the start of the countdown!- 11 weeks to go!
So, after all these months of counting how may weeks I have been away it is time to change tactics and start counting how many weeks I have got left until the end of my contract.
Therefore, this is Week 11, next week will be Week 10, etc etc until Christmas Week which will be Week 1- the last week of my contract (remember back to all the hellish worrying and all round panicking that became so much part of Christmas for me and close friends and family last year? I do remember worrying a lot but sitting here in Korea 10 months on and I confused as to what I was so worried about!) I'll let you know what my future plans are as soon as there are few enough of them in my head for me to be able to see them clearly! That is to say that I have a new thought pretty much every time I breathe in and another one by the time I breathe out again. Yes, I really am that confused and excited about what to do next. Let's face it, in eighteen months time I will be joining my brother in the land of 30 year olds and while I know that that is a long way from being any where near past it it is a landmark of sorts and bound to lead to all that introverted 'what have I done with my life?', 'what am I doing with my life?', 'will I EVER get a boyfriend??????' etc etc. Don't worry though, I am not about to inflict that kind of thinking on you right now. Instead I thought that I would share some more immediate worries about my short term future with you- that is leaving Korea and returning to a Western society.
Changes that have happened to my thinking since I got here became more obvious when my mother was here. I had to question things that I had started to take for granted.
Mother: Why are those dogs' ears blue?
Me: Because they dye them, of course, doesn't everyone????
I am so used to taking my shoes off when I enter that house and only putting them back on again as I get to the doorstep to leave (yes, mum, points awarded for taking your shoes off at the doorstep are definitely deducted when you later pick the shoes up, carry them through the house so you can sit on the bed to put them back on again and then walk all the way back through the house with your shoes on!) that when I watch 'Friends' it is all I can do to stop myself yelling out at the TV- 'Ross, Rachel, who cares whose baby it is- just take your bloody shoes off for goodness sake!' as they casually stroll in as if unaware of their shod status- or as if it doesn't matter! Which leads onto my problem- back home IT DOESN'T!
So are my friends and family going to get really mad at me as they all stand backed up on the doorstep as I stand just inside the door taking my shoes off before they can enter the house too? Will people think that I am a little crazy when I can't stop myself giving little bows when entering and leaving somewhere? What will my local pub bar staff make of me when I sit at my table with my hand in the air yelling 'yogi-yo!!!' and waiting for them to come running to take my order? Or, once I have realised that I must go to the bar to get served (as if they are doing US a favour!) will they giggle as I hand over the money two-handed? Will I die of thirst as I sit with an empty glass in front of me because I am waiting for someone to do the polite thing and fill it for me? And, on the off chance that someone takes pity on me and does pour me a drink, will they get perturbed when I then try and wrestle the bottle out of their hands in order to return the favour? How long will it take me to stop staring at 'foreigners' who will not even be considered foreign back home? Or to stop talking about people in loud voices on the assumption that they can't understand me?
When I was in Australia a few years ago, my friend Sarah came to visit after a year teaching in Thailand. All she kept saying was 'they are soooo tall!!' and 'they can all speak English!' before running to the nearest Thai restaurant for a taste of 'home'. Sarah, I think that I am beginning to understand how you felt!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Therefore, this is Week 11, next week will be Week 10, etc etc until Christmas Week which will be Week 1- the last week of my contract (remember back to all the hellish worrying and all round panicking that became so much part of Christmas for me and close friends and family last year? I do remember worrying a lot but sitting here in Korea 10 months on and I confused as to what I was so worried about!) I'll let you know what my future plans are as soon as there are few enough of them in my head for me to be able to see them clearly! That is to say that I have a new thought pretty much every time I breathe in and another one by the time I breathe out again. Yes, I really am that confused and excited about what to do next. Let's face it, in eighteen months time I will be joining my brother in the land of 30 year olds and while I know that that is a long way from being any where near past it it is a landmark of sorts and bound to lead to all that introverted 'what have I done with my life?', 'what am I doing with my life?', 'will I EVER get a boyfriend??????' etc etc. Don't worry though, I am not about to inflict that kind of thinking on you right now. Instead I thought that I would share some more immediate worries about my short term future with you- that is leaving Korea and returning to a Western society.
Changes that have happened to my thinking since I got here became more obvious when my mother was here. I had to question things that I had started to take for granted.
Mother: Why are those dogs' ears blue?
Me: Because they dye them, of course, doesn't everyone????
I am so used to taking my shoes off when I enter that house and only putting them back on again as I get to the doorstep to leave (yes, mum, points awarded for taking your shoes off at the doorstep are definitely deducted when you later pick the shoes up, carry them through the house so you can sit on the bed to put them back on again and then walk all the way back through the house with your shoes on!) that when I watch 'Friends' it is all I can do to stop myself yelling out at the TV- 'Ross, Rachel, who cares whose baby it is- just take your bloody shoes off for goodness sake!' as they casually stroll in as if unaware of their shod status- or as if it doesn't matter! Which leads onto my problem- back home IT DOESN'T!
So are my friends and family going to get really mad at me as they all stand backed up on the doorstep as I stand just inside the door taking my shoes off before they can enter the house too? Will people think that I am a little crazy when I can't stop myself giving little bows when entering and leaving somewhere? What will my local pub bar staff make of me when I sit at my table with my hand in the air yelling 'yogi-yo!!!' and waiting for them to come running to take my order? Or, once I have realised that I must go to the bar to get served (as if they are doing US a favour!) will they giggle as I hand over the money two-handed? Will I die of thirst as I sit with an empty glass in front of me because I am waiting for someone to do the polite thing and fill it for me? And, on the off chance that someone takes pity on me and does pour me a drink, will they get perturbed when I then try and wrestle the bottle out of their hands in order to return the favour? How long will it take me to stop staring at 'foreigners' who will not even be considered foreign back home? Or to stop talking about people in loud voices on the assumption that they can't understand me?
When I was in Australia a few years ago, my friend Sarah came to visit after a year teaching in Thailand. All she kept saying was 'they are soooo tall!!' and 'they can all speak English!' before running to the nearest Thai restaurant for a taste of 'home'. Sarah, I think that I am beginning to understand how you felt!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted by Helen @ 5:25 PM
<< Home