On attitude adjustments and Thanksgiving.

Autumn in Ulsan has been gorgeous.  The sumptuous colors lasted for longer than I'd dared to hope; the trees are only now beginning to look like winter skeletons.  It's been busy but I feel a sense of contentment with how this semester has unfolded.

School Picnic to Ulsan Grand Park

My sixteen months of living in Korea have been riddled with ebbs, flows, changes, and shifts.  I've lost 45 pounds.  I've paid of a significant chunk of my student debt.  I've had three international trips since moving to Korea.  In August I brought Jun home to Minnesota to meet my family.  On Halloween, he and I commemorated our first year as a couple.

I've missed family births, family weddings, family holidays.  Cookie, our family dog of thirteen years, passed away this month.  I am a foreigner in a country where I don't speak the language.  I've struggled with the motivation and the methods to effectively learn Korean.  I've formed close bonds that are wrenched by inevitable goodbyes.  I've struggled with the bureaucracies and hierarchies of a work culture that I don't understand.

The glaring absence of blog posts spanned a good days and bad, but the culmination of everything overwhelmed me to the point where I couldn't bring myself to write, couldn't get my fingers to click keys in order to make cohesive sentences.  During the best times I was elated, but during the worst times I was miserable.

That's when I decided I needed a big, fat, chiropractic attitude adjustment.  My situation (including the people and policies) had dealt me some bad cards.  I realized, though, that if I chose to notice and appreciate the positive aspects of my life in Korea I'd not only be happier, but I'd be a better human, better equipped for fixing problems and overcoming challenges.

And that brings me to this past week, and the importance of holidays.  The struggle of finding roots as a foreigner is real.  Despite sharing his birthday with Christmas, Jun didn't grow up with the same holiday traditions that I did; it was natural to feel lonely and excluded being away from the people and traditions I'd always known.  But with a year of expat living under my belt, I was determined to make this year something worth celebrating.

My brother Anthony was in Korea until this past Sunday.  He's studying medicine in Australia and was able to pay me a visit between semesters.  Because of the timing, we were able to pull off an early Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday.

We had set the menu for Thanksgiving months in advance; when I went to Minnesota in August, I brought back wild rice, stuffing, and raspberry jello mix (all staples to our family's holiday table).  We opted to stuff and roast a large chicken instead of a turkey, which would have been too much for Jun, Anthony, and me anyway.

In a word: succulent.

I had to work during the week but we made the most of the evenings and weekends.  I'm lucky to have a brother with the willingness and opportunity to come all the way to Asia to hang out!  Of course, I'm looking forward to returning the favor with a trip to Australia this winter.

E6: in honor of the other four siblings.

Observing a holiday tradition away from home made a significant difference to me.  In fact, even anticipating Thanksgiving helped me get out of my rut.  I won't have any family here for Christmas, but I'm looking forward to baking Christmas cookies, listening to Christmas music, and setting up my Christmas tree this weekend.  There are good times ahead, and future blog posts to be written.  Happy Thanksgiving!