As time goes by during my voyage, I have determined that there is one distinct difference between Seoul & home. Here, there is a revolving door of people who enter and exit your life. While at home, the people that you meet are pretty much stable, pretty much settled, setting up and maintaining their lives. The native English speakers that I have come to know, are really a bunch of nomads, wandering from place to place...trying to find their rightful place in the world. No one is here to stay, indefinitely. Their lives,.. so very different from the lifestyle that I have come to know as my own.
As it is very intriguing, I never seem to tire of the colorful stories told by my new found friends over drinks or dinner of escapades near & far. But one thing, I can't help but wonder is when this cycle stops for most. Is it perfectly acceptable to go from place to place reaching & searching for that place of Nirvana on earth? Or is it nonsensical to think of settling down with a 9-5 job in your corner of the globe, without regard that there is a whole wide world out there that is moving & changing. Should we all be so focused on concrete plans for the future (i.e. buying a house, paying off bills, etc.) that we forget to stop & smell the roses? Is one lifestyle approach better than the other? Can both approaches to life lead you to the path of knowing and fulfilling your life's purpose? Who decides? These are the questions that I find myself asking....
Speaking of which...
On last evening, I had a great time hanging out with my new compadres here in Seoul. This weekend we were bidding farewell to another sister on the brink, Annice. Annice is a AA young woman who has been living in Seoul for the last year. She has come to the end of the Korean road & is now headed home to the US....for a month. After which time she is relocating to Cairo, Egypt! I don't know about anyone reading this, but not only have I never been to Cairo, but I don't know anyone who LIVES there...well, I guess in a few weeks or so that won't be true cause Annice will be there. WOW! For some of you this may not seem to be a likely choice for your life...mine either, but this type of situation helps me to get a glimpse of the vast possibilities that exist in this world. I admire Annice's strength & drive to go after a different path. I think for far too often, I have limited myself to the options that exist in my small world...but slowly, my vantage point is changing.
Seoul Family hanging out on the town. Annice (center)
This type of discussion reminds me of my mindset during undergrad, or maybe as early as high school, when I truly felt that the world was my oyster. There was nothing that I could not achieve and/or do if I put my mind to it. Since that time, reality [or as some would say, cynicism] and time have kind of destroyed a mental link to my grandiose possibilities. I still believe that I can & will achieve great things in my life, but I am a little more realistic these days.
Sometimes while writing this blog, I feel like I am writing about some nonsensical topics. But honestly, I can see myself changing....seeing life quite differently. Now don't expect me to make some kind of announcement next week that I have decided to stay here in Korea indefinitely or that I have decided to become a missionary trying to convert communist China. However, I trust that many of my life's decisions will be impacted by the way I now see life, less limited with so many more possibilities.
Good Luck to Annice on your new voyage!
We wish you the best!
K
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