I'm sorry about the title. I really am.
I've been shouting about writing a blog to journal my upcoming adventures in Korea, so I thought, "Why not get it started before I even leave?" And then I thought, "Because you probably don't have anything interesting to say yet." I'm probably right.
At this point I'm all packed up, with the only exception being my laptop on which I am currently typing. According to my bathroom scale, my luggage weighs approximately 82 pounds, and that doesn't include my two carry-on bags. I found this out by weighing myself, then weighing myself holding the bag and subtracting. It's been a weird afternoon. Fun fact: My scale hasn't had that amount of weight on it in a year and a half. Seeing a reading in the mid-300s on that thing again is one of my most persistent nightmares.
I've had my guitar out all day since I won't be bringing it with me and am currently deciding what the last song I'll play on it will be. I'm thinking "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen (friends reading this, did you know I just recently started listening to Bruce Springsteen? He's alright). I'll have to pick up a new guitar when I get there, because people have always told me I'm not loud or irritating enough.
At this point I feel pretty well prepared for the upcoming journey. I've had a lot of conversations with friends who have spent time in Korea as well as with my recruiter and the staff at my workplace. Travelling and spending time there doesn't scare me so much. That's not to say I'm not anxious, however; it's simply not what's making me anxious. Actually what freaks me out the most is getting over there and failing. Not passing my training, or somehow messing things up and losing my job and getting sent home before the end of my contract. If it came down to that, really I would just have to buy a plane ticket and come home. I won't be stranded or anything. But it would be embarrassing; everyone has been incredibly supportive and encouraging about this and I don't want to disappoint them. And I especially don't want to disappoint myself.
BLEH so that's some heavy emoting out of the way. I'm trying to record everything as honestly as possible in the moment as it'll make for better reflection. But now that's out of the way, so I have to try to be funny. Did you know that have a phrase for people who look like me in Korea? It's "AHHHH!"[citation needed]
Guess I'll post more when I arrive. I say that now so that I can feel embarrassed when the next post is seven months later or something. Also gonna try to end all of these with a relevant quote (because pretentious), and this is the most appropriate thing I can think of:
"Don't panic." - Douglas Adams
Happy and safe travels my darling son! Wishing you much success in your next adventure. I am sure you will be great. You can act, act like a teacher! I will miss you, love mom.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for your trip mang, remember south east asia is only a cheap flight away from Korea.. the drunk thread needs to be enacted live at some point..
ReplyDeleteall the very best..
I have a cousin that lives in Korea. He writes me letters pretty often because he has no friends.
ReplyDeleteHe doesn't drink and he only eats at the McDonald's. His letters are very boring. One example: he once wrote me a 14 page letter, handwritten, explaining why Mary-Kate was the better Michelle. Utter nonsense. Everyone knows Ashley played the character far better. I wrote him back to tell him he'll never make friends being a greasy, sober, pedantic contrarian, but that only caused him to write a 20 page letter explaining why people aren't worth befriending if they drink, eat anywhere but McDonald's, and watch any scenes featuring Ashley as Michelle. He's apparently spent time editing the episodes to remove all shots of Ashley.
If you run into my cousin, and I would be very surprised indeed if you did (because he isn't real), tell him to stop writing letters to me. Punch him in the throat if you have to. His name is Pete and he looks a lot like me.
Anyway, have fun in Korea. I will miss you, love mom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusGIl3v044
DeleteYou can do this! And regardless of what happens, you are taking a huge risk to try something you have never done before and a lot of people wouldn't even touch that. I'm one of those people. You can only give it your best and I think people would be proud just because of that. Best of luck! Keep writing...
ReplyDelete