Anything but a tourist.....

I've been anything but a tourist these days. I've been in Korea now nearly three months, and the honeymoon period is more or less over. Coming over on the plane I made a huge list of things that I wanted to see and do while I was in Korea..... and it's basically surreal that I've done almost 60 percent of them in the first three months!

Anyways, I'm obviously not Korean. But, what do you call a foreigner that lives, works, and spends their hard earned money in your country? Hmm! Not a tourist. Spending money is what I do best, and I put that to the test today. Joonho left for Japan for a business trip today, so Holly and I enjoyed an Italian lunch at Sorrento followed by hours and hours of shopping. 250,000 won later I was the proud owner of new shoes, cologne, sweaters, body and face wash, and four new dvds....Can you think of a better way to spend a Sunday? The best part was dinner at the Thai rice place we went! Absolutely delicious.

Part of me feels at home here, maybe because I am starting to form what will hopefully be lasting friendships with some amazing people. Or maybe it's because I realized that regardless of how much more I work than everyone else I know, that at the end of the day that job is helping me to be a better person. I don't know. Self actualization is a difficult thing sometimes. I'll just leave it at that.

Fall has officially found it's way to Korea, and it's gorgeous here. Fall in Chicago is gorgeous too, but there is something about being in a new environment and experiencing fall..... I was walking to work the other day, and I had wished I had my camera with me. The leaves are finally falling off the trees and finding their resting place along the busy streets. I almost felt like a kid again the other day..... as I was walking, I couldn't help but stare at the leaves and to breathe in deep to smell the air. It reminded me of home. The good ol' days of raking the leaves in the back yard with my dad. My brother and I use to HATE raking leaves, but I always enjoyed playing in them when we were finished. I realized that you never get that feeling back. I'll probably never rake the leaves with my dad and brother again, and if so, it'll never be like what it was as a kid. You just don't get that feeling back.

Next weekend I'm going on a rock climbing trip with some of my friends, I'm really nervous and excited! I hope that I can keep up and actually climb the mountain. I'm sure it'll be worth it, and I'll be glad that I did it. I think that is one of the most natural feelings that we experience as human beings: fear. We fear everything, including fear itself, however, things always find a way to work out the way that you want them to. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of hard work and patience.

With that, I think I'll finally snuggle up in bed and watch the latest episode of Grey's anatomy that I downloaded. Overall, it was another amazing weekend in Korea!

But first, I'll attach a photo from our breakfast on Saturday at Butterfingers!