Living in the Past, Present and Future

One of the places that I've wanted to visit since coming to Korea is the DMZ. I know, probably not the smartest place to go with the heightened tensions between North and South Korea right now.

And it was definitely not the most wise decision to go on July 25, the day that South Korea and the U.S. began joint military exercises to send a "strong and clear message" to North Korea.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-South-Korea-Set-Joint-Military-Exercise-99020814.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

But I did.

Seriously, I had visions of tripping over the border (no doubt very dramatically) and being the next equivalent of Lisa Ling's sister needing Bill Clinton to skip Chelsea's wedding and get my my klutzy dumb ass out of a hard labor camp.

Thank god that did not come to be.

The photos of the trip pretty much speak for themselves. It's a bit surreal to realize that what you are seeing is actual history in the making - history that's been being written for 60 years.

There were many restrictions on what could and could not be photographed. Notice when you can take pictures into North Korea how far the photo line is from an actual view.

I guess if you're Magic Johnson or happen to travel with stilts or a pogo stick you'd have some great pics. Not so much for the rest of us average height folk.

Life Happens - Even in the Future...But Sometimes You've got to Reflect

It's been quite a while since I've had the opportunity to sit down and write. Reality is that if I tried to capture everything I'm experiencing, well, I'd miss out on actually having experiences.

August 1 marked my three month anniversary here in Seoul. In many ways I can't believe how fast the time has passed. I am also accutely aware that my life in Dallas remains "on hold" and while I wouldn't change one moment of this experience (okay, well maybe a few...) there are defintiely times when I'm looking forward to the comforts and familiarity of home.

The experiences I've had, the people I've befriended and others I've, let's just say "encountered," have been amazing. Or at least provided a good story. Which in my book equates with amazing, because good or bad, experiencing things is what life is all about.

I won't lie - there are days, particularly when I'm experiencing something completely out of any realm of context for me or am extremely tired that my patience is thinner than a sheet of tissue paper. Luckily, those are fleeting moments that pass very quickly - or are eased with a good Skype session, a glass of Soju and a good laugh at whatever insanity I just experienced.

Life is "happening" here for me, and I'm happy to say I can look back on my time here and recognize how much I've experienced, learned, grown and best of all, laughed, as I've lived in the future. Because even in the future, you've got to take time to appreciate the past.