Life Today

My last post was about seven months ago. I hope you haven't given up hoping that I'd post again (I'm sure you were desperately worried), but I'm sure also that whoever was holding their breath gave up awhile back. And yet, I'm back, and hope to stay back, perhaps every Saturday if I'm good.

I'm in South Korea. Again. I lived there between the ages of 23 and 27, and feel that it's (at least technically) where I became an adult. It's a country I love deeply, but not the one where I'd expected to stay, and I think it took me a while to process the idea that my life had brought me back here.

I came back on December 1st, right after Thanksgiving (which I insisted on spending at home rather than come early, but mostly slept through). Now it's been almost two seasons, and summer is coming.

I was surprised at how natural it felt to be back in Korea. I stepped off the plane, and felt like I was coming back to Incheon after any other vacation--no time seemed to have passed. And yet I'm different, and (I hope) my life is different, than the first time I was here. I plan. I arrange. I make lists, check them, review them, and analyze them with an eye to improving efficiency. It's an enormous process, consuming reams of paper and enormous amounts of time, but I think it helps.

I don't know when I'll go back home. It's not in my immediate plan.

I came back for various reasons, which I'd rather not go into. I miss my friends, and family, in the States--but here, too, I have dear friends, and getting to spend so much time with them is a blessing I never anticipated. In a way, Korea is also my country, and I like it, and I hope to do well.

My job is a lot like the one I did before. I'm in Seoul, though, which makes a huge difference. (In fact, the district where I work is quite close to the notorious Gangnam.) My hours are pretty long, and there was a learning curve, but it's a good job and I hope to keep doing it. My students are adorable. My colleagues, who hail from various countries, are interesting. I live quite far, but in my commute I've been listening to lots of new music, and have discovered some lovely new groups. (The XX and Of Monsters And Men are at the top of my list at the moment, but I've also listened to things as diverse as Concha Buika and Malice Mizer.) I have a place, I can buy clothes, my cat is sleeping next to me. I've gone to a lot of Meetups, and even started one, and am making lots of wonderful friends that way. I'm even doing a little life drawing, which is one of the most fun, relaxing things I've ever tried. On the whole (knock on wood), I am very happy.

For now, I'm going to keep teaching English. I'll write, edit, and probably self-publish (I keep seesawing, but I think ultimately it's going to turn out right for me.) I really want to finish more short stories, which I plan to put out in a bundle somewhat like this one (though hopefully much better). The first will be free--I haven't been giving you anything to read, and that's really not fair considering this is supposed to be a writing blog. And I hope you will read it, because I've been reading some wonderful stuff, and I really hope my writing will improve.

If you want to follow, I'm on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. (I'm also on DeviantArt, but I'm not telling you my ID till my art gets better.) If you'd like to contact me, that's the best way--or you can leave a question here, and I'll try to answer. And I think that's all for right now.