After spending five years out of the US, I'm back. Maybe. And after over a month here, I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
I left in August '08 and have been back roughly every year for a visit. Spending weeks getting my family and friends fix and (re-)meeting all of the many small people my friends have created. It's always good when I'm here and never quite feels like enough time whilst feeling like more than enough time.
When I left for Seoul, everything happened so quickly. I was standing in my new studio apartment in Bong Cheon exactly three weeks after I first looked into jobs opportunities. I remember standing there, in a mostly empty apartment, wondering what the fuck had happened and worrying that I had made the wrong decision. I sent my sister a text message and rummaged through my suitcase. Turns out, I was living a few blocks away from where my sisters grew up. I had made the right decision and things were falling into place.
I had a great year in Seoul. The students were fun, the job was easy, and my social life was amazing. Within days of being there I had like-minded friends and because we all had money and relatively stress-free jobs, we were able to hang out and explore the city pretty much all the time.
About half way through the year I was introduced to a guy. My friend had met him travelling years before in Cambodia. He was a sweet Brit and within a year we had run off to Nepal to get married. We travelled together, went back to Korea for a bit, then headed to the UK for his Masters'. After doing a year there we moved to Thailand to volunteer and job hunt. We worked with great people doing interesting jobs that we were dedicated to. And then I left.
There are obviously many more details to be filled in, and those will come with time. Along with those there will be heaps of rambling and reflection. This is really an exercise in self absorption, so that I can avoid boring people in real life with all of this. If you're here, enjoy. Or don't, it probably won't be all that fun to read. Ta.
I left in August '08 and have been back roughly every year for a visit. Spending weeks getting my family and friends fix and (re-)meeting all of the many small people my friends have created. It's always good when I'm here and never quite feels like enough time whilst feeling like more than enough time.
When I left for Seoul, everything happened so quickly. I was standing in my new studio apartment in Bong Cheon exactly three weeks after I first looked into jobs opportunities. I remember standing there, in a mostly empty apartment, wondering what the fuck had happened and worrying that I had made the wrong decision. I sent my sister a text message and rummaged through my suitcase. Turns out, I was living a few blocks away from where my sisters grew up. I had made the right decision and things were falling into place.
I had a great year in Seoul. The students were fun, the job was easy, and my social life was amazing. Within days of being there I had like-minded friends and because we all had money and relatively stress-free jobs, we were able to hang out and explore the city pretty much all the time.
About half way through the year I was introduced to a guy. My friend had met him travelling years before in Cambodia. He was a sweet Brit and within a year we had run off to Nepal to get married. We travelled together, went back to Korea for a bit, then headed to the UK for his Masters'. After doing a year there we moved to Thailand to volunteer and job hunt. We worked with great people doing interesting jobs that we were dedicated to. And then I left.
There are obviously many more details to be filled in, and those will come with time. Along with those there will be heaps of rambling and reflection. This is really an exercise in self absorption, so that I can avoid boring people in real life with all of this. If you're here, enjoy. Or don't, it probably won't be all that fun to read. Ta.
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