Friends, help me make a decision that makes sense. Help me make a decision not solely based on instinct, but on some sound judgement. Help me withstand the remarks my father is sure to make should I decide to tell him I want to go to South Korea for the third time.
Help me endure.
Help me decide.
We got word the other day that our freelance budgets at Patch are being all but eliminated, because they just don't have the money to keep operating as they have been since AOL infused at least $50 million into the operation. If they continued to operate that way, there would be no Patch in a year. One friend and co-worker is predicting a mass exodus.
I may be one of them. Again.
It's kind of funny that I just moved into a living situation where I am paying double I was paying when I was staying at my other friend/co-worker's house through the summer, and now I decide South Korea is looking more and more like a viable option for February. If I had made this decision before I left, she probably would have let me stay until then. Oh, what is money, anyway? More stuff. I make over $40,000 a year, and yet I have about the same amount of debt I had when I was make $22,000 a year teaching in Busan. I won't go into the business about the free housing and so on. Wait, I guess I just did.
Where, in other times (how many have there been now?), I was ready to announce this to world. Today, I don't want to tell anyone (except you 10, I guess). I just want to go. In a sense, I want to "get this over with." Of course, I don't fully mean that. But, I do. I want to explore and see the world and do it NOW, before I'm old and attached (which, perhaps will never happen. The attached part).
No one, however, can make this decision for me. I know, I know. I guess all that up there was for, what, for something to write at the beginning of this entry. Like an alcoholic, a smoker, an addict, only you can decide when it's time.
I guess I'm addicted to South Korea.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Got That Feeling
It must be the time of year. The changing of seasons. I am about to move back into Morristown, after spending the last several months just outside of town. I just spent several days in Georgia for a friend's wedding. Had to take a plane to get there.
That's what did it.
The process, of checking into the airport, luggage in hand. Of going through security, of boarding the plane. Of flying.
It's like I was going back to Korea, if Korea came via a tiny express jet over a 1 hour, 50 minute trip. There's much better food on international flights.
I had the opportunity to meet up with Chris and Ahnna, two from my 2010 EPIK orientation group, a few weeks ago. They've been traveling since fulfilling their contract in February. With a few days in NYC, it made sense, and seemed easy, for the guy from New Jersey to come up for at least an evening.
And then, Hurricane Palooza arrived.
No lie, from Saturday through Sunday, when Hurricane Irene landed, I slept a total of 90 minutes. End result, I did not get to see Chris and Ahnna. A couple months ago, I had a loose plan to visit Jenna in Chicago. That did not materialize. Now, Nicole, who taught in a hogwan for 15 months, then went all over the place, eventually landing in Switzerland, will be back in her home state of Colorado soon for a short time. Let's hope I can make the trip.
I visited ESL Cafe the other day. Then, as always, there were loads of jobs available. Some are last minute, some are through EPIK, which is now beginning the recruitment process for February. I asked Nicole the other day on Facebook whether much of this feeling is nostalgia. She said, "It's nostalgia. You been there and left two times." She has a point.
And this, from Panda, is the most succinct way to describe it all: "Korea is your blankie. It's what you go back to whenever life gets messy or stressful. And it's not even about Korea itself, it's the meaning that you've imbued it with. I just ask you to be cautious because Korea, while it may certainly be a valuable experience, will never live up to the utopia in your head. It's like if I were to go back to college. It wouldn't be the same....But you know all that. I just had to say it again."
Still, I've got that feeling. Like the urge for a cigarette, it can be pretty difficult to shake off. Maybe another hurricane will do the trick. Maybe.
That's what did it.
The process, of checking into the airport, luggage in hand. Of going through security, of boarding the plane. Of flying.
It's like I was going back to Korea, if Korea came via a tiny express jet over a 1 hour, 50 minute trip. There's much better food on international flights.
I had the opportunity to meet up with Chris and Ahnna, two from my 2010 EPIK orientation group, a few weeks ago. They've been traveling since fulfilling their contract in February. With a few days in NYC, it made sense, and seemed easy, for the guy from New Jersey to come up for at least an evening.
And then, Hurricane Palooza arrived.
No lie, from Saturday through Sunday, when Hurricane Irene landed, I slept a total of 90 minutes. End result, I did not get to see Chris and Ahnna. A couple months ago, I had a loose plan to visit Jenna in Chicago. That did not materialize. Now, Nicole, who taught in a hogwan for 15 months, then went all over the place, eventually landing in Switzerland, will be back in her home state of Colorado soon for a short time. Let's hope I can make the trip.
I visited ESL Cafe the other day. Then, as always, there were loads of jobs available. Some are last minute, some are through EPIK, which is now beginning the recruitment process for February. I asked Nicole the other day on Facebook whether much of this feeling is nostalgia. She said, "It's nostalgia. You been there and left two times." She has a point.
And this, from Panda, is the most succinct way to describe it all: "Korea is your blankie. It's what you go back to whenever life gets messy or stressful. And it's not even about Korea itself, it's the meaning that you've imbued it with. I just ask you to be cautious because Korea, while it may certainly be a valuable experience, will never live up to the utopia in your head. It's like if I were to go back to college. It wouldn't be the same....But you know all that. I just had to say it again."
Still, I've got that feeling. Like the urge for a cigarette, it can be pretty difficult to shake off. Maybe another hurricane will do the trick. Maybe.
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