New Years '08 'Korean Style'

Wow!!! What a New Year's celebration. Who would have ever seen this coming. If someone would have told me I'd be ringing in the '08 new year in Seoul, South Korea, a year and a half ago I would have thought they were crazy. But it's hard to think that I could have had a better 2007.

As far as 2007 goes, memorable moments were at a premium:

-Quiting my first job after college. A job that allowed me to work for a year in New York City, and in the entertainment industry; two things I had wanted to do since I was a little kid.

-Almost 2 job free months in NYC where I tutored people from Korea, Brazil, Mexico, and Columbia and met some truly wonderful people.

-Moving to the other side of the world.-Becoming a High School English teacher (who would have seen that coming?).

-Traveling to Thailand and Cambodia where I saw some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet and one of the seven wonders of the world, Angkor Wat.

-Going to France for a week with my family, seeing world famous sights, meeting some of my brothers wonderful friends, and seeing my brother getting married in one of the best and weddings I could ever imagine.

-Mud Fest! Need I say more?

-Making really close friends far from home.

-And last but not least, getting a big greasy Italian to come around the world and experience life "Korean Style" for a week. Thanks Karl.

Outside of that, I was also able to save a substantial amount of money and gather a whole slew of life experiences. I always love new years time because I'm totally sentimental and I can't get enough of all the "year in review" shows. For the world 2007 had some ups and downs, but for me, 2007 was a blast.

Now it all begins again. Can I make 2008 even better? It's not going to be an easy task but I'm up for the challenge.

Enjoy the slide show of New Year's Eve 2008 live from Seoul. There was supposed to be a larger group of us, but we had a lot of people back out at the last second due to the extreme cold and/or large crowd. Everyone we told that we were going to Jongak (like Time Square) said it would NOT be fun. "Too many people", "No room", "No move", "Fall and die, maybe", "Too cold", were all warnings that we heard from everyone, but today I can tell you, they didn't know what they were talking about.

It was cold but not too cold. It was crowded but not too crowded, and it was a ton of fun! It is something I'm so glad I did, and would suggest all others living in Seoul to give it a try at least once. Take a look for yourself.