So, I hope everyone out there has a happy, safe and enjoyable festive season. I’m glad to have finished off my work year this afternoon and am looking forward to some downtime back home with my friends and family in the Australian sun.

I always try to get back home once a year if I can – preferably at this time of year – as deep down I’m family person who loves spending time with my family and people I know best and have known all my life. It’s always good to get away back home and recharge the batteries, get some space to reflect on the past year and see things though a clearer perception away from all the pressures and stresses you sometimes experience in a vastly different culture to your own.

I often face the trip back home with a bit of anxiety and trepiditon. It’s nothing to do with my family or Australia, it’s mainly to do with the symptoms of reverse cultural shock. I always find it difficult to adjust back to the sheer casualness and laidback approach to life in Australia – even in big city Sydney – compared with the high tension, hustle-bustle, uber-competitiveness of Korea. These days when I get back home for the first few days at least I walk different, sound different, dress different and act different than the average Australian. People often think I’m either a tourist, a foreigner, or a freak and give me a wide berth. Then, they get to know me and realise that I am indeed a freak! Once I get adjusted back to Australian life I calm down again and everything is sweet, just that by then it’s time to head back to Korea!

Anyways, I’m looking to some sun, sand, surf, real sandwiches, cheese, meat pies, roast lamb, real steak, real beer and no kimchi. Hope you all have a good festive season wherever you are and I’ll be back in 2010, if not sooner!

Cheers~!

You see I wasn’t much of a reader when I was young. I was much of a writer either. I was shy and had a slight speech impediment as a young fella and I guess that slight impediment transferred through to my schooling days where I largely shied away from reading and writing as much as I could as I wasn’t as good as the other kids, and as such didn’t enjoy these activities.

Looking back at my high school days, nothing much changed really. I wasn’t particularly good at English and I only remember reading a handful of books and plays I was supposed to read during English class, The Great Gatsby, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Crucible and Maestro, I still remember to this day having actually read and enjoyed – among a select few others.

This didn’t stop my Mum from encouraging me to take up the highest strain of English class in my final two years of high school in the hope that I’d somehow enjoy the experience and get good grades. That experiment lasted a good six months of pain-filled, anxiety-ridden classes full of predominately enthusiastic female classmates happily discussing every minute detail of Jane Eyre or some such shit with myself wishing to disappear in the background and praying that I don’t inevitably get asked questions on text I hadn’t bothered reading.

For I had much more productive endeavours to pursue during my high school free time rather than reading shitty books. There was the frequent map drawing via pen or computer – I had a weird hobby, I wanted to become a cartographer; the afternoon informal footy games with mates after school; the occasional swim or cricket match with my brother in the park outside our house; or my most treasured activity whilst home alone – scouring our household’s extensive video collection in the hope that I can find at least one nude, topless or nip-slip scene from a raunchy film to masturbate to. Yes, I had more lofty endeavours to spend my precious time with than to read a fucking book. So, I choose to avoid reading at all costs.

This book reading aversion largely continued throughout my tertiary studies – both graduate and post-graduate. It was about this time the Internet came about and when I wasn’t masturbating to fake images of Mariah Carey topless – the other 10% of the time I actually started reading usenet discussion groups on all manner of weird and wonderful things. For once in my life, my reading was taking precedent over my watching TV.

After my none-too-stellar academic career I found myself working part-time and needing coin with little motivation to find a real job back home, I found myself coming to Korea. Finding myself hoisted into the centre of South Korea’s educational zealotry as one of its prime facilitators – the educator – I found myself simultaneously disturbed and in wonderment at the lengths Koreans – in particularly Korean mothers – value education and learning. Hour after hour, class after class, kids are boxed into classrooms and study halls – and if they’re lucky they might learn something new at the end of the day. Not only that, but adults too seem to take pride and have drive to join a club, group or class and learn something new or perhaps improve themselves in some way.

This was all a foreign concept for an urban Australian. Most urban Australian males beyond the peak sporting ages of under 25 are interested in watching sport on TV, mentioning to mates their new car/house/power drill, or feeling actively going to the beach and perving on topless chicks whilst the wife isn’t looking. But, rarely does anything remotely educational enter the average Australian male’s mind past the age of 25. That shit’s for schoolkids, uni students, or uppity wankers.

But, the longer I’ve stayed in Korea the more I’ve been drawn into actually learning something in my – ample – free-time whether it be a new language (I’ve so far dabbled with 6 in one form or another for varied results), learning the guitar (another work in progress), or reading books I should have read a decade and a half ago.

Scientists have increasingly found that the brain – being a muscle, just like any other muscle – needs regular exercise to keep strong, agile and alert. As such, they recommend livelong learning involving mentally stimulating activities as simple as crossword puzzles, Sudoku, or reading to keep the brain going and reduce the risks of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. To this, I plan to keep learning, keep reading and in doing so hopefully tackle all those books I should have read in my youth.

Wish me luck!

If you’ve came across my previous entry written 20 minutes ago, you may be under the mistaken belief that I’m some kind of Asiaphobe, who believes nationalism,  intolerance, conflict and corruption is going to bury Asia before she rises, well frankly, you couldn’t be further from the truth. For I’m a firm believer in Asia – despite all her many and varied challenges – and believe that when this century’s out, it will be in Asia where the best decisions are made, where the young, beautiful and talented flock to, and where the poor, needy and aspiring hope to migrate. It’s already all around now and we’re only into the ninth year of the century!

Now, Asia’s got a mountain of challenges, issues and tensions which will take a mountain of courage, skill, determination and patience to overcome. But, these virtues Asia has in abundance. I’m a firm believer in the human resources of Asia’s rich, varied and hardworking populace. Here is where the bulk of this century’s geniuses, entrepreneurs and stars will be born. This is where hope will be inspired, this is where the poor will rise given the chance. Quite simply, Asia is the 21st century’s America of the 20th century.

But, for this to occur it will require Asia to move together towards a common, united and prosperous future such as that which the bulk of Europe have united towards. But, if you think it’s been nothing but a struggle getting Europe together – with her several millennia of painful history-  you ain’t seen nothing yet. But, Asia needs to do this to prosper and I firmly believe that Asia’s incredibly strong desire to prosper will unite the bulk of the continent – particularly the eastern half – towards a common future of prosperity not seen before. For, it will be – and already is – Asia with the largest, most populous cities and centres of employment, technology and industry. Each year, China and India combine graduate nearly as many university students as the population of Australia. Now, anywhere with that number of educated, intelligent young people entering the workforce has a brilliant future. And, although many are having trouble finding work at present, particularly in China, this is all but a temporary trend, and the Chinese dragon will flex her might again very soon.

As mentioned earlier, Asia faces challenges. And, that’s putting it extremely mildly. Never before in the history of mankind has there been a continent with as many people, with as much as overcrowding, with as much and increasing environmental degradation, with as much as illness and disease, and with as grinding poverty. But, as East Asia has and continues to show, it is possible to overcome such challenges with a committed, focused, industrious, well-educated, talented and hardworking population. China, India and the SE Asian nations of Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are closely following in the footsteps of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan; and many others will soon follow suit.

Not to overlook West Asia and the Middle East where small nation-states such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are showing the way by taking creative steps and diversifying their wealth for the inevitable decline of oil wealth. Other Middle East nations and nearby nations such as Iran will no doubt eventually follow suit and modernise, whilst also becoming more accommodating and secular to move towards a brighter, more even and prosperous future.

Now, you may think this is pie in the sky optimism – or that I’ve just taken some illicit substances. But, I honestly believe Asia will become a more united, wealthy and prosperous continent matching and eventually overtaking the traditional realms of wealth and influence – Europe and North America, who will not wither, just not prosper at the same exponential rates as Asia.

There will be some areas, some countries and some pockets of Asia in which the bubble of prosperity will not either not arrive or not be realised to the same magnitude as elsewhere for a myriad of reasons. But, the same is true for Europe and North America now. Look at Albania in Europe, or more tellingly, Haiti in North America. Growth and wealth distribution will not be even and for every Asian success story this century, there are bound to be a few Albanias and Haitis to go along with it. But, all in all, the Asian future now is a lot brighter than it has been for the last 400 years.

When I think of my 18-month old nephew in Australia I can’t help but think that his future will be intricately connected with Asia through one way or another. It is Australia that is in a prime position to take full advantage of Asia’s prosperity being the largest Western nation close to Asia. Australia’s future – like my nephew’s – will be increasingly linked with Asia’s, and if Australia is to prosper it needs to strategically and carefully manqge to hitch a ride without jeopardising its own future, core beliefs or prosperity in doing so. I really hope my nephew learns an Asian language at a young age to get a headstart in jumping on the Asian bandwagon. Maybe that’s where I come in as the Korean tutor.

Make no mistake, the future is Asian. If you have kids, get them learning an Asian language, if you have money look to Asia for opportunities to increase it, if you have nothing going look towards Asia, perhaps it can give you a job or opportunity you never thought existed. That’s what it did to me six years ago. Now, I’ve just got to be more pro-active and work on this opportunity I’ve been provided in the most exciting and dynamic corner of the planet.

But, nowadays I guess after six years since I first stepped onto this peninsula, what used to fascinate me has become mundane, what used to excite leaves me feeling numb, what used to piss me off … well still does piss me off but I don’t what to burden y’all with the details, and what used to arouse me .. well that still does!

I guess in essence, Korea has bcome the ‘real world’ for me, it’s no longer eye-opening, it’s no longer special, it’s no longer worth writing home about. Sure, there still plenty of funny situations and unusual and quirky daily occurences, but I’ve been here so long that they are just a part of life here. Sometimes I envy my friends and people I meet who’ve just come here, wide-eyed and filled with curiosity … only for it to dampen by grumpy long-timers such as myself.

Korea’s still a wonderful, fascinating, interesting country and a great place to live. But, I guess it’s now home, and no one wants to write about home.

I’ll try to write more about Korean life, in particular Jeonnam life, for folks interested overseas, but the longer I’m here the more difficult it is to see ‘home’ through a ‘newbies’ eyes.

The title will stick regardless.

That said, I do feel the need to move on, to try something new, to broaden my horizons, to take a punt and take a risk as for the last few years I haven’t done that enough and nothing’s worse for me than when I’m treading water as I’m increasingly doing at the moment. Often it takes a lot of courage to move on and that’s one area where I do often settle for what’s comfortable, what’s acceptable, what’s normal, what’s decent – rather than just taking a punt and going out there. If it wasn’t for me taking a punt six years ago, I wouldn’t have ever landed here.

So, I’ve been thinking lately and a big part of me wants to try my hand at China. I’ve always been interested in the land, its people, history, cultures, languages, and traditions; and perhaps it’s time to further acquaint myself with the Middle Kingdom. I’ve started looking online as to the possibilities of teaching and studying at the same time. There are quite a few study programs over there but they are quite pricy and seem to not leave much time for work – if that is indeed possible under the required Visa.

The city I’d most like to study in is Qingdao, which just across the Yellow Sea from Korea. Qingdao’s a fairly interesting and, judging by the photos, beautiful place which came to prominence when it was firstly a German concession at the turn of the 20th century and then consequently, and very controversially, was transferred to Japan along with surrounding Shandong province following the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. This very unpopular decision played a significant part in the May Fourth Movement and subsequent birth of the Chinese Communist Party. The Germans left their mark however with beautiful German colonial architecture still intact and perhaps more importantly, China’s number one beer, Tsingtao.

Another, and more costly, option I’ve been pondering lately is returning home and returning to school to study a Masters of Asian Studies. Having been in East Asia for the last six years I’ve developed a keen interest in the languages, politics, current affairs, histories, cultures and traditions of the nations in this region. Since ANU has the best program in Australia, I’d naturally want to go there but unfortunately they don’t do distance study and as such I’d have to live in Canberra! Though, I think I could manage that, managing my finances while studying there may be more difficult. Perhaps, I should just look at community colleges and programs. Or, gasp get a real job back home!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

- Confucius

When you have completed 95 percent of your journey, you are only halfway there.

- Japanese proverb

- Warning: The following is a long post of largely self-indulgent twaddle. If you are not a fan of this style of navel-grazing, please turn back now. If you are still interested, read on at your own risk!

This morning I’ve been pondering many things about life, death, living abroad, fears, anxieties and the journey of discovery that is life. Australians are typically known as down-to-Earth, stoic, good natured, humourous people who tend to mock those who dwell in excessive navel-grazing, especially Americans. While, I admire my fellow countrymens’ spirit of onward and upward, not letting the past drag you down and moving with life’s challenges without overly questioning your past. I think there is a place for introspection and re-evaluating your life and life goals as time goes on.

I’ve always been a fairly contemplative person even as a kid, I’d often ponder all life’s great mysteries – why are we here?, why did I get born at this place and time? - why is there is no Disneyland in Australia? I still remember my school cricket coach chastising me for letting the ball run past in the field, he asked why didn’t I chase it? I replied that I was daydreaming. He chuckled with a knowing laugh.

Another thing I’ve always been is a fairly anxious, wound-up individual underneath my often laidback, quiet, self-deprecating veneer. I put a lot of this down to the time of my birth. I was born just 16 days after my mother’s mother died from a long, painful bout of breast cancer. During this time, my grandmother was longing to be able to see me but was confident that she’d see me before anyone else in the afterlife if her time came before I was born. I imagine this was a very traumatic time for my mother and imagine that the stress and anxiety would have played a part in my yet-to-be-born development. Though, mother as my father are firmly in the camp of moving on with life’s challenges with minimal fuss and/or introspection, and my queries on this topic have always been brushed aside with their typical stoic behaviour.

I happened to be born with the rare illness of congenital lactose intolerance whereby my body was even incapable of processing the lactose from my mother’s milk. This is illness progressed to such a point that it was near-fatal, before a doctor accurately diagnosed my condition and recommended non-dairy formula. Indeed, many infants in developing countries still die from this condition and had I been born just 20 years earlier there’s a fair chance I too would have died from this condition. I believe that this has contributed to the way I look at death. I, unlike many individuals, do not fear death in any way, shape, or form as I believe I’ve been close to death before and have nothing to fear from it. In a way, I was given a second chance just after birth and any time longer I spend on this Earth is a bonus. This notion has been further reinforced through my ongoing struggle with depression and anxiety which has stuck with me since adolescence.

I’ve always been a fairly sickly individual. I often mention that I may be fit at times, but I’m never actually healthy. Along with the lactose intolerance, depression and anxiety, I’m allergic to penicillin, suffer mild asthma and have broken 10+ bones in my times, largely due to brittle bones caused by a lack of calcium in my early development and profound lack of coordination and clumsiness!

As I mentioned earlier, both Australia and my family in particular, are not fans of navel-grazing. I was born into a hardworking, strong-minded, intelligent, WASP family where excuses are barely tolerated and you are expected to achieve despite any shortcomings. My parents gave me a very loving yet strong childhood where I was largely unable to use any of difficulties as excuses for not getting where they believe I could and should be. I value my parents for showing this strong approach as I fear I wouldn’t have amounted to much had it not been for their strong guidance.

Depression and anxiety has been  something that’s always been there since my adolescence. I remember as a teenager often being morbidly depressed for no real reason whatsoever. At the time, I just put it down to teenage hormones and dared not let anyone else in on this secret. My depression came to a head during my first year of university, living away from home in Melbourne with my aunt and uncle. Now it had finally got to a point where it couldn’t be hidden and was pushing me to fatalistic conclusions. I never wanted to or attempted to end my own life despite never actually fearing death as I never wanted my family and friends to suffer at my loss and also wanted to leave a better legacy for myself than taking my own way out.

During this time, I one day decided that this wasn’t going to go away by itself and voluntarily went to my GP who recommended a therapist, and so the healing began! What following was some very difficult times in my late teens/early 20s of severe depression and anxiety, panic attacks – which I kept to myself – and a whole host of other hardships. During this time, my parents insisted that I continue my studies and part-time work as they thought I needed the stability of education and employment, and feared I’d never return to uni if I were to pull out. – I credit them on this approach as I have no doubt, I would have lost many years had I dropped out of uni at that point in time. In the end, my pride in myself and family kept me going despite some very difficult years.

The years following were best described as aimlessly treading water and avoiding risks at any chance. This I believe was a fairly natural response to the years preceding. But, did leave me feeling deeply unsatisfied as I had always made a promise to myself to keep challenging myself and living my dreams rather than being trapped by my anxieties and insecurities.

This eventually led me onto Korea. It’s funny, just eight months previous to my arrival in Korea, I vividly remember turning to my Mum whilst watching the Korea-Japan World Cup, “You know what? I’ve never had an interest in visiting Japan, or Korea for that matter!” – Little did I know that just around the corner in 2003, I would take the biggest step of my life so far and move to Jeonju, South Korea to teach English. I’ve been here – for the most part – ever since!

What enabled me to consider moving abroad to a foreign land and culture to teach English was a lingering feeling that I was wasting my life, drowning in fear and anxiety. The September 11 attacks were a catalyst for me to get off my arse and live my life as life is gone in an instant and is a precious gift which we never really know when it’ll run out. I vividly remember watching live images of office workers choosing to flee the World Trade Center buildings hand-in-hand and jump off when faced with the terrible decision of how to deal with the inevitable. These people were innocent folk whose only crime was turning up to work at the wrong place and the wrong time.

9/11 caused me to reflect on my life, its values and my views of the afterlife – or lack thereof. As a result of this time of reflection, I concluded that whilst there is most probably a higher-being, I would classify myself as Agnostic. And, once we die we return to the Earth. There’s no afterlife, there’s no heaven, no hell, no being reincarnated as a frog or Joan of Arc. We return to the Earth, but live on in the form of the elements (Carbon, Oxygen, Calcium, etc.) and matter we leave behind. Life goes on, we change form to become soil, air or some other matter and only our legacy remains. That’s why when my time comes, I choose to be cremated and have my ashes spread from a plane over the centre of Australia so that my ashes can return to the land of my birth and spread throughout the continent via the winds of the arid interior.

This reflection led me to believe that once our time’s up, it’s up. There’s no second chance, there’s no watching loved ones from above, there’s no shoveling coal for the devil in a furnace beneath the ground. That’s it. Game over. You become worm fodder and your consciousness ceases. This thinking gave me the impetus to get on and live my life I have as it’s the only one I’ve got and it would be a waste to be mired in a life of fear and anxiety.

I often also believe I owe it to those less fortunate than myself to live my life the best I can as I have been so unbelievably to have been born where I was, at the time I was and to the family I was. In the great lottery of life, I won a pretty good jackpot right at the start and owe it to myself and others to live it to the best of my potential and to treat all other individuals with love, respect and equality. That’s not to say I’m a great human being. I’m as bad, if not worse, than most. I can be prejudiced, can be rude, can be arrogant, can be nasty at times. But, these are things I’m deeply ashamed of when I catch myself doing this and is something I constantly try to change and minimise in my life.

Which leads me onto Korea. After the ten years before my time in Korea I find Korea to be a cakewalk all in all. I still often find myself returning to my old self when back in Australia – being racked with fear and anxiety and lack of confidence. Whereas in Korea, I am free, I am my true self  and feel I can conquer the world! I often believe life’s struggles and challenges are there to prepare and develop us for further challenges and struggles up ahead. As such, I feel my hardships beforehand have held me in good stead for the many challenges Korea dishes out to non-Koreans.

By all accounts, South Korea is a very comfortable life for Westerners teaching English. We are provided accommodation, employment and are required to pay bugger all tax. That said, there are a load of obstacles in the way of non-Koreans, including Westerners, in South Korea. Most of which arise from deep seeded cultural bias, prejudice, beliefs and racism, coupled with State-endorsed and promoted discrimination and a lack of critical thinking over acceped and established values and beliefs.

South Korea is in many ways a great place that has achieved so much in so little time. But, it’s greatest obstacle is its collective mindset towards non-Koreans and the country will never achieve its full potential without a critical look and evaluation of long-held and largely unquestioned, established cultural beliefs. For South Korea to shine, this needs to change.

Whilst, often being a deeply unpleasant experience. I believe everyone should spent at least some time in a place or country where there are a minority. It challenges a lot of the belief systems you held onto, often unknowingly, and causes you to challenges these beliefs, to analyse and evaluate your current position, and reflect on your behaviour in the past. I’d like to think most people come out of it – if they are lucky enough to leave the place of discrimination – as more rounded individuals as a result of this and better for the exposure.

I, myself, have learned and continue to learn immeasurably from this experience. Granted, I am just as often positively discriminated against due to my appearance/ ethnicity, which is something that is uncomfortable in itself, and I have it nowhere near as hard as many non-Koreans in South Korea. Once again, I am very lucky in this regard and need to understand and appreciate that many others do not share my fortune.

In closing, I’d like to say that life is a never ending journey which doesn’t stop till the lights are off. I am still a young man of rather limited life experiences, but my life so far has taught me to try to appreciate the small things in life we often take for granted and to get out there and live in, and not let past hardships, wrongdoings, anxieties or any other obstacles hold you back.

If you feel there is a greater calling for you, there’s an urge you need to scratch, there’s something you’d love to do but don’t the confidence. I urge you to take the plunge, dive in head first and don’t hold back. This life is the only one we’ve got and it’d be a shame to waste it. There’s a lot I need to and should do myself.

Thank you for reading.

- Is a question I’ve increasingly pondered during my stay in Korea. Before Korea, I never envisioned having any Asian ancestry whatsoever but given the number of comments, observations and slurs Koreans have made about my appearance it has made me wonder whether there is some Asian ancestry lurking somewhere in my DNA.

What got me thinking about it today was when I was in the cab talking with the friendly taxi driver in Korean, he asked me where I was from, I replied “Australia”, he then said “You’re of Asian descent, aren’t you?”, to which I replied, before fully thinking over what he just asked, “Yes!”. - This is a big problem of mine here, I also reply yes to questions quickly, even when I haven’t fully given myself enough time to figure out what they’re actually saying. You have no idea, what problems that’s got me into in the past! But, this little interaction did get me curious as to why he thinks I’m of Asian descent? – Was it my general appearance at the time? – Slicked, dark hair, olive complexion, medium build. Or, was it my mannerisms? – Do I somehow act ‘Asian’ rather than ‘Caucasian’? Who knows, but this all has got me wondering …

You may think it’s ludicrous for a person of almost entirely Caucasian ancestry to think they may have Mongol ancestry. But, a study a few years back discovered that 16 million people across or descended from the Eurasian lands Genghis Khan conquered contain his DNA.  Furthermore, Westerners such as this man have been found to contain Genghis Khan’s distinctive genetic structure.

Genealogy is something I’ve been increasingly interested in in the past ten years partly because I’m from a New World nation and as such am not fully aware of my many and mixed ancestors, and also because I receive comments from time to time from people about my genetic make-up. I’m Caucasian of medium build, medium height, olive complexion and brown hair – which can vary greatly in colour according to sun exposure. In Australia, people sometimes assume I’m of Mediterranean descent due to my appearance. Whereas, in Korea I’ve been asked if I come from anywhere from Russia and Germany to the Philippines and Vietnam, go figure!

A lot of this could easily be put down to ignorance on the part of the person inquiring as many Koreans haven’t had all that much interaction with non-Koreans and will assume if you’re not blonde haired, blue eyed and tall, you can’t possibly be a Westerner! However, maybe they do see something I didn’t see until Asia. I even had a native Chinese teacher in my first year say I look like I’m Chinese!

I’ve also encountered comments/slurs on my appearance, almost always from older folks, saying ‘혼혈아’ (mixed breed/ half breed) or ‘똥개’ (mongrel) as I walk by. These comments often leave me wondering just what do they think I’m mixed with!

It’s not surprising to be a daily source of racism in Korea as Korean people largely still believe, and the Korean education still actively promotes that Korean people are a unique and special race of people. They seem to forget that over the course of the past 5,000 years the Mongols, Japanese, Chinese, Manchus, Russians, Americans plus countless others have either traded, based themselves, settled, invaded, conquered, raped and pillaged on this peninsula at some point in time.

Beside light-hearted ribbing here and there, I don’t bother questioning these values over here anymore as I’ve realised it’ll get you nowhere as even highly-educated friends fervently believe this 우리 민족 ‘one people’ nonsense despite oodles of evidence to the contrary. Hell, walking around the streets here I see evidence of Mongol, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, South East Asian, Pacific Island and even Caucasian phenotypes in people’s faces! Deep down, I think most Koreans know their genetic ancestry is quite varied but would rather not admit it and rather focus on the importance of being and acting Korean instead for the sake of national unity.

Am I Asian? - I'll let you decide ...

Me and Mao - we kinda look alike don't we?!

What I do know is that I’m a fifth generation (at the latest, 2,000th generation at the earliest!?) Australian predominately of English, Scottish, Irish and Cornish descent. I also know that I have some Jewish ancestry four generations back courtesy of an ancestor by the name of Annie Gouldthorpe, and although never conclusively proven due to inaccurate records and/or prejudice on the part of Government officials and/or my ancestors at the time have distant Aboriginal ancestry, most likely of the Wiradjuri people from five generations back. – This is something that can’t be proven without a conclusive DNA test (which I’ll get round to one day) but is something I’m positive of. I bought my mother a National Geographic Genographic Project DNA pack a few years ago but it only seemed to find that she contains haplogroup H human mitochondrial DNA – like 50% of Europeans.

I’ve also assumed – just judging on appearance – that my mother’s British ancestors reached the British Isles via southern Europe whereas my father’s reached the British Isles via northern Europe. But, that’s just wild guesstimation on my part and can’t be proven without extensive genetic DNA testing …

One thing’s for certain, DNA testing is providing enormous amounts of knowledge and information on human migration patterns and the genetic ancestry of both groups of people and individuals. Another thing  it is showing – which is a good thing – is that we humans are a lot more mixed that we often like to believe. Take Pauline Hanson, for example.

This makes a mockery of racism and nationalism as human history has been defined by the ebbs and flows and intermingling and separating of  groups of people over time as this map brilliantly illustrates. Hopefully, with increased knowledge and information on our ethnic make-up and history, racism and nationalism will be things of the past by 2100 and we’ll all see each other as human, first and foremost.

As for me, I’m sure I’ve got some Asian ancestry somewhere but deep down – like us all – I’m from mother Africa.

Deep down we're all African

There’s something about winter that makes it incredibly difficult to drag yourself out of bed for work and draws you back to your place once work’s over. Part of me wants to get out there and be more active but since the temperature’s been below zero for the most part of the last week – it’s hard to find a good reason to spend time outdoors. With my latest acquistion over the weekend – a brand new acoustic guitar, outside is even less tempting ..

The guitar, along with stand and accessories

I’m always astonished by the natural beauty, space and clean air of my homeland. It makes me really appreciate what I took for granted for the first 25 years or so of my life. That said, I think age also helps in making you fully appreciate the beauty of nature and natural environments – you often just don’t fully appreciate it when you’re young.

That said, it’s not really surprising that Australia’s surrounded by clear skies, natural beauty and few people considering it’s the sixth largest nation on Earth, has one of the lowest population densities  and only has 21 million inhabitants – there’s bound to clean air, lots of space and beautiful places at least somewhere in the country!

Which brings me to my New Year’s Resolution which is getting back home to Australia sometime this year for good, or at least for an extended period. Korea’s given me a lot in the past five and a half years, I’ve done things I’d never imagine, experienced thousands of wonderful experiences, overcome many fears and anxieties, and learnt many lessons through many trials and tribulations. But, I always believe that you know when it’s time to move on, and 2009 is definitely time for me to move on from Korea. Actually, 2008 may well have been but it was good for me to stay in Korea in 2008 in the end. It’s time for me to start that next chapter of life back home in the island continent and go forward from there. In the meantime, I hope to complete my contract and make enough money to have one more hurrah – a, hopefully extended, vacation overseas before I head back home.