Until now, my blog has been primarily about what I’m doing
over here in Korea. At first it was just
about my daily life, the little things and some really big things, that make up
my days. I wanted everyone to get a
vague picture of what I was doing and where I was doing it. Then the holidays came, which provided new
experiences. A vacation adventure to
Jeju Island gave me my next entry, but I’ve been quiet lately.
I’ll admit, part of it is laziness and procrastination on my
part. Maybe that’s a big part of
it. Part of it is that I’ve fallen into
a bit of a routine here. A part of me
likes and enjoys the routine. It makes
this whole living-alone-in-a-foreign-country thing feel more homey. But sometimes I’m ready to jump on the train
and get out of here, and I often do just that.
One of the things my life here provides is LOTS of time to
think. Before I left, a certain brother
of mine cautioned me about over thinking things. I suspect this might be a family condition;
there is no known cure. But there are
distractions and good friends who tell you to stop letting your brain run
around in circles. Many thanks to all of
you.
On the other hand, I’ve reflected on things like friends,
family, the future, the past, and what I’m learning, in really positive
ways. One thing I really enjoy about the
“real world” is that I generally get to leave work at work. There aren’t projects or papers or homework
(well sometimes there is, but they don’t take me weeks to do). So when I pass an hour or two in a coffee
shop, or in bed, thinking, reading, writing or browsing the interwebs, I have
very little guilt about what I “should” be doing. It’s a little delight to have thinking about
stuff as one of my priorities, and in a relatively low stress way. Maybe that’s a little narcissistic, but if
not now...when?
Being out of school for almost a year now (wow) and having a
full time job for about 6 months now (wow), I’m getting an inkling of the
differences between student life and 20-something not student life. One of the biggest things I’ve noticed,
credit to my older siblings and their families, is that life only gets
busier. Busier in a crazy-awesome-exhausting
way that I can’t fully comprehend at the ripe ol’ age of 23.
Because of that, I’m going to enjoy lounging in bed for two
hours pondering and reading and listening to music. If I ever reach that level of
crazy-awesome-exhausting-frustrating busy that I see everyone else in, I better
love what I’m doing.
So what has all my deep introspection gotten me so far? I know you are all smiling and shaking your
heads as you read all this stuff you already know…but here goes.
1.
I still have no real career plan. It’s ok...I think.
2.
Cleaning a kitchen and an apartment as well as
preparing meals and doing laundry and organizing all that stuff takes a LOT of
time. And my apartment is tiny! And I’m only one person! Is it wrong that I sometimes base my dinner
menu around what will make the fewest dishes?!
3.
I’ve been really blessed to make so many amazing
friends throughout my life. All the love
and support I got in the time before I left for Korea, and over the years, was
awesome. Thanks for all the letters, the
care packages (expensive, I know) and coordinating Skype dates.
4.
I know more than I thought about working/”the
real world.”
5.
Compared to a 90 year old, I know practically
nothing. I’m ok with that.
6.
I really didn’t think I’d miss home that
much. I’d been away for long periods of
time before and it wasn’t that bad.
Honestly, there are a lot of things I don’t miss (the news, overhearing
stupid conversations, the news, advertisements I understand, overpriced
crap). But I was totally unprepared for
how much I miss my friends and family.
Much like grief, homesickness hits at the oddest times: when I’m
traveling, when someone asks me where I’m from or when a student grabs my hand
to tell me a story. I’m doing my best to
keep in touch, with mixed results. I
hope you all know that you are in my thoughts on a daily basis.
7.
On a lighter note, I’m learning more about
English grammar than I ever did in school.
Mostly because I have to look things up to explain exercises to the
students.
8.
There is a bakery near my apartment called “Jean
Valjean’s Pain.” The pun makes me
chuckle to myself EVERY time we go by it.
My friends have even started to laugh at me laughing at it. But the big question is, does the owner know
how good the pun is???
9.
Despite language and cultural barriers, I’m
really enjoying spending time with the Koreans I meet. We are able to share laughs, kindness and
language tutorials. How could I not
enjoy myself?
I’m going to stop there, since I don’t want to sound like
too much of a know-it-allJ
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