Helloooooo after a long, long, time away!
December was a blur of holiday preparations, year-end activities at school, and trip preparations. However January and February were some of the most memorable of my life so far. I visited five countries within two months; and the result was nothing short of incredible. But, I'll start at the beginning.
I had an awesome Christmas with my host family on Christmas Eve and Fulbright friends in Busan on Christmas. We went ice skating, met a K-pop star on accident, watched star wars, and stayed in a lovely Air Bnb that was built for us to sit around and talk for hours.
I wanted to stay longer, but had to leave in the middle of the night the day after Christmas to go pick up something from the airport.
The thing was Grace Galloway, best friend extrodinaire, and she was due to arrive early in the morning at Incheon airport.
Here she is in her arrival glory:
What followed was a whirlwind of hilarious, comforting, soul-filling adventures with Grace. We explored Seoul, then went back to my hometown, Daegu, where she served as a Teachers' assistant for my last 3 days of school.
Then, in amazement, we embarked on a plane for Tokyo. I believe we spent most of the day before and flight there saying, "We're going to Japan." in disbelief. Of course, Tokyo met and exceeded our expectations (which, to be fair, were based on little factual knowledge).
After a little holiday food poisoning, we spent New Years' eve at a traditional temple ceremony in front of Tokyo Tower. It beautiful and surreal. The rest of the days were spent eating delcious sushi, seeing some awesome art and architecture, walking and getting lost, and most importantly, scoping out tons of incredible clothes.
Grace and I came back to Seoul and spent our last night together in a Korean sauna, resting and reminicing. Though I could spend decades with Grace, it was incredible to have one of my closest friends in Korea, and I'm so grateful that I got to share my experiences with her. Our goal is to visit each other every year, no matter, what,so I'm excited to see where she lands next!
Once Grace left, I returned to Daegu to do some laundry and prepare for my next trip: India and Thailand!
Honestly, the trip was so much anticipation and amazement that it is already an excited blur. Some highlights:
The sights and smells of India. I swear that even the trash in India must smell good- I was constantly overwhelmed with scents of food and cooking and spices. The colors, too, of scarves, buildings, shirts and dresses, left me contsantly engaged and intriqued. While I want to go back and visit for several months, I'm so grateful for the food I got to try, an incredible trip to the Taj Mahal, and exploring ancient cave-temples that my travel bud Abhik led me to! Also so lucky to have been able to stay in his grandmothers' house and so embraced by his family!
We left India too quickly to meet some friends in Phuket, Thailand. It was a relaxing, beautiful first exposure to the country and I'll remember it as drinking from coconuts on the beach, taking a speed boat through beautiful islands, snorkeling amongst yellow and blue and silver fish in the middle of the ocean, and lots of fresh fruit.
After reluctlantly leaving vacation part 2, I returned to Daegu to work for 2 weeks before departing again! I tried to do a lot of yoga during this time in preparation for what was next.
The culimnation of my travels was a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. (At this point I understand how lucky/ ridiculous this all sounds)
After a lot of indecision, and about 300 visits to the Centers' website, I decided in Janurary to book a short solo trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia to stay at "Angkor Zen Gardens," a yoga and meditation retreat center right outside of town. While at first I was terrified, then nervous, in retrospect, it may have been the most meaningful part of my journey so far.
Traveling alone, rather than terrifying, as I had originally anticipated, was exhiliarating, and once I let go of a lot of baises about where I was going, I not only felt safe and welcomed, but had an absolute blast. I arrived at the airport, headed to this mysterious center via a Tuk Tuk waiting for me at the airport. As we zoomed across towns and along fields and homes, I had no idea where we would end up.
We ended up at a beautiful garden space, with about seven grass and wooden cabins, a salt-water swimming pool, and entirely vegetarian kitchen. Each day began with yoga, then fresh fruit and granola, then swimming, journal time, then meditation, then vegetarian lunch, then more yoga, then meditation, and more yoga. Needless to say, I was in heaven.
I learned so much about myself, my mindfulness practice, and re-committed myself to living in the present. While I wish I could have stayed twice as long, it was an excellent exposure to this sort of trip. I ALSO got to visit Angkor Wat at sunrise, (my second wonder of the world in a month) and could not believe the artistry and mystery in those buildings. Again, nothing but gratitude for these experiences.
FINALLY, leg 5 of of my 5-country journey was a trip to visit one of the people I like to be around most in the world, Mark Schlifske, in Hanoi, Vietnam. This was hilarious and awesome for tons of reasons, one of which being the fact that we kind of randomly decided to meet there and it was a little ridiculous for Mark to come all that way for such a short time- an act of friendship I won't forget!!!
We had an awesome time exploring the city and Halong Bay (another one of the most beautiful places in the world.) Some highlights:
"Free flowing wine" at the bougie hotel restaurant
The bougie Sheraton hotel that Mark used points to stay at which bombarded us with cookies and free drinks.
An overnight cruise at Halong Bay which was beautiful and hilarious. In which we became best friends with a bold British 4 year old, kayaked through the bay, sort-of squid fished, and ate dinner in a cave. We also convinced everyone it was our honeymoon I think/ confused them immensely.
Vietnamese coffee, which, why doesn't everyone know is the best in the world...
And more sobering visits to Hanoi prison and war museum, which reinforced the realities of imperialism around the world.
On February 14, Palentines' day of all days, I said goodbye to Mark and returned to Daegu for one last, big, important visit: My family in Korea!!!!
I was a little nervous for the trip, knowing that theres' a lot of pressure with such a big visit, and scared that my lack of Korean language and navigational prowess might leave us frusterated. On the contrary, I felt so comforted, rewewed, and at peace with my family in Korea- though I missed Trevor and his family and my extended fam.
After two days of touristy adventures in Seoul, we went to Daegu to meet my host family and see where I live. I was so grateful to be able to share my life here with people I love!
The trip concluded with a stay at the Nest hotel, possibly the sickest place in existence. It had a boxing ring in the gym and a real Korean spa! It was a lovely, calm way to end a lovely, calm trip.
Today, I return for my last semester at school. I'm feeling invigorated, refreshed, excited for the future and with a renewed appreciation for the present. More than anything, this break has showed me how many important people I am lucky to have in my life who fill me with joy and calm. I'm very thankful for family and friends who make coming home sound so enticeing but also make living abroad entirely possible.
I am also so grateful for the chance to have seen slivers of this great, big world and can only imagine how much more there is to learn out there.
Thanks for reading, sending my love from SK.
xoxox
Maeve