I'm going to throw out a disclaimer before I begin; this is my first attempt at a blog so just bear with me. This seems to be the easiest way to keep in touch with all the glorious folks in my life so here it gooooooooooooes. Holla.
It has been a wild month of July getting ready for this adventure to South Korea, and now all those things I had planned before leaving are done. Lately, the song 'South Australia', with the words changed to 'South Korea', keeps running through my head. "If there is one thing I am excited about. Heave away, Haul away! It's to get this adventure started so I can shout. I am bound for South Korea!"
Sadness is not the overarching emotion I am feeling as I gear up to leave, which surprises me because I thought I would be a weepy mess (thanks for those genes, mom.) Thankfulness and excitement are overtaking my heart these days as I reflect upon my three years in Burlington and think about what adventures await me in South Korea. Perhaps I'll get to eat kimchi everyday, and teach kids with bad breath and gas. Eeek. I'll get to be a part of another Quaker meeting (thank goodness meetings are silent so I don't have to worry about the whole 'I don't know any of your langauge...yet' thing.) I'll get to live in a city of over 10 million people, which may cut down on the Burlington phenomenon of everyone being inter-connected in some weird and magical way. I'll live in a city with culture that dates back to over 2,000 (not 200) years ago. Subways will be my main way of commuting, not only in Seoul but in cities surrounding it. I won't get lost in a group of people because my height will make me easy to find. There is a lot to look forward to, but still a lot to be quite nervous about. I won't go into that before leaving because it makes me feel like doing a quick vomit in the garbage can.
I want to end this first post by doing an ode of sorts to Burlington, my home for three years where I grew up in more ways than I thought imaginable. To Burlington! Where ....: I lived in my first apartment (with my favorite cuz.)....found that neighbors are nice folks you can hang with.....found that riding a bike and bus can get you most anywhere you need to go....the winters get so cold your eyes water and nostrils freeze together, but as long as you have friends to bitch about it with you're okay......found my spiritual home in Quaker meeting and officially joined a meeting for the first time, and got to also join committees and run Young Adult Friends....got to be F/friends with folks who were older and much wiser than I.....worked in an office setting for two years learning more of what I don't want to do with my life.....learned how culturally incompetent I am and ways to improve myself in that regard....realized that good coffee makes a difference.....got to learn how to see the world through the eyes of a 2-year-old....played on a great softball team.....spent time at/in/around Lake Champlain in all seasons and loved the changes....house-sat for many people who actually had money to make their homes in (often times) rural Vermont amazing....learned how to play the banjo....found how grand eating local and organic is, and how co-ops can make that happen (albeit priceily)....realized how I can be a better person in a multitude of ways. And finally, as Bill Staines said so well in the song River, "I've been to the city and back again, I've been moved by some things that I've learned. Met a lot of good people and I've called them friends, felt the change when the seasons turned. I've heard all the sonds that the children sing, and listened to love's melodies. I've felt my own music within me rise, like the wind in the autumn trees."
Thanks for reading.
Katie.
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