A Month in Korea...

I have now been in South Korea for one month. A couple weekends ago the bunch of us went to Seoul Tower (basically the Seoul version of the CN Tower). On all the windows looking out they had the exact distances to major cities around the world. Paris, London, New York, Sydney, etc. I looked around until Toronto showed up. The exact distance was 10,607.77 km's to home. It was then and there that I realized just how far away I really was from everything I've known for the last 22 years of my life...

The last month has been a rollercoaster ride to say the least.The ups and downs of travelling to the other side of the world andattempting to start a year long adventure has been quite the experience. All signs point to this being an awesome time and I am now just starting to feel somewhat settled into this crazy place. The culture shock is wearing off and the jetlag is long gone. In a city that has the population of Canada within its greater area, its been a hard and sometimes annoying process to get used to but at the same time a pretty funny experience. The poorly written english signs and terrible driving were expected, but there are many customs and quirks here in the Korean culture that requires some getting used to. Bumping shoulders with someone, where back home one would expect a "sorry" or maybe even a fight doesn't get a second look here. Just accepted happenings of walking in downtown Seoul.

I arrived at the beginning of March not really knowing what to expect. Would it be hard? Would it be crazy? Would I like the food? Could I get around not knowing Korean? Many questions bobbled in my head, but I figured I'd just go with the flow and hopefully things would work out. To my surprise it's actually quite welcoming for a foreigner to come and live here. A lot of signs have some sort of bizzaro enlgish written on them to help you understand. Many people in stores do understand some basic english, if you use exagerated hand signals. It's fairly westernized over here and that makes certain things a little more familiar to all of us. The Koreans at my school have also made sure all of us foreigners feel super comfortable giving us directions, showing us ettiquette and the other day even helped me translate the instructions on my washing machine. Now if only they had dryers, I would be set. I've found it a little easier to settle into my surroundings though with all this in mind. Still, Im 10,607.77 km's from home and it's hard not to feel the distance at times. But thankfully, if you ever get homesick, there's always a Starbucks or McDonalds just around the corner.

Closing a Chapter in my Life

As my University career winds to end here in Windsor, I can't help but reflect on the the last four years and how much of an impact it has had on my character, my dreams and my overall outlook on life. Through the many experiences I have had during these four fast paced and amazing years, it has really shaped who I have become and what I strive to become. As much as the information, comprehension, library time, early mornings and late nights brought me to achieve a University Degree to my collection of achievements, to no surprise has most of my more valuable knowledge come from outside the classroom.

As the final days count down to my completion of a degree in Honours. Business Administration with a Concentration in Marketing and a Minor in Information Technology (which I think sounds pretty good) I look back on the various things that I have learned and experienced at University. Some of them were tough such as time mangement skills and the classic all nighters to finish projects only started the night before. Some were influential in introducing a life of responsibility where I took total control over my decisions and had no one to lean on when times got tough. Things like cleaning a house, grocery shopping, laundry and other daily taks are always taken for granted until your in a position where these chores rely solely on you. All in all it has been an awesome and exciting experience that I'll never forget. I look forward to whats next...

Life Goals

In an attempt to pursue a life of adventure, excitement, and purpose I have created a list that I will complete before I die:

1. Work a job that I love
   
2. Live in a different country than Canada (completed March 2009, Korea)
3. Live on the beach
   
4. Start my own business
5. Get married only once
   
6. Start a family
7. Buy a House
   
8. Get ripped
9. Run a half marathon
10. Read 1000 books
11. Write a book
    
12. Learn to hold a conversation in a foreign language
13. Learn a martial art
    
14. Attend all major sporting event championships (Superbowl, Stanley Cup, World Series)
15. Attend an event at the Olympics
16. Be at the game where the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup
17. See a Premiership, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A Soccer Game
18. Go see a game at the World Cup
19. Catch a ball at an MLB game
    
20. Coach a Soccer team to a championship at any level.
    
21. Visit all 7 continents(NA,SA,EUR,ASIA,AUS,SA,AA)
22. Visit all the provinces and territories of Canada(Missing: Nfld, NS, NWT, Yukon, Nun)
23. Travel by train across Europe (Compelted Aug 08)
    
24. Drink beer at Oktoberfest
25. Celebrate new years at Times Square
    
26. Walk on the Great Wall of China
27. Take part in La Tomatina (Tomato Food Fight in Spain)
28. Gamble in Las Vegas
29. See the Taj Mahal
30. Run with the bulls in Spain
    
31. Go to Rio DeJaneiro, Brazil during Carnival
32. See the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
33. See Machu Picchu in Peru
    
34. Snowboard in Whistler
35. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
36. See the Grand Canyon (Completed May 2007)
    
37. Go on a safari in Africa
    
38. Eat Fish and Chips in England(Completed Sept 08)
    
39. Kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland
    
40. Drink Guinness in Ireland
41. See the giant heads on Easter Island
42. Drive on the Autobahn(Completed Aug 2008
    
43. Sail the Atlantic or Pacific
44. Go on a long road trip (Completed April/May 2007)
45. Shake hands with someone incredibly famous
46. Make my own beer/wine
48. Be a contestant on a game show
49. Have my picture in a newspaper
50. Go to a movie premiere
51. Be an extra in a movie that goes to theatres
52. Join a protest (Completed 2005 and April 2007... Both Bush Protests)
53. Get arrested
54. Streak a public place/important event
55. Experience no gravity
    
56. Swim with dolphins
57. Go Scuba Diving
    
58. Learn to surf (Completed May 2007)
59. Go in a Shark cage
60. Go Dog-Sledding
    
61. Bungee Jump
62. Sky Dive
    
63. Para-Glide
    
64. Ride in a hot air balloon
65. Fly a Plane (Completed July 2007)
    
66. Ride a camel
67. Ride a motorcycle
68. Learn to ride a unicycle
69. Do a polar bear plunge
70. Survive in the woods bringing no food or supplies