Assure

Just wanted to let you know that normal life is still happening in South Korea.

Not, like, my "I go on awesome adventures and speak in a foreign language and live in Asia" normal life... but my "I do laundry and work out and cook meals" normal life.

I think it could be easy to romanticize my experience of moving to a foreign country to start my career. Yes, I chose it for the adventure and opportunity to learn about myself and the world.... but I still do normal things here.

I go grocery shopping.
I work out in the morning.
I teach classes.
I grade assignments.
I celebrate birthdays.
I go to church.
I meet new people.
I clean my apartment.
I wash dishes.
I go to school meetings.
I send out way too many emails.
I sing and play the day away.
I dread making dinner after work.

These are all things I could have done in the United States.
I chose to do them somewhere with somewhat of a language barrier, surrounded by a culture other than my own..... but I'm still living a very normal life. It's not all solo sea kayaking, eating foods I can't identify (though I have done my fair share of that), plane rides, and "soul searching".

so, to those of you who I'll see in the states during Christmas time... don't be surprised if I'm still the same me. I'm still Emmalee, living a normal life... just a plane ride away instead of a car ride away.

Things I'm very excited for in the near future:
seeing my friends and family, duhhhhh
Chipotle.
USING MY OWN OVEN TO BAKE UP A GIANT STORM
Fairmount Avenue United Methodist Church
Clyde, Maggie, Yogi, and Snowflake (aka The Herd)
snow.
Target. I can't wait for Target.
The OK Factor CD release event!
Seasonal Starbucks flavors that don't seem odd to me.

Things I'm scared of in the near future:
my cell phone not working when I land in the US
driving a car. it's been a while.
jet lag.

Caffeine... especially in seasonal flavors not available in SoKo. That will help with Jet lag, but who knows what'll happen. I am a slave to sleep normally, having no control over where or when I'll fall asleep. This could be rough. However it turns out, everything will be awesome... because I'll be Home For Christmas.

Tokyo, T.Gives, and Transitions

The school I work for didn't have school on November 28th or 29th - the staff (Canadian AND American) knew why, but some of our students had no idea why. American Thanksgiving! 

I believe most of you know this about me, but if you don't…. I think it's important for you to know.

Thanksgiving (affectionately known as T.Gives in my life) is my favorite holiday. It's my favorite holiday for  for many reasons. 

1) Food. It totally operates around food. delicious food.

2) My bros and parents and I usually have a great time making pepperoni rolls or Christmas buttons while watching The Christmas Story :)

3) I love cooking for a ton of people

4) Black Friday happens the next day

5) It means its pretty much Christmas

Historically, #6 was Christmas At Luther, but that's no longer a direct part of my life :( 

Anyway,

this year's Thanksgivings were a bit different, as I was in TOKYO!

I flew to Tokyo on Thursday morning, arriving in the city around 1:30pm. I met up with Connie and her family at their hotel. Connie studied abroad in the small town I was born in, and we were her host family. I knew Connie mostly when I was between the ages of 4 and 6, seeing her again when I was 8 or 9. Our meeting came about via Facebook  - on Tuesday I saw that her posts were popping up on my newsfeed, coming from Tokyo. I messaged her, discovering that we'd be in the city at the same time, and we coordinated our plans to spend some time together. It was so wonderful to meet her daughter (who is now the age I was when I met Connie), and spend a holiday with someone who is like family to me. Though it had been many years, I still remember presents and time spent with Connie on holidays when I was very young. As Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, I was really nervous that I'd spend it alone with a bowl of ramen noodles, crying at the thought of stuffing and pumpkin pie. Definitely no tears, just lots of love and delicious food (from a different culture!). 

After spending some time with Connie and her family, Sydnie met me at their hotel, and brought me to her apartment where I'd stay for the next three nights. Sydnie works at an international school in Tokyo, teaching band. It was so comforting and informative to spend time with someone who's going through many of the same transitions as me right now. We went to Luther, taking a lot of courses and making music together, so we had some great first year teacher conversations. We saw a bunch of different parts of the city, I met some of her colleagues (who will be stopping through Seoul on their way to New Zealand in two weeks!), spent a day at school with her, and tried lots of local cuisine. 

 Shabu Shabu Thanksgiving with Connie and Masashi

 Sophie was tired after dinner and looking at Christmas lights

 Ms. Reynolds in action!

 Tempura lunch - yummmm

 Sushi dinner

 Conveyor belt sushi, so many delicious little fishes in my belly

 WE FOUND THE MARIMEKKO STORE!

 Visiting the Meiji Shrine

 Traditional wedding at the shrine

 Traditional bamboo flute/recorder group

 wishes left at the Meiji shrine

 4 Japanese students approached us at the shrine, offering to be our guide so they could practice their english. 

Snuck a photo of the bride - look at her hair!

So, Tokyo was great.

It was refreshing to travel and see more new faces and places along with the comforts of friends and family from home. Spending time at school with Sydnie, meeting her colleagues, and learning more about another international school got my head in a bit of a different place. I hadn't really been thinking about international teaching or what's going to happen after my 2 year contract is up, but this trip sort of brought those topics up. I by no means have any answers, but I am sure that my heart and mind are much more open than when I left Minnesota. I feel stronger and more capable than ever before, which is exhilarating and meaningful. Perfect sensations and emotions to carry me through the last three weeks of my first semester as a teacher!

I think I had it somewhere in my mind that once I transitioned into my life in Korea that I'd be settled. I'd be established. I'd have a routine. I'd have a plan. Things would be similar and familiar as long as I stay here.

Definitely not true.

It's that time of year…. contract conversations are nearly completed for next year already. (I'm signed a two year contract, so no conversations for me… but this time next year I'll probably have made a formal decision.) Rumors, conversations, and announcements have painted an unclear picture of what next year will look like at my school. Many people are leaving, some for already signed contracts, and others just know it's time for them to move on and will be searching through the spring for their next position/location. I'm so happy for my colleagues who have made choices that are good for them, but it is a little hard to already know these people are leaving. Connections are a funny thing - time has a lot to do with how deeply people can connect and how much energy they're capable of putting into the here and now. It was easy to poeticize the idea of "live for today, because you don't know who will be there tomorrow" or other such sentiments when I was in Minnesota - but unless there was an act of god or illness, I knew I'd see most of my people again within the next couple weeks. Living the international teacher life, connections can be very temporary. I was eating Sundubu Jigae (google that deliciousness, if you haven't already) with Meg and Becky and we were talking about this. I confessed my recently recognized idea that I was done with transitions for a while now that I'm "established" in Korea… to which Meg responded "No, I thought that'd be true, too, but it seems we have actually entered a life of permanent transition". 

I suppose the same could be said for life at home, and looking back, I think I often felt that way. 

Maybe this is a transition into adulthood and permanent transitions, or maybe its a transition into international teacher life. Who knows. 

Anyway, glad to be with the ones I am while I'm here.

Happy for those moving on, and looking forward to new faces and fun where ever I go.

Be back in the states on December 21st - can't wait to eat chipotle, snuggle with my cats, and see all my favorite people :)

But first….. two holiday concerts.

#LETSDOTHIS

or, as Ethan would say.

"And now we GO"