THEY

I spent the last two days with some of my very best friends from my freshman year in college. They came more than half way around the world to study in my little University, and changed my life. These people were the first group of people that I truly felt a part of, and when they left, it felt like I'd lost my world. I wondered if we'd stay friends, and of course, if I'd ever see them again. I didn't know it then, but they were the only "group" that I would ever have where I felt so comfortable, important, and loved.

After two and a half years, I wondered if it would be awkward. It wasn't. I wondered if they would be too different. They weren't. I wondered if I would be too different. I wasn't. I wondered if we would run out of things to say. We didn't. I wondered if we would still find each other funny. We did. I wondered if they would really want to see me. They did. I wondered if I would love them just as much this time around. I did.
Here are some of the things that made 33 hours in Gyeong-ju, the best 33 hours since I arrived in Korea...

...losing Aeri's car. In a parking lot.
...finally having a Korean Americano.
...trying to read Korean handwriting and asking over and over to make sure, "Is that Korean? Really?"
...Injae: "I think every is staring at you." "Yea...it happens everywhere I go. I think it's beca-" "cause they think you are so pretty!"
...looking at remember when photos. From when my little brothers were actually littler than I am.
...international roof tiles at the Seokuram Grotto. These are the ones I could read: Espana, Deutschland, Portugal, America, Italia.
...chicken and beer and a short black hair. And some more (FREE) chicken.
...staying the night at a traditional (bedless) guesthouse. With heated floors.
...green onion...pancake?
...Drop Top Coffee Shop Garlic Cheese Honey 방을 먹어유 (Bread eating).
..."music" shows on TV. In Korean of course.
...playing pool for the second time in my life and being told,  "You are good at sports." which is definitely NOT true.
...bowling for the first time - 50-something the first game, 72 the second one. (Including one very lucky strike!)
...looking for a real blanket because the one they sold me at the school was "made for a Korean girl."
...rice cake!!!!!!!
...a marathon through down-town Gyeang-ju today, really? Yes.
...my friend telling me "Put your arm there." for a picture: couple picture! hahaha. haha.
...eating lunch and my friends asking "Isn't it too spicy?" repeatedly.
..."Your Korean name should have beenㅂㅐ선히!!" Pronounced "Bae Seon Hee" and meaning "kind, pleasing." Genius!
...running to catch the train that would take me so far away from them...

Sitting in my window seat in the Mugangwhua car that was about to take me so far from my friends, I wondered, "Will I ever see this place again?" There's a lump in the pit of my stomach as I answer myself, "Probably not..." But then I am reminded of the last time I said goodbye to these precious friends, as one by one i drove them to the Nashville International Airport. Same feeling in the pit of my stomach, same questions and fears gathering around my heart.

But then I realize that this weekend was proof - the bonds we formed lasted for over 2 years and stretched around the world. Why did I come here? THEY are why I came here. They are the reason for all those hours wearing that hated headset at Steak 'n Shake. They are the reason I left my family and my home to come to a place where I knew little of the culture and none of the language. They are the reason I spend every evening studying and every weekend blowing my paycheck. They are the reason I cannot wait for another 4-hour train ride all the way across South Korea. It's not about where we are or even what we are doing. It's about being with some of my favorite people in the world. And if I can work it out to see them this time, chances are that this won't be the end. Because now I know, some things never change. The love of true friends being one of those things.