What a long strange trip its been

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Last year at this time I was slaving away as a Manager at one of the coolest venues on the east coast, toiling away in a semi-stuper, working toward some unknown goal. I had no motivation and very little thought of mobility within the company, all the same I worked hard and tried to make each day pass without incident.

Then suddenly one day in January, just after my birthday, and with some overseas correspondence between myself and my friend Kat, I decided to up and leave it behind and move to Korea. I am still not sure what my motivations were, but I do know this, I needed a change. As my parents would say I “needed to grow up.” So off I went, in almost a blink of an eye and much to the dismay of my friends around me. I landed in Korea with two suitcases, a culture guide, and absolutely no clue what I was doing. And it felt amazing.

I spent my first few months in a relative daze, bewildered by everything around me. I felt so young again, so niave if you will. As time passed I grew into my environment and the whole experience began to feel more and more like college. I had an apartment, a job, new friends and everything just flowed. Then something unexpected happened. Life caught up with me. Suddenly I caught up with myself. At first I was a little depressed and longed for that feeling of ‘newness’. But before I could even settle in with it, the new faces started piling. Suddenly I became the experienced one, questions were being asked and I knew the answers. This place had become home ~ atleast for now.

I became more responsible, and really grew into my environment. I started a healthy routine, curtailed my habits and even bought house plants and a fish ~ which I am happy to say are still doing great even today. Even with my job, a task which I was absolutely baffled with to begin with has become a matter of pride for me. I’ve watched my children grow and learn, I’ve developed my teaching style, and I find myself going out of my way to leave a positive impression on my employers and those around me.

This trip however hasnt been without its hitches. I am used to being surrounded by people with an active and healthy social life. For the first time in years I actually stay home more time than I go out. I’ve taken up tea drinking as a hobby and I have quite a collection. I’ve also started painting and playing more guitar. It’s strange being so grounded.

Holidays have also become an issue. It is strange being so removed from friends and family, and even more difficult talking to people from home. But I do have my various salvations and I have made a pretty good niche of friends here.

It’s hard to believe that I will be travelling again so soon. I can’t really tell whether my life has been on hold or whether I’ve hit fast forward. I guess only time will tell. I am very glad I made this journey and I have hope that I’ll be able to pick right back up with people when I get home. One thing is for certain, I am not the same person I was when I left.

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