Five Days!

So this is my last week in the states. I head out Monday morning for Gwangju, South Korea to teach English for a year. Woohoo! I don't think I've ever been more excited. I'm definitely ready to be challenged and live outside of the U.S. for a while.

The mood in Richmond has been very somber since the Virginia Tech shootings this past Monday. Lots of people here are connected to Tech somehow. It seems like everyone I know is either alumni, or has friends who go there or children of theirs who attend. My one good friend who goes there emailed me to let me know he's okay. I can't imagine how shaken up he must be. And as much as I'm excited about Korea, it's definitely hard not to think about the losses that all of those families and friends are experiencing.

Everyone keeps asking me if I'm nervous about leaving. I think I've been too preoccupied with getting everything done on my list that I haven't had time to get nervous. I sold my car. I sold my bass guitar that I had been holding onto for sentimental reasons, but decided I needed to let it go. I went through my moms attic and got rid of so much stuff that has just been sitting and collecting dust. For some reason I tend to hold onto things for the sole purpose of them being there just incase. Getting rid of most of my wardrobe was really hard, despite the fact that I didn't wear most of it anymore. You know the clothes you keep "just incase" you'll fit back into them, and "just incase" you'll find a shirt to match those awful plaid pants. Well, it turns out everything I own is "just incase."
I'm anxious to begin a new life in a new country. I'm eager to teach with no shoes on and hang my clothes to dry on a line instead of in a dryer. I'm eager to live as minimal as possible, and away from American culture for a while. My mom has warmed up a little more to the idea, so my feelings of guilt for leaving her has dwindled. My boyfriend of six months is taking my departure pretty well. Although, I like to think that he's at home curled up in the fetal position underneath a table weeping uncontrollably. But I've already been replaced with a high definition tv. He's known since our first date that I was planning to move to Korea to teach English, so we both knew this day would come. And I do get a bit weepy when I think about leaving him. He's been an amazing support for me, and I hate knowing that I won't see him for a while. I do wish he could come with me. But his life is here, his kids are here. And I've accepted that.

I spent Monday in Washington DC getting my VISA stamp on my passport. I had never been to an Embassy before. I don't know why, but I expected it to be a lot more exciting than it was. For some reason I had envisioned waiting in line and seeing someone hauled off into a back room, or something. Loud yelling in Korean was to follow. And perhaps an official Embassy water cooler with paper cups that look like the Korean flag was in my vision, too. But nope. I was in and out in ten minutes. No back room (from what I saw, anyway.) No fancy paper cups. Just a metal detector and a few Korean travel guide books free for the taking.
So now that I have my VISA taken care of, pretty much all I have to do is pack and make sure I bring my toothbrush. You would think that I'd be an amazing packer by now as much as I've moved in the past two years. But actually I'm pretty bad at it. My mom and sister are the master packers. I must have picked up my dad's gene on that one. I'm just slow when I pack and I second guess everything. But hopefully by Sunday night I'll be down to a suitcase full of clothes, and perhaps an iron, "just incase."