Here I am again, back home in Hongsan. It’s a bit surreal—it seems to me that I just left, but for them it must seem like I’ve been gone forever. And there are the minor adjustments to make to life back on the farm. Trying to communicate in another language again, for one. I was spoiled by all the English speakers I encountered on my journey and now I feel that I’ve forgotten most of the little Korean I did know! We had some random guests over this afternoon (two ladies and two men—I have no idea who they are) and I suspect they spent a good deal of time criticizing my language ability while I smiled awkwardly and slipped into a ball on the sofa. Jerks. And then there’s the whole being part of a family thing. I’ve spent six weeks accountable only to myself—it’ll be difficult to get back into the family groove. It’ll all come back, of course, but at the moment I am so entirely exhausted that it’s all a bit overwhelming. I actually got really homesick while on my trip (the first time, really) and I’m more than a little sad I returned to this home rather than that home. Well, I suppose it’s only a few more months until I see MT.
I realized today this was the first time I returned back to a place I visited. It’s a strange feeling to associate Korea with home, but that’s what I felt when I got off the plane. I was so happy to see Seoul—the modernity, the cleanliness, the order, the class…it really is a great city and I am newly inspired to spend more time there.
Bianca and I elected to spend the day there yesterday rather than heading straight home. She most likely regretted this decision, as she learned last night they rescheduled her winter camp to start today, but we did have a good time, even after spending so much time together already. We went to Gwanghwamoon, our usual downtown Seoul haunt, and left our stuff at our usual hostel (they kindly did not charge us). We spent the morning browsing through books—definitely one of my favorite activities of all time. Unfortunately, Kyobo does not have a huge English section and the books I wanted were not available, so I’ll have to go online. I’m really interested in studying some of the history and religion of the areas we visited. Perhaps it would have been more prudent to do so before I left, but now at least I’ll have a better idea of what the books are talking about. I’m especially interested in myths and folklore…I ended up buying a book of Korean folk tales instead and I am really excited to read that.
After the bookstore, I took Bianca on a restored concrete riverwalk I discovered in November while on a walk with a friend. It’s not picturesque in the nature sense, but it is a nice walk and a great spot for people watching. Even though it was a Monday, there were families everywhere, couples strolling, grandmothers, babies…everyone was there, taking in the sights. It’s an interactive walk of sorts—there is a long mural recreating a historic work of a king’s massive procession, along with inscriptions everywhere. My favorite part is a gallery set off to the side that houses a bunch of photographs of the area taken in the last century. It was a shock to see Korea of the 1960s…the riverside area looked almost exactly like that of the countries I just left! Dirty, naked children wallowed in the water. Haphazard shacks on stilts lined the muddy, meandering stream. These people were poor, and it showed. It brought to home once again how much Korea has progressed, and how rapidly. I find myself wondering why I don’t hear more about Korea being a model for development for countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. Sure, the circumstances are entirely different, but it seems that Korea’s story could be a valuable lesson for those countries struggling to build their economies now. I am inspired to learn more about what’s happened here in the past fifty years.
And then we went to a movie, The Science of Sleep. Earlier that morning, we’d found a theater that showed arthouse flicks, an exciting find, and it was only a couple of blocks away! The movie was really good, but a good portion of it was in French (which was subtitled in Korean, of course), so we couldn’t follow it that well. From the looks of it, we missed a lot of the jokes. I enjoyed it, but it was definitely one of those artsy movies that don’t really have an ending and those always bother me at first. I like things to wrap up neatly and this one definitely didn’t.
I finally headed home after the movie. It was a bit of a nightmare, what with my enormous pack with the broken waistband, putting all the monstrous weight on my shoulders, plus the extra two bags I’d accumulated. Basically, I was a walking study in affluence and I felt like a tool. A tired tool. It’s too bad getting home is so complicated—two different subways, two different buses, and then the long uphill trudge…I was exhausted by the time I got home! My host family was really surprised to see me, I think. I felt bad that I came home so late, but it really couldn’t have been helped. It’s a long journey from Seoul.
And now, today, the trip is catching up to me. I feel sick and exhausted and overwhelmed. My co-teacher called me and he wants me to come to school tomorrow already. NOT looking forward to it! Goodbye, vacation!