The Passing of Time

One of the more poignant happenings of late was my good friend Sid's departure from Korea. I was able to see him yesterday on his last night before his flight today (taken from March 4th journal entry). I must mention that I was able to slow dance with him to Andrea Bocelli's "Time to Say Goodbye" and then walked out the door to the ending theme of Top Gun -- a most fitting conclusion.
His going away has me thinking about my own impending finale. I can't believe it's already been 6 months; that I am halfway through teaching, through my time in Korea, through my friends and family for this year. I wonder about my return. I wonder about how this experience has altered me and how I will adjust to life back in the US. I even think about my capacity for adjusting to life back in the States and whether I will have an implanted feeling of restlessness. I have changed in many ways and hope that through the fresh circumstances of life abroad I have grown for the better.
Walking home, (again- transplanted from a journal) I thought about my probable inability to explain all the different things I've done and, more importantly, the way they affected me. (I must include this) I made myself laugh by momentarily thinking "I guess this is kinda like Nam." No, in fact, it is nothing like the Vietnam War. The thought was silly the moment I started it but I did get a good laugh out of it. I finished The Things They Carried today (a wonderful Vietnam book) and sometimes I can take on an odd sense of grandeur.
I think it's a hard thing to realize how special something can be in the midst of enjoying it. It's easy to get caught up in an experience and, like so many other things, find yourself bittersweet because it's gone by the time you understand what it was. I am amazed already by how well everything has fit. In a lot of ways, picking up and leaving was a bit of a selfish decision. It was a planned, honest decision, but slightly selfish at the same time. I'm purposely being vague here but I will say that halfway through I know my time in Korea has improved me and that I will carry that back to the people I love and wherever my next chapter takes me.