It is bittersweet thinking that I have 1 more month here before it’s time for me to leave. A year goes by so quickly and I thought it was time to write an update. I actually wished I had written more of these throughout my time here so that I could track my thoughts better but at least I did do my 2 months, 6 months and 9 months updates.

I was quite saddened about leaving because I’ve come to really enjoy living here and I think, found parts of this life that I had always wanted. This place that I had jumped in feet first to and called my home. It’s amazing how quickly one can adjust to new surroundings. I love being able to walk and catch public transport everywhere (this has not changed since I arrived!). A few weeks ago, I was in Gangneung and had to wait 20 minutes for a bus. My first reaction was ‘omg, this feels like I’m back in Australia’ and I felt frustrated like I would have been back home. It was nice to not have felt this reaction for so long.

At the time of writing, I’m trying to recover from some sort of bug. Everyone seems to be dry coughing with the change of season and it was my turn to catch it. With no sick leave (yes, I am a working machine), I had to push through at work and have finally been able to rest when the weekend arrived.

I’ve started to list items to sell (it’s going terribly bad) and also started to pack. The last of the cold weather has come and gone so I am now washing all my winter wear and folding it away. I’m going through the things that I can throw out/recycle, use up and am trying to now eat up my pantry and freezer.

This coming month sees actually quite a few long weekends. I’m taking another long weekend to use up my leave dates plus there are 2 public holiday long weekends. I have my last trip booked within Korea and hope that the other long weekends I can keep being able to do things that I still want to do. These include many walks and outdoor activities.

I already feel sad about having to tell my students that I’ll be leaving. I hope I’ll be able to contain my tears! Unfortunately, on my last day, I will be covering an additional class for another teacher so I might have no time to even process my feelings until after. I am also physically and mentally tired from working and am really looking forward to not working for a little while!

I’m trying hard to not think too nostalgically about my time here and to focus on each day at a time and enjoying every day. Seeing the change in the seasons before my eyes, the flowers flowering and then dying has made me too conscious of time passing. I’m not too worried about the future at the moment as there is still time (more on that later) before I return back home.