Next week marks m y 8th month in Korea and for the nth time I want to say that time really flies so fast. Weather is becoming really cold these days and the foliage is getting to its peak. It’s beautiful.
And just as the leaves are starting to change its colors, my life as well has been changing drastically when fall arrived. The pressure to deliver good experiment results doubled, if not tripled, as we prepare for several conferences wherein we will present our study to the research community. My professor is demanding more results which meant more time to spend in the lab. It’s tiring.
I haven’t spoken about the Koreans that I mingle with everyday coz my judgment might be wrong, but after eight months of being with them I can now say that I genuinely like them. They cannot talk to me so much, but they try their best to be nice in whatever way that they can and it’s enough. I have become good friends with three Korean people who have helped me during the first months that I was struggling in Korea. And until now, whenever we get miserable with our experiments, they are my go-to people. We eat together, go to the lake together, drink together and all that. These might not be too much for them, but for me it meant the whole world.
Having few people in the new city, you'll genuinely love them for showing you their town, for taking you in to their hearts, and for looking out for you. Which they will. Being the outsider, you'll rely on locals to aid your transition in adjusting to the new city, and their self-less kinship will warm your heart. Turns out, you can't rely on everyone, but someone will always be there for you.
The sudden shift on the weather and the increasing stress made me realize that all my hardships in my research became very bearable because of these people. They cannot speak their minds but they let me feel through their actions that I have a friend in them. All those little things like buying donuts because they know I haven't had lunch yet, giving ginseng tea because I have cold, those beer nights because they want to cheer me up will never be forgotten. I am so glad that I am realizing these things as early as now. We might not meet again after graduation but I will do my best to cherish these people with the little time that I have.
