So next time I put up a post it will be from South Korea, how wild is that?!!! My last night (well my last full night) in the US and suddenly I had this thought about how I ended up at this point, you know getting ready to go to Korea to teach children English for a little bit more than a year. Like this is definitely one of those where it is like never in a million years would I have imagined this scenario for myself, but here I am. There are so many things like that in my life where looking back at them I see how things fit and how that came to be, but so many times before like I am now, I thought okay. . . how did I end up here? It is just kind of funny and I think sometimes God had a crazy sense of humor when He made my life plan, like He must've known somehow that I needed an extra spontaneous crazy life to keep me guessing all the time and on the ball. You know. . . but I am glad He didn't pick a boring life for me, but at the same time does God create people for boring lives? No, surely not.

It is really interesting too to note that I am not really scared or nervous about this trip. I just feel excited and good. I don't know if I am setting myself up to be let down, but for some reason my mind is like telling me, "don't worry, you'll going to love it, you aren't going to have problems making friends, etc. " Like I am ready for some surprises of course and some that I'll have to get through, but I am not worried at all, it is a super great feeling! I remember when I was about to go to Guatemala for six weeks being very nervous and worried and that didn't turn out bad. Maybe I am overconfident. . . . you think?

I have to say I have always been interested in the Lost in Asia blog and more recently the Crabby Rangoon blog that I have discovered this week from Lost in Asia. I don't really know them that well, but know who they are and it is amusing to me to read about how they are adjusting to Hong Kong. Ah, Asia it is a lot to look forward to, I can tell!

Something to Watch

I am addicted to the Travel Channel, I love it! Well, tonight I watched two episodes in a row of the new series called Moms on the Road: Africa. I think anyone who has access to the Travel Channel should look this show up and watch it. It is about I think eight American women who are moms who come from different areas and backgrounds and go to Africa. They are going to be in like four different countries in six weeks and they all come with different preconceived notions, expectations, etc. The social work part of me just is like this is awesome! It has these women who are so different with such different lives and about what they bring with them from home to the experience, what happens in Africa and how that is all effected by what they brought to the table before it even started, the relationships between the women. They were in Cape Town South Africa the two episodes I saw and like one day they pretty much buid from scratch a play room at like an orphanage type of situation in a very poor are and then they go to the 5-Star hotel on the water for the next two days and the feelings and what goes on. There is one lady, named Pat, the oldest one there that happens to be an African-American woman who I think is the neatest lady. She is grounded, she has done her research about the Africa and the countries before she went, she looks like a great social worker to me on all aspects and just has that sage aurora about her. Then there is another lady married for fifteen years and announces on the trip that she is leaving her husband because she is gay, and then some of the other women are like "Yeah, Good for you!" Wait a second. . . I can support her decision and try to understand, but really applause and shouts of joy I don't know if I could do that. There are other consequences there does she not see them? Hello! Anyway. . .everyone if you have access watch an episode!

By the way, I am leaving for Korea on Saturday now officially since I have a plane ticket! Yeah for me, and I'll have an eight hour delay in Chicago, but oh well what can you do. I'll arrive in Korea at 5AM Monday morning, which is 3PM Sunday Kansas time.

5 More Days!

I am getting pretty excited and restless about leaving to start my new life (well not exactly new, but a new chapter) in Korea! I am still expected to leave next Friday morning sometime even though I don't have an official plane ticket yet. Apparently the school was late in giving the agency their credit card number to book the first ticket, so now they have to rebook it. They promise me though that I am still leaving on Friday because the school expects me to get there on Saturday. I won't have my own place for at least the first week and I will be staying with Charlie himself, of Charlie's EFL College (the school that I'll work at for fifteen months). He lives in the middle of Seoul in a very nice part by Lotte World (amusement park in the middle of the city) and Lotte World Hotel and shopping mall. My friend who works for the census department in Korea told me that I am a very lucky man because I will be in such a famous and very rich area of Seoul. My other friend is excited about my arriving too, I am taking her some makeup and books that she ordered to. She is like you will be arriving for Autumn which is very beautiful here and mountain climbing. Then I'll probably see the other guy too that I haven't met yet, my friend's friend. I have his cell phone number and everything and I think he is excited to meet me. I hope I end up really liking it there and its not two months into it I am so depressed and ready to break the contract and lose all kinds of money and come home. I hope I like the food and can get used to it alright, that is my biggest fear. if not I'll have to go to all the American places everyday I guess and spend tons of money!

I also have to think about all that I am leaving behind here though in the states by going to Korea. My grandma is dying of cancer and if she goes like a week after I am there, I don't know if I'll see the funeral. But the funny part is though that in the last three weeks I have seen her more than my brother and dad and rest of the family becuase they don't really go near death. Plus we have never ever been super close to her. My other grandparents came down this weekend and will be down until Monday morning. My 81 year old grandma keeps talking about how she doesn't think she'll be alive anymore when I get back, which is a little bit of a downer. But everyone seems to be supportive and understanding except for all this talk of death.
What about all of my friends though? Will I still be good friends with some of my best friends when I come back or whatever happens? I guess it will help me realize the people who truly are my good life long friends, but I am not too worried I have a lot of life long friends already I think. So much will change, but a lot will stay the same I hope like my family and friends and the love for and from them. Okay, I am not going to start being too sappy and sentimental.

Packing is pretty much done. . . except for the stuff I won't pack until the day or two before. I am doing really good though with the two suitcases that I'll check in I am hoping to be at 100 lbs total or under which is good (considering that I took 45 lbs to Cape Cod this summer for five days)! It still makes me laugh that I ended up taking that much! I am having a little bit of trouble at times trying to make myself face the question of "do I really need to take this?" There has been some taking stuff out of the luggage and then later repacking it back or spending ten minutes deciding if something should really come out or stay in. I think I'll be fine though.

I am ready to go!

Another Book

Tokyo Cancelled is another book that I just recently bought and finished aobut four days. It is a book about 13 people who find themselves stuck in the Tokyo Airport for a night because of snow. They are from all over the world and a Japense man suggests that they all tell a story to pass the night. Well, it begins and the stories are set in modern time all over the world; China, Poland, Germany, England, US, Japan, etc. All the stories are fiction or so we are led to believe with strange twists and some almost fairy tale, fantasy stuff going on. They all start in one way and then end up in an unexpected way, I thought and some left you feeling happy, confused, sad, or hurt. I thought this was an interesting read.

Quick note about my departure date it is now I believe going to be Friday September 29th instead of Wednesday, but that is only 2 more days to wait. I am so ready to go!

Well, I can't sleep. I thought I was tired and tried to go to bed tonight before 11 o'clock, but instead I turned the computer back on to check the email and blog while sipping some wine. I turned another year older today, I am still very young, but at the same time is it possible to feel sort of old even though you aren't. I mean I know in the grand scheme of life I am still pretty young, but turning 23 just feels weird. I remember when we thought people who were seniors in high school and 18 were old and look at me now, I've passed that now by five years. I think I am pretty happy with what I have done thus far though and I am even more excited to see what happens in the next 30, 40, 50, 60, even 70 years for my life! But for the record after 25, I won't be counting any more at least for a while and I will remain 25, haha! Oh I am growing up. . . . maybe in 10 more years I'll consider myself grown up!

But lately since I have been at home a lot and been bored I have been reflecting back on some things. So, picture me just graduated from high school and then a couple of months later I moved up to Lawrence Kansas to go to college. My first year of college I did somewhat okay with keeping up with my good friends from high school or so I thought. And then after that I don't know I had my own friends from college, who by that point I was closer to and everything was different at home. People went different directions or had new friends too, and I kind of put a lot of distance between them and me. I don't think I ever felt ashamed of my "roots" or whatever, it just with time I didn't want to keep revisiting that and acting like things never changed from high school. A lot of my friends think that I thought I got all better for them and brushed them off or that I changed and was more serious and grown up acting, which was bad. They all liked the crazy fun guy from high school, which I still am. But at the same time looking back at it now how I acted in high school was almost embarrassing for me knowing that I was so immature at the expense of everyone's laughter and jokes, but that is what everyone liked about me. Then I heard the rumors from my brother about what people were saying about me who I went to high school with, even some of my good friends that I was gay and all of this. Who started that up and made that up because that hurt a lot and of course I don't want to talk to those people then and distanced myself further. Anyway, I don't know why exactly I distanced myself away from everyone so much, but if they looked back I checked out of high school by the end of my junior year. Do not get me wrong I had a lot of fun in high school and some great friendships, but now I consider myself close to only about one or two people from my high school and one of those has been on the downhill for a while. Personally, I am offended when some of my friends tell me or I hear that they don't like the "new Ty" or "why did I have to change?" Hello, not all change is bad and I feel like change is necessary and if anything I have changed for the better. I think it is selfish for people to ask or tell other people, "don't change" or "never ever change" "we liked who you were in high school and how much fun you were." It is like telling me now that you aren't as much fun and that maybe you've changed but we haven't so what is wrong with you? I know part of this is all my fault that I distanced myself away from my "home" or "roots" but I don't regret that for a second because that is not who I wanted to be forever. Maybe I should've hung out with more people over the years while I was at home, but I didn't because I was worried about how I was perceived or felt like there wasn't much in common between everyone anymore. So, yes I am partly to blame, but should I feel guilty about that and the decisions I made? Like today I had a friend from high school post a message on facebook today for my birthday that said, "Happy Birthday long lost friend!" Okay yes I read way too much into the words long lost friend, but ouch on a couple of levels. I got past that and later left a message on his wall. . . . who knows? This is one of my eternal conflicts about being back in Missouri after I went to KU that first semester because ever since nothing about "home" has ever felt the same. Well, maybe it is the wine. . .

I am reading another interesting book called Tokyo Delayed that I got at Barnes and Noble on Saturday night. Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow and then post a book review for you all.

Wednesday September 27th will be the day that I leave Springfield Missouri and will arrive in Inch'on Korea (very near Seoul) on Thursday September 28th. I am not sure how I am going to get another week though. I have either been sleeping, watching TV, or reading and doing a little bit of volunteering. So, I finally have a departure date!

This is the book I just finished reading in like three days. I have a paperback addition and it looks different. This book was good, highly disturbing, sickening, thrilling, suspensful, and powerful. If you can get past two words coming up in the same sentence in this book like cannobolism and babies then you should be able to read it. It still leaves you feeling pretty sick to your stomach in parts though, but once you realize what is going on you are into the story and can't put it down. Pretty much there are two different stories going on at once, the first in Nanking (Nanjing) in 1937 during the Japanese takeover and massacre and the other is in modern day Tokyo in the year 1990. It is a story about a young British woman who goes to Tokyo to do research about what happened in Nanking in 1937 to prove to herself and everyone that she is not crazy. There are a lot of issues going on with her that develop as this story goes that intertwine with the this Chinese professor she goes to see to see a video from Nanking in 1937. Well, he won't let her see it and says okay but you have to do something else for me. This leads her to working as a hostess in a shady Japanese men's club and leads her to the Japanese mafia I guess. This story is fiction, but in 1937 and throughout the twentith century up until the Japense were defefated in WWII, the Japanese did try and did invade a lot of China and Korea, etc. So, if you are into being disturbed and shook up but in an almost powerful important way then read this book!

Visa Process Information

I woke up this morning and good news was in my hotmail inbox. The school had finally received my visa confirmation number and then passed it on to me. So, today I got the rest of my documents and money order in order to send to the Korea Consulate in Chicago to finally get that visa sticker on the passport. This should take only four to five business days and then it will be overnighted back to me. The school in Korea is going to buy my plane ticket there and then I guess send it, they asked me what airport was the closest to me. I still do not have an official departure date which is driving me a little crazy. I am supposed to call the consulate on Thursday and see how things are going and see when I might have my passport back with the visa. The school told me in their email that the first week of October there might not be school because it is like Korea's Thanksgiving week. I don't know if that means I'll go after that or what. But with the visa and everything, everything should be ready to go sometime middle next week. So technically I am ready for this adventure to begin, thus why can't I leave lets say as soon as next weekend or the last full week of September? Anyway, so maybe I'll get my visa on my birthday, my birthday present this year acceptance to go to Korea, all that I would want on my 21st birthday!

I am also reading a very exciting, weird, suspensful novel right now called The Devil of Nanking. More later on this once I finish it, but let us just say I was a little bit scared last night trying to go to bed.

My 100th Post: Rememberance and Reflection

Tomorrow is 911 the fifth anniversery 0f 9/11/01 and we all know what that is of course. I recently wrote an email to a friend not meaning to talk about 911, but somehow ended up discussing it in a lengthy paragraph. 911 did affect me rather I saw it then or rather I see the big picture of how it changed me now or not. But the fact remains the same I remember that day five years ago like it was yesterday. Some of my thoughts or how I reacted I am not super proud of or would like to admit, but no matter how much I almost consider and would like to consider myself a foreign 911 always reminds me of how American I really am! I remember being in my high school library that first hour of school my senior year like I usually was because it was my independent study of sociology that semester. I remember the two girls in my class, that everyone kind of thought were crazy, who were the library aids that hour came in from the office and were like we heard on the radio in the office about a plane and as building in NY and all of this stuff. I think I thought they lost it and just kept doing my normal stuff. Then the bell rang and I made it to my second hour class, Spanish 4, and the TV was on and we all just sat there and silence. The one tower had smoke coming out of it and all of that and not to long after that we saw the second plane go in and then the buidings started to collapse. We sat there in silence, I was shocked, like we couldn't believe it! It looked like a movie, like this cannot happen to the US, no way. I think I started to tear up and we were scared because for the first time I think most people in the US thought, "yes, it can happen to us." But anyway it happened and then in southwest Missouri even as were watching it things started to almost start to feel like normal in a weird way. But I was scared for a lot of superficial reasons becuase I was turning 18 the next week on September 19, and the next thing that came to my mind was a big war. Oh no, there is going to be World War III and there is going to be a draft and I am going to go and my life is going to be over! No college, no getting married because I'll go to war and die or even if I don't my life will be forever changed. Sad, but I so remember thinking that! And then the rumor started to go around that gas prices were sky rocketing and that gas was in shortage and I didn't have much gas in my car, oh no! I remember thinking what am I going to do and I have to go to work tonight at McDonalds and work in the grill. That day was weird, everyone was somber, no one made us do any work if we didn't want to and we could watch the TV all day if we wanted to. I remember doing that and then going to work that night after maybe a light cross-country practice (I can't remember if we ran or not). I made my dad come to McDonalds and get my car and fill it up with gas, some gas stations got in a lot of trouble that day for taking advantage of the 911 situation. That Thursday that week we found out that we weren't going to the KU cross-country meet anymore because of 911 (where I was planning on going to college) and we were going to run at Joplin instead. Then the next week, a kid in my brother's grade died on my birthday he had an unexpected brain anerism at school one day. I remember going to See You at The Pole the next morning and thinking wow, this is cool all these people came to pray, but it was about the death. I remember taking my brother and three of his friends to the funeral and a lot of people were affected because my high school was only around 500 people, so there went the birthday. And my brother was pretty close to him and his sister was in my grade so those two weeks were pretty rough all over. I think at the time though I was pretty superficial, and brushed a lot of it off, but felt very patriotic and American for a while like a lot of people. I think that was a good summary of the first half of September of 2001 for me in my life as a senior in high school.

Since then. . . I think things have changed since 9/11/01. I graduated from high school, went to KU, and now I have graduated from college and soon to be in Korea to teach English. I think as much as I disagree with American foreign policy and a lot of other things 911 has more meaning to me now maybe. After growing up some and having a greater appreciation for the world and all cultures and my rich experiences, I will always remember 911. I don't know if it is ever going to get easier for this nation to move on and get past it completely, but how horrible! I do not even have tangible first hand pain or sadness from a person I knew from that day, but it is still sad. I remember going to Washington D.C. two months after that in November the week before Thanksgiving for a political leadership conference. My parents almost didn't let me go, but I remember driving by the Pentagon on a bus and still seeing the giant hole in it where the plane hit, it was so eerie. I remember sitting in the capital where the Senate meets and I think a Senator speaking saying you know a plane was headed for here too or something like that. 911 chaged a lot, but I think for me I really haven't seen the full picture until now after everything. Watching the specials, seeing kids growing up without a parent because they died that day all of that, it might not have been as Hurricane Katrina but still a big deal. (do not get me wrong Hurricane Katring was huge and a lot of work still needs to be done, and I fully think we should continue to work on that.) 911 thought. . . I'll always remember!

Well, this post was for me than anyone else. God Bless.

Yesterday I left for Lawrence and came back this morning. You know me, I just take off on trips with little thought or I leave the next day after I decide to go somewhere. I think that this whole lengthy process (which hasn't been to lengthy) to get to Koreas is killing me. But anyway a friend called me on Sunday and was like you should come to Lawrence it is so and so's birthday and she is having a little get together tomorrow afternoon in a park. And then it was also two girls (identical twins) from Saudi Arabia's birthday yesterday night and they had a little party. These girls have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen, but that is not the point of this post. In addition, my friend from Costa Rica is been bugging me like when are you going to come up and visit it me before you leave. And you know me going to Lawrence is like going home, and once people find out I am coming it is like a battle to try to see everyone, or plan accordingly. Anyway, so I got to Lawrence yesterday and had lunch with a friend and then we went to another friend's house for a bit to hang out and have dessart. Then I went to the other friend's party in the park and saw a bunch of people there, which was nice. Then I went to pick up my friend from Costa Rica and have dinner with her. That was very nice to catch up on everything, a lot has been happening in her life. I hope things get better for her. Last night was an exception to becuase I didn't speak in Spanish at all we just used English. SHOCKING! Then I went to the Saudi girls' party and had a lot of fun there hanging out and seeing a lot of people. Then I went to my brother's place (brother from my Miami family during Spring Break) to spend the night on his futon. He hooked me up and of course it was good to see him and catch up a little bit. Of course I did not get to see everyone and I feel bad about that, but that is how it goes. I already miss everyone though and maybe will try to go up one more time before I leave the States for a while. I am waiting to hear back any day now with the reservation number to go ahead with the visa process. Well the visa process has already started and with the reservation number it will speed things up considerably and then hopefully I'll have an expected departure date! WOW!