Korea

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It is rather unsettling that I should capture a thought of such clarity regarding my dreams.  I remember the day I stood in this studio flat, speaking about my plans to do my Masters that year.  That was four years ago.  I haven't done my Masters yet. 

My ideal would be to lecture at a prestigious university and meet, fall in love and marry a Professor.  My opportunity to teach at WITS Language School has come and gone.  I am going to Korea instead.  Is it a mistake?  Have I just lost my one and only opportunity not only to step into a profession in the academic world but to meet Mr Right?   

I cannot think of these matters.  I am leaving the very same year that SA is hosting the Fifa World Cup.  This fact makes me feel wholly unpatriotic, and a decision I might reflect back on my life as regretful.  After all, out of all the years to choose to leave this country, does it have to be 2010?  I thought about it only for too short a time.  I considered the traffic, that I am not a particular fan of soccer (this is football, Nicole, which you quite enjoy!), and that the opportunity to go to Korea happened to come along now, and the idea appealed to me now, and my life here seemed to be stuck in mud and mire, and I wanted out.  

Everything is going to be okay.  I'm going to love living, teaching and traveling in Korea.  I am going to enjoy the privacy of my own place, the joy of young children, the different seasons, the beauty of the landscape and seascape, and the new friendships I'll make.  

But if I look at the kind of life I want, I look at C.S. Lewis whose biography I've just read, and I think, I want that!  I want to read books all day, reread them, write about them, discuss them and have fellowship with Christian writers.  I want to be part of something that will develop me as a writer, or poet, or songwriter, or whatever God intends me to be.  

Am I crazy to go to Korea?  Is that another whim of mine?  A desperate cry for attention?  Off the beaten track?  A rebellious streak? My exploring tendency shaken to its core, dying for new experiences which are off the cuff, unusual and challenging to my mind, spirit and body?  Do I like exposing my mind to the dreadful, to the exotic, to the unknown? Will I not think, what am I doing here while the rest of the world is looking at South Africa as the place to be right now?  Will I not feel like I am missing out on the action, on 21010?

Go to Korea.  See for yourself.  Taste it.  Smell the air.  Breathe in the sights and sounds.  Look at the people, and meet them.  Learn their ways.  Learn their language.  Cook their food.  Understand them.  Get to know their culture.  Walk in their shoes.  Appreciate their ways.  Dedicate yourself to your work.  Teach with passion, inspiration and motivation.  Enjoy each moment.  Befriend someone.  Stay active.  Make your place your sanctuary.  Be hospitable.  Trust in God.  Save.  Remember your plan.  Do your Masters in English Literature when you return.  Write songs.  Play the guitar.  Perform.  Visit your sister.  Keep a diary.  Take loads of pictures.  Send your articles to magazine publishing companies via the Internet.  Travel.  Hike.  Cycle. Practise a lighter version of Taekwon-do.  Laugh.  Love.  Smile.  
  


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