Seoul Searching: life is beautiful

"Are you kidding me? Is this really my life?"
That's a question I've been asking myself a lot lately, and especially this past weekend. This weekend I went to visit Seth in Busan, which is the second largest city in South Korea. Seth said that the name, Busan, comes from the Korean words for "port" and "mountain" (san), and that describes the city perfectly. It's a port city with beautiful beaches that are surrounded by mountains (like all of Korea is). Seth and I stayed at a hotel on Haeundae Beach, one of the most popular beaches in Korea I believe. Before coming to Korea, Seth worked at a job where he racked up a ton of hotel points, so we were able to stay at this place for free. And since he is a platinum member of the hotel chain, we also got upgraded to a state room that was absolutely gorgeous (the room would normally cost around $500+). We had an breathtaking view of the beach, and it had a living room and a bedroom and a Western-style bathroom. Saturday, after our free continental breakfast, we spent the whole afternoon on the beach, including having a tuna kimbap (my favorite) picnic. Unfortunately we both ended up getting really sunburned. Saturday night we went to the hotel dining room for a free happy hour of wine and other drinks (thank you platinum membership). Afterward, we went to Gwangalli beach, another famous beach in Busan. Gwangalli is famous partially for the bridge that was recently built there. At night the bridge is lit up which is very beautiful. Gwangalli actually reminded me a lot of being in Sydney. While walking along the beach we came across some sort of singing performance or competition going on. It was pretty entertaining, but the best part was the group of (probably drunk) Korean moms who were singing and dancing in a large group on the beach. It was unusual to see the women let loose like that...pretty hilarious.
Anyway, the weekend was really relaxing and a great break from daily life in Korea. I had a lot of time to think about things and life in general. My experience so far here has been pretty surreal. I'm amazed at how well things have gone for me, and I feel truly lucky for what I've been given. Coming here was the best decision I have ever made for myself. I find myself stopping often and just taking everything in, and thinking to myself that despite all of the awkward moments and weird things I've experienced, I would not want to be anywhere else in the world. I think I am going to learn a lot about myself this year (I already feel like I've learned a lot) and I know it is going to make me more grateful and appreciate the smaller things in life. I already have felt that change (i.e. being really excited to use an actual Western-style shower) and I can only imagine that feeling is going to grow over the next 9 months.
Sidenote: I've officially been at homestay for over one month now. Only about 9 more to go!