It's not 'goodbye' if it's between friends...

Jakub and I, very early March 21, 2012

Saying goodbye to people can be difficult. People come and go in Korea. The word 'transient' has been thrown around a lot. But saying goodbye to someone awesome makes it that much more difficult.

The last person I've said goodbye to (that I knew would leave a hole in my heart when they left) was in August when I said goodbye to Maggie. Oh Maggie, I miss you.

Tonight I said goodbye to Jakub. We've become fast friends over the past few months, and I hate to say it, but I'm happy we're both leaving Gwangju around the same time (him back to the US, me up to Daejeon for at least another year) because I can't imagine things being the same in Gwangju without my friend. No more singing Billy Joel together at German Bar. No more rocking out to our own music upstairs at Speakeasy while half playing pool but mostly talking about life. No more Trivia Night. No more mid-week nights at German where any topic is on the table for discussion. We know we'll see each other again whether it be here in Korea or elsewhere on this increasingly small planet, and we are definitely the kind of friends that, even if we don't talk for a while, we'll be able to pick right back up where we left off. But it's still sad. When I think of all the people that have touched my life in Korea, it makes me so happy to know that I've made such wonderful friends, but sad to know that, sooner or later, I'll have to say goodbye to them.

We hung out tonight at German Bar, an awesome laid-back lounge-type bar that's half geared towards foreigners but half not. It's become my favorite bar over the last few months, and it was a good night. Good discussions. Good memories. Good times. I wish him a safe flight and a wonderful arrival back at home. And on Saturday night, the girls and I will definitely be singing this at German with a shout-out to Jakub, and maybe even with the help of Mr. Sang:

Remember that it's not 'goodbye' if it's between friends.