So, after more than two years of
biding my time, I will finally escape my hometown for the adventure that awaits
me in South Korea! Honestly, Korea was not exactly where I planned to live and
work at first. After a life-changing year-long study abroad program during
college in Kobe, Japan I intended to return after graduation and teach English.
Little did I know that in a few months the entire country would be drenched in
radiation after a devastating earthquake and tsunami. I had a job lined up only
to find out one week after the disaster that my employer told me I had five
days to decide whether I would take the contract or not. Since there still wasn’t
enough information at the time as to the extent of the damage, I was forced to
decline the offer. My dream of living and working in Japan in the near future
disappeared with the movement of a tectonic plate.
Japan was actually my backup plan
for my initial goal of becoming a commissioned officer in the military. I had
gone through a very long process of testing and waiting, interviews and
waiting. Did I mention the waiting? Selection boards were cancelled last minute
and delayed for months. When my first board finally met it was so competitive that
barely fifty candidates were selected from a pool of over a thousand. Needless to
say, as a recent college grad I was not among the thirty-something PhDs, and
prior-enlisted who were chosen. The economy was (hell, still is) so bad that
most officers were staying in causing the demand to drop rapidly. The military’s
quota for fresh meat was being met my ROTC and the Academies, making good ol’
civilians like me unnecessary.
It was a pretty devastating blow,
because I really thought that was what I wanted and would be really good at. However,
it seemed that fate gave me another chance when a month later I received a
phone call from my recruiter telling me that not enough people were selected
from the last board so an emergency board would be held to select more officers
and would I like to put my name in? Would I like to put my name in? Um…Yes
please! I thought that the unfairness that is life suddenly decided to give me
a break. Maybe all my hard work would really pay off. I waited heart in throat
all day for the call from my recruiter. It seemed like they put off giving the
successful candidates the good news, so as the hours ticked by, I thought the
joyous call notifying me of my selection was just moments away. When the phone
finally rang I was informed of my rejection once again.
With two well-formed plans utterly
flushed down the drain, I almost panicked. Almost. What would I do now? How
will I pay my school loans? What will become of my life? Suddenly it dawned on
me like a knockout punch from Ali, or the entire chorus of Sister Act (Whoopie
included) singing my new plan to me or the part in Inception when Leonardo DiCaprio
gets pushed into the bathtub. Laughably, it all made sense. Everything truly
happens for a reason. I had always loved travel and learning about different
cultures and languages. I knew Japan would not be the last stop for me although
I do consider it a second home. So I thought, “Korea. Why not? I can teach
English there too. And I’ve always wanted to learn Korean. Now is just as good
a time as any, especially now. Who cares what other people think? I want to be
happy with my life and my job. That is the most important thing. A fantastic
location, adventure, good people, good food, good booze. Who could ask for more?”
And with that, my journey to Korea began.
Now finally, the long long road is just beginning. The living
at home, working, eating, sleeping, studying routine made me feel dead, like a
robot just going through the motions. There was no excitement, no adventure; just
a dead end. There is nothing to discover in my small town filled with unhappy people
who never leave. I always felt like an outsider even though I moved here in the
middle of second grade. This place always felt foreign to me, and my real home
was somewhere in Asia. I truly believe I must have lived there in a past life. How
else would I come to love and appreciate a culture so different from my own? I was
innately fascinated at such a young age; there really is no other explanation. So
now, I am about to embark on a brand new adventure, through the looking glass,
down the rabbit hole, into a world just as new and different as when I first
travelled to Japan. The language is beautiful and interesting although
pronunciation gives me fits on occasion. There are so many things I want to try
and see and do that I hardly know where to start. I guess getting on the plane
is a good beginning. Fourteen and a half hours here I come!!!
And so, as I venture into the great
unknown that is Korea, I invite you to join me in my adventures, mishaps,
cultural misunderstandings and discoveries along the way. May some of my
wanderlust spark your own personal journeys!
