A shortcut and a long way down the road

It's almost Christmas Eve here! Ah! Although it would be nice to have the day off, I think tomorrow will be a very exciting day at school. One of the English teachers took off for the good ole U.S. of A. last night, so we'll be down one foreigner, but we have lots of fun stuff planned! Oh, and election day was this week; South Korea elected its first female president! More on that later...

It did snow here Friday, so Bing Crosby has been singing in my head ever since. After school Friday, I took a bus to Gangnam in order to catch the subway to Sinbundang, where one of my friends just moved. HOWEVER, after a long week and a very stressful day, I was lulled into a magnificent sleep by the unusually calm bus driver and awoke unaware of my location. 

I was 90% sure I hadn't missed the Gangnam Station stop, but then I heard the announcement (this particular bus didn't have a TV screen or LED readout with the stops, eek!) and it said something something "yuk," which means "station." I didn't think it said Gangnam, but as long as it was a station, I could find my way there, I supposed. 

I jumped up and got off the bus. I found myself in Yangjae, which looked like every other part of Seoul: crowded streets with bright neon lights. I consulted my Jihachul (subway) map app, which might be the most useful app I've ever used, and discovered I hadn't missed Gangnam, but I had found an awesome shortcut! All's well that ends well -- I ended up being closer to my friend's stop and made it there in record time.

We met up with a few of her coworkers and had some amazing beef and roasted vegetables with our bottomless beer and soju. One of my friend's coworkers is in her late 30's and is a certified teacher from Canada. She is traveling and teaching with her husband (who also dined with us) since their daughters are now grown. 

Since maybe my sophomore year of college, I have been so worried about wasting my time. I get anxious thinking about staying in one place too long and not doing all there is to do in the world. When asked about how long I'll stay in Korea, I usually say I'm not sure, but I plan to move on because there's so much to do and so little time. 

As is customary, this question came up at dinner. I gave my typical answer about how I would like to stay, but time is a factor. My friend's coworkers laughed in my face. They have daughters my age and are just now starting to see the world. This was a bit of an epiphany-moment for me. Why not stay here another year? Why not do a year in Japan or Saudi Arabia? A year's a year. I guess we'll see...

Anyway, I luckily made the last subway home and spent Saturday decorating my apartment, reading, watching the BBC's Sherlock, and relaxing. Today (Sunday), I slept in and made a trip to Gangnam for Christmas cards and books. I also bought some cool socks and make up, then lingered in a cafe with a soft pretzel reading one of my new books for awhile. Overall, it was a really nice weekend, but nothing novel to report (hehe, literature pun!).

Merry Christmas Eve!