Appreciation, It doesn’t cost much.

Goddamn, Korea is turning me soft.

First I’m bawling about the elephants [post coming soon!] and now I’m writing thank you notes. Maybe it’s because I’m so sick – I’ll get to that – or maybe its because I’m just growing up and learning it doesn’t cost much to show some appreciation.

Alright, on to my eulogy. Just kidding. I’m not going to die.. I don’t think.

So these last few weeks I’ve really been pushing myself; at the gym, a little bit of partying, not dressing for the weather and walking an hour round trip to school to save on bus fare.

The saved weekly fare over the year buys me a handsome plane ticket somewhere.

All while combating a cold/flu I got from Halloween weekend in Seoul. Worth it.

I had a fever Saturday night, but felt okay Sunday.. So I decided to hike a mountain.

Now I have Pneumonia.

Being a typical guy, I felt on my death bed on Monday. But decided to deal with it later in the week. I had classes and dead lifts to worry about.

Well, my lovely Korean teachers thought I looked like a cast member of The Walking Dead and decided I should see a doctor. ASAP.

May I bring your attention back to the top: Pneumonia.

The last few days have sucked. In and out of doctors offices and hospitals. Still working a bit and trying to find the energy to make myself a meal.

I’m really noticing how important it is to have support systems in your life. Thank baby Jesus I have these Korean teachers to help me deal with the medical side of things. They even pulled strings to get me in and out of the hospital today in under 2 hours. It can take 10 hours to see a doctor in Winnipeg on a slow night. Never mind the biggest hospital I’ve ever seen, seeing a doctor twice and getting an array of scans and blood work. AND ANALYZED!

Appreciate the people in your life..

But I still don’t really have anyone to help me or take care of me outside of school. Friends and family would be available back home in this situation.

I’ve experiencing a cold truth of what life could be like if you don’t have any friends of family.

So, hence being a good person to show appreciation for the people in your life.

Instead of night 2 binge watching Black Mirror on Netflix – Man, that show will fuck you up!

I decided to show some appreciation to my colleagues by writing thank you notes.

And I laughed at my mother when she threw some blank cards and envelopes into my travel bag before I left.

Touche mother, touche.

I went the extra mile and wrote those bad boys up in Korean. And English on one side because Google translator could be playing games.

It made me feel good writing them. If I got a thank you note I would be ecstatic so I hope they are tomorrow. And I hope they know that I appreciate them & what they’ve done.

I wonder if they know they potentially saved my life for being too proud of a guy.

Flower: $30 – $100

Chocolates: $1 – $50

Thank you notes: priceless

..or $5-ish dollars if you moms’ didn’t hook you up

Hold the door for people, give the old lady your seat on the bus, and tip your waitresses in North America, folks.

Apparently in Korea it doesn’t cost much for excellent service, either.

I’m off to finish Black Mirror.

Colby