Who am I? And Why am I Blogging?

Hello! Anyeong hasaeyo! My name is Michael, and I just moved from Boulder, Colorado in the US to Samcheok, Gangwon-do in South Korea. I will be living here for the next year, working as an English Teacher in a public elementary school in a small town called Dogye.

I'm starting this blog as a public record of my experiences, pictures, and wonderings this year. You can expect to read plenty about the oddities (from my western perspective) of Korean culture, ranging, at least, from fascination to frustration. I imagine I'll be posting lots of pictures, as the visual difference between Korea and Colorado is vast, and hard to represent in words. If only I could offer the smells and tastes of Korea here!

But more than being about Korea, this will also be about me and my path. For quite a while I've thought it would be helpful for me to post my goals and progress in a public place (to hold myself accountable and motivate me) and now seems as good a time as any. I'll track what I'm reading, how I'm spending my time and where I think I'm going as I understand it. If it's interesting to you, great. If it only provides me a record of my consciousness and the motivation that comes from public accessibility, that's ok too.

Before this morning, I was on the fence about blogging. Teaching should keep me plenty busy, and on top of that, I'm already developing another website about the health benefits of a natural diet. And then there are hobbies, fitness, my relationship, friends, learning Korean language, learning taekwondo, and finding time to keep myself sane in the midst of all that. So what pushed me over the edge to start this blog? I've often noticed syncronicities between my life and one of my favorite blogs, written by Steve Pavlina. So when Steve offered a free, pre-release copy of his book to anyone with a blog with decent readership who would review his book, I couldn't resist.

To get the free copy of the book, I have exactly one month to get my readership up to a respectable level. So please, come back often. I'll keep it fresh and interesting. Leave comments, refer your friends and feel free to leave me feedback. Until next time, anyeonghi kasaeyo.