I am safely back in Korea now, and now call Daejeon my home.
I had a safe flight back, flying United the entire way. I mention this because while the service and food was decent (and western), international flights on United do not have the same audio/visual standards that other international airlines have. By this, I mean that in Economy class, passengers do not get their own monitor in the back of the headrest in front of them. Instead, there is just one big monitor on the wall of each cabin section, and a fold-down monitor every couple of rows.
Once at Korean customs, I was worried I wouldn't make it through because about five hours prior to flying out of Orlando, I noticed that my Visa, that expired in four days, had given a 'final entry date' that had passed two days before. I had not noticed it before. Oops. But customs apparently didn't notice it or it didn't matter because I had already entered the country (it did not say 'final re-entry date'), so as soon as the lady stamped my passport and I left the area as quickly as possible with a big smile on my face and in my heart: I was back home.
Korea is my home. I had that feeling many months ago after an exhausting day when I came home, laid down on my bed and said to myself, "It's so good to be home." I realized then that Korea is my home now. This is where my friends are. This is where my things are. And while I have no doubt my home will change many more times during my life, as I want it to, this is my home right now, and being on the other side of customs with another stamp in my passport felt amazing. This is where I belong in this moment.
It was so nice to be home in America, though. I had a lovely time in Greece, but the flawless and smooth flights back to the states were each filled with anticipation and my fair share of emotions.
Not having been in the states for over a year, landing at JFK was a noteworthy experience. As passengers unboarded the plane and walked down the gate towards the rest of the airport, we were stopped by a homeland security official telling us to get to one side of the wall. There were what seemed like three-hundred of us, and everyone spoke different languages. Half of the passengers couldn't understand what he was saying, and the other half of us couldn't understand why he wanted us to all get to one side of the walkway. Then he started yelling that it was a 'madhouse' down there (Down where? We weren't sure.) and we wouldn't be able to move. Then he yelled for the American citizens to come to the front. I did, still not sure what the holdup was. All American citizens were then allowed to go 'down there', which proved to be customs. It wasn't a 'madhouse' and there was no need for homeland security to treat us all like animals. I was very ashamed of my country in that moment. No other international airport I've been in had anything like that, everyone was treated with respect (with the exception of Rome Fiumicino where everyone equally was treated as rudely as possible, via the cold shoulder and snide remarks). The actual customs officer was very polite, though, and after that I had to get my bag and re-check-in before going through American airport security, of which I was terrified of saying anything, should it be the wrong thing. Once through (with no problems, but being subjected to the [bearable] full-body scanner that made me feel like a criminal), I still had about four hours to kill, so I purchased my New York City souvenir of a K keychain with the Statue of LIberty proudly adorning it, and settled in for my wait.
It was during my wait that I realized I had some first impressions on being back in America, and they weren't good. Aside from being treated like animals upon unboarding the plane, I noticed JFK was very dirty. Korea is dirty, but inside, things are clean. Every other airport I've been in has been clean. JFK was very dirty. (In comparison, Orlando Internation was quite clean.) In addition, I noticed the abundance of stuff. It was everywhere. Just a bunch of stuff. Stuff to buy. Stuff to read. Stuff for kids to play with. Stuff to eat. Stuff to decorate your house with. Stuff to equip your electronics with. Stuff. Stuff. Stuff. There is an absence of stuff in Korea, as there is no place to put it once you actually purchase it. I have grown accustomed to this, and to living minimally, and I quite like it. No wonder why American have so much stuff - anything and everything you could ever possibly want and didn't know you needed is available to buy at the drop of a dime, and you can't get away from it. The other thing I noticed upon landing in America was that women weren't afraid to show skin. I like showing skin. Being a southern Florida girl, I used to wear tank-tops all the time. Koreans view showing skin above the waist and wearing tank-tops without a cover-up as an advertisement for something dishonorable (yet wearing shorts and skirts so short that you can see ass is completely acceptable and appropriate, even in the respectable workplace), so I've covered up for the past year, and didn't realize it had grown on me until landing back in America.
A few hours after realizing my first impressions, I boarded the plane bound for Orlando and slept almost the entire way. When we landed in Orlando, I was anxious to see my parents, but wasn't sure if they'd be there yet because the plane landed about a half-hour early. I left the gate and was on my way to baggage claim when I saw them. Nothing prepared me for that moment. I don't run, unless I'm escaping danger, but I ran over to them with tears in my eyes. It was my mom and dad! I told myself I wouldn't cry, but that went out the window as soon as I saw them. I love my parents, they're awesome, and having not seen them in over a year, I missed them very much. It was a good moment. We held hands as we walked to baggage claim and then got my back and headed for the car. I talked the entire two-hour drive back home, telling them about Greece and Korea, and filing them in on details they had yet to hear about. When we got in, I was able to see their stunning new kitchen! We had sandwiches and then talked some more before heading off to bed.
The short seven-day visit flew by, with shopping trips to stock up on clothes and necessities for the upcoming year, delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, a trip to visit my wonderful grandmommy and aunt, and a day with family friends. I didn't take many pictures at all, as I was busy spending time with my family and not thinking about taking photos. That is the one and only thing that I regret about my trip home.
So now I am living in Daejeon, and working as a teacher in another English academy that I really like. From the minute I step out of the elevator on the seventh floor, I step into a school. I was impressed with this on the day of my interview, and I continue to be impressed. This is a place for learning and having fun at the same time. Students want to learn because they are having fun. There is a reward system of 'dollars' that students earn by being good (and can be taken away when a student misbehaves), and they can use those 'dollars' to buy things at the 'Dollar Market' in the principal's office. There is also a rooftop play area for the students where we can have class and/or play on a day when they have been exceptionally good. In addition, there are about 20 teachers, including two other foreign teachers - one from Tampa, Florida, and the other from the Philippines. Everyone is very nice and helpful, and it isn't just because I am new. I believe they are genuinely good at heart, at least during working hours. The school also has regular field trips, planned days for parents to see what their children are learning and from whom, and the principal is also a fan of somewhat-regular employee dinners. Next weekend, there is an overnight 'camp' event that is aimed at employee bonding. I continue to be impressed with the differences between this year's workplace and last year's.
On top of the wonderful school, I have quite a nice apartment, and I've made it mine in the last couple of weeks. I've cleaned it top to bottom and side to side, and organized so well that I could probably now call myself a professional organizer.
I have spent a couple of weekends down in Gwangju since being back, and I ran sound again for the Gwangju Performance Project, a local theatre group comprised of the Gwangju foreigner community. It was their third performance in a year, and my second show with them running tech, and it was probably the most amazing show yet. It consisted of four one-act plays (three by playwright David Ives), and an interpretive dance piece. The evening was called "Ives Just Got To Dance". It was great. Though I am now two hours away, I plan on participating in all of the upcoming shows. It is so great to have found a group like that here, and I don't want to lose it.
I know I'll be down in Gwangju a lot this year, but this weekend I am in Daejeon for a nice, relaxing weekend to myself. I took myself over to the park near the river, across from Expo Park, an amusement park that was closed several years ago after a short run because a few people died on the rides. Now it is a ghost town, on the other side of the river that runs through Daejeon and across from the government complex that consists of four identical tall, square buildings, simply named 1, 2, 3, and 4. It was in this park that I relaxed today with my book, laying on my yoga mat and soaking up the sun between a big rock and some relatively small trees that were enjoying the sway of the lovely spring breeze as much as I was.
Daejeon in my home and Gwangju is my pseudo-home in this country I am in love with. Complete happiness is not only obtainable, it is my reality.
I had a safe flight back, flying United the entire way. I mention this because while the service and food was decent (and western), international flights on United do not have the same audio/visual standards that other international airlines have. By this, I mean that in Economy class, passengers do not get their own monitor in the back of the headrest in front of them. Instead, there is just one big monitor on the wall of each cabin section, and a fold-down monitor every couple of rows.
Once at Korean customs, I was worried I wouldn't make it through because about five hours prior to flying out of Orlando, I noticed that my Visa, that expired in four days, had given a 'final entry date' that had passed two days before. I had not noticed it before. Oops. But customs apparently didn't notice it or it didn't matter because I had already entered the country (it did not say 'final re-entry date'), so as soon as the lady stamped my passport and I left the area as quickly as possible with a big smile on my face and in my heart: I was back home.
Korea is my home. I had that feeling many months ago after an exhausting day when I came home, laid down on my bed and said to myself, "It's so good to be home." I realized then that Korea is my home now. This is where my friends are. This is where my things are. And while I have no doubt my home will change many more times during my life, as I want it to, this is my home right now, and being on the other side of customs with another stamp in my passport felt amazing. This is where I belong in this moment.
It was so nice to be home in America, though. I had a lovely time in Greece, but the flawless and smooth flights back to the states were each filled with anticipation and my fair share of emotions.
Not having been in the states for over a year, landing at JFK was a noteworthy experience. As passengers unboarded the plane and walked down the gate towards the rest of the airport, we were stopped by a homeland security official telling us to get to one side of the wall. There were what seemed like three-hundred of us, and everyone spoke different languages. Half of the passengers couldn't understand what he was saying, and the other half of us couldn't understand why he wanted us to all get to one side of the walkway. Then he started yelling that it was a 'madhouse' down there (Down where? We weren't sure.) and we wouldn't be able to move. Then he yelled for the American citizens to come to the front. I did, still not sure what the holdup was. All American citizens were then allowed to go 'down there', which proved to be customs. It wasn't a 'madhouse' and there was no need for homeland security to treat us all like animals. I was very ashamed of my country in that moment. No other international airport I've been in had anything like that, everyone was treated with respect (with the exception of Rome Fiumicino where everyone equally was treated as rudely as possible, via the cold shoulder and snide remarks). The actual customs officer was very polite, though, and after that I had to get my bag and re-check-in before going through American airport security, of which I was terrified of saying anything, should it be the wrong thing. Once through (with no problems, but being subjected to the [bearable] full-body scanner that made me feel like a criminal), I still had about four hours to kill, so I purchased my New York City souvenir of a K keychain with the Statue of LIberty proudly adorning it, and settled in for my wait.
It was during my wait that I realized I had some first impressions on being back in America, and they weren't good. Aside from being treated like animals upon unboarding the plane, I noticed JFK was very dirty. Korea is dirty, but inside, things are clean. Every other airport I've been in has been clean. JFK was very dirty. (In comparison, Orlando Internation was quite clean.) In addition, I noticed the abundance of stuff. It was everywhere. Just a bunch of stuff. Stuff to buy. Stuff to read. Stuff for kids to play with. Stuff to eat. Stuff to decorate your house with. Stuff to equip your electronics with. Stuff. Stuff. Stuff. There is an absence of stuff in Korea, as there is no place to put it once you actually purchase it. I have grown accustomed to this, and to living minimally, and I quite like it. No wonder why American have so much stuff - anything and everything you could ever possibly want and didn't know you needed is available to buy at the drop of a dime, and you can't get away from it. The other thing I noticed upon landing in America was that women weren't afraid to show skin. I like showing skin. Being a southern Florida girl, I used to wear tank-tops all the time. Koreans view showing skin above the waist and wearing tank-tops without a cover-up as an advertisement for something dishonorable (yet wearing shorts and skirts so short that you can see ass is completely acceptable and appropriate, even in the respectable workplace), so I've covered up for the past year, and didn't realize it had grown on me until landing back in America.
A few hours after realizing my first impressions, I boarded the plane bound for Orlando and slept almost the entire way. When we landed in Orlando, I was anxious to see my parents, but wasn't sure if they'd be there yet because the plane landed about a half-hour early. I left the gate and was on my way to baggage claim when I saw them. Nothing prepared me for that moment. I don't run, unless I'm escaping danger, but I ran over to them with tears in my eyes. It was my mom and dad! I told myself I wouldn't cry, but that went out the window as soon as I saw them. I love my parents, they're awesome, and having not seen them in over a year, I missed them very much. It was a good moment. We held hands as we walked to baggage claim and then got my back and headed for the car. I talked the entire two-hour drive back home, telling them about Greece and Korea, and filing them in on details they had yet to hear about. When we got in, I was able to see their stunning new kitchen! We had sandwiches and then talked some more before heading off to bed.
The short seven-day visit flew by, with shopping trips to stock up on clothes and necessities for the upcoming year, delicious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, a trip to visit my wonderful grandmommy and aunt, and a day with family friends. I didn't take many pictures at all, as I was busy spending time with my family and not thinking about taking photos. That is the one and only thing that I regret about my trip home.
So now I am living in Daejeon, and working as a teacher in another English academy that I really like. From the minute I step out of the elevator on the seventh floor, I step into a school. I was impressed with this on the day of my interview, and I continue to be impressed. This is a place for learning and having fun at the same time. Students want to learn because they are having fun. There is a reward system of 'dollars' that students earn by being good (and can be taken away when a student misbehaves), and they can use those 'dollars' to buy things at the 'Dollar Market' in the principal's office. There is also a rooftop play area for the students where we can have class and/or play on a day when they have been exceptionally good. In addition, there are about 20 teachers, including two other foreign teachers - one from Tampa, Florida, and the other from the Philippines. Everyone is very nice and helpful, and it isn't just because I am new. I believe they are genuinely good at heart, at least during working hours. The school also has regular field trips, planned days for parents to see what their children are learning and from whom, and the principal is also a fan of somewhat-regular employee dinners. Next weekend, there is an overnight 'camp' event that is aimed at employee bonding. I continue to be impressed with the differences between this year's workplace and last year's.
On top of the wonderful school, I have quite a nice apartment, and I've made it mine in the last couple of weeks. I've cleaned it top to bottom and side to side, and organized so well that I could probably now call myself a professional organizer.
I have spent a couple of weekends down in Gwangju since being back, and I ran sound again for the Gwangju Performance Project, a local theatre group comprised of the Gwangju foreigner community. It was their third performance in a year, and my second show with them running tech, and it was probably the most amazing show yet. It consisted of four one-act plays (three by playwright David Ives), and an interpretive dance piece. The evening was called "Ives Just Got To Dance". It was great. Though I am now two hours away, I plan on participating in all of the upcoming shows. It is so great to have found a group like that here, and I don't want to lose it.
I know I'll be down in Gwangju a lot this year, but this weekend I am in Daejeon for a nice, relaxing weekend to myself. I took myself over to the park near the river, across from Expo Park, an amusement park that was closed several years ago after a short run because a few people died on the rides. Now it is a ghost town, on the other side of the river that runs through Daejeon and across from the government complex that consists of four identical tall, square buildings, simply named 1, 2, 3, and 4. It was in this park that I relaxed today with my book, laying on my yoga mat and soaking up the sun between a big rock and some relatively small trees that were enjoying the sway of the lovely spring breeze as much as I was.
Daejeon in my home and Gwangju is my pseudo-home in this country I am in love with. Complete happiness is not only obtainable, it is my reality.
kate, you certainly have a way with words.
ReplyDeletewe are so glad that you are happy, you sound great.
xoxoxoxo
mom & dad