NVDL - 3 years ago

My, how things change. When I arrived back in South Korea (this was after an initial 3 years) I felt a gnawing claustrophobia that never really lifted. 6 months later I left after what is almost certainly one of the worst spells of my life. I packed on a lot of weight - topping the scales eventually at 89kg. I was eventually struggling to fit into my pants, which made me even more miserable.

I think I felt like I was capable of being so much more after the Ironman, and after a wonderful three months in South Africa, the reverse culture shock back to Korea was quite difficult. I remember feeling quite lonely in those 6 months. It was the year of Hurricane katrina, and when I first started reading and writing about the not so chipper topic that is Peak Oil.

There were some happy times, I just can't remember any of them offhand. I did like some of the teachers I worked with, Su-Min in particular. She was a real sweetie.

When I returned to Korea in April this year, on a press tour, I expected that miserable claustrophobia to resurface. Surprisingly it didn't. In fact, I so enjoyed the week there I've felt tempted to go back for maybe one more year.

clipped from www.nickvanderleek.com clipped from www.nickvanderleek.com I even teach Hermit Crabs how to read. They have problems with big words, like 'Crustacean', but seems to be getting to grips with smaller words like 'pet'. clipped from www.nickvanderleek.com We're at a bar called 9+. This is Su-Min. clipped from www.nickvanderleek.com