Time Is Running Out

Unable to sleep, I found myself sitting awake at 4am the other night.  At this point I had done all of the internet searching and Facebooking that one can possibly do before going slightly insane.  I sat, in my egg-shaped lime green chair, looking out onto the neon lights of Seoul and once again my mind wandered to that impending thought: the end is drawing near.

Most of the time in life, we as human beings never focus on an end point, well unless that end point is a means to a greater, bigger adventure such as graduating college.  Here in Korea the end is drawing near but it is a bit surreal because with the end, at least for me, comes nothingness.  It brings with it just a large black hole and once again the always present question of, “what’s next.”  Funny thing is I never do actually know what is next.  Life for me is completing one thing and then hoping a door randomly opens to help guide me into figuring out what to do or where to go.

My school keeps begging me to stay another year.  My friends here in South Korea keep begging me to stay another year.  The weird thing is that although I really am having a great time, loving my life, currently have a very cushy lifestyle and have no real other opportunities pending back home it still feels like this chapter is headed towards its end and I’m okay with that.  I feel like I’ve run this course and sure it has been a good one but now it is almost time for something new.

So there I sat in my one night of insomnia, thinking about the end and feeling okay about it when I started to type The List. The List, that is of the things that I would like to try to squeeze in before I go.  I have decided that if I don’t get to do all these things I am okay with that.  I am posting my list below but please don’t think of this as the list of top things to do in Seoul.  Seeing as I have yet to do them I don’t know if they fall into that category for me.  I am sharing this list because these are mostly places and things that I have heard of in passing or that have always been in the back of my mind and figured that perhaps some of these places might hit a note with one of you and be something to try that you hadn’t considered.  The List is now on the door and each time I do something on it I pull it off the door.  Perhaps this is just my way of slowly, mentally preparing for the end…

1.    Haedong Yonggunsa Temple
2.    See a tea field in bloom on a hillside
3.    Go to Busan
4.    Go back to Hyehwa for lunch
5.    Seoul Forest / Dream Forest
6.    Temple Stay
7.    DMZ Tour
8.    Suwon Fortress
9.    Tiger World (Indoor snowboarding)
10.    DVD Bong
11.    PC Bong
12.    Have a Traditional Tea in a Tea House in Insadong
13.    Seoul Tower and Namsam Cable Car
14.    Baus Café
15.    Dr. Fish
16.    The Blue House
17.    Wolchulsan Hiking & Suspension Bridge (Spring Activity)
18.    Seodaemun Prision
19.    Snowboarding at least one more time on a Korean Mountain
20.    63 Building (Wax Museum / Seaworld / Sky Art Gallery)
21.    Mount Suraksan Cable Car (Spring)
22.    Cherry Blossom Festival
23.    Korean Folk Village
24.    Olympic Stadium
25.    Jegi-Dong Herbal Market
26.    Once in a Blue Moon Jazz Club
27.    Seoul City Bus Tour
28.    Visit a Korean Spa