When Will You Come Back to Being Normal?


A little while ago I got off the phone from talking to a family member, making my rounds of calls for some belated holiday greetings.  I was eager to talk to them until I got the question (or request I hate most). "When are you going to come back to reality? It's time to come back to normal life and make a plan."  I got a little annoyed with this and asked "What exactly is normal" to which they replied "Living in North America or Europe."

 I am from a small city in Atlantic Canada where everybody knows you (and if not you then your parents), and ever since my first trip to a foreign country when I was fourteen years old, I've been obsessed with the world. I've always been fascinated by different cultures, languages, maps, travelling, passports and  all things that go along with travelling. When I was 19 I took my first big trip; A 2 week tour through Europe, with a day or two stopping in each place. It gave me a good idea of where I wanted to see, how I liked to travel and the means to do so.  

 During my senior year of university I decided I would go to South Korea to teach English. After being here for 4 and a half years I can say it was the best decision I've ever made. Before coming to Korea, I did very little research (oops) and came into living abroad very blindly.  I claimed I wanted to be surprised. I also thought learned Korean would be a breeze if I were living here among Korean people. I could just pick it up! Well I am certainly no where near to fluent and I continue to be surprised all the time. Living here has taught me to be patient and understanding, and to consider things I never had before. It has taught me that my normal is not the normal here, and that mine may need to change.  

 For example, in the West we consider having a bathroom with a bathtub and a shower to be a normal thing. However, I learned very quickly finding a place with a bathtub in Korea is crazy difficult, unless you want to pay a ton of won.  Not only that, it is very normal to find your shower attached to your sink, and when you take a shower your entire bathroom will likely get wet. I will say that any time I have a change to stay in a hotel if I'm going out of town, I do try to find a place with a bathtub so I can get my soak on.  

 The thing is.... Things that some people consider to be normal... I don't really want for my life. I don't want to live in the same place forever. In fact I wouldn't mind moving around the world for the rest of my life. I am in no hurry to start a family, and I hope to find a companion who shares my love of the world and wants to join me while I wander. Someday I will return to Canada and stay in one place,but mainly so I can have dogs.  I don't like the idea of putting dogs on an airplane. So pass me a pooch and I shall be grounded. (and will maybe drive).  I don't even think I care to have the same job for the rest of my life. Unless, of course its, going to allow me to travel the world. I wouldn't mind doing teaching jobs in one place, working in a hostel in another, au pairing somewhere, or what have you.  

 Despite these requests I have chosen to stay in South Korea for a 6th year. As hard as it is to be away from my family, I am not going back to Canada (with no clue about what to do still) in debt. I want to start with a clean slate and I don't know how long I will be unemployed for.  Most of my good friends and my family have been supportive and some have strongly expressed why they think I don't need to stay here. I really wish to have the support of my loved ones, no matter how unnatural they think it is for me to not be in Canada.  This decision has really showed me who has my back, and who I can count in when I do return to Canada. Which I WILL! Remember, "Not all those who wander are lost!" I feel like where ever it is, I'm wandering in the right direction. 

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