Socialize? Pfffffft

All the students are taking tests today, so I figured this was a good time to test whether or not I still know how to write… As you can see, my ability to make poor jokes is still fully intact...

I’ve been in Korea for about 4 months now and my experience so far has surprised me. Is it culture shock? No. The way my brain works is this – the more unfamiliar it is, the easier it is for me to ease into it. The more familiar it’s supposed to be, the more nervous I am.

Do you know what’s really unfamiliar to me but should be familiar? Hanging out with people. I mean, like, going out and DOING things, chatting, having a meal together, etc. I panic a little inside just thinking about it. The shy person inside of me is going, “No, nononono. You can’t talk to these people. What are you going to say?” And then the introvert is saying, “Do We even have the energy for this? That book looks really nice right now.”

My introverted side speaks with the royal "We". 

But maybe it’s the fact that I’m in a foreign country that has given me the motivation to make plans that don’t involve my bed and a book. I once read something that discussed how you often make fast friends with people from the same country while you are both abroad. However, the curious thing is that in many cases when you return to your own country you might find that you have no idea why you bonded in the first place.

I certainly hope that this is not the case with many of the people I have met here (and not everyone I've been spending my time with is from the same country). They are wonderful people and I’m glad I met them. It does make me think of how much I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone. I’ve eaten out a lot with a group, helped cooked a meal, gone camping and traveled with people, gone to the movies about once a month… I even played basketball with a group of guys. You know how rare that is for me? I’m not athletic. I like to cheer people on from the sidelines, hopefully with some kind of barrier between me and the ball/puck/whatever so that I don’t get hit in the nose or doubled over from a ball to the gut (true stories, people).

Sharing this with whoever chooses to read this is my way of playing catch-up since, well, I haven’t been updating. If you happen to be one of those people I’ve met since coming here, thanks for making my time here so far already bewildering and amazing. Maybe I’m not so grateful for the bewildering part, but who really ever is when they’re going through it?

Thanks for reading!