Friday 6th April 07

There is a side to the whole relationship thing which I neglected to mention yesterday, but is none the less, just as, if not more, influential than yesterday's.

In Scotland I have some of the best friends you could ever ask for. The kind that regardless of what mood you're in or what new stupid thing you've done, they still love you. They're the kind that you can rely on for anything, and if the need arose and you called them in the middle of the night they would listen (well... maybe after some mumblings.) Even more importantly, you can rely on an honest answer when you're being an idiot (which, is more often than I'd like to admit.) And I love them very much, they're the best. So you can forgive me for being a little anxious about being away from them for so long. It was strange to think that I'd be a little more than an hour away from a cup of tea and a yap.

I had nothing to worry about. When I got here I was thrown into the path of a group of Koreans who more than looked out for me and befriended me. Although, I might find it overbearing at times, I couldn't help but be flattered when they explained, (after they gave me into trouble for not checking in with them for a week,) that, unknown to me, they had adopted me into they're group to look after me because they didn't want me to feel alone since I'm the only British person here. Taken aback, I felt a little ashamed for trying to escape so often, and said how sweet I thought that was, to which I got the reply (which made me laugh,) 'No! It's not sweet! Now we always worry for you!' Then there was the Taiwanese girls. In one of my classes we split into groups and I ended up in one solely comprising of Taiwanese girls. We got off to a strange start as they were shy so spoke little, and what they did, I couldn't hear. But then one day, they suddenly became comfortable and announced that they must look after me and teach me Chinese and find me a nice Chinese boyfriend. I had ended up in a group of mothers. And was starting to get a complex about why everyone wanted to look after me. Surely I don't look that helpless!? This seemed to become a similar pattern in most of my classes and then I found out why. A Taiwanese friend had questioned me about why I like to try and spend time alone here because, as she put it, relationships and being with people is important. It's more than just being with people though, it's genuinely caring for them and listening to them. Building and maintaining relationships. There's nothing fickle about it, once you start that's it for life pretty much. I love that idea. I think that in a world where things are becoming more and more disposable (including friends, lovers, and even family) it gives (sadly) a refreshing perspective on life, when you meet people who hold its connections with higher regard than you're used to.