I only have a few days left before I leave Korea – now one of the reasons as a lot of my friends know, that I came to Korea was to find a Korean girlfriend and marry a Korean girl. Now that goal has to be pushed back, since I am single right now and will not be bringing back a girl to USA/Canada obviously. One of the best things about Korea, is the beautiful slim sweet and polite women here that seem to be everywhere. I’ve talked about how Korea is very unique in the sense that the *average* girl is so beautiful and caring here. Usually those kinds of girls exist in very small quantities in other countries, but in Korea the majority of girls are like that.
So when I go back to USA/Canada, my main concern is how do I find the right Korean girl abroad? There’s obviously not as many Korean girls abroad as in Korea, and the existing Korean girls there (especially in California) are going to be harder to get due to them having more options. They can choose between Korean guys, Korean-American guys and American guys. Why would they go for me? But I keep telling myself my personality changed a bit since before, I am less shy, more confident, my style is better (my friends tell me), and I know more about Korean culture and Korean language, so in theory I should have an advantage still even if I go back. But I am still hesitant and unsure about this.
One of the reasons is that next year is 2017. Now for some reason, I’ve always had worse luck in odd numbered years than even numbered years. And I’m not quite sure why that is. Let me recap my years since 2000:
2000: I was in sixth grade, and an overall really good year as I remember, since I had a good teacher, good grades, and the girl that I had a crush on acknowledged me multiple times that year.
2001: seventh grade, I struggled the most I ever had in elementary school because I had problems with math, specifically fractions as I recall. That was the only time me and my parents were really worried about my grades in elementary/high school.
2002: A good year. Eight grade I actually got to dance with my crush(!) at the school dance, and overall I have fond memories of my last year in elementary school. My teacher was really cool and I remember end of year we had a party at my crush’s house!
2003: Ninth grade. Nothing too special happened this year, and I don’t remember anything too exciting happening to me that year. It was overall a so-so year. I remember getting my first job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. My love for chicken wings started then.
2004: Tenth grade. I tried out for the football team and made it (my friend convinced me). And my popularity went up a lot because of that. A lot of girls knew me throughout the school because of my presence on the football team. Also the time I began programming websites.
2005: Eleventh grade. I remember starting my interest in guitar and playing guitar at the coffee house this year but I also remember being rejected by a lot of girls I was interested in that year. I remember being forced to take summer physics and chemistry classes by my mom because she thought it was necessary for computer science in university. I told my mom it had nothing to do with computer science but she wouldn’t listen because apparently in China, they had to take chemistry and physics, so that means in Canada I had to take them as well. Typical Chinese mom logic. That summer I also worked as a cashier for a local convenience store. I remember my love of snack sausages starting then.
2006: 12th grade. My last year of high school was pretty memorable. My guitar skills continually went up, and I played some gigs in Barrie and Toronto. I had graduation parties at my friend’s houses and in particular one Japanese friend I made who I would meet 10 years later in Japan this year (amazing right). The first time I drank a lot of alcohol and nearly died from alcohol poisoning (I blacked out and woke up at my friends house). Also my first year at University of Toronto where I made a lot of friends in my CS program, made friends at Frosh Week, worked at the CNE as a screen door demonstrator often making fun of all the ridiculous people that walked by. I lived in the university residence that year and met a cool Korean roommate who introduced me to Korean church. Overall it was a very memorable year.
2007: My first/second year of university I remember being insanely difficult, and my lowest grades I ever got in university came in second year. Not only that but, one of my female friends in university started ignoring me (I still dont know the original reason why) and I was really frustrated by it and my schoolwork was ultimately affected by it since I constantly saw her. She was a total bitch now that I look back on it, but back then I was too innocent and it deeply affected my personality as I used to care how other people thought about me and now I don’t.
2008: My second/third year of university was also difficult, though not to the same degree as in 2007. I started studying more and more. I met one of my best friends in university that year (a chinese girl in my economics class). I started playing piano more and often did so with her. I started investing in stocks that year. I remember changing my focus to economics and business and not just computer science.
2009: my third/fourth year of university was a bit easier. I took different courses, and thankfully got my co-op internship at the Canadian government that year and met a lot of cool people. This year and the next were technically a break from school as I didn’t take many courses while I worked. I bought my first car that year. It was my first job and I started becoming more conservative because I realized how much I got taxed. I took public speaking at Toastmasters. I remember being too shy to talk to girls still. And I got rejected by the Commerce program forcing me to change to just an Economics major. Took a trip to Cuba with my family that year which was nice.
2010: Still working at the internship, but it was overall better year than 2009. I started to hang out more with co-op students, met many friends, went to lots of house parties. I made my first girlfriend that year, a Chinese-Canadian girl and had my first kiss. I remember putting on an mp3 CD in my car, and driving with the sunroof down in the hot Canadian summer. I remember going to a Chinese temple with a cute girl and listening to Beethoven in the car with her. I started to open up more that year. Joined AIESEC and was the website manager for the Toronto branch. Overall 2010 was a memorable year.
2011: Probably the best odd-numbered year I ever had. I finally graduated university, and thankfully I found a job in the place I wanted, in San Francisco/Silicon Valley, California. That was my biggest accomplishment to date. I went to San Francisco first to go to a technology conference and fell in love with the city. And fortunately I was able to live there now. I made one of my best American friends there at that first company, Switchfly Inc (Chinese-American). That year I also got interested in Korean culture, and Korean language and made my first Korean friends (some of which I still contact to this day). 2011 was the year that made it possible for me to live in the USA, so it was unforgettable. I also took a trip to China for 2 weeks before I came back to Canada which was also a great experience.
2012: Probably still the best year of my life. I met alot of good friends at language exchange meetups, many of them Korean. I hung out with them alot, drank alot. Work was not that stressful. I would hang out with my Chinese-American friend after work and play games alot. I traveled everywhere in California, like Yosemite, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Napa, San Diego, LA, Vegas, Grand Canyon, etc. I made my first Korean girlfriend that year, and I still remember her today. I also lost my virginity that year. I came in third in a startup competition. My brother and parents came for a visit (at different times) and I was able to fly a plane with my parents over San Francisco. My parents helped me find my SF apartment and loan me some money to purchase it late that year. I bought my scooter that year. I spent the new years with a Korean girl in San Diego. This year was really impactful on my life overall and really memorable to me.
2013: Not so good a year. Didn’t have any girlfriends that year. Work was just so-so though I changed jobs that year. I remember being rejected by a lot of girls that year, and a Korean girl standing me up in Vancouver. I lost lots of money in stocks that year and parking tickets. I went to lots of clubs and house parties but only met a handful of really good friends that year. On the plus side – I had lots of house parties, I went to Korea for the first time, which is still a really memorable experience, and had a lot of fun. My parents, brother and cousins came to visit me, and we took a roadtrip through California, Vegas, Grand Canyon together which was all really great. So this year had a lot of plus and minuses.
2014: Overall a year with more pluses I think. I found a really cool friend to hang out with in California at the beginning of the year, and we went to lots of places together including LA, and many house parties at his place and mine. Went to Korea for the 2nd time, which was great as well. Finally found a remote job I could work from anywhere, which allowed me to travel to Korea ultimately. Did Couchsurfing, hosted alot of people from different places (Poland, Texas, Korea, China, Russia) at my house. I met my second Korean girlfriend that year. Spent Christmas with a cute Korean girl by my side. It was ultimately a better year than 2013.
2015: Last year was mostly negative. I don’t want to say it was a wasted year but, most of the people I met in Korea that year, I didn’t keep in contact with except for a select few. I went to lots of clubs, lots of meetups, had lots of drinking nights in Korea – and unfortunately most of the people I spent that time with I don’t keep in contact with anymore. Thats Korean life I suppose – but its also kind of sad. On the plus side, I traveled to Eastern Europe and had a really good time there and met cool people there. But overall I don’t rate last year that highly. I didn’t find a good girl until towards the end of last year and that only ended in breakup anyways.
2016: So far, its been a okay year. I lost lots of money through betting. I focused more on my work this year. But I did lasik surgery and changed my style a bit, and that seems to have helped me a lot this year with meeting good girls. I dated multiple Korean girls this year, and it was a good experience. Traveled to Japan and Taiwan this year. I began to get tired of Korean life this year, but I felt that I really matured a lot this year, especially with relationships.
So overall, I rate my even number years a lot higher than my odd number years, (with 2011 being the exception). My years in San Francisco (2011-2014) I consider to be the best years of my life, and so I am somewhat excited about going back, but nervous about meeting a good Korean girl there. If you noticed, all the odd number years of my life, I never had a girlfriend. So hopefully I can break that curse next year!!
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