Seoul is Blossoming!

It's been a really busy couple of weeks here in Seoul!  Two weekends ago I reunited with my college friend Emily and her boss Connie when they passed through Seoul on their way back to the States from Cambodia.  Emily had gotten in touch with me a month ago to see if I'd be up for some sightseeing during their twelve hour layover.  Sightseeing, me?!  Of course!  The girls arrived at Incheon at 7am and took the bus out to SFS to grab breakfast and a shower at my apartment before we ventured out into the city.  We decided on a trip to Insadong, a fun arts and crafts area where we did some window shopping and had lunch.  It was so much fun to get to "run into" Emily in my new city, especially since I haven't seen her in at least a couple of years!  As it turns out, Connie and her husband will be back in Seoul this week to pick up the precious new addition to their family--a baby girl they adopted from Korea!  Before the girls grabbed the subway back to the airport, Emily and I posed for a quick photo.

Emily and I reunited in Seoul!

On my way back to campus I ran a few errands and stopped in to make a hair appointment.  I was thrilled when I found they weren't busy at the salon and figured I could get a quick trim right then and there.  Putting my faith in the hands of a hairdresser I had never seen before was a risk, but I figured it would turn out okay.  I managed to choke back tears until I got back to my apartment, but let's just say that I was less than thrilled with my new do.  I asked Denys to leave my hair long enough to put in a ponytail...maybe in six months that will be a reality again.  Now, almost two weeks later, I am starting to get used to my short locks but that one situation opened a huge emotional floodgate and I spent the rest of the "haircut day" having a breakdown.  Thank goodness for lovely friends here who are always at the ready with a shoulder to cry on!  Amazingly enough, my students and colleagues like the shorter cut and on Tuesday after school Rebecca, Stephanie, and I walked over to Edae to get some fun new hair accessories (thankfully Korea is well stocked with cheap and adorable hair things).  On our way through the Yonsei campus I stopped to really appreciate the much anticipated signs of spring.  I absolutely love the magnolia trees and I can't wait to see the campus washed in color as summer approaches!

One of the incredible magnolia trees at Yonsei!

The hillsides are starting to blush.

Cherry blossoms in Sinchon.

A cheerful pot of pansies adorn the main street in Edae.

This passed weekend was another great one packed full of activities and some time spent off "the hill".  Although I felt horrible Friday afternoon, I managed to drag myself out of bed the next morning and join Jo Wilcox and Claire Olivier on a trip to Dongdaemun (also known as the fabric market).  I had attempted this trip once before much earlier in the school year and was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of options that I crawled away with my tail between my legs and haven't tried to go back since.  This trip, however, had a distinct purpose.  In less than a month Jo and I will be leading a Discovery Week group called Sew and Sew (we affectionately call it a Stitch n' Bitch) and we needed both ideas for projects and supplies.  Navigating the gigantic complex made up of two or three interconnecting buildings that are five stories each was much easier with two experts at the helm and I came away from the trip with lots of fun finds including a couple of cute new hairbands to help deal with my unexpectedly short haircut.  When we finished up at Dongdaemun I struck out on my own and took the subway to Itaewon with a shopping list in hand.  A stop at the jeweler and a fantastic bookstore called What the Book! helped finish off what was left of April's budget, but I returned home with a silver chain and three new books in hand.  A few hours later I was on the go again!  Rebecca and I went out for Italian before the AMAZING student production of Fiddler on the Roof.  My goodness we have a huge number of talented kids at this school!  Sunday came and went and before I knew it the school week was in full swing.

One of my fabric market finds:).

In the last two weeks Seoul has been transformed by the arrival of spring.  Warmer weather and sunny skies were our first indication that winter was passed.  The second was the arrival of the cherry blossoms!  I had hoped to venture out to view the blossoms on Sunday, but my body didn't agree so when Tuesday rolled around and I saw the sun peeking out I decided I had to get out to Yeouido Park before leaving for Vietnam.  Kristen, Rebecca, and I decided to go together right after school and by 4:30pm we were following a path through a tunnel of blossoming trees.  We weren't the only people taking advantage of the beautiful afternoon--there were tons of Korean people out to view the blooming trees too.  Here are a few photos from our stroll through a wonderland of white flowers...

The cherry blossom trees in Yeouido Park!

Kristen and Rebecca enjoying some cotton candy...light and fluffy like the blossoms!

A view of the city across the Han River.

Walking beneath a canopy of branches and blossoms.

The petals aren't falling yet, but it's Kristen's dream to dance beneath a shower of cherry blossom petals!

Me, Kristen, Rebecca, and the backside of an adjuma:).

The obligatory self portrait.

I stopped to take a pretty picture with these beautiful flowers...but Kristen had other ideas.  This cracks me up!

Take two...naughty Kristen!

Well, enough procrastinating--I leave for Vietnam in less than 24 hours and I still have sub plans and packing to finish!  Keep an eye out for photos and updates from Ho Chi Minh city this week!

Back to Reality...

It has been two weeks since I packed up and left Venice.  Although I am still feeling the effects of traveling nearly 15,000 miles in the span of a week, I would do it again in a heartbeat!  As I sat down to write each of the blog posts about what I learned in Venice, I slowly processed through the sea of thoughts and emotions that were entirely unexpected.  Here's where I am at today...


First things first...while I absolutely adored Venice, I know that Seoul is most likely going to be my home for several years.  I made a pledge to leave Korea debt free (that means NO MORE STUDENT LOANS), with a little money in the bank, and having traveled as much of Asia as possible.  Several months ago I worked out a financial plan and in January 2013 my master's degree will be paid off!  That means I will most likely be signing on for another one, two, or three year contract if it is offered this October.  A few months ago I was ready to commit to a total of five years here, now I'm not so sure and I'm going to pray about it and see where God wants me to be.  I know that Europe, and now specifically Italy, are definitely on my heart but I'm not certain if as a single teacher I can afford to make the move...or if I can find a job that suits me.  Another area to be praying about!  Right now I am blessed with a remarkably easy life.  I am well paid, respected by my students, and very happy with my school and the people I work with.  I am also learning one life lesson after another.  If I do choose to pursue Europe, it is very possible that I may be sacrificing a fantastic working environment for something that is much less than satisfactory in exchange for a culture that is more desirable.  Is that a fair trade??  I'm not sure.  More to consider.


Second, I am very good at being single-minded and guilty of fixating on one idea, but I know I need to look at the big picture.  Right now I want to get back to Venice...but I'm sure that will come in time.  At this time next year it is possible that I'll be taking a group of students on a Discovery Week trip to Italy.  We'll see.  I need to figure out how to temper these feelings so I'm not missing out on everything else going on around me in my present circumstances.  I need to celebrate the here and now while still working a bit at a time on plans for the future.  Right now that means I'm going to take an online Italian class at the University of Wisconsin and do my best to pass through Italy at least once a year when I'm traveling in Europe (when I decided to move to Seoul I made a deal with myself that I would make it to Europe every year to explore a new place).  I'm hoping to return to Venice next summer for another go at mosaic making after I visit Switzerland and possibly Austria.


Third, living abroad can be a lonely and emotional undertaking and as I reflected on my trip to Venice I realized how desperate I am to form deep connections with interesting and creative people.  In short, this is simply going to take time.  Perhaps it is the result of going it alone here in Seoul and really missing my family and good friends back home that makes me feel the need to put my life story out there and make friends whenever the possibility presents itself.  I'm learning that I need to proceed cautiously when choosing who to let into my life and who to invest time and energy in.  As much as I felt connected to the ladies in my mosaic class and desired to get to know my teacher better, I have to accept the fact that we were just passing through each other's lives temporarily, hang on to the lessons I learned from these ladies, and keep working on developing strong relationships with the people I see on a daily basis and who I can call on in a time of need.


This brings me back to life in Seoul right now.  I have been blessed to work with a wonderful group of science teachers and the week after spring break we gathered together for a science department outing...crepes and noriibang (karaoke), it doesn't get any better than that!  I was still totally exhausted from my trip, but in an effort to get back on Asia time I went and had a blast!  Here are a few photos from our outing:

Ruth with her potato and cheese crepe.

The la Celtique...my favorite!!

Okay, this is what I'm ordering next time!

The science department...plus Paul, Gabriel, and Sophie.

I couldn't help it...Power Rangers walking down the street really isn't out of the ordinary for Seoul.

Ruth joined me in a fantastic rendition of Dancing Queen!  Yay for ABBA!

Steph, Windy, and Edson...our happy tambourine players!

Perfect Pitch Paul:)

Sing it kids!!

Friends!

What a sweet duet!

Everyone joining in...even Ms. Kim!

Lessons from Venice: Leaving Day

My last half day in Venice was tearful.  Mom and I were up early so she could catch the 7:15am water bus to the airport and I was hoping to squeeze in a bit of last minute sightseeing.  We had been up later than we planned finishing up in the studio and packing our suitcases (why does it always take such a long time to throw a week's worth of dirty clothes back into a suitcase?).  I was planning on waiting at the dock until the water bus arrived to see mom off, but once again my stomach had other ideas so we hugged and said a quick good-bye before I booked it back to the hotel.  The next several hours were spent in physical and emotional agony.  

I made one last trip downstairs to the studio to return our unused packing supplies and say a quiet farewell to the place that had become like a sanctuary during the last week.  I was really sad to leave such a creative and inspiring place...and to say good-bye to a lovely group of creative and inspiring women.  I wandered out into the courtyard garden to take some photos of the peaceful space and wished that I had taken time to sit out there and enjoy a coffee at some point during my stay.  "Next time," I told myself.

The courtyard just starting to show signs of spring.

A colorful pillar displaying so many of the beautiful colors of Orsoni smalti.

On my way through the lobby of Domus Orsoni I also stopped to snap some photos of the absolutely incredible mosaic work that captured my attention each time I walked by and caused me to re-think what I knew about color and composition.  At that point I had already reconciled with myself that I would definitely be returning to this place to practice my newly acquired mosaic skills and to do a lot more exploring.

I love this collection of pieces!

Wow!

Our home-away-from-home during our week in Venice.

These pieces were shown at the world's fair in Paris!

It is almost impossible to believe that this is a mosaic!

One of Antonella's pieces.  Simply beautiful!

A close up of the rose and border details.

Just as I was about to unlock the door to my room I saw Monika leave hers and Astrid, who must have heard both of us, popped her head out to talk to us.  After staying up until some unthinkable hour, Astrid had completed her eagle mosaic.  Together the three of us returned to the studio to admire her incredible piece and to take an official photo of Astrid with the finished product.  I could tell that she couldn't have been prouder.  

After who knows how many hours in the studio, the eagle is finished!

A close up of Astrid's amazing piece!

By this time I was feeling pretty awful, but decided to join my other three classmates for a final coffee at a favorite cafe not far from the hotel.  It was a glorious day with the sun shining off of the water and we sat outside and took in our surroundings one last time.  I could hardly keep it together knowing that this good-bye would be final and that there was a good chance the four of us might never meet again.  No matter what the circumstance, good-byes are always difficult but in the last seven days I had truly come to admire and appreciate this city and the people I encountered here.  I know that one of my faults is being too quick to give away my heart, but in this case I think the admiration was justified.  Finally it was time to run a few last minute errands (to the post office in order to send off some postcards of course), grab my suitcase, turn in my key, and head off to the airport to catch my flight.  I parted from the ladies and tried to pull myself together in preparation for a long day of travel that was to come.

Lucia on her way to meet us for a coffee!

As I waited on the imbarco to catch the water bus to the airport an elderly woman tapped me on the arm and asked in Italian about my nationality.  I replied "Americano" but mentioned that I live in South Korea.  She smiled and nodded.  A British couple happened to overhear this exchange and we had a nice chat during the trip to the airport about teaching abroad and traveling.  Although I had a deep realization during this trip that South Korea is not really my heart's desire, teaching overseas has opened so many doors to the world that would have potentially remained closed and sealed had I decided to remain stateside.  Venice was one of them.  My heart sank a little as I watched the islands fade into the distance and the airport come into focus.  Checking in was a breeze and after passing through security I kept a lookout for mom, who's flight had been delayed until after my departure.  She spotted me first and we spent the next hour and a half chit chatting and coming up with a plan so she wouldn't have to sleep in the airport in NYC since she was certain to miss her connection back to Portland.  Thankfully we met a lovely young woman in the same predicament who was happy to be mom's travel buddy on the return trip.  We said our good-byes for the second time that day and I was on my way back to Seoul via Istanbul.  I don't remember much about the next two and a half hours, but have vivid memories of the seven hour layover in Turkey.  This is when I started the really emotional process of sorting out a week's worth of feelings and memories.  I spent a majority of my time sitting at a table in an open area reading, writing, and thinking...all done with tears streaming down my face.  The ten hour flight back to Seoul was pretty brutal.  I felt terrible, slept in fits, and did my best to keep down what little I ate.  It goes without saying that I was in no condition to work on Monday...so I didn't.  Thank goodness for those emergency sub plans I had made in advance!  With the trip now history, it was time to get back to real life.  Sigh....