abroad, meeting new people, and living in a new place. What I was not expecting, however, was how much I would love living in Korea. For anyone interested in traveling to Asia you must make Korea/Seoul a must stop place. And if you are also interested in studying abroad, Seoul is a great option to live in a completely new culture but one you can easily assimilate into. The people, the food, the nightlife, the atmosphere, the attitude, Korea has been everything I have hoped for and then more. While I am excited to come back home, the prospect of living in St. Peter for another year seems terrible. Seoul is just a city of endless opportunities and is open for every type of person. And the people here make it 1000x times better. Everyone is so friendly and willing to help you out/show you a good time. This is a community where you can clearly see the greatness of humanity at work. I have been so thankful to have studied here for a semester and look forward to another great semester and a fresh four months. But before that, I have two months of extensive traveling to do!!
Tomorrow I am heading to Japan, one of the most unique cultures in the world. I will be staying with my boy J Kess and his gracious host family in Osaka. While I have not been able to stay with a Korean family, this will be a great chance to stay with a Japanese family and the experiences that come with it. Jack and I are both studying in Asia, but our study abroad experiences have been quite different. This is one of the experiences that I have been truly jealous of Jack for and it will be nice to get a taste of it. We will be going to a couple different towns around Osaka (including the ancient capital of Kyoto) and then we will be heading to Nagasaki for three days and stay in a hostel. I believe this will be very rewarding yet an emotional trip for obvious reasons. Then we will be going to Okinawa to stay with his grandfather for 5 days. These five days will probably end up being a bit more relaxed and include some fun actives. Then I head back to Seoul on the 16th, but only for two days until I go to...
Indonesia! This was kind of a surprise trip that I decided
to take. A friend of mine that I met in Korea told me he was staying in
Indonesia for a month after the semester and ignited the interest of visiting
here. Unfortunately I will not be seeing him, but it will be very fun to lie
out on the beach for nine days and get caught up on the 5th Game of Thrones
book. This trip was made possible by my frequent flier miles (thanks Swimming
training trips) so it will be quite cheap for me! I return back to Korea on the
28th, along with the arrival of my mother! This will be very nice and I am
quite excited. I will be showing her the sites in Korea for a week and give her
a run down on what my home has been like the past five months. Then we embark
on probably the most exciting adventure.
On Feb 4th we will be flying into Hanoi, Vietnam. I have
been fascinated by Vietnam longer then I can remember (ehh History) and
actually considered studying abroad here for a very long time. For a week my
mother and I will be exploring Hanoi (the capital) followed by a trip to Hue,
which has the majority of historical war monuments. Unfortunately, she has to
go back home (stupid real life) and I will be continuing this journey on my
own. While my trip isn't exactly set in stone, I plan on being in that area for
a couple days followed by a trip down south to the famous Saigon (Ho Chi Menh
City). I will spend about five days there. From there I will cross the border
into Cambodia, spending a couple days in the capital (Phnom Penh) and then
travel up to Seim Reap to see the famous Angkor Wat (google it). Afterwards
back to Saigon, then catch my flight out of Hanoi on March 1st. Bam, just like
that it will be done and I will be starting my second semester on March 5. Of
course after all these trips I will be writing blogs and posting pictures, but
I thought I should make this post before I leave to get everyone back home an
idea of what my winter travels will be like and also an overview of the
semester.
I hope everyone has a great winter break and I look forward
to sharing my travels with you and hearing about all of your news soon enough!
Raise your glasses high tonight because while 2012 was a wonderful year, 2013
promises to be even better.
My best,
Sam
