XCV

Today's our last day in Korea and it's been so wonderful here and I feel so happy that I've been able to see so many places with everyone. It's 3:49AM, everyone' s asleep and I'm lying in the dark and thinking of all the people we've met here. Even though the encounters were fleeting, they reside in your mind for a long, long time. Some of the sweetest/cutest people I can think of at the moment: the two dragon beard candy makers who were so hilarious and sweet, the cute guy working at the sock shop, the cute grandma store owner, the shop owner who played guitar in his store, the two women who gave us bracelets as souvenirs and the kid and his grandpa on the train.

I'm thinking about the grandma I met at the doctor's. It was around a few weeks before Christmas and we talked for about half an hour while waiting for our appointments. She told me about her sister who passed away from a thyroid problem. I asked her if she was doing anything for Christmas, if she was going to cook up a feast or anything and she said of course, then told me about all the different meals she cooks and all the family she has over. She told me about her grandchildren. She said with a smile "maybe one day you can come and try my cooking" and that's the last thing she said before we parted ways.

There's Josh who's 2-3 years younger than me but he's hilarious and a really good person to talk to. Talked to him pretty much the entire day and one thing really stuck to me. He was talking about his studies and what works best for him. He said "this is how I think about it: don't study because you'll fail if you don't. Study because you need to and you want to learn." Then he told me how it's okay when he gets like 70% on a test because at least then he can learn what he doesn't know and improve from there. Anyway, I just loved his mentality. I don't know, for some reason I usually don't expect younger people to understand so much and to be such good conversationalists but talking to him was really refreshing for some reason.

James was part of our church community and friends with my mum and dad. He passed away last year from cancer and he was somewhere in his 30s. A few days before his funeral I had a dream where he was healthy and that I hugged him really hard for a really long time. When I woke up I cried and thought about him - I didn't know him well but I remember him being funny and he smiled a lot even in the weeks before he passed. He came over for hot pot with his family one day and he was cracking jokes and stuff. I think that was the last time I saw him. His funeral was the most upsetting thing I've ever experienced. All his friends, family and loved ones were gathered there and I honestly can't think of anything more heartbreaking than saying goodbye to someone who's made an impact on your life. That day, my heart felt heavy with the feeling that we wouldn't recover, thag things were not okay because there's someone you'll never see again. But now I realise that things are okay and though he's not here we can always remember and think of him. RIP James.

Forgot to mention some good news: I now tutor year 1 students! I've only taught them once (before I left for Korea) but I think I'll grow to love them so much. 5 and 6 year olds are seriously the most honest people you'll ever meet. They're so cute and they want to tell you everything like what their dad said or what they did on the weekend or they'll make up all these different scenarios after you read them a story. They're so easily excitable and happy and it's so heartwarming that they find joy in everything, no matter how small or insignificant we may think it is. Quotes:
Kid 1: when you marry, do you have to kiss them on the lips?
Kid 2: yes, or you could just hug them

Me: what does "young" mean?
Kid: it means you have nice soft skin like mine! *pokes cheek*

Me: what does being kind mean?
Kid: it means you help someone up when they fall down

All of this reminds me of Tosin who said to me "humans are like cockroaches" while we were walking to the bridge. I didn't fully understand what he meant until after the fireworks, when everyone was walking back to the stations. The entire street was just sprawled with people and he comes up and says "this is what I mean by humans are like cockroaches. We look like drones walking up the street... but every one of us is an individual. You could pick out any person right now and they have their own life and a story to tell". And it's so true - you meet all these amazing people who have stories to tell and you just think to yourself, wow people are brilliant and I'm in love with them and no matter how short or fleeting your stay was, thank you for being in my life.