2. Randomidity

[Just some random ramblings of last night’s bout of homesickness. Yes before you ask, I did make a little clip of pictures I found on the net..]

I sit here tonight wallowing in homesickness. Someone once said "I'd rather be home forever than homesick for a day", and at times like these I can really understand what that person meant.

And thus my mind wonders to all the great truths of Australia. The sheer honesty of the land, the acceptance of all races and cultures (ok so I may be a little bit blinded at the moment), for the most part. The true Aussie Battler, and yet we all are the same there. Most of all though, we are free and that is what many take for granted. I remember thinking while I was in India that I needed to get back home because I hated seeing the poverty and the hardship of everyday life there, but then after a while I learned to turn away from it.. I chose not to see any of it because there just wasn't any point in feeling helpless. I made myself immune to the suffering and pain; though always I was eased with the knowledge that I held an Australian Passport. Fact such as these, the average Aussie doesn't need to think about, doesn't need to see, and most likely such thoughts will only cross our minds momentarily while watching National Geographic or a World Vision commercial.

Think back though, think back to all the great Australian words that were written so long ago. From those who still remember what it was like in the 'old days' of uncertainty. We were not always like this.. free to do as we please, how we please. Able to say any thing we want and go where we wanted. If not for those before us we would have been living totally different lives. Here is a song many Aussies will know, It’s called “I am Australian” and was written by a guy named Bruce Woodley of The Seekers:




As for today’s little story.. A couple of weeks ago in Nokjeon Elementary School, I was walking up the stairs with the sixth grade teacher (Mrs Ham), and being new to the whole “wearing slippers at school thing” coupled with the “assume all stairways are symmetrical” thing, I tripped over. What happened next had me laughing so hard I had to force myself to stop before we got to her class. As I tripped and caught the railing to stop me from falling ALL the way down the stairs, Mrs. Ham see’s me and shouts: “OH! BE QUIET!!” Of course what she meant to say was “OH! Be careful” but since she tells her class to be Quite a lot more than Careful she got them mixed up. We were both giggling throughout her 40 minute class.. her from embarrassment, and me.. well, you know when you laugh so hard that it hurts and then you forget what you were laughing about but can’t stop.. well that was me. Since the kids knew something was up; the mood of the class became cheery and jovial. It was one of the most amusing classes I’ve had.

And that's all for today.. Next time I'll tell you about the amazing thing Simon did while I was in Hongcheon still. I must have forgotten to write it before, but now this post will remind me! Bye for now!