1:10AM: I have refrained from visiting a massage parlor – at least til tomorrow – even thru this is the end of my time in Gwangyang; rather, I now drink red wine alone, and reflect.
City of Gwangyang from my balcony - Korea
It’s been weird. It’s been great. It was quiet. It was nice. It was sometimes rather lonely. BUT it was quite okay … And now, within days, my last day of teaching is tomorrow, I hit the road proper again (first a 4-day stopover in Tokyo before hitting Central America, starting in Mexico City.)
My experience of Gwangyang was foremost as a teacher of English at two elementary schools – and one group of students and teachers I’ve already said, Good-bye. The final act is on Monday, at my main host school. The experience taught me, much.
How loving and wonderful, funny and crazy and cute, and a few times – quite-maddening, children can be and as a single man, approaching 43, and with no family or partner or kids it was such a wonderful insight into parenthood and the simple beauty of life, growing, and existence.
Mostly, the children, age 9 – 12, were very into my classes and were always greeting me either in the school grounds or the streets. Calling out “Myyy Call”. I was popular. And it was good to teach the kids and have some fun as I had no other constant social contacts the entire year (small chats with Korean teachers, shop assistants, massage women, and the odd stranger, aside).
It was a very quiet year. The year I proved to myself I could be a monk, a recluse, or a content loner.
But I did set out to follow … this path.
I wanted to be mostly alone, to rest from the road and the world, to try and sort out my monster backlog of 20+ years of travel archive – stories, photos, videos, and art all digitally stored, but largely, this blog / website aside, I have failed. Simply, there is too much to do and one year on it part-time was insufficient (even if I was a mad, workaholic recluse) .
Essentially, I was in a bubble.
Few emails. No friends. No women – sex with massage women aside, not even any laughter or chat over most of the year. The entire winter months, furthered by the fact that I didn’t see, talk, or even leave the apartment for a crazy 2 weeks over the January school break. I was totally alone; and the few foreigners here I had no connection with. So I drank heavily, worked on my travel / art projects, and later traveled the winter insanity away.
It was a fine time starting in Fall last year when I met and kinda-fell-in-love, via my YouTube site, for she contacted me as a commenter, with a wonderful, intelligent, very beautiful – she sent me pics – and independent-thinking, young Yemeni cyber-woman: Maha, 23, working in Oman, university-educated in Jordan.
Over the months we spent many hours cyber-chatting about, nearly everything. It was one of the highlights of my year (and we are still good friends). Another high was more great travels around Korea ( Andong, Heinsa, the East Coast – Sinnan, and then Tongyeong and hopping around the amazing southern islands of Yokjido, Yeonhwado, etc ). The other highlight was my happy, energetic students (who often lifted me from dark moods … my post here was amid such a patch … but since then, over 8 months ago, I’ve moved apartments and life has picked up as my sense of purpose and solitude became clear and accepted and it helped having a new apartment with such an awesome view – EG: this post’s city-bay vista photo, taken from my balcony).
Simply, the experience has been weird and wonderful … but not to be repeated too soon as I’m always looking for new experiences as a wanderer, a traveler, a free man, a recluse, sometimes a party animal; someone who’s always seeking the crazy freedoms of the endless road …
So to you, my sunny, tranquil Gwangyang, especially my happy students and nice Korean co-teachers and off course, the kind massage ladies, I say Gamsa Hamnida – Thank you & Good-bye – Annyeong-he kay-say-yo.
[ PS: In a recent, regional school English-speaking contest of 48 participants, students from my schools were placed 1st & 4th. It was solely their talent, but a nice kick-back for me and the schools. ]
[ PPS: It's now Monday evening - 7:51pm, and I've said Good-bye to everyone at my other school ... I have Soju, in my hand, the view outside is darkening ... Good-bye - Gwangyang ! ]
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