Dinner and Thoughts

There are four of us from the branch who live in my apt. building, and we have another friend, who works at a nearby branch for younger students, who lives nearby. Not only is this great for sharing cabs back from the beach at odd hours of the night on the weekends, but it's also fantastic for cooking dinner together. Two of us are vegetarians (though she eats chicken) and a third used to be veg. so we're all happy, or at least pretty happy, with veg. meals.

So far we've made the following: stir fry; pasta with sauteed veggies and tomato-eggplant sauce; veg. chili with chocolate pudding for dessert; and, tonight we made veg. lomo saltado, a Peruvian dish. All fantastic, and all made even better with good company.

...

I came to Korea for a lot of reasons. One was to meet other ex-pats and see why they were here, what we had in common, etc. So far, it's been a mixed bag, but I've been lucky with the five who live closest to me. Proximity helps, I'm sure, but on the whole, they're just good people. When we go out, we run into a lot of foreigners, some nice, some crazy, and some downright obnoxious and rude. But the people I work with are, on the whole, people I want to be around.

I realized, over the last few days, that I've barely read the news from around the world. When I do, it seems far away, and it feels untouchable. What's the point in getting worked up over sanctions on Iran when that's been happening for years, and when I'm trying to figure out how to get an Alien Registration Card in a country where I speak almost no Korean and the people who I need help from speak almost no English? Priorities change. I'm glad that I care more about trying to communicate effectively with the women in the supermarket than I do about things happening miles away. It also has made me realize how much I miss music and performing and that whole world. I can't quite describe it. I think when I was in Ithaca I still felt close to the music school and close to music, as if I could change my mind about my goals, but now I feel so far away from those choices.

I'm living now. Just living. Maybe for the first time in a long time I'm not planning for the future or trying to understand how what I'm doing now fits into the larger picture. I'm just teaching, talking, and exploring a new city, and it consumes all of my time - and I love it. I love not thinking about what I'll do next year. I love finding out a new word in Korean. I love seeing the lightbulb look on my students' faces when they understand how to convey their ideas in a different language than their own, and I envy their ability to speak so well in two languages. I want to spend my time at the beach, watching the ocean and the people and the mountains. I want to stay up late cooking and talking with other people who are far from the familiar, but who are also making a life here. I'm learning what it feels like to just be. While I still have anxieties, and I still think about the future, I'm less concerned with preparing for it, because I know that I'd miss too much of what's right in front of me, and so far, what's in front of me is my priority; I hope it stays that way.