January 8th, 2010: Leaving Seoul

Sara and I have finally gotten firm dates on the end of our contracts (harder than it sounds) and are set to leave Seoul on January 8th! This is bittersweet news, however, since after a few weeks, Sara will be returning to Seoul with a promotion and another year of work, and I'll stay in Portland. I have no idea how anyone even contemplated a long-distance relationship before the magic of the internet.

Anyway, in the next weeks I know that I'll be reflecting a lot on my time here. What will really be interesting is the reverse-culture shock. When I left PDX, I was fed up with how insular and narrow-minded it was. Now I can't wait to get back to a community of like-minded people. Like they say, you don't know what you value until you loose it. I know I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but the Tea Bagger Party nonsense has done a lot to keep my nostalgia in check.

When I get back stateside, I hope to dedicate a lot of time to polo, traveling, relaxing, and making things with my hands. I also hope to get involved with community organizations, take CERT training, and find a progressive workplace that is a good fit.

Sasha