What ARE you doing?

You may question what I'm doing with ALL this time off. Sometimes I wonder where nearly a week has gone myself. However, I find the day is FULL most of the time. From going to physio for three hours in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, to making a good lunch to doing my laundry and organizing my summer schedule, I stay quite busy. Yeah yeah...I'm a slacker. I know. But today I ventured out to the Pension Refund Office. I was there about ten seconds, filled out a teeny bit of paper work, and was sent on my way. So simple. Sometimes I'm amazed at the efficiency of these governmental offices in Korea. Being that the consulate made the visa process nearly painful, it's hard to believe that once one comes to Korea, the systems are simplistic and FAST. I think that's the hardest thing to accept: you are in and out of these places in less than a half an hour. Ever been to the OHIP office without an appointment? Ha!


Anyway, aside from mailing home my winter clothes (not yet completed only because I fear carrying all that stuff to the post office and throwing my back out further), I have everything ready to go for my departure. Amazing how quickly a year has gone by and how unremarkable my leaving this country really is. We are all important to someone, to a group of someones if we are lucky, but really, we're just a blip.

This experience (the move to Korea, not the injury) has solidified a few things for me:

First, I like responsibility. For my career, my well being, paying my mortgage, visiting my grandparents and knowing that once I'm there I'll have to make about 8 phone calls on their behalf, for nurturing my friendships. I miss all that stuff...a lot. I thought, when I first arrived, that a life without responsibility for a year would be GREAT. And, for the most part, it HAS been. But I'm ready now to move on to a place where I actually have to think about...well, everything (or at least important things).

Second, I will never, EVER take the beauty, cleanliness, freedom, and liberalism of my country for granted again. It's the best place on earth.

Third, a year is really not that long.

Forth, reading a book every two weeks shouldn't be an accomplishment: it should be an enjoyable past time for an educated mind.

Fifth, simple food is best. I have been without the things I love most: good wine, cheese, baked goods. Though it is POSSIBLE to have them here, they are expensive and far away. A good grocer is going to be my best friend this summer. However, I have subsisted on foods I know and trust: food that nurtures me and keeps me feeling good. They sell them in every country in the world (correction: most countries. I'm reading a book about an exile from Sudan...I don't think they sell tofu and broccoli there)...finding food that makes you feel good is easier than it at first seemed.

Sixth, one can get by in the kitchen with one wooden spatula, one pasta scooper, two knives (one big, one little), one spoon, a set of chopsticks, two mugs, and two bowls, Even WITH company, as long as this same person has three wine bottle openers. One has to keep one's priorities straight.

Seventh, winters in Korea are brutal. Summers in Korea are equally toxic. If I had to choose one, it would be one of the hardest decisions I'd ever had to make...all kidding aside. Again, I love you, Canada.

Lastly, health comes first. You have to put your own oxygen mask on first or else you'll pass out before you can help those around you. It's paramount, then, to ensure mental and physical stability in order to not be a total leech on society.

Enjoy your day!