Wednesday, 23 October 1996
All in all, Korea has so far been a valuable life experience. A somewhat romantic idea of living abroad has been supplemented with some concrete observations:
1. It’s not easy being away from my people. To be honest, I feel very much cut off from my family. (I don’t have a telephone at home, so I call them two or three times per month from a phone booth. That also means they can’t call me. And sending me faxes is too much trouble because the people here aren’t always that keen on helping.)
2. I always talk about where I’ll go and what I’d experience if I had a lot of money. But just look at where you go and what you do experience in your search for the “fortune” that will put you in that position!
Sunday, 27 October 1996
My life in Korea consists of three distinct periods of time:
1. The long, boring hours at work
2. The hours at home when I take it easy, drink coffee, listen to music, and think about things
3. Good times with friends and acquaintances
I won’t be able to turn back time and continue my life without the experiences I’ve had in Korea. What a strange experience! It’s definitely the kind of thing the bailiff can’t take away from you.
Tuesday, 29 October 1996
An intention: I have to make Korea as enjoyable as possible for myself. At some point it will be just another chapter in my life book. I should also remember that the chapter is still in the process of being written. It’s my responsibility to make sure it’s a good chapter. I’d better start working on interesting material!
What I’m trying to say is that I won’t be here forever. I don’t want to have any regrets about something that I didn’t do or didn’t experience because I just wanted time to pass as quickly as possible.
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