A quiet Sunday to reflect

Last night, I received a comment on one of my blog posts from when I first came to Korea. A girl who is looking into coming here did a search and my blog popped up. This led to me going through and rereading all my posts from my first year here. It was really eye opening. As I said in my last post. I have fallen into a rut. It is so easy once you get settled into a place. After reading through my posts I find myself longing for those days of unknown adventures. A new place, new friends, a totally new culture to learn and explore. I spent the morning dreaming of new adventures and where I can move to next. Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, South America? At this point, who knows. I have another year here in Korea to get through first.

Yesterday I got a few things crossed off my to do list. While I didn't get the opportunity to go volunteer teach like I had planned, I did go find High Street Market in Itaewon and my movie group is taking off with our first movie night to happen tomorrow. I am currently sitting in a coffee shop near my house waiting on some potential new lady friends to come meet me. Yesterday morning, despite the cold, I made it to the hash with the Yongsan Kimchi Hash House Harriers. It was a chilly run, but as always a great time. I was told yesterday that I am going to be the new GM, or Grand Master, of our hash group. When I first heard of the possibility of this happening, I was a bit nervous, it's a show position, I am basically there to entertain the group, however, it does come with responsibilities. But now that I have had time to settle into the idea, I am really looking forward to taking it over in March. I have just been coasting along in my easy life and I think this position will really help me focus my energies towards something!

I realized yesterday that the hashers really are my family here. We don't all always get along, but they will and are always there when you need them. As it nears my year anniversary of joining the hash, I am so thankful that I met all of the amazing people that I have. They have all really helped me this year and it is amazing knowing I have these wonderful friends here to support me.

Today it is chilly yet again, but I forced myself out for a short 5km run. It is great to finally be feeling good enough to get out and run again. I hope I can up my mileage in the new few weeks and potentially still be able to run the full marathon in March.

I'm adding another to-do to my list. Start a food journal. With all the issues I have with what foods I can eat, it is time I started taking note of what I eat and how I feel. I bought this cute little planner with bicycles on it so I can start recording what I eat.

For some reason, writing in this blog also helps me to realize the good things in my life. So with that I am going to try and write a little more often now.

Things to do

Well we are almost one month down for 2013 and it was an eye opening month for me. I've realized it's time to make some changes. I have now been in Korea for 2.5 years and seems I have fallen into a familiar rut and routine. I have my circle of friends and my usual weekend plans and my schedule doesn't often change. Although Seoul is one of the biggest cities in the world, as an expat living here, the community is small, it is sometimes very easy to forget how big the city really is and all that it has to offer.

Originally I came to Korea because of what an ex-boyfriend, turned great friend taught me: do things that scare you, jump out of your comfort zone and surprise yourself at what you can accomplish. My move here was exactly that, a giant leap out of my comfort zone, and low and behold I am still here. It has been pointed out to me lately that I no longer do those things, I am in a relationship with my best friend in the world and I have been content with living our routine month to month. But it's time for a change. I need to push myself, beyond what I am comfortable with, to be my greatest self. So I am compiling a to-do list of sorts, some may be huge hurdles, others may be small things I've always wanted to do, or things I just haven't had the time to do. Either way I want to strive to do at least one thing a week. The first two items I will be doing this weekend!

1. Volunteer teach
2. Coffee meet up with local Bundang ladies I haven't met.
3. Go check out High Street Market in Itaewon
4. Start a Monthly Movie Night Group(in the works!)
5. Go ice climbing
6. Volunteer at an Orphanage
7. Revive the Seoul Sharriettes Womens Hash
8. Go on a solo weekend away
9. Take a trip and couchsurf!
10. Plan a multiday bike trip(Busan?)
11. Find the Glamourous Penguin coffee shop and spend the afternoon reading there
12. Write emails to catch up with old friends
13. Learn to rock climb
14. Go on a WINK(When in Korea) trip
15. Join a yoga class
16. Plan and save for a Christmas trip to Thailand
17. Go to Jeju and hike Hallasan, solo or with friends
18. Go to a Jjimjilbang
19. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity
20. Go with Ben to volunteer at Angel House
21. Bungee jump(maybe..eek!)
22. Save up, move to a random country, somewhere warm
23. Visit Wyoming and proceed to fall in love with it(I know I will)
24. Be more aware of other peoples feelings
25. Visit one new place in Seoul a month
26. Japan!
27. Take a Korean cooking class
28. Complete one Rosetta Stone Korean lesson per week and practice!
29. Declutter-give away one thing a week I am no longer using
30. Show a friend how much I appreciate them by doing something nice for them
31. Genuinely listen to someone
32. Hug everyone I love
33. Save $10 a week towards random adventure vacations

So there ya have it, that's what I'll be up to in the coming weeks, trying to get back to the person that I love to be! As I complete them I will come back periodically and strike them out!

Another year in the wind

2013 is upon us! Hard to believe another year has gone by. Time seems to move more quickly here in Korea. Things are always moving, always changing. Friends come and go, jobs change, lives evolve. To survive life as a foreigner in Korea, you need to be adaptable. Things are changing all the time. That favourite BBQ restaurant you've been going to every week for a year has suddenly turned into a pool hall. You're best amigo is headed back to the states and a new subway line opens. 

A lot of things have changed in my life this year. I have changed, my friends have changed, goals and aspirations have changed. In 2012, I became a different person, I met got involved with the Korea Hash House Harriers and met many new friends, including my boyfriend, at the events. Through trial and error I have discovered I no longer like to drink alcohol. Those who have known me in the past may find that a very hard thing to understand. In 2012, a lot of my time has been focused on running and getting healthy. I am become more aware of my body and how it reacts to the different substances I put in it. Plans changed and I have decided to sign on for another year in Korea. 

As we all know, January is a time for a new beginning, a chance to change things in your life and alter yourself. While it's true many resolutions made for the new year fizzle away, I think for some people, it is more than just a resolution, it's a challenge. A way to push themselves a little closer to who they want to be. That is exactly what I plan to do. To challenge myself to be a better person, to push myself to achieve the goals I have planned for this year. 

Goal #1: Seoul International Marathon: this will be my first ever full marathon. I have been training for over a month now and because of the weather(it's been horribly cold), I need to push myself even more to obtain the results I want. There is a 5 hour cut off so I need to run strong! 

Goal #2: Stabilize IBS symptoms/get control of eating habits: The last few months of 2012 have been very tough for me. I have IBS(irritable bowel syndrome) and have been having a very hard time. Nothing I eat seems to agree with me. I have been to the doctor every weekend trying to find ways to deal with the symptoms. Currently I am on medication to help kill off bad gut bacteria. This treatment is a month long. Afterward, I will be doing a cleanse diet for 3 weeks. Prior to these problems in November and December, I was eating Paleo 100% of the time. I would like to get back to that but it seems with my issues, my body functions better when I get some kind of grains in it. So I will be experimenting with Dr. Junger's "Clean" Program and following his elimination diet. This will allow me to stay close to the Paleo protocol, only adding in a few non-gluten grains, such as Quinoa and Millet. 

Goal #3: Get social: At times, especially in the winter months, I can become very anti-social. In the winter it's difficult to find the desire to go out with friends. I do consistently go to the hash runs every weekend, but besides that most of our friends spend their time in bars and pubs drinking, which when you make the resolve to no longer drink, becomes a difficult task to endure. I just read a book about happiness in relationships and it said to follow the 90/10 principle. 90% of my happiness should be filled by myself, my friends, family, and others in the community. If I take time to reach out and find other social outlets besides my boyfriend and our mutual friends, I will be much happier on my own, making it easier for him to fill the other 10%. 

Goal #4. No alcohol in 2013. Gasp away, but I believe this will be 100% easier than the other 3 goals I have set. I spent months at a time last year not drinking and while there was always the desire to go back to it, every time I did drink I felt like I didn't need to. So this year I will not drink at all. I'm sure there will be times that I think about having a drink, but I think for the most part this one will be simple! 

There you have it folks, my challenges for the next year. Some will be easier than others, but luckily I am stubborn and will push as hard as I can to accomplish each of them!