Happy to Report that by and large Humanity is Good

Tonight, I am putting off the most recent episode of Gossip Girl (my favorite guilty pleasure), because I feel the need to express my restored belief in the goodness of mankind and my renewed love for humanity. This belief and emotion was lost for a little while, and I am so happy it has returned!

I believe this awareness is so poignant now because for the last 5 weeks, I have been the stranger, the outsider, and the ‘alien’ with an ID card to prove it. I find it comforting to know that although for the first time such words describe me, I don’t feel alone or ostracized. I have felt an overwhelming amount of love, kindness and charity from almost all the people I have come in contact with under my new circumstances. Daily, strangers offer smiles and encouragement as they help me with simple tasks, such as buying stamps, getting on the right subway, and taking out the trash. Some days I feel like a celebrity as convenience store clerks wave to me through store windows and small children in the park stop playing to excitedly say “Hello! Goodbye!” in their foreign tongue. I am constantly smiling, bowing and saying “kamsanida” in hopes that those who are so kind to me will understand how much I appreciate it. One would think moving to a foreign country would be scary and intimidating. Amazingly, I haven’t felt those emotions yet!

I have also had really good experiences with the other foreigners I have met here. Our unusual and similar experience as foreign teachers seems to spur hospitality and solidify friendships more quickly than under normal circumstances. My friends are already becoming like my family. We have meals together, they call to see how I am doing, they care about what I am thinking and feeling, they even let me stay at their apartments…in their beds when I miss my bus home! I know they are there for me if I need anything and I am of course there for them. It’s amazing that I have been able to create such friendships in a very short amount of time with people from a wide variety of places and circumstances.

The ward members at my church have also been incredibly kind. They call to make sure I know how to get to the chapel, they invite me to dinner, they translate the entire 3 hour service for me, they set aside an English hymn book for me each Sunday, they email or text me when I miss church to make sure everything is okay. It’s amazing that so many people could care enough to do such things for someone who is a complete stranger. They don’t owe me anything and I have nothing to offer them in return.

Korea really is creating a unique and special experience for me. I am glad to be here for a time. :D