On August 22, I returned to my home in CA.  Just 4 days later, it feels like the entire adventure was a dream.   Did I really travel to Korea, Thailand, Japan, China, and Vietnam?  Did I really stay at a temple and bow 108 times at the crack of dawn?  Raw Oysters?  Snow slides? Rainy Busan?  Seoul Adventures?  Smoke bombs at the school fire drills?  Making green tea?  Cherry blossoms?  Bathing in a room full of nude Korean ladies?  Traditional markets? Students studying until 10:00pm?  Rock, paper, scissors?  Playing  Badminton?  Having chicken and beer during class?  Karaoke at the staff New Year's party?  Was Korea really my home for a year?

Yes, yes it was.  I met some amazing people, saw some amazing things, and experienced an amazing culture.  Do I have any regrets...NO.    Would I do it again...I don't know.  One thing I do know...

The best adventures of my life are those where I leave what is "normal" and enter a new world. A world full of obstacles that, at times, seem impossible to overcome. And yet, I make it through these challenges and emerge as a stronger, wiser, and more humble person. Many lessons were learned this year and I have confirmed that change is good. Take a risk my friends ---> Change...IS...Good! 

Throughout my year in Korea, I have had many experiences that have left me scratching my head in confusion.  I thought I'd share a few examples from the last couple days.

Hospital patients wandering around outside.  Any time you pass a hospital in Korea, there will be patients hanging around outside in their hospital gowns.  Just seeing them outside seemed strange when I first got here.  Now, I'm used to seeing them out for a walk while pulling along their IV, going for coffee, or just having a cigarette.  I even had a friend tell me that she saw a guy with crutches hobble down to the beach, remove his hospital gown, go for a swim in his underwear, then get back in the gown and hobble back to the hospital.   Really??   Doesn't it seem strange for a person to be staying in the hospital if they're well enough to go for walks, go out for coffee or go swimming?  I don't get it.  Most of the time I'm not able to catch this on film, but I did see these guys at a coffee shop last week.

Menu Items.  Reading a menu can be a challenge.  Whether it's written in Korean or translated to English, some things are never quite clear.  In the same coffee shop mentioned above,  there was an interesting menu item.   I'm hoping that "dog pretzel" means a hot-dog wrapped in a pretzel and not Fido.  Needless to say, I stuck with the original pretzel.

Medical Treatment for Trees.  Tonight I took an evening walk around the Ulsan Sports Complex.  The complex is just down the street and has a nice walking/biking path along the perimeter.  Though I'm there just about every week, something unusual caught my attention today.  After doing a double-take, I saw that there were a few trees that had IV bags hanging from them.  At first I thought that one of the hospital people must have dumped it there, but upon further examination, I saw that the needles were actually inserted into the trees.  Why would a tree need an IV bag?  They look healthy, and they shouldn't need water as it IS the rainy season right now.  Why would only  a few of the trees need these?  Is this some kind of science experiment or something?  I may never know.

Once again I must apply Rule #1:  Never question anything that happens in Korea...there are some things we will never understand.

Delicious sandwiches, Beomeosa Temple, walking by the creek, watermelon from strangers, margaritas and people watching, good conversation on an incredibly crowded beach-ee at night, umbrellas galore, swimming in the ocean, pictures with weirdos, Spaland, and a fabulous massage-ee. Bye-bye Busan!