As you may have figured out, finals have ended. Most people from my study abroad program and Yonsei classes have moved back to their hometowns or countries. As usual, goodbyes always manage to sneak up on me, but I prefer to think of it as more of a "see you later." My friends from CIEE left with bang (or more so in a last minute down pour of acid rain). We lugged their suitcases to the airport limousine bus stop drenched. If I had any bounce or volume in my hair the rain took the liberty of flattening it and adding a little shine. To be honest, I would have been disappointed if the morning had not turned out the way it did (and of course it stopped raining the minute my friends stepped onto the bus). Our group tended to find themselves in entertaining situations. For example, I still reminisce about the memorable weekend in Jeju Island involving missing our boat by literally 1 minute, our "sunrise" escapade, various taxi rides with 1 chatty passenger and 3 others resting their eyes in the backseat, late-night text messaging/Korean sentence connector practices, and so on...On the 22nd of June, I moved out of my apartment in 신촌 (Shinchon) and took a short journey to 경주 (Gyeongju) with my friend, Lonny's family. We road-tripped it in a mini-van (다 여자 ^^) with her mom, aunts and cousins. Her family brought an assortment of Korean snacks to munch on at the various rest stops. Upon arrival at our hotel, we strolled in with our baggage and food for the upcoming dinnerhour. Instead of eating out at a restaurant, her aunts brought out freshly purchased meat, vegetables, rice and so on. This was quite a pleasant surprise. Normally when I take a family vacation or tag along with an American friend, we never ever considered preparing a meal in our hotel room. I found this rather refreshing. If I ever intend to polish up my cooking skills, so I can challenge one of the Food Network stars to a cooking battle and not be put to shame.
Then on the 25th I moved into a guesthouse called KoRoot. It's located near the 경복궁 (Kyeongbok Palace) fairly close to InsaedongCurrently the area is surrounded by buses and police force (due to the protests, which I still am trying to understand...for a number of reasons).
I am so glad that my friends recommended this place. It is a house for Korean adoptees from various parts of the world. Actually I wasn't aware of the number of adoptees living in the Scandinavian countries. And surprise surprise, many adoptees from the US are from ...Minnesota (not all). Everyone had such unique upbringings and are coming back to Korea at different points in their lives. I was amazed how quickly I began to feel at home (damn that sounds cheesy). I don't know why, but there is just something comforting about being surrounded by people who have a major thing in common. Although how one identifies or thinks about this greatly differs (no clumping everyone together). I've had some of the most profound, intense and light-hearted conversation in only a matter of days. It's interesting to hear their differing thoughts on various manners (what brought them to Korea, views on adoption, upbringings, Korean culture in general and other topics not related to such matters...). I am learning a great deal from everyone, but this does not surprise me. People fascinate me fr numerous reasons.
I tend to be a reflective person, but lately I find this to be even more so. I believe it has something to do with nearing the end of my years as an undergraduate student, spending a significant amount of time away from home (in MN) and asking questions that are causing my mind to spiral in more directions than I can keep track of. Everytime I think I have found an answer the path crumbles and my once clear vision becomes a blur. Everyone keeps reminding me that this is all normal or I suppose I would be more of stolid, mindless drone. Yeah yeah, I know they're right, but sometimes frustration becomes a little too powerful (don't worry it's not too visible on the surface). But anyways, I'm still thoroughly enjoying my time in Korea. It helps that I have a small break between the my Yonsei semester and Ewha class to "cool down" (as is noted on my YMCA trendmill after a heart-pumping jog). Hope you all are doing well.
잘 보내요!
