Sunday, March 10, 2013

End of the Month Post: September

Burning Korea, Susanne's Birthday

September was one of the first months where there things really settled down and marked my one year being in Korea. When it came to my one year, I wasn't really thinking about celebrating it as others have done, but I was fairly indifferent. I made me start thinking about what I had done since I had come to Korea. Had I pushed myself out of my comfort zone? Was I truly living to the fullest while here and not letting the petty things get in the way of my happiness? These questions made me think and it has helped me firgure out where I want to be in a year from then and what I wanted to be doing.

The beginning of september was Burning Korea, which is similar to the great Burning Man that happens every year for a week in the Black Rock Desert  of Nevada. It was truly a moment that was outside my usual comfort zone. The weekend was filled with drinking on a beach at the end of summer, enjoying the last bit of warmth, meeting some fabulous people, watching people get painted, and celebrating what it means to be in a communal atmospher and caring for the others around you. As well as tons of drunken debauchery. It wasn't all wholesome fun. I won't get into any of the negative stereotypes that a lot of people have about Burning Man and the people who attend, but I felt that a lot of the people I met there were truly accepting individuals that wanted to hear who I was and I about them. It was a great experience and sadly...I have little to NO pictures of it. There is one of me hula-hooping that a friend took and possibly others from being around the fire but I did not take any at the event since I had misplaced my point and shoot and did NOT want to bring my nice camera. So...there are no photos for you to enjoy. Feel free to look at photos on Flikr though if you want to see any!

I love this pic, even if it is blurry. Love Suzanne and Bryan :)


The birthday girl really liked her cake :)




This guy was dancing with all of us, showing Alex and Mckenna how to salsa.  It was hilarious.
The other big event of September was Suzanne's birthday! This girl has been such a great friend since I met her back in April, and is easily one of the people I've gotten very close with. She has definitely helped push me out of my comfort zone and helped me just be a bit more of myself here, and made sure I get my monthly alotments of very good Indian food.