Ultimately, this post - and really, these days, my entire life - is full of gratitude. Forgive what snarkiness may come out, as I adjust to jetlag and dive straight into work:)
So, we made it! Furgie and I survived an I-don't-know-how-many-hour-bc-my-mind-can't-wrap-around-the-dateline-issue trip, and arrived into the welcoming arms of Homecoming #1: WNY! Namely, the lovely Kim Atwater...thank you for not only picking us up at the airport, but putting up with my slight slurring of words pre-Starbucks infusion, and my worry over getting my cat out of her carrier. Furgie did beautifully overall, and only cried once during the L-O-N-G descent into ATL.
Speaking of ATL...seriously, folks, I believe this is where flights go to die. EVERY flight appeared delayed to me as I wandered the crowded terminals. Also, there is no Starbucks in Terminal C - beware!!! There IS, however, a spa, and since my layover looked delayed from 3.5 to 5 hours (gah!), I decided to treat myself. A facial and a pedicure later, with added head, neck and arm and shoulders massage, I was pretty happy for the delay! And for this, I thank ATL for forward thinking, know they are the busiest and most delayed airport in the nation. I also thank Cadena, because really, if we hadn't spent that layover in Shanghai, I wouldn't have even thought about doing anything other than sitting at my gate:)
So, now that I'm firmly ensconced on American soil and happily already working at Wellspring, I cannot think of a better place to be "immersed" back into culture - a small community in which the scenery and the people are familiar, the work is enjoyable, the people are all happy to be here and also motivated to do well. Being here, it almost feels like I never left.
I AM seeing/sensing things differently already, even within all the familiar. It's like I'm on high alert, hearing everything, all conversations, all background noise, because my ears have been trained to search it out for the last 8 months. I have the urge to say "thank you" and "hello" in Hangul, and I have found myself pre-sentence stopping and correcting. I have also been automatically trying to convert dollars to dollars, and time zones, and laughing at myself because that makes no sense, in the end. Its really incredible how habits form so quickly, and are sometimes unbreakable even when you change contexts. Another example: I have no idea when I'll stop handing things to people with two hands, or with one hand on my elbow, the other holding the object such as a credit card. That one may be the toughest to break!
And of course I'm missing friends! It's funny, but I didn't realize how many I'd made until I made the effort to get together with each of them my last week! But that's always the way it goes, for me and for anyone. So I am determined to make the effort to spend as much time as possible with friends now that I'm home, to make up for lost time and to not regret missing out in the future:)
More later on adjusting:)
Until then, I miss you, friends from Daegu:)
So, we made it! Furgie and I survived an I-don't-know-how-many-hour-bc-my-mind-can't-wrap-around-the-dateline-issue trip, and arrived into the welcoming arms of Homecoming #1: WNY! Namely, the lovely Kim Atwater...thank you for not only picking us up at the airport, but putting up with my slight slurring of words pre-Starbucks infusion, and my worry over getting my cat out of her carrier. Furgie did beautifully overall, and only cried once during the L-O-N-G descent into ATL.
Speaking of ATL...seriously, folks, I believe this is where flights go to die. EVERY flight appeared delayed to me as I wandered the crowded terminals. Also, there is no Starbucks in Terminal C - beware!!! There IS, however, a spa, and since my layover looked delayed from 3.5 to 5 hours (gah!), I decided to treat myself. A facial and a pedicure later, with added head, neck and arm and shoulders massage, I was pretty happy for the delay! And for this, I thank ATL for forward thinking, know they are the busiest and most delayed airport in the nation. I also thank Cadena, because really, if we hadn't spent that layover in Shanghai, I wouldn't have even thought about doing anything other than sitting at my gate:)
So, now that I'm firmly ensconced on American soil and happily already working at Wellspring, I cannot think of a better place to be "immersed" back into culture - a small community in which the scenery and the people are familiar, the work is enjoyable, the people are all happy to be here and also motivated to do well. Being here, it almost feels like I never left.
I AM seeing/sensing things differently already, even within all the familiar. It's like I'm on high alert, hearing everything, all conversations, all background noise, because my ears have been trained to search it out for the last 8 months. I have the urge to say "thank you" and "hello" in Hangul, and I have found myself pre-sentence stopping and correcting. I have also been automatically trying to convert dollars to dollars, and time zones, and laughing at myself because that makes no sense, in the end. Its really incredible how habits form so quickly, and are sometimes unbreakable even when you change contexts. Another example: I have no idea when I'll stop handing things to people with two hands, or with one hand on my elbow, the other holding the object such as a credit card. That one may be the toughest to break!
And of course I'm missing friends! It's funny, but I didn't realize how many I'd made until I made the effort to get together with each of them my last week! But that's always the way it goes, for me and for anyone. So I am determined to make the effort to spend as much time as possible with friends now that I'm home, to make up for lost time and to not regret missing out in the future:)
More later on adjusting:)
Until then, I miss you, friends from Daegu:)
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