i couldn't tell you why i haven't been able to keep this blog going. maybe it's because i've been so busy this past year, with teaching, meeting friends, taekwondo, salsa, yoga, hiking. the fact of the matter is that i do have enough time on my hands to write in this blog. so why haven't i?

i've done a lot of reflecting and experienced so many things... some i try to jot down in my private journal, some i bare for all in slightly vague ways through my facebook and twitter accounts. but i haven't done the detailed update, breaking down all the different places i've been and things i've seen. when i was in greece i detailed everything (unfortunately), in both my private journal and my public blog. i think the difference here is that im not so much a traveler... as i am simply, a resident. i'm living and working here, and in the same way that i assume my daily life in boston or new york may not be so interesting, maybe i think that of my daily [korean] life.

however, no matter how mundane a day in my life here can be, ive also done things and challenged myself if ways i've never thought of before. is it possible to be walking down a street in a city you've lived in for over 10 months now, and still be so surprised at where you are that it takes your breath away?

some days i know i'm ready to return home. i miss my family, i miss my friends. but other days i am reminded of how much of this world i have left to see; i think about the people i've met that i'm not yet ready to part with.

tomorrow i will begin an incredible adventure. i'll be traveling to an island off the south coast of korea, alone. no matter how many countries i've been to, how many things i've seen, there hasn't been a time that i've traveled somewhere completely alone (barring a 24 hour trip to macedonia to invalidate my visa). i am half excited, and half scared for this journey. i know it will be incredible, and i'm looking forward to the challenges that will be presented to me as a solo traveler. no doubt i will meet people on my journey, and i even have plans to meet up with a friend. but for most of the trip, it will literally be me, the island, and a backpack. not to mention the tallest mountain in korea..