7 months.....

It's been a long time between blogs for me.  Russell's guest blog helped fill in the gap, but now I return. It's been 7 months since Russell, Alice and I started our adventure in South Korea, Hayden his in Sweden, and Mitch his in Sydney.  All of us have had an amazing few months, and our relationships as a family have grown, despite us being in different places, on different time zones and experiencing very different things.

Alice and I had 3 weeks in Australia in late June/early July - at Maleny with Russell's Mum and Dad, Leeton with many of our friends, and Canberra with My Mum and Dad.  In between we caught up with the Whites and Nobles in Sydney, Scott, Ingrid, Maddy, Jack and Harry in Mittagong, and we had the great privilege of meeting and having time with Peta-Erin, Mitch's gorgeous girlfriend.

It struck me how much I appreciate my family and friends.  We don't always see each other a lot, but you provide the value in living and the reason that it's important to maintain relationships with honesty and integrity.  You keep me sane, keep me honest, listen when I need it, share yourselves, open your homes, make an effort to keep in touch, call me just to say hi, and mostly just share my journey. You live in Australia, Sweden, East Timor, South Korea... you are travellers or not.... we have spent a lot of time together or a little.....

My family are important to me.  I am so unbelievable proud of my wonderful husband and children (who are no longer children... a bitter-sweet realisation).  Each of us has tackled challenges head-on this year, and we are creating our own, intertwined, life stories. Some of it has been difficult, some has been inspiring, most has just been getting on with life, albeit in a different environment.

For me, our settling-in time in Korea seems to be evolving into another phase of our lives here.  We have made some great friends already, and are meeting more and more as time goes on.  

Alice has done a great job of settling into school, and living in a city environment.  It was an enormous thing for her to leave her very special friends in Leeton and move so far away, but I feel like she has done so with amazing style!! I know her friends in Australia will be friends forever, but it was hard leaving them behind....

Russell continues to amaze me, with his determination to work hard at his new job, and to maintain a balance in his life.  Work is challenging on a professional level, and he is learning things I imagine he never thought possible.  Nothing like being immersed in a culture!! The people he works with in his office are very good to all of us, and their value as allies, interpreters, and willing assistants in all things Korean cannot be overstated!

For me, my time without paid employment has been refreshing and revitalising.  I knew I needed the time, and it hasn't disappointed.  To be able to keep our home calm and (mostly) tidy has been good for all of us - I even enjoy the housework.... sometimes.  I've had the opportunity to meet and spend time with some lovely people, and to explore a little of the area around where we live.  This includes some visits to Seoul, which is only 30-40 minutes away by bus. Even so, I am feeling like I need more, and am hoping to start soon with a little work (paid!!).

Our language skills are improving, although we aren't up to having a full-speed conversation with native Koreans.  Even so, we can see the difference from a few months ago.  Alice has started learning Korean as a subject at school, so it will be interesting to see the progress she makes. We have no doubt that she will soon be much better than  Russ and I.....

So... what have I learnt? How have I changed? Where to from here?  Well, I've learnt much, but then, my whole life has been like that (as with everyone).  I've had it reinforced that, despite our differences, people are people, with relationships, joys, tears, and a desire to be loved and to love.  There are good people everywhere! Some of the  most wonderful moments are the simplest moments, and often come in the most unplanned way. Being a long way away from someone doesn't make our relationship any less important or special. 

Not sure that I've changed dramatically.  I feel like life is a continual process of changing and growing, of making the most of the circumstances we are in, and so that continues for me.  My hope is that the longer I live, the more I will embrace this process.  I hope that I will become a more tolerant, more caring person, and that I will invest more and more time into relationships.  And so.... I continue the coffee shop meetings that I love so much. They aren't the same as my times with Cindy, Cathy and Marg, but Pam, Paula and others are helping me to explore the coffee shops in South Korea!!!  And we're becoming good friends in the process.

I'm hoping to include more photos next time.

Keep smiling!!!

The excitement of going home...

Russell's guest blog. 

One of the issues of living a long way away is that trips home are a major event. They have to be planned months in advance, tickets bought, an itinerary developed, family notified, visits planned and finally a countdown of the days to departure. 

We have now been through that process for the first time, and as I write these words Leanne and Alice are ensconced in their seats, on Korean Airlines Flight 121, 13 minutes into their flight with 7,973 km left to run until their early morning arrival into Sydney tomorrow.

You'd have thought Alice might have done a little study when she
had time to fill  in - but no, a game of tetris was all she could manage!

The more astute among you will have fathomed the reason as to why I can be writing these words and publishing them online as the flight is taking place, and that's because rather sadly, I am not with them. Making a change such as we have necessarily entails forgoing the leave built up in the previous job, and starting from the very beginning again. And that's just where I am. Consequently I have my own little countdown in progress, and, dare I say it, there's just 181 days left on mine...
But this article is not about me, it's about the excitement of going home after a long absence, to re-connect with family and friends, to see familiar sights -and particularly the familiar sounds of the Australian version of English as she is spoke! And as long as Alice and Leanne enjoy their time at home, then I too will enjoy the experience through them.

Airports are either one extreme or the other. To the weary business traveler they are mostly functional, cavernous, aseptic places to be transited as fast as possible. To the less frequent traveler they are much more exciting, ripe with the hope of the journey ahead and it's ultimate destination. Today was both happy and sad for all of us I think.

The old couple...

It was 150 days ago that we touched down in Seoul, peering out of the windows of the plane at the patches of ice and snow alongside the runway, fresh from the warmth of an Australian summer, and wondering what we had let ourselves in for... In the subsequent months we have worked our way through a number of issues, we have found an apartment, negotiated the traffic, worked out public transport, survived the worst of the breath-takingly cold winter, we can mostly get what we need at a supermarket (although some things are still a "lucky dip"), Alice has completed the latter half of year 10 with distinction, and we are getting to know a few people. In short, we have survived the change thus far, and we have much to be thankful for.

Happy to be going home?? Just a little bit...

Going home is exciting though. No matter what new experiences we may have, amazing sights we may see, places we may go, home will always be important and there will always be a spring in my step when I begin the journey homeward.

Through security and off home. Enjoy yourselves. You deserve it!

Russ and I celebrated 24 years of marriage on the 21st May.  The three of us went out for dinner to a local Chinese restaurant, which was VERY nice.  

We could just see Seoul Tower throught the haze

Last Friday, Pam and I joined Rekha Rao for a ferry trip on the Han River, which flows through Seoul.  Rekha's daughter, Rohini, is in our Korean language class, and Rekha was visiting for a week from the US.  The River cruise was a lovely thing to do.

Seoul Olympic stadium

This morning I went walking up in the hills near our apartment, and the transformation from when we first arrived (in winter) is remarkable.  Lush green foliage, birds and bugs - beautiful!!!

This was in the same area in February, when we first moved in!!

Roses are out and we've found a few on fences near apartments - it took me by surprise, but they look and smell perfect!!

Spring is certainly here, and we are enjoying the weather, the sights and sounds of Korea.

We are in the middle of week-long celebrations marking Buddha's Birthday, and we headed up to Seoul on Saturday evening to watch the "Lotus Lantern Parade".  This is held every year, and is an amazing parade to watch.  Many of the people in the parade hold a lantern, and it seems that different groups have different themes for their lanterns.  Most groups were from temples, but there were also some schools and other groups that didn't identify themselves in English, so we don't know.  Many people were wearing the traditional Korean Hanbok (clothing), and like all celebration parades, there was much laughter and enjoyment.

We met our friends, the Freemans, in Seoul, visited the lovely Tapgol park, where we saw a 10-storey, 12-metre high stone pagoda built in 1467, and enclosed by a glass case to protect it. It is classified as National Treasure no.2.

All over Korea, paper lanterns have been up for weeks!

Ted, Pam, Sam, Leanne, Alice and Russ

Leanne and Pam.  The stone pagoda is in the background, behind glass.

We found plastic chairs lining the street, ready for the parade. 

Here are some of the wonderful lanterns we saw. All of them are made out of paper, even the large ones!

May.... and Spring has finally arrived!!!  With temperatures now consistently in the 20s we are wearing short sleeves and have the apartment windows open.  It's lovely having fresh air through the place and hearing the sounds from around the area - teenagers playing basketball on the courts below us, families walking and talking and playing along the pathways, even the buses and workmen are great sounds that now fill our days.

Cherry blossoms were beautiful, but didn't last when a few windy, rainy days came.  We enjoyed them while they were here.

Now we are being absolutely spoilt with the colours that are coming out.  Around us there is a multitude of azaleas - Mum Parsons and Mum Reinke would be very impressed!!!! A great range of colours too!

 

 

Pansies fill pots everywhere!!!  There were minivans  and trucks that drove around, and about 12 people would jump out, plant the pots, jump back in the van and head off to the next set of pots - this must happen in every city right across the country.  It's very labour intensive, but worth it!!

The grounds in our apartment complex are really lovely too.

This is our building.

I've taken a few photos out our apartment window, and you may be interested in the change as time goes on.  It's lovely to watch!

February 2012

March 2012

May 2012