And It's Over

The ten-day study tour is officially finished.

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It's amazing how time flew. It's still fresh on my mind what happened upon my arrival at Incheon Int'l. Airport. The compay of all but strangers, the jitters of the "first-time", the inevitable jet lag and culture shock -- all these and more still live in my memories.

I am (and is still) most of the time alone, going a distance away from others, the type that would prefer solitude over company, a one-man team. Though I was not that close to everyone, I have deeply rooted for everyone's companionship and the experiences we've shared together. I only have ten days, and I should not spend most of it being blue and aloof. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I just have to make the most out of every minute of it.

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I already miss everyone. My, everyone's been passing emails lately, and I am to read every one of it. I guess everyone feels the same way.
I miss seeing my roommate Syam in his traditional Islam clothes and praying to Allah. He made me understand more the Islam culture.
I miss the markets and the souvenir shops, and how we would go around looking for a better bargain.
I miss going around the maze-like streets of Korea, and getting lost on a few encounters.
I miss everyone singing "Vietnam Ho Chi Minh" and "Kom Se Ma Ri", not to mention the Pansori.
I miss seeing everyone fall asleep in the bus. Heheh, glad I took pictures of it. :p
I miss our minigames in the bus: "What Happened!" and the beginning of the "Mistah Lee" jokes. :D
I miss eating kimchi, the sticky rice, and the hot pots (reference to Melvin's mail I've read). Being served everyday on the restaurant made everyone go "uh"; some don't even taste it. But now, my tongue is craving for the cuisine, especially bulgogi. :(
I miss Korea and all the places we've visited.
I miss my homestay family. I hope that Mom, Dad, Alex, Grandma, and Hosoo are doing fine, also to their daughter, who just arrived from Canada last Tuesday.
I miss taking pictures. I may sound corny at times taking pictures of inanimate objects as flowers, bamboos, even stones and fishes, but it soothes my craving, and it makes me happy. Of course, who will forget the group pictures!
I miss Miss Sharon, Mr. Lee, Mr. Kim, and the whole NIIED crew. Though at times I poked fun on Miss Sharon's diction and guffawed on every Mistah Lee joke and amazed as to how Mr. Kim would pose for a picture, but these guys are the best. Thank you for providing us all the amenities we needed, and for bearing with our silly ways. Thank you for giving the chance for people like us to converge and engross in cross-cultural exchange. Thank you for all the activity as a whole.

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I hate goodbyes. Many times I've seen people walk away and disappear off of my sight, and it has never been easy. Ery, Dean, and Alvin have to leave earlier than the pack (since they arrived a day earlier than schedule), which makes me the only Filipino left for the last few hours of the trip. I have already lost my inner circle. Everyone will be doing the same.

I am the last one to depart, of all the people. That means that I have to see everyone leave one by one, which is not very easy for me to take. I tried not to cry, but it can't be helped. I've already shunned the stereotype that "men don't cry." Of course, we cry, but we just try to keep it away from others, in fear of ridicule and loss of manlihood. But ridicule and loss of manlihood (among other things) were the least of my concerns...

Even on the last few minutes of departure, and upon boarding my flight, I forced myself not to cry. I've already shed tears, and I shouldn't be that sad, since we can still see each other again in time. But the tears just fell down...

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Now, I'm back here in Cebu. Back to reality, back to my old life. I now have dumps of school works to finish, and lectures to catch up. We'll be starting to work on our thesis tomorrow.

It may have been over, but the memories I've shared with everyone will remain in me. I'll share this wonderful story with friends, family, and to anyone who wants to listen to it. We made friends out of complete strangers, met different kinds of people, been to interesting places, shared thoughts in life, that all-in-all made this ten-day escapade a memorable part of everyone's life.

I'm hoping that everyone can still keep in touch. Even though we weren't able to be together for a longer time, and that we were most of the time with our inner circle, I hope that everyone will extend their reach and make more new friends.

In time, we'll be seeing each other again. It may be in a different place and time, and it may not be all at once, but I'm crossing my fingers...

Til then. Annyong higa seyo.