A few days after writing my previous article, South Korea was attacked by North Korea. I would be lying if I said my first reaction was anything other than absolute fear. I’ve never been in a country that has been openly attacked before, by a raving lunatic, none the less. I was scared, but I quickly got over it. My time in Asia has taught me that North Korea will spout nonsense about war on every day that ends in y. Even when they do like to show off, and people die because of it, there’s this knowledge in the back of everyone’s mind that they’re not going to push it much farther.
Not yet, at least.
As I started checking out the news back home though, I was getting a very different story. According to some news sources, I was living in a war zone. Things were apparently “very tense” and some news sources started calling it Korean War II. Honestly, reading the news from back home made me more nervous than the reality of the situation.
For those of you who may have wondered, things here are fine. I go to work, I teach, I go home, and I do a ridiculous amount of fun stuff with my friends. Christmas is still as scheduled, and I don’t have to learn about duck and cover yet. Naturally, it’s on people’s minds. The day after the attack, I had to deal with questions like “Why do they hate us?” from my students, and try reassure that we were going to be fine. The funeral of those who were killed was broadcast on public television, and it was pretty emotional, despite not knowing a word of what was said.
Even in the times that could easily be frightening, we all simply do our best to live our lives as best we can.
Christmas here in Korea is going to be amazing. I’ll be spending the weekend before in Japan, and bringing one of my friends back with me. Over the Christmas weekend, I’ll be going to lots of different concerts and musicals, spending the day with some of my best friends in Korea. Despite being thousands of miles away from my family, I’ll be doing everything I can to keep the holiday as special as it would be back home. This includes keeping with one of my biggest passions: cooking. All of my friends will be over for a full Christmas lunch. It may not be turkey, but it will be delicious and special in its own way. Christmas songs, good food, and good friends. At the end of the day, that’s what the holidays are all about, right?
To all my family and friends back in Canada and all over the world, and to all the people who have been reading over the past few months, I hope you all have a very happy holidays and a wonderful new year. We’ll see you in 2011!