As I stalked old friends on Facebook this morning (whatever, don't pretend you don't do it, too), I came across someone catching up with one of their old friends. He said, "Yep, I'm married and we have a baby daughter with another boy on the way. Sometimes we even shop at IKEA. Pretty much the boring suburban life."
A close friend of mine just gave birth to her second baby yesterday. My best friend is due within the next several weeks. Despite this, it took reading the above message for me to feel, if only for a few seconds, that maybe I wanted the same -- a "boring" suburban life. Settled down with a partner and *gasp* kids??? (Well, maybe not so much the kids part, but it was a nice thought.)
Suddenly, I felt very alone here in South Korea. What am I doing? Why aren't I doing the things "normal" 31-year-olds do? And then, I remembered: I DID do (some) of those things, or at least pursued them for a bit. I steadily worked in a 9-5 job for several years, attending happy hours with friends, and, ultimately, wondering where my life had gone. Was that all life had to offer? Were my dreams of traveling forever banished?
Turns out that, no, my traveling dreams and career opportunities were not banished, nor do I have to ever wonder where my life had gone. Now, my life is right here - I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. Yes, my choices sometimes afford me some loneliness... but I can't return "home" to plug away at a life not meant to be mine. My life-partner will emerge as I'm living the life I'm happy with. She'll come across my path as she's living the life she's happy with. I just have to remember that. And with the invent of magicJack and my newly acquired Skype account, keeping in touch with family and friends will be that much easier.
But, after visiting my family last week, it's still hard. As independent as I am, it's hard to miss out on best friends giving birth to their first (or second) babies. It's difficult not to be present for their weddings.
There's a balance to be had, I know, between work, family, and friends. It's just a little harder to maintain it being 8,000 miles away. But don't get me wrong, I still wouldn't trade my current position in life for anything else.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fall arrives; Chuseok begins; another trip to Japan
The weather has turned. It's officially fall and I couldn't ask for better days and temperatures than those of today and the last few days. I've been on vacation for a week (whoo-hooo!) as Korea celebrated Chuseok... In celebration of the holiday, my coordinator at school gave me hand lotion, a coworker gave me New Zealand toothpaste (and, no, I don't think he was trying to tell me anything), and my vice principal gave two bottles of wine to the Western teachers (not individually). Yay for Korean holidays!
** About Chuseok -- Chuseok is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon. **
Last Friday, my school held a dinner welcoming our new teachers after several of us hiked a mountain (which was beautiful)... The dinner was great, morale was high, and true to form, the evening progressed into a night of noraebong.
I left the following day for a five-day trip to Okinawa, Japan to visit my sister and nieces/nephew. Although short, it was a good to see them and I'm so happy that I had the time available to jet over there!
Unfortunately, I left my camera there (at least I didn't lose it), but it's going to cost a pretty penny to have it mailed to me. The question on my mind now is, is it worth it? Should I pay a fraction of the price of a new camera (probably the smarter, financially responsible thing to do) OR do I take the plunge and buy a new camera? Such decisions.
In the meantime, I'm going to set up a Flickr account to share my photos. Soon, I'll post the address.
I discovered a new path close to my apartment leading up to a small mountain and took full advantage of this crazy, beautiful weather by hiking the other day. I've also been playing catch-up on a number of random, relatively unimportant, but lingering organizational tasks lately. Makes me feel good and productive, but now, I think it's time for some fresh air!
** About Chuseok -- Chuseok is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon. **
Last Friday, my school held a dinner welcoming our new teachers after several of us hiked a mountain (which was beautiful)... The dinner was great, morale was high, and true to form, the evening progressed into a night of noraebong.
I left the following day for a five-day trip to Okinawa, Japan to visit my sister and nieces/nephew. Although short, it was a good to see them and I'm so happy that I had the time available to jet over there!
Unfortunately, I left my camera there (at least I didn't lose it), but it's going to cost a pretty penny to have it mailed to me. The question on my mind now is, is it worth it? Should I pay a fraction of the price of a new camera (probably the smarter, financially responsible thing to do) OR do I take the plunge and buy a new camera? Such decisions.
In the meantime, I'm going to set up a Flickr account to share my photos. Soon, I'll post the address.
I discovered a new path close to my apartment leading up to a small mountain and took full advantage of this crazy, beautiful weather by hiking the other day. I've also been playing catch-up on a number of random, relatively unimportant, but lingering organizational tasks lately. Makes me feel good and productive, but now, I think it's time for some fresh air!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Losing it...
I've lost it. Unfortunately, "it" was not my mind, though I suppose I could make that argument after losing my wallet in a flustered taxi transfer. After my inaugural trip to Costco, I loaded my my bags in a cab just to have the driver turn around to tell me he was finished for the day and he couldn't take me home. Really, Mr. Taxi Driver? You couldn't have mentioned that as I clambored into your vehicle... thank you SO much.
So, I hoisted my stuff out and hailed a new taxi. We drove for five minutes before a sinking feeling set in. I frantically started looking for my wallet, and soon I realized, it was gone. My cabbie returned to where he picked me up, at my request, to see if perhaps my wallet was in the road, but it wasn't. So, apparently, I managed to leave valuable business cards of contacts, hundreds of dollars in cash (Costco only accepts cash), my Alien Registration Card (to keep me legal in SoKo), and my debit card in the first taxi.
Thankfully, though, I had my T-Money card in my pocket, so I could at least hop on the subway to get home after I tearfully inquired within Costco if anyone had turned in my wallet.
No worries, though. Two days later, I was back in business with a new debit card and an ARC... The six-hour return trip to Yangju Immigration was the biggest pain in the ass about the whole ordeal (except, of course, for losing my cash). I spent only 20 minutes in the office. After submitting a reissuance application, two passport photos, and a 10,000 won (approx. $10) fee, I was handed a new Alien Card. I could only think how lucky I was to be in country that doesn't have such a phobia about immigrants. (Not that I'm an immigrant here, but I am working, so... you know what I mean.) God help the Mexican in the U.S who loses his/her Green Card and tries to replace it. I hardly think they would have as easy as a time as I did in SoKo. So, for that easy process, I am grateful.
Now. Dear Universe, if you could somehow convince my off-duty cab driver to send me my cash, I would be forever grateful. Thanks.
So, I hoisted my stuff out and hailed a new taxi. We drove for five minutes before a sinking feeling set in. I frantically started looking for my wallet, and soon I realized, it was gone. My cabbie returned to where he picked me up, at my request, to see if perhaps my wallet was in the road, but it wasn't. So, apparently, I managed to leave valuable business cards of contacts, hundreds of dollars in cash (Costco only accepts cash), my Alien Registration Card (to keep me legal in SoKo), and my debit card in the first taxi.
Thankfully, though, I had my T-Money card in my pocket, so I could at least hop on the subway to get home after I tearfully inquired within Costco if anyone had turned in my wallet.
No worries, though. Two days later, I was back in business with a new debit card and an ARC... The six-hour return trip to Yangju Immigration was the biggest pain in the ass about the whole ordeal (except, of course, for losing my cash). I spent only 20 minutes in the office. After submitting a reissuance application, two passport photos, and a 10,000 won (approx. $10) fee, I was handed a new Alien Card. I could only think how lucky I was to be in country that doesn't have such a phobia about immigrants. (Not that I'm an immigrant here, but I am working, so... you know what I mean.) God help the Mexican in the U.S who loses his/her Green Card and tries to replace it. I hardly think they would have as easy as a time as I did in SoKo. So, for that easy process, I am grateful.
Now. Dear Universe, if you could somehow convince my off-duty cab driver to send me my cash, I would be forever grateful. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
