And so the journey begins

The last two weeks were a bit insane. Let it be known it is difficult to move to another country. There are visas involved, which require interviews and an exponential amount of paperwork. Once the government is fine with you entering their country and taking up residence there, then there is the research and studying of the country so as to develop a comprehensive list of what you must take. Of course, some might say that the research should begin before deciding to move to said country. . .but what would be the fun in that?? I say pick the country, buy the ticket, and then figure it out, then you test your flexibility and more importantly your open mind. For example, I discovered that South Koreans do not use tampons.

Once again, being a woman is inconvenient.

This bit of information poses an interesting dilemma. . .do I embrace the culture fully and throw my feminine comforts and habits out the window and adopt wearing a mattress between my legs once a month for a year? After all, full immersion into a culture is embracing their traditions and habits, right? After much debate (okay , 2 minutes), I decided, that our planet is bound for globalization—the mingling of cultures and traditions—therefore, I will mingle my western feminine habits with those of traditional Koreans. That does not mean I will force tampon usage onto every woman I meet, although I do think it would revolutionize their world to discover the convenience of a tampon. . .but that is not for me to do. . .I will simply and discreetly use my protection of choice and carry on.

The other insight into Korean culture that I found fascinating was that single women my age are looked down upon and disrespected. Excellent. Not only do I have my own insecurities about being single and 31, but now I have an entire culture—an entire nation—against me. That will do wonders for the self-esteem. Fortunately, I never put much stock into people disrespecting me and not liking my choices. That is one of the gifts of being an artist. Very early on you have to accept that not everyone is going to like what you do, and you have to be okay with that. I am okay with people not liking what I do. After all, many people don’t like me going to Korea, many people don’t appreciate my absolute disgust for gum, and now a whole culture won’t appreciate my status as an independent woman. So, it goes.

I discovered many other things about the Korean culture, but I am sure there are so many things that will reveal themselves in humorous and probably unpleasant ways. I resign myself to the fact that I will mess up, I will probably get random tickets. . .but my hope above all hope is that I do not offend and that I approach every awkward situation with sincerity and humor, which by the way, I think is how we should approach all things of life.

I’m just glad I don’t smoke. . .if you are woman smoking in the streets, anyone can come up and slap you in the face. I would probably hit back and then be arrested. A person smokes to ease nerves and relax, and to have a person slap you while enjoying a cigarette is just wrong. . .that’s like having a massage and right the middle of it someone putting on Kenny G and scratching their finger nails down a chalkboard while telling you, you look fat. Yep, that equals slapping someone across the face while smoking, and if someone were to do that, then I would go ghetto on their ass with any thought.

But it’s a different culture, and we must accept these differences. In fact we must embrace them, and cherish it.

It’s sound so easy and divine doesn’t it?? I know it will not be, but I am looking forward to the challenge.

Another challenge to this whole adventure is relearning the English language. Did you know we have terminology for every single word in a sentence. There is not just a noun and verb! Apparently, there are things called gerunds, past participles, and progressive clauses. I am in the midst of relearning all of these words, their function, and how to teach it. I wrote an entire thesis last year. . .I am writing this blog, and all my verbs and nouns agree (for the most part). . .and I can tell you when a sentence is wrong and how to fix it, but to actually know the why’s and the how’s of sentence structure is daunting. We learn all these things, pass the test, and move on. . .we don’t remember the terminology because it is useless information. It’s like driving, once you know when and where to signal you do it without thinking, you no longer need to know the rules because their intrinsic. English is clearly intrinsic to me, and relearning my native tongue has become quite the stresser. But, I did write a thesis, perform a show, deal with roommates/friends abandoning me, and still managed to obtain a Masters with a 4.0 gpa, good friends, and my sanity. So, relearning English and teaching it to some cute Korean kids. . .well, all I can say is bring it!

And so. . .here I am in the Charlotte airport, waiting to board my plane. I just kissed my parents and dog good bye. I do hate leaving them. Realizing the mortality of your parents is a scary thing. . .I realized it a while back, but now it has become this silent ghost that haunts my mind. Their lives are out of my hands. . .but connecting and loving is in my hands. That offers a lot of comfort. . .thank goodness for Skype. I don’t know if I would be able to live this life without computers truly. . .to be able to connect makes traveling easier. . .it truly does.

The first boarding call has been announced. . .first San Fran, and then Seoul. . .

I leave you with this quote today: "No man should travel until he has learned the language of the country he visits. Otherwise he voluntarily makes himself a great baby-so helpless and so ridiculous." --Emerson (Should've taken that advice to heart)