Unexpected Experience

Exactly three days ago left Korea four people who made me have an unexpected experience when I thought I could no longer experience more of this country. I wanted to share this story because I learned a lot from it and I feel it has helped me to wake up things that had fallen asleep on me.

On June 19, a friend told me on Facebook that she had some friends coming to Korea and had no one who would help them here. I decided to help and began to wander around the city of Seoul. We visited many touristic sights and other not as tourist but most important to them and, sometimes to me too. But this post is not so much about where we went and ate or saw; it is rather about the relationship I built with these people.

I did not think I could rediscover Seoul the way I did. I had left to go out and visit places because I was buried in my monotony and this experience got me out of it. The city is seen from a different perspective when you only go to the same places all the time. I think because I am not a tourist I had lost the love and desire to live in Seoul, but by getting to know these women that feeling have returned. From the age 19 I wanted to come to Korea and having spent three years here I think all that passion I had for the Korean culture and life in a city like Seoul had remained in "Stop". It was nice to reawaken that in me.

Also, it woke up the other part of me that was asleep for some time now, the Fangirl in me. Because despite being in Seoul and being able to come and go to coffee shops, fan meetings, presentations and stuff about Super Junior (the group that I like the most in the world), I did not. I think I had stopped doing things for them apart of buying albums and tickets for concerts. But I remembered why I had put that part of me into sleeping. And it is that, here in Korea to be international fan is very hard, or at least that has been my experience. During these two and a half weeks we were push, talked in an “ugly not so say rude” way, "banned" (I say ban because sometimes things they asked to go to see the guys were like the official card of fan club or digital buying a CD, they were making things more complicated for us foreigners) over the entrance to a place. 

Now, not everything was bad. There was always a little light at the end of the tunnel and we witnessed acts of kindness that only a fan can do for another. We could see and talk to more than one idol; one person gave us CDs as presents, which is good and noble and strange; we could meet and talk with more international fans and empathize with them because we were living similar situations. And I got to meet and angel and you guys are not even close to think how grateful I am right now that “that” happened to me.

I was able to share and show what I know and they showed me and shared part of their lives with me. Which they did not have to do considering that they have only met me for a few days. By the end of the trip we even had gone out to have a few cocktails. I learned a lot from these women. 

Perhaps what I took the most was their ability to find anything positive in the situations. Because every time something did not go as we wanted they said it was because "it was not for us." Another thing that I carry with me now is the high self-esteem that they had. I've always felt a little insecure with my body and that is not something I worry talking about, on the contrary I believe it is important not believe you are perfect. However, that has caused me many times not to take the lead in some situations and with them, I experience things I never thought I would do by myself, like talking to a stranger from nowhere to ask a favor (and look for a more friendly talk). Being surrounded by this confidence for two weeks gets you more assertive and you feel like a supermodel on the street. It was nice to feel like that.

It was two weeks I shared with people I had never met before but still it felt as if we knew of a lifetime. I got tired, sunburned, swollen from walking and probably ate more junk food than in the past six months but still; I HAD FUN, I LAUGHED, I DID CRAZY THINGS AND MADE VERY GOOD FRIENDS.  I realized that one can really be friends if only you trust a little more in people and may this friendship that was between them and me last long, I hope.

Now that I go back to my routine I surely feel bored because I have nothing else to do but I will try to spend my last two months here at the maximum like how they spent those 21 days in Seoul.