Out of Retirement

It's been over four years since I came to Seoul. I honestly have no idea where most of the time went, but a lot has changed.

Looking at my old post, you could see that I was still into the k-pop scene, if at least interested. I can't say as much now. I honestly have no idea what's popular except for what I see on commercials, posters, and the occasional glance at the top 10 on Bugs (one of the main music streaming sites in Korea). Instead, I've been working and focusing on being a grown up in this giant metropolis. It's been more about cutthroat competition in the job market and education for me for the past few years.

Of course, that doesn't mean I haven't found time to go have a bit of fun here and there and meet up with my friends, who are now essentially only locals, as virtually all of my previous friends from study abroad have long gone home (except for those who have returned to teach). One day it occurred to me that I was the only foreigner in most of my circles of friends, and when people asked me about my foreign friends, I would have a really hard time thinking of more than five.

At that point, I knew something seemed different for my case as a foreigner in Korea. I have not reached the legacy of many of my mentors who have spent the past two decades in Korea, settling down with families and becoming fluent with the current events and language. I am certainly no longer the wide-eyed exchange student that I was a few years ago, either. During my time as a full time student, I had distanced myself from the "foreign community," mostly exchange students, short term English teachers, and military that come and go with such rotation that it just becomes emotionally draining to stay in that cycle (not to mention expensive to follow the Itaewon foodies). Somehow, I became that remaining 5% of long(er) term expats trying to make their way.

Though there are many expats in Seoul, Koreans are fascinated that I graduated from Korea University, worked in Korean companies, and prefer to speak with them in Korean rather than bothering with English (not to say that I'm fluent, but let's just say proficient. My grammar is still laughable and I definitely need to ask for a vocabulary next Christmas). I realized that my situation is far different from most here, and even I am still trying to place myself in this fast-changing society.

So before this becomes too much of an autobiography, I just wanted to let everyone know I'm back, after quite enough nudges to start recording my ramblings. I'll be keeping this blog as a commentary on my experiences, perspectives, and relationships here.

Let's do this.