One World Is Enough For All Of Us...

In a few hours, Bill will be on his way back to Texas.

We'll be working on a final update upon his return (actually when he's had a chance to decompress a bit), but I cannot express how much fun this project has been. If you haven't seen his latest update, I'd recommend checking it out before reading onward.

Don't worry, I'll enjoy a Dr. Pepper and wait for ya...

*sip*

*burp*

*Sluuuurrrrpppp!*

*brraaaaaaaaaap!*

Oh, you heard that. Sorry. Note to self: Drink Dr. Pepper without typing the experience.

Noted and logged.

Alright, the point I'd like to make is about how Bill has changed just over this past month. He made a comment to me last night about how the whole experience has really opened his eyes to a larger world.

He had really dreaded the possibility of going to Korea in previous years. A lot of that is probably because he worried about being away from his family for that long, but I think a tiny chunk of it was that he was perhaps a bit "skeeered" about leaving his comfort zone.

We went drinking the weekend before he left and I had asked him about how he felt about the trip. He told me that he didn't really know what to expect. After all, the guy had rarely left Texas, let alone crossed International Waters.

A month ago, he mostly worried about how safe things were over there, if he'd be able to fit in and if he'd be able to get out and explore without getting into trouble accidentally.

He mentioned to me the other day about how he just had never imagined having the experiences that he's had this past month. While we joke a lot about Bill being a "dumb redneck," he's not the stereotypical version that pops in most people's minds of a guy sitting on his ass all day wearing a John Deere hat and slapping his wife on the ass to fetch him a beer.

Truth is, Bill has way more of an open mind than he gets credit for. He's the kind of guy who's not afraid to go to a Bob Marley concert even though he sticks out like a sore thumb with his Dallas Cowboys shirt and cop-like haircut. He's interested in exploring the world around him, even if he rarely gets the opportunity.

He was talking last night about how this trip was completely not what he expected. He picked up some of the Korean language and basically just talks to anyone he can. He's made a lot of friends during his stay, not only with co-workers at the Korean side of the company he works for but also with people in the community that he's had a chance to meet and spend time with. While he mentioned that he never thought he could go to a different country and come back with a lot of new friendships under his Dallas Cowboys hat, somehow I always knew he could. He's just this friendly kind of guy, ya know?

I was pretty amused with some of the other pictures he shared because he literally pulled a few people off the street to take pictures with. He told me that he was just surprised as to how much people were happy to be in the pictures. "It was just as much fun for them as it was for me," he says.

Quite a difference when (during the Bob Marley festival, actually) we attempted to get Americans to be in our pictures. Most would look at us like we asked them for a weasel sandwich on toast. Just not the case in Seoul!

Anyway, for what it's worth, I'm glad he had the chance. It really inspires me to get off my ass and go exploring the world a bit. Which also means that I need to save money like a mad hatter, but still, at least the idea doesn't seem so far fetched as it has before...