Wow!
Exactly three years ago on the 29th of August 2011, I came to South Korea, a country I'd never been before. Like a stranger, I arrived with everything packed in barely two suitcases, ready to start a new adventure!
Time really does fly! Now we are three years later and I'm thinking to write something on this blog again!
The past three years were unforgettable, but also very turbulent, with many ups and downs. My Korean still sucks and I have only a couple of real Korean friends. However, along the way, I got the chance to meet and get to know so many other amazing and inspiring people that I don't regret ever coming here!
When I arrived here at first, I was a lonely stranger. (Eric Clapton - Lonely Stranger (MV)) It felt as if I'd left everything in Belgium and came to Korea empty handed. Everything was new and exciting. Slowly, I started making new friends and together we discovered many new things and places. We learned together and we grew together. Friends have come and many have left again too. I've complained a lot and sometimes even hated the way things are or are handled in Korea... about how discriminating and demanding Korean people can be. Or about how difficult the Korean language is and how hard it is to make real Korean friends (worth another blog post ;)). Nevertheless, I've come to love Seoul as a city to live in. It's a never-sleeping metropolis and it's never boring. Going out for dinner is relatively cheap, public transport is fast and reliable. And on top of this, the weather is great too: four distinguishable (!) seasons!... with autumn as my ultimate favorite one.
This summer I went back to my hometown for a visit... after two years. Yes, two years! It felt so good to see my family again. I'm blessed with a big and loving family, that will always welcome me back home and keeps waiting for me even when I did not come back in the past years. I feel in a way I have matured, I am calmer on the inside. I enjoy small things and moments a lot more than I used to do before, such as a day going out with my older brother; a shopping spree with my younger sister, letting my hair being cut by my other sister; a trip with my mum; conversations with my dad; visiting my brother in Dublin; being amazed by my nieces and nephews and how fast they grow and so on.
Meanwhile, I've also tried to visit some friends around Europe, whom I have been promising repeatedly for many years that I will come to meet them again. Now this time, I finally made it! Seeing them and being welcomed as if time did not change anything, it was worth the long bus rides. Friends are friends for a reason, and we should always cherish them! They pull you through the good and hard times and they like you for who you are. I always enjoy seeing how friends live their lives and to step into their worlds for some time. From my experience, my friends (and people in general) don't easily change in essence, but that doesn't mean they don't move on with their lives. They get babies, buy houses, have been in relationships for many years (that is in case they did not just recently broke up of course! ;))... It's nice to see, but also poignant. I also need to get my shit together... soon... somehow!
A warm and heartfelt thank you to all those who have made the past three years absolutely worth it.
Love,
Lara
Exactly three years ago on the 29th of August 2011, I came to South Korea, a country I'd never been before. Like a stranger, I arrived with everything packed in barely two suitcases, ready to start a new adventure!
Time really does fly! Now we are three years later and I'm thinking to write something on this blog again!
The past three years were unforgettable, but also very turbulent, with many ups and downs. My Korean still sucks and I have only a couple of real Korean friends. However, along the way, I got the chance to meet and get to know so many other amazing and inspiring people that I don't regret ever coming here!
When I arrived here at first, I was a lonely stranger. (Eric Clapton - Lonely Stranger (MV)) It felt as if I'd left everything in Belgium and came to Korea empty handed. Everything was new and exciting. Slowly, I started making new friends and together we discovered many new things and places. We learned together and we grew together. Friends have come and many have left again too. I've complained a lot and sometimes even hated the way things are or are handled in Korea... about how discriminating and demanding Korean people can be. Or about how difficult the Korean language is and how hard it is to make real Korean friends (worth another blog post ;)). Nevertheless, I've come to love Seoul as a city to live in. It's a never-sleeping metropolis and it's never boring. Going out for dinner is relatively cheap, public transport is fast and reliable. And on top of this, the weather is great too: four distinguishable (!) seasons!... with autumn as my ultimate favorite one.
This summer I went back to my hometown for a visit... after two years. Yes, two years! It felt so good to see my family again. I'm blessed with a big and loving family, that will always welcome me back home and keeps waiting for me even when I did not come back in the past years. I feel in a way I have matured, I am calmer on the inside. I enjoy small things and moments a lot more than I used to do before, such as a day going out with my older brother; a shopping spree with my younger sister, letting my hair being cut by my other sister; a trip with my mum; conversations with my dad; visiting my brother in Dublin; being amazed by my nieces and nephews and how fast they grow and so on.
Meanwhile, I've also tried to visit some friends around Europe, whom I have been promising repeatedly for many years that I will come to meet them again. Now this time, I finally made it! Seeing them and being welcomed as if time did not change anything, it was worth the long bus rides. Friends are friends for a reason, and we should always cherish them! They pull you through the good and hard times and they like you for who you are. I always enjoy seeing how friends live their lives and to step into their worlds for some time. From my experience, my friends (and people in general) don't easily change in essence, but that doesn't mean they don't move on with their lives. They get babies, buy houses, have been in relationships for many years (that is in case they did not just recently broke up of course! ;))... It's nice to see, but also poignant. I also need to get my shit together... soon... somehow!
A warm and heartfelt thank you to all those who have made the past three years absolutely worth it.
Love,
Lara
When you feel sad
Cry yourself a river
When you are happy
Smile brightly
When you are angry
Be furious
But then forgive quickly
When you love
Love wholeheartedly
When you are alive
Live
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