Can I still be a modern day nomad with 100 lb. of luggage?

One of the items on my bucket list is to live in a foreign country.  I've moved around from one state to another and often thought of myself as a semi-nomad.  So moving to another country is not really a stretch.  But in recent months, I became cognizant of the fact that I was far from being a nomad.

As I attempt to purge my life from the years of sedentarism, I've come to the realization that I have too much...stuff.  There are categories of stuff: memory, necessity, and comfort.  The things that hold memories go into the keep pile, perhaps for storage.  Necessity can be a little tricky.  Is it necessary to have 10 pairs of jeans, 14 coats, 30 or so pairs of shoes, countless t-shirts, lotions, make-up, scarves, hats, purses...etc?  Well, I am a girl.  But, no.  Since this category will take up the most amount of space, I will have to do a trial pack.  I freely admit to this.  Yes, I will do a trial pack (probably more than one).  Comfort is another issue altogether.  I'm told that if you are living in a foreign country, it is important to bring things to make the stay a little easier.  There is a romantic notion that everything will be rosy, peachy (or whatever) with living abroad.  All the new people you'll meet, food you'll eat, and places you'll visit.  But the reality of living abroad is different.  It can be stressful and lonely, so many expats have recommended that "newbies" pack some comfort items.

But where do I draw the line?

How much stuff do I pack?  Airlines have a limit on the number and weight of baggages.  For some people, 50 lb. per bag seems unreasonable even for a 2 week holiday.  When I've travelled to Europe, my backpack never exceeded the weight limit.  My philosophy was and still is, if I can't carry, I'm not bringing it (and I have trouble carrying more than 30 lb. without falling over).  But I realized that this philosophy should only be applied in cases of holiday travel rather than a year long stay.  But here is the dilemma, where do I draw the line of bringing too much and not enough?  It's not as if I'm moving to some back country with no western amenities.  This is South Korea: the land of super speed internet, public transportation, and is the 15th largest economy.

I don't want to be tied down by stuff when I move.  This is my attempt at a nomadic lifestyle I've always wanted.  But can I still be a modern day nomad with 100 lb. of luggage?

All In

When I first started my EPIK (English Program in Korea) process, I knew it was going to be long and I had to have a lot of patience.  In most cases, waiting is not a big deal.  Waiting without certainty is a problem for me.  I'm a planner.  I make plans for my plans.  I also make back-up plans to my back-up plans. Must be my OCD tendencies.

So what's my point?  I have no "Plan B" this time (because this was my "Plan B").  I went "All In" with my EPIK application.  I've already sold my car and I'm in the process of selling all my worldly possessions (except for 4 boxes of my beloved books).  With 39 days left before the "departure" date, I still don't have a confirmation for the job, visa, or plane ticket.  I'm still waiting and waiting and waiting.

It never occurred to me until now, but I am making a huge bet with my life and I've been doing this for a long time.  I know this isn't some life or death situation and it probably sounds more dramatic than necessary.  What I meant is that I've always went "All In" when making huge life altering decisions.  I moved to San Francisco, San Diego, and Boulder without a job.  I had a vague idea of what I wanted, hoped, and planned to do once I got there.  But I never had a plan if things didn't work out.  I was always convinced that things would magically work itself out...no matter what.  Thinking back on these decisions, it was absolutely insane.  Sometimes things worked out well and other times I struggled.  But in each and every case, I've never regretted my decision.

So right now, I'm still waiting to hear back about a possible job in Korea.  There is no certainty that I will get the job.  As the clock ticks another minute then hour, my patience wanes and I grow more weary.  I wait helplessly, but I'm hopeful that I made the right decision to go "All In"...for a once in a lifetime adventure.

First Huddle: Information Dissemination Problem

Sometimes, I have a tendency towards OCD.  Not the kind where I turn the light on and off, over and over again.  I re-read the same email or pamphlet because I'm afraid I may have glossed over some important information.  Especially lately, I re-read all the steps I need to take in order to secure a teaching position and gather all the documents for my visa.  I knew that this process was going to be long and complicated.  But I was confident that my organizational skills would alleviate some of the stress.  Four weeks into the process, I was feeling pretty good with my progress.  Until this morning.

I was looking through the visa process (the online version rather than the PDF both courtesy of my recruiters) and found out that I should have sent a letter with my FBI Criminal Background Check to request for an Apostille.  Apparently, some states will not Apostille an FBI CBC.  Even if they do, you may face problems with the immigration office because it's not from the FBI (thank you fellow bloggers for this information).  The FBI instruction doesn't even mention anything about Apostille, expect in the FAQ section.  A search to find a phone number or an email address to the department that handles CBC has yet to yield any results.

So, what is a girl to do?  Send yet another request to the FBI and re-start the clock.  Luckily, I'm sending a State Criminal Record as my placeholder with my application to buy a little extra time.  But this was a valuable lesson and I learned three things: 1) My OCD tendency can be a blessing, 2) Patience is absolutely necessary in this process, and 3) Huddles are just huddles, a minor nuisance in a long journey ahead.

Gyopo Discrimination?

Since I decided to pursue a teaching post in South Korea, I've been doing a little research into the different types of jobs and happened to come across the word 'gyopo' or 'kyopo' in some of the job posts.  After doing a quick search on Google, I found out that I was also a gyopo.  As someone who spent the past 20 some years in the states, I admit I am ignorant in the ways of the Koreans.  Part of this ignorance is my fault, but another part is just the cultural environment of my childhood and beyond.

The reason why I want to stress this part is because there are alarming number of blogs that talk about the discrimination a 'gyopo' faces in Korea.  This was a shocking discovery because it never occurred to me that people would discriminate against someone like me for not being Korean enough.  Now I hope that these blogs are representation of some gyopos who are trying to vent some frustration and it doesn't necessarily reflect the general public opinion of the Koreans.  But I also recognize the genuine feelings of these individuals and that their feelings have to come from somewhere.  So it does raises a question...why does it matter to be a gyopo?  Yes, I've seen the posts.  Something about either being a traitor or lack of understanding by the Koreans.  But I still don't understand.

I remember growing up in South Korea in the 80s and there were more than a few comments made about me not being Korean.  I was very young and didn't really understand much of what that meant.  Yes, I went to a school for American children, but I also had Korean friends in my neighborhood.  I didn't remember my birthplace (Louisiana), since I was two when we moved to Korea.  My entire family on my mother side was Korean, so why wasn't I Korean?  When I moved back to the states, it wasn't any better.  I moved to a suburb of Minnesota, where I was the only Asia kid in my grade.  I was singled out because of distinct Asian features and Korean trained social behaviors.  Since I was cut off from the world I knew, I learned to adapt very quickly to my new surroundings just to feel normal.

My story is not particularly different from many other gyopos out there.  I am also trying to reconnect to my ancestral past as so many other Korean Americans.  But I have to admit I hesitated (just for a moment) when I read these blogs.  What I learned is that I can either take this as an opportunity despite some negative impact or stay home.  Well, I'm not the type to shy away from an adventure because of some negative side effects.  But I would like to invite any others out there who may have some positive stories (I know there has to be some).

Beginning of a new journey

So, I decided to teach English in South Korea!  After many hours of on-line research, I pick a recruiting agency and have my first phone interview on Friday.

Why did I decide to teach English in Korea?  I decided that I needed a 'Plan B' in case I didn't get into graduate school.  When the application deadlines approached, I realized that I wasn't ready...rather my application wasn't quite there yet.  As a transfer student, I barely got to know my professors after one year.  It seemed unlikely that they knew me well enough to give me a good letter of recommendation.  I also 'tanked' my GRE and my writing sample is still in the rough draft stage.  So my 'Plan B' became my 'Plan A' in a matter of 2 months.  But I grew more excited as I did my research.  Not only do I get to re-discover my Korean heritage, but the schools actually pay really well.  So my graduate school plans will wait, at least another year.

I'm sure there will be many ups and downs, but I'm sure it will change my life.