Reverse Culture Shock and Reminiscences

Now that I've been back in the US for a few weeks, there are some things I've noticed about myself, about my country, and about Korea that I had taken for granted. It still aches to think about what I've left behind and I still feel my future is a black hole. It's like my ribs are made of rubber and every time I breathe my lungs and heart bend them backwards to try to escape from my body. I scream with no sound alone in my room and sob myself to sleep silently. I am homesick for a country that was never mine and a family with which I share no blood. But it's not all bad. I'm breaking the barrier between the present and the future with baby steps, and eventually I'll get my training wheels off and ride forward on my own again.

Name Change: No More Kristin's Korean Life

Yes folks, that's right. I've made it back to the US. I'm now in Silicon Valley, which is like a country of it's own.

I have already passed the written driver's test with flying colors and failed the behind-the-wheel test with a jerk of a tester, and I've found the bus stop that takes me to downtown San Jose, where I might get a job.

I have discovered the ups and downs of house sharing. I live with my brother, his girlfriend, a gay guy, and two straight guys. There's an Austrian girl coming in January so I'll either be kicked out or I'll be her roommate.

I have made a bank account with Bank of America and am scared of their overdraft fees.

I have a funny accent.

Welcome home, me. Welcome home.

I wish I were still in Korea.

The Future is a Black Hole Full of Promise

Will the job searching never end??
First I was job searching in Korea from January to March, then again from August to November, and now I've been job searching online for jobs in the South Bay area for about a month. I'm right where I started- nowhere!

The future is a black hole waiting to swallow me up and the next step I take will define what's on the other side. I hope it's not angry aliens. Ha!

Shameless Advertising

Dear readers,

I will move out of my apartment at the end of this month, and I still have a lot to get rid of. If you're in Seoul, this is a unique opportunity to meet me by buying my stuff. Just go to this website and see if there's anything you want. If there is, follow the directions on the home page to email me.

Thanks in advance for your financial contributions (I'm broke) and your help in lifting my material burdens so I can leave with less stress!

Kristin

Choices and Failure

Preparing to go home is a lot of work.

I can't seem to find a new tenant for my apartment, and I'm having trouble selling my stuff (although I came up with an online auction idea and asked my friends to bid for items).

My plane ticket is for December 8th and I will leave my place probably on the last day of November to stay with a friend for a week. I will work until December 5th.

But the hardest part of preparing to go back is preparing emotionally.