I might leave my heart in Korea...

I love Korea....

Three and a half years ago Peter desperately tried to convince me that moving to Korea was a good idea.  Being Korean American, the thought of reconciling my cultural identities was overwhelming.  I thought going to Korea would only make me feel even more disconnected to my heritage.  And, it did---at first.  I didn't know where I belonged.  I was caught in this weird in-between place of feeling like my feet were dangling between two different worlds.  The Korea that I knew was what I grew up with in my St. Louis home--Konglish, dwenjang jigae and my parents' stories about the land of their birth.  Moving to Korea myself was like drinking a glass of vodka straight up....no juice or ice to dilute the experience.  It burned at first, but I learned so much.

It made me really grateful for my country and helped me understand who I am as a Korean American and be proud of that.  Instead of thinking I had to jump from culture to culture, I learned how to embrace both.  In the past, I felt I would put on my "Koreanness" when I went to visit family or had to talk to my relatives over the phone in my broken Korean.  When I hung up the phone I could return to my American-Suburbia life.  Now I feel as though my Korean and American heritage collide and mix together.  Korea runs through my veins now--I feel it pulsing through me as if it's a part of me that's been nurtured back to life.  Something I always had inside of me, but I didn't know how to engage it. 

I am a product of both cultures.  My parents came to America around the same age that Peter and I were when we moved to Korea.  It was crazy to have the reverse experience of what it's like to move to a foreign country on your own.  I have to give my parents a standing ovation in gratitude and sheer amazement for accomplishing that.  We had many bits of assistance along our journey here in Korea and they had few.  I am so grateful to them both for sacrificing so much for us.

So all this random typing is all to say that Korea has become my home.  It is no longer my parent's birth place, but it is my country.  My father would always say, "In my country..." when telling us stories about his childhood and whatnot.  Well, Dad, now you need to say, "our country" because I feel like Korea is just as much mine now as it is yours.

A New Chapter

So, we are moving to Germany!  Peter had his last day in the Army as Captain Watt today and is not just regular Peter. :)  He changed out of his uniform in the bathroom of his building and came out in shorts, a t-shirt and his sandals.  I saluted him. 

We will be going back to the states soon.  We'll take a road trip and plan to go to Seattle to visit my sister and we'll also be going to St. Louis to see our dear family and friends.  It's been 3+ years since we've been home so this visit is long overdue.

So, in short, I have really been horrible about keeping up with this blog.  I was hoping to be dedicated and disciplined, but the number of posts in the last couple years shows my neglect.  My apologies.  Here's a brief summary of what has happened so far in 2012.

• We ate our way....er....went to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taipei.  All 3 cities were amazing in their own way.  Hong Kong is a very laid back, cool, yet upbeat place.  The contrast of the old and new, east meets west was all very interesting and beautiful.  Tokyo was surprisingly different than Korea.  I figured they would be quite similar, but I was wrong.   Japanese people are very polite and also more western than Korean people.  They look quite different from one another and seem to be more structured people than what I have observed in Korea.  Taipei was just a food lovers dream.  Any and everything that is deep fried can be found at their night markets.  We tried everything from stinky tofu to scallion pancakes and bubble teas.  yum!
• We found out we're moving to GERMANY!  Since Peter is getting out of the military, I picked up a job transfer to Germany at the military school.  I will be teaching at the elementary school and it's our hope that Peter will also get a job there. 
• School is out for summer!  Summer vacation feels even better as an adult!

We are really going to miss Korea.  more to post soon...