No, I am not returning home prematurely. Instead, I have just returned to Melbourne, my adopted home, for two weeks. I surprised my sister and my partner and had a wonderful two week holiday there.
The holiday was something of a surprise for me, too. I was told mid-February that I would be required to stay at school through spring break, the existence of the sprink break being something I learned about one week prior to that announcement. I was also told I would not be able to take holidays during the school semester. I could either take my remaining holidays over the spring break, or wait until July. Seeing as my contract expires at the end of August there didn't seem to be any point in taking my holidays in July!
So I hurriedly booked a ticket, postponing my trip to Jeju (which I was most gracious about). I got on a plane a few days later, after having made up a big story to my partner Suraj about how I would be unavailable for chatting on the phone for a few days because my mobile phone contract had expired.
I arrived in Brisbane some time later, headed straight for the bottle store, and bought a six pack of Coopers Red. You can buy Coopers Red in Korea, but it tastes better in Australia. I turned up on her doorstep just as she was telling her son to stop asking her questions about guitar playing that she couldn't answer, and that if Duane had been there he could have told him in person. Shortly after my sister had stopped screaming over my sudden appearance, she was taking a mobile phone picture of me showing my nephew Dalton the desired chord on the fretboard. In not much more time I had deleted everything from Tania's phone in an attempt to load my SIM card and check my six-month old messages.
The holiday was filled with moments where I realised I was doing something I would otherwise have taken for granted, for the first time in six months. Drinking ultra-milky coffee, eating eggs benedict, going out for fish and chips... okay, so my life revolves around food. People told me I had lost weight and that I looked healthy. Good one Korea!
I went to Melbourne's beaches twice and it was absolutely divine. Incredible therapy for the tortured wonomin. The sun shone for the whole time I was in Australia. Suraj and I made a trip to Canberra and toured Parliament. We also drove to a seaside town called Lakes Entrance (a mere eight hour drive). I really appreciated the distances in Australia.
Every moment had a sensuality about it. Even watching the news was exciting. I was aware that almost everything I did there would not be replicated until the end of my contract. So I only had one time to enjoy it. It was kind of weird.
It was great to relieve the daily pressure of Korea.
When I returned to Korea I had a strange new impression of the country. At Incheon airport I realised how genuinely 'dynamic' the country really is, because it was so busy at such a late time. I also saw the pattern in the chaos that some people talk about- the purposefulness of people's actions that otherwise seem foreign and random. But everything seemed to be going in reverse- cars were on the other side of the road. Having just driven from Melbourne to Sydney the long way (about 1,000 kms), the traffic made a great impression on me, as well as the activity in the terminal compared with the activity in Sydney's terminal (where Suraj and I had been chased by cops for parking outside the terminal late at night). Getting back to Chungcheongbuk-do, everything fell to pieces very quickly, I couldn't withdraw money from the ATM for my taxi, and had to wake my landlord who tried to talk down the price with a very pissed off cabbie. Then, it started snowing, which was as big a contrast to the beaches as I could get.
I brought back a boomerang, some tim-tams and Vegemite for colleagues, which were popular items.
In summary, it was a great experience going back- such a relief, good to have a holiday in my home country, great to see my partner, family and friends, and an amazing experience to really see those contrasts between Korea and my home country all over again!
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