Oh hai!

I'm still alive (surprisingly) but still recovering. I'm not a big fan of taking loads of medicines and the ones the hospital put me on made me feel terrible and just led to even more problems. I got sick again shortly after I got out of the hospital but this time with something completely unknown but mostly comprising of muscle aches. I'm feeling a lot better now but still find myself blowing out way too much green snot. Feels like I may never be healthy again! That and I'm still struggling to adapt to a lactose-free lifestyle. (Acid reflux is burning up my throat as I type.)

School is going as well as it can I guess. The kids are spoiled little brats and some days it's really hard to keep them focused. This is the first quarter of the school year after their two month long break from regular school (we're now a month into the quarter) and they are starting to burn out. Korean kids attend regular school plus several academies after school (what I'm teaching at), which means they basically attend class from 8am to 10pm everyday. They are tired and hungry and their little brains are mush by the time they get to my class which can make things difficult if the topic isn't very interesting. Last week, my listening class topic was self confidence and no one was really interested.

But then there are moments that make you smile and you finish the day feeling like it was all worth it. Like last week. I had one girl in my youngest class whose parents demanded she be taken up a level even though she's not ready (the school obliged in order to keep their business). I was really sad. I hadn't made any progress with her and she wasn't doing well. I hated losing her to another teacher (another teacher whom I consider to be less serious). However, the school decided to stick her in one of my extra homework help classes in order help her catch up and she really came out and started trying! It's probably because the class only has one other student in it so I was able to give them both very special attention but it was a great encouragement to me to see her finally try and take a risk when answering a question.

I've been so sick that we haven't been able to go out and explore our city yet but I'm feeling better each day and we're slowly expanding our little corner of Busan. Tomorrow is Jeremy's 30th birthday and over the weekend we went out with friends for dinner, ice cream and bought him a new coat (which he really needed). Tomorrow we're going out for Indian and Sunday we're having a birthday party complete with a cake from Costco. Should be fun.

Jeremy and his cool new coat!

Also going on right now, the cherry blossoms are in bloom! Unfortunately we are still one week away from our first paycheck which means my camera can't be replaced in time to go capture all the magic. I'll still take pictures with our point and shoot but it won't be as good.

The best news at the moment is that we should be getting our boxes from Australia this week! That means I'll have my photo frames, my wall art, my clothes and my running shoes! I can't wait to see my things again--but particularly the shoes. Standing for 6 hours straight is hard on a girl's feet. I brought three pairs with me: two flats and one walking shoe. The walking shoes are my preferred shoes but they are pretty ugly and not very nice for the classroom. It'll be nice to finally be able to put some variety into my wardrobe! We're also looking forward to having our big computer again! Right now all we have is our small laptop and it's an annoyance that we have to share it. That and it's speakers are pretty terrible so watching movies on here is almost impossible.

That's just a quick update on our life here at the moment! Other things are happening too but I'll try to write about them later. I'm still sick so I find it hard to muster up the energy to do much typing. We'll see how things go this weekend with the party!

How is this for transitioning?

So, my last post was put up 7 days before we left Sydney and I am so, so sorry for not putting up anything else. It's been the most ridiculous transition ever. I'm not even going to go through it all but will highlight parts of it and return to others as I continue to process it all.

Leaving Sydney
Leaving was weird. I really struggled the whole time we were in Australia to make friends. Of course, I always loved J's friends but I never had any luck making my own organic friends until just before we left when I met Crystal. We both met each other out of need: I needed someone to talk to and she needed someone to cry with (she just came down with whooping cough and got dumped). All it took was one night over pizza and I realized I had found my sarcastic soul mate. It's funny how just one friend can make all the difference because on that last day in Sydney, we went out to an art museum and I really, really felt sad to be leaving. I really want to go to more museums with Crystal. I really wanted to make plans for ice cream the following week (we've bonded over many scoops). I really didn't want to leave my one and only friend. I thought I would be so happy to leave and yet I found myself so sad. I didn't cry when we got on the plane but I did cry a few days later...

Arriving
We arrived in Seoul and it was ridiculously cold. Like, colder than I remember cold being. I was so looking forward to winter and holy cow, I got some winter! It was wonderful to return and find so many things just as I remembered them. My TMoney transit card still worked (and had money left on it!) and we hit up a few of our favorite places as well. We saw some old friends and really just fell right back in to life there (for the first weekend that is). But it soon hit me that things had also changed and weren't the same. The train took longer than I remembered, it was colder than I remembered, it sucked being bumped into everywhere and no one said sorry, I forgot how frustrating it can be when you want food and don't know where to go because you can't read anything! I quickly spiraled down, down, down into a wallowing heap of "I want to go home" (as in, back to Sydney).

Hell Week
Of course my desire to go home was not in anyway helped by the fact that our first week back in Seoul was not easy. It was hour/hour training and prepping for classes and studying my freaking mind out. Neither of us had any idea how that was going to effect me but wow, it was awful. Remember, in Australia I had been out of work since September and had pretty much been doing nothing. In one weekend I went from that to 6am-11pm study, study, study, work, work, work!! Training was tough mentally, physically and emotionally. I was struggling hard to keep myself together. I fell apart nearly every morning just out of sheer fear that I would fail and that I bore sole responsibility for coming here and that it was all a mistake, and, and, and.... You get the picture. Total. Mental. Breakdown.

Bad News
But I made it through training (amazingly) despite my poor trainers and my utter exhaustion and ridiculous triple time culture shock. And I thought that maybe I could do this. Until we left for the train station following our last training session and while checking my email I found out that there had been an emergency at home: Jeremy's grandpa had a stroke and was in the hospital. We found out the night before we left Sydney that Grandpa had a cancerous tumor on his neck and would be going in for surgery the following week but some complications with his blood pressure and medication eventually led to a stroke and in his frail state they were unable to operate and were yet unsure how he did as he was still sedated. It was horrible. We hadn't even signed our contracts yet or even made it to our city. It was absolutely awful and we were both crying. We had just seen him two weeks before and he was happy and healthy and jovial as usual. It was scary for us and we were torn about what we should do: go home or try to stay? We had such poor internet access that we couldn't make a decision so we headed to Busan anyway and planned to sort it out the next day.

Coming "Home"
We spent our first week in Busan living in a love motel (a seedy establishment rightly named for it's purposes) where we desperately tried to get information from home about Grandpa's condition while simultaneously trying to start our new jobs (we had only two days to prepare) and find an apartment. As the week progressed we learned that he had come out of it fairly well with some memory loss and a little paralysis but doing okay. However, it was unsure as of yet whether they could operate or not. As the week drew on, we learned that it wasn't possible due to the location and the complexity of the tumor and that they would instead try to do radiation first and shrink it. I am still unsure as of now whether they have been able to ascertain whether the cancer has spread elsewhere.

Meanwhile, our jobs were taking off and we were getting used to our school. I was still struggling emotionally and trying to figure out where my loyalty should be: here at my new school or back in Brisbane with J's family? Also, to throw another wrench into the system, I found out that my grandma from home would be starting chemotherapy for her own cancer in March and that too made me nervous. A big part of this whole "move to Korea" thing was to put ourselves in a financial position where we could go tot he US and spend some time with my family who I haven't seen for nearly 4 years but specifically with my grandma who has been doing poorly for a good portion of that time.

It was a hard transition. Neither of us really knew where we fit and we were so busy trying to figure out our schedules, classes, find food, catch up on sleep and just get our heads around all the changes and big events that neither of us had anytime to even think about our new "home town". It took us two weeks to find an apartment which was exciting/scary/disappointing/vilifying all rolled into one. It was an up and down process to say the least but we found one and are very happy. I will definitely write more about this later and post pictures.

Settling In
After finding a home, we moved out of the red light district and immediately into the dust pit. (Apartments do not come cleaned here which is at least some relief to me because after all that cleaning, I refuse to lift a finger for the tenant after us.) But it's a beautiful dust pit and one that we both feel is suitable to our needs and lifestyle. But it fell on me to find the furniture which was a hassle and a half! I am still so amazed with myself. I can't believe I was able to find used furniture from a store, negotiate prices, set times and delivery dates, communicate our address (which btw, I didn't know), and make it all happen without the aid of cellphones or a single Korean translator. Yes, I did that all on my own with just a small phrasebook. A giant pat on the back for me. Seriously. It took about a week and half to find all our furniture but now we have pretty much everything we need and I'm content.

However, it wasn't easy getting that done. I came down sick the very day we moved in which made me a very miserable cleaning partner/furniture hunter/food gatherer/teacher/girlfriend. I was also trying to figure out my classes, get to know the kids, arrange effective seating charts, get to know the teachers, and sort out a bagillion other things like meet up with my bestie Ceri and an old high school friend, Josie (both of which I did). It was yet another exhausting week. And then there was the disaster in Japan which caused a whole lot of other drama and stress like, which way is the wind blowing because I don't want radiation poisoning?

Are you seeing a pattern?

Three weeks sick in Indonesia + 4 weeks manic moving + 1 week insane training schedule + 2 dying grandparents + 1 week in a motel + 1 week cleaning + 2 weeks with a new job + 1 nuclear meltdown....

Crash!
And yes, I fell sick. As in really, really, really sick. That cold I caught the day we moved in? Yeah, it became pneumonia within a week. I went to see a doctor two weeks ago who said it was a cold and sent me off with Tylenol... A week later, with a horrible, horrible cough and me not being able to sleep or teach for very long before I fell into fits of uncontrollable coughing, I went back to the doctor. I was pretty sure already that it was pneumonia which in itself doesn't seem like such a big deal (I've had it before) but here it is a big deal and there really isn't an outpatient policy with it. That and the doctor said the only way to treat it is with penicillin (which I'm allergic to). Not at all true but it's hard to convince a doctor that there are alternatives... After being prescribed some weak antibiotics that not even he was convinced about, I went home and failed to sleep yet again. The school wasn't giving me much help either and wanted me to still come in and teach, but Thursday morning last week was the final straw. I didn't sleep at all and I was absolutely miserable. My whole body hurt and the cough was so hard I actually peed my pants. So I took a tip from another teacher and called an English speaking nurse who got me in to see a specialist that very hour...

Who then demanded I be hospitalized because it actually was a really bad case of pneumonia. Which is where I have been for the past six days: laying in a hospital bed, reading books on tuberculosis and trying to sleep. Let me tell you, it was no vacation. I swear I was put in a bed next to Linda Blair of The Excorcist fame. No kidding: the woman was chained to her bed and was moaning and screaming all.night.long. She was miserable. I was miserable. It was painful for everyone. Not to mention I was a walking spectacle (the only foreigner staying in the hospital) and I had no one to talk to. I mean, no one. The nurse who helped me had other things to do so I spent most of my time hiding behind the curtain in my room because anytime I stepped out from behind it I would get some serious stare downs (and usually not in a friendly way). I was also followed on a few occasions by visiting family members who thought it would be awesome to send their kids after me while I tried to eat my lunch in peace for an impromptu English lesson. Kids are cute and in some ways I didn't mind, but really, when you're in the hospital, the last thing you want is to be a tourist attraction/puppet show.

The doctors and staff were cordial enough and helpful as much as they could be. Improvement in my health has been slow and after three days of some seriously antibiotic loading, my white blood count actually went up which is generally not a good sign so they wanted to keep me longer. In fact, I finally gave up and checked myself out today--they wanted me to stay for two more. I figured with all the sleep I was missing due to my possessed neighbor, the stares, the lack of hygiene, the fact that I couldn't shower, I was uncomfortable, and that the rooms were hot as hell at night, I might as well go home. I would probably get well just as quickly there if not more so AND be a bit more comfortable.

So that's where I am. And what does a 6 night stay in a Korean hospital cost you without insurance? Roughly $1,300. A bargain I guess by western standards but it's not really comparable which of course is a story for another time (this girl should get some rest). I can't wait to tell you all about the differences between Korean hospitals and what I learned about affordable healthcare. :)

Oh, and by the way, I guess this is as good of a time as any to formally announce that I'm considering med school after Korea and will be spending the year studying for the GAMSAT. Who knows if I'll do well or follow through but it's an option on the table and one I'm keen to "give a go".

There you have it! My wonderful life and our new beginning in Korea!

Midnight Thoughts as I Near the End

I got a little teary and sad today about leaving Sydney. I went to cancel my gym membership at the pool and it just felt so final. I loved going there. I’ve spent soooo many days in that beautiful park just passing time, back-stoking across the pool and staring up at an endlessly blue sky. It felt wrong to be saying goodbye.

I keep finding myself wondering if this will be the last time I ever visit our grocery store, the convenience store in our building run by the nicest Chinese woman and her adorable daughter, the last time I’ll get gelato from Cow & Moon, or the last bus ticket I will ever buy here. None of these things are extraordinarily awesome or anything, they’ve just been my small comforts in times when I would have done anything to feel human again. I’m not sure if I can explain it well. I know in my mind that they are small things to miss but I know in my heart that the small things have sustained me and that imagining a world without even these very small pleasures scares me. I know there will be bigger and better pleasures where we are going but still I’m a bit afraid.

I’m sure none of my friends would believe me if I told them that—that I still feel a little bit of fear when I embark on a new journey. Sometimes traveling is easy but saying goodbye rarely is. Even when I left my small Korean town last time in 2008, I was a bit weepy despite having hated it for nearly 6 months. The truth is that no matter where we are, the human spirit compels us to make a home—to have a community, familiarity, comforts and sanctuary. However insufficient life here has been, I’ve still had a home here and I’m abandoning it, no doubt in search of another one, but abandoning it all the same. 

I named this blog Twenty First Century Nomad when I first started blogging; it's sort of a name I adopted for myself while I was still in college and dreaming of traveling forever. I grew up with a very warped and transient idea of home which in many ways has made me feel like I have no home at all. But I realize now, after a lot of traveling and life experience, that nomads are nothing like what my 21 yr old self thought they were.

Nomads are not “homeless” people but rather people with many homes. They are not gypsies, ever in motion and never returning to their roots. Real nomadic people like Kyrgyz and Mongols actually have several “homes” that they return to every year at different times, shuffling their herds around to the best grasslands at the best times of the year across vast expanses of land. They return to familiar places. Their children return to play in the same creek beds as the year before, fall out of the same trees, climb on the same rocks, eat the same roots, swim in the same lakes… They are not homeless people, people with no sense of home, or even people with no desire to stay put. On the contrary, they are people with a very deep rooted sense of belonging to the land and their surrounds, their hunting grounds, the traditions, the seasons, the places, the memories.

My idea of what a nomad was back in my early years of travel was very naive and romanticized. Back then, I didn’t really understand the concept of “home” or what it means to belong somewhere. I didn’t think I ever would. And yet, even in the hardest of environments (Sydney), I’ve made a home. It was in part a conscious effort but also in part a surprise because I never expected that I would feel the emotions I felt today. I never thought I would miss this place. I never thought I loved this place in any way despite so many efforts to. But I do. I don’t love the whole of it but I love pieces of it and it’s the culmination of those pieces that makes me realize leaving here means I really will be missing out on something.

When Jeremy got home from work I had a bit of cry with him because I felt so sad to be leaving without having found the “home” I expected. I came here with pretty high hopes of loving this place and becoming Australian one day but situations overcame us and I couldn’t make it—I couldn’t mold what I had into what I wanted. Call it money problems or call it people problems; the short of it is that it just didn’t work. And I feel bad because there is so much I wanted to see and so much I wanted to do, because I really do believe in the cliched Australia, that somewhere out there is a small town where everyone wants to be your friend and invite you to barbecues on the beach. I lamented to him that I fear this place would never be my home again, that I would always return as a visitor and only as a visitor, that I will never have that chance to find the life I wanted to have here.

I know that all sounds so existential but it’s what I feel and in someways it’s what I know. I know that somewhere in my heart my dreams have been burned. I know that even if I ever tried it again here, I would still have pain and I may never get beyond it. So leaving here really is a bit existential—it’s the end. There is no return. I’m not going to find that dream. I may return as a polite observer of the natural wonders this country has to offer but I will never own them as my own, and that makes me sad. I’m leaving my home. I’m really leaving my home. I’m returning to another home (Korea) but I’m well and truly leaving this one. I won’t return next season to play in the same creek beds as the year before, fall out of the same trees, climb on the same rocks, eat the same roots, swim in the same lakes…

In leaving here I am both breaking with my nomad tradition and also keeping it.

In many ways I’m tired of traveling. I miss my original home—my country, the United States. I haven’t touched soil there since August 2007 and I miss it so much. The smell of evergreen trees, the really random kindness of strangers, going to baseball games, watching the super bowl (mind you, I don’t really care about sports), eating barbecue ribs and listening to my uncle play the harmonica. I miss everyday life. We’re heading back to Korea for what I think will be two years and I know that’s all it’ll be, but it feels like too much sometimes. My heart keeps telling me it’s time to return to my traditional home, to the grasslands of my youth, where my clan is waiting for me.

I hope that one day I’ll make it back to the home I miss most. 

Monkey Magic

Some more photos from the Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali. (These are edited, unlike everything else and taken with the nice camera--what a difference it makes!)

Baby Kane

Last weekend we went to Brisbane to see baby Kane--Jeremy's first nephew!

Baby Kane Platz, born two weeks early at 7lbs 6oz.

He was born just two weeks ago and is so adorable! It was a really nice family gathering and it would be an understatement to say we were all just ga-ga for this cute little guy! We all took turns holding him and he was so good!

One day we'll be holding our own! Scary!!

Congratulations Doug and Karen!

It was also our last weekend in Brisbane before we leave Australia and head to Korea, and boy! It was busy! Saying goodbye to all our friends and Jeremy's family was hard but hopeful; we're excited to start a new chapter!

Jeremy with his sister Karen, the baby, and his brother David. Not pictured: his brother Michael.

Jeremy and I with his Grandma and Grandpa whom I've lovingly adopted as my own! They are so funny and wonderful conservationists! They make me miss my own Grandma so much!

It was a fun but exhausting weekend and we're not done yet! This weekend we have one more get together with his parents as they are driving down to Sydney and taking home some of our stuff. 

It's all moving so fast! We have one week until we leave and the to-do list is mounting up! It's a race to the finish!

Growing our Little Family

I am a dog lover. Always have been, always will be. I was raised with dogs--rottweilers, mastiffs, labs, spaniels, mutts, chihuahuas... We've done it all. Having a dog in your life is like having a better best friend. It's impossible to duplicate the love of a dog. Who else will wet themself with excitement when you come home? Who else will lick your face and lay at your feet when you're sad? Who else will so faithfully protect you to death at even the slightest knock on the door?

Only a dog.

These last two years I've been so lonely without any best friend. I have gone months without a hug from anyone other than Jeremy and I've been so desperate to be touched, loved and needed that I've often fantasized about hugging strangers, and it was during these times that I realized a dog would greatly improve my life. I needed to be needed. I wanted to be wanted. I longed for a best friend.

So I started going to the dog park near my house where lots of dogs just run around and play with each other completely unhindered and free. It was so refreshing and soul lifting to lay in the grass under blue skies and laugh at the silliness of two dogs meeting for the first time. It made my heart lighter and I found reason to laugh and smile on so many empty days.

We talked a lot about getting a dog here in Australia but it can be really expensive. Vaccinations and vet bills are costly and many apartments won't let you have pets. Not to mention, food costs a lot and we don't make much money either. But I've wanted one so bad... I just know in my heart that what's missing from my life is a dog. And so we've decided to get a dog in Korea.

We leave Sydney on February 17th for South Korea and will be settling into Busan (our new home) at the end of the month. We're already getting ready by clearing out our house and selling things which has made it much more real, and last night Jeremy brought up pet adoptions in Korea after seeing a thread on one of Korea's notorious expat forums.

I poked around on the forums a bit this morning and ended up finding lots and lots of really great information about wonderful, English speaking, no-kill shelters in Korea where they've rescued thousands of dogs from abuse, abandonment and even from meat markets. Some of the stories will shock you. Yes, some Koreans still eat dogs and many of these dedicated rescue workers have saved lives by stealing them straight of the truck to the market or by purchasing them outright and taking them to shelters.

I read a lot of stories about individual dogs and cats who really need forever families. Lots of people who don't want to commit to forever foster animals in Korea for a few months and sometimes even years until they can find homes but sometimes they just end up going back to the shelter. Some of them have gone back and forth a few times. Many of them have health issues like heartworm or skin allergies. One poor puppy had stomach cancer and thankfully, through appeals for donations, was able to have surgery. Another dog has cushing's disease and his medical needs are about $150 a month until someone adopts him and can pay for surgery. It just makes me so sad. So many of them get left behind, beaten or abandoned and have to live out sad, lonely lives in cages. Many only get walked once a week because there is a shortage of volunteers and few have indoor homes for the winter.


Reading all of this today has only reaffirmed what I knew in my heart: I need to save a dog. I need to give someone a home. I need to empty my heart into some poor soul and better someone else's life.
And then I came across Annie.

Annie is a 2-5 yr old bulldog that was found lost, dirty and starving in Jeju City and was taken to a government run shelter where she was found sometime later boney and suffering from a serious skin condition. The no-kill shelter that removed her said she had mayeb only 2-3 days left before she would have died of hypothermia and hunger. The poor girl had suffered a lot of abuse from her previous owner and had many injuries that needed attention. Thankfully some wonderful people with big hearts found her because they were able to nurse her back to health. Annie slept solidly for several months from exhaustion and illness but made a pretty good recovery. Now she is energetic, healthy and happier and her skin condition is healing up.

But Annie has been at the shelter for over a year now. They don't have the money to keep their dogs up to date with vets and there isn't much information about their vaccination status and particularly about Annie's skin condition. This is mostly because there is no money to pay the bills. So Annie still needs a home. She loves getting out for walks but there aren't enough volunteers either and sometimes she only gets to go for a walk once or twice a week.


She really needs a family.

Which is why, if she's still available when I arrive, I'm going to take her home and give her a family and love her forever. Bulldogs are companion dogs who need lots of love and attention. They are a bit high maintenance because they need someone to clean the folds in their skin so they don't get yeast infections and they need someone to wipe away the eye goobers every day. I've never had a bulldog before but I'm up for the challenge! I want to make sure Annie gets all the care she deserves. I seriously love her already.


I'm a little worried about her skin condition but I'm looking into it. It sounds like she may have Black Skin Disease in which case I worry that there might not be anything we can do. If there isn't and it persists, it might be difficult getting her through quarantine in the US when we eventually return. I feel really strongly that I can't leave any of my babies behind but I really want to change poor Annie's life.
If any of you are interested in donating to one of these wonderful, loving animal shelters in Korea, I believe most of them accept PayPal donations. You can find out more about them here: Korea Animal Rescue Org.


I can't wait to get to Korea and start growing my little furbaby family!

Tales from the high seas!

Let me preface this whole thing by saying that I find it really surprising that while Indonesia is a country of millions of islands, their people have never been known as sea-going people. Here's the story:
We decided to leave Bali for a few days and visit the Gili Islands

but these stupid little islands are so hard to get to. One must choose to take a speed boat for two hours at about $40 per ticket or take the slow, local ferry at 9 hours for about $5. We, considering the length of our vacation, opted for the speed boat. It was a largely uneventful trip. It was nice weather but a long and hot ride. Lots of people puked but I guess that's to be expected.

The trip back, however, was not so pleasant. After 5 days, we had gotten used to the daily thunderstorm that would pound the island in the evening but it was always clear by morning. On this day in particular, it wasn't so clear. In fact, it was still quite dark and the waves were pounding the beach pretty hard. But we had already purchased our ticket and figured we would see what happened. We were leaving Gili Air to go back to Bali but it first required a transfer to Gili Trawangan and we figured that if the sea looked too rough during that time then we would just spend another night on the island (we had cleverly factored in bad weather to our travel plans just in case and had two more days before we needed to be at the airport).

The ride over to Gili T wasn't bad and after waiting three hours for the speed boat ferry to arrive, the weather had cleared up nicely and we were quickly getting sunburned, which in my book is good enough. Of course it helped that out boat was about two hours late arriving which gave us a bit more time to wait for better weather. Of course, in all this time we never noticed that no boats were leaving the island...

After our boat came, unloaded it's passengers (who all seemed fine), we got on and headed to Lombok to pick up some more people before crossing the sea back to Bali. The water was pretty choppy but not terrible so we all just tried to relax and get comfortable. And then the boat unexpectedly ran over a log which hit the engines and caused a very loud bang accompanied by a panic-y yelp from one of the Indonesian crew men. It sounded like an explosion. At that point, I was almost certain we would be spending the night in Lombok. The guys quickly turned off the engines and pulled the out of the water for an inspection which apparently was fine, and then put them back in the water so we could carry on our way.

We arrived in Lombok a few minutes later to pick up about 5 more foreigners. The sky was getting darker and again, we failed to register that the harbour was full and no boats were leaving except us.
Of course, it all made perfect sense why about 10 minutes later when we hit the open water and mass puking commenced. It quickly became obvious that I would not be riding home with my window open in the boat (it had indoor seating). However, closing the window did very little to keep the water out as it was sealed so poorly and ever freaking wave that hit our boat dumped about a quart of water on my lap--yay!

But of course, that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was that the wavers were BIG and that the farther out we got, the bigger they grew. At one point, I estimate that they must have been about 8 or 9 meters tall (that's 24-27 ft) because they would completely cover my window as our boat rolled up the side of them in a rather splashy fashion. But they could have been bigger--I have no idea. My window was constantly covered in spray and running water so it was hard to see. I would say though that they were at least that tall. To give you an idea of what a wave of this size looks like:


(They weren't breaking waves though so while the height was like that there wasn't any tumbling water off the top. It was definitely big but not as menacing.)

But you could definitely feel the size! Our boat was constantly listing from side to side and at several times it really did seem like we were going to flip. Our course was in an east-west direction and the waves were running north-south which meant that we had to roll up and down them in a right angle--which any thinking person should know is not a good idea. That is how boats flip and capsize.
But like I said, Indonesians are not known to be sea-going people.

It was a hellish two hours where we all gripped the seats and hoped the engine didn't fall off the back after that log incident. The motors were whining at an alarming frequency (obviously the captain was trying to get us through as quickly as possible), the cabin was full of boat fumes, people were puking left and right, I had pulled a muscle in my back that made it hard to breathe, I was being soaked by waves splashing through my window about ever 10 seconds, I was sicker than a dog (though I managed not to puke) and the stress, adrenaline and heightened awareness of the whole debacle had exhausted me within the hour to the point where I could hardly keep my head up or my eyes open (which isn't good when you're seasick in the middle of a storm).

I really mean it when I say that I was surprised we made it through. We finally saw Bali's largest volcano through the clouds and within a few minutes we were out of the open water and in to relatively calmer seas. It was at this point that Jeremy got the message that this was no ordinary trip for our captain and crew--they broke out some beers and started toasting each other (I was too busy trying to hold down my breakfast to notice).

And again, when we rolled into the harbour, we found it full. No boats were leaving and only we were coming in. Solid ground never felt or meant so much to me until that day.

Then, yesterday, on our way home, we met a girl who was also trying to get back to Bali from the Gili Islands that very same day and she said that her ticket was cancelled and all boats had been prohibited from leaving the islands. Huh, imagine that? She ended up spending the next night in Lombok and then having to fly back to Bali. Someone had told her while she waited for her flight that every year, though it goes unreported, unscrupulous and greedy speed boat operators take tourists across the sea during storms of which about three or four each year result in rescue operations when their boats eventually capsize and people are left stranded in the ocean. Thank god our boat had life jackets! The first one we took didn't have any! Jeremy later told me that he had considered putting his on just in case...

So, anyway, yes, it was a vacation full of excitement and adventure! And to think that I met a girl who wanted to take a three day boat ride all the way from Bali to Komodo... Thank god I convinced her out of it! Some tourists are so stupid and some locals are so greedy that they will let people risk their lives--and will risk their own for that matter!--just to make another couple hundred dollars! I should have seen the signs. We should never have gotten on that boat.

Photos from Bali!

It would take me too long to tell you the story of our trip (because it was basically me sick interspersed with vacation) so I'll just post some photos and caption them as necessary. Hope you like them!

 

This is the entrance to a family compound. Beautiful, yes?

Every family lives in a compound together with all their aunts, uncles, siblings and granparents--and the ancestors. Pictured here is a family temple located inside the family compound.

This is the inside of a family compound with many houses for each family. The nicest house belongs to the grandparents and is closest to the temple (for long life and protection of the spirits). It is also loaned out to any newly weds in the family for the first three months of their marriage so that the spirits can help them conceive and so the two can get to know each other in privacy.

This is a 500 year old sacred mangrove tree, denoted by the scarves wrapped around it's trunk (not pictured).

Some crazy biking I did through the jungle one day.

Beautiful jungle paths at a temple complex outside of Ubud.

This is the elephant cave which is a Hindu temple with a lingam carved into the wall deep inside. It sorta freaked me out. I don't like the scary face!

A cool farmer who wanted his photo taken while we were out for a walk in the countryside. 

I still find it hard to believe this man could drive like this and yet he managed. There are definitely a few drawbacks to not having a car...

 

A beautiful, misty bridge crossing a river into Ubud on the outskirts of the village. I think this is my favorite photo from the entire trip. :)

These little plates made of palms and banana leaves are offerings to the spirits in Bali. There are many, many temples and alters all around the island, everywhere you look dedicated to the good spirits and are often piled high with these offerings. There are also bad spirits that roam the streets and so the Balinese leave these offerings on the street too, usually in front of their homes or shops, to placate them and hopefully ward off any bad spirit vengeance.

A beautiful carving of Komodo Dragons into the hillside which drips water into a river below. It's lovely and certainly looks old but was actually added in 2004 which is one of the problems I have with Balinese temples: you never know what is original and what is not. But, then again, you can feel a certain amount of pride that these temples are still in use and that the people care enough about them to keep them in good repair.

From the Monkey Forest Temple in Ubud. 

Gorgeous waters and sandy, deserted beaches along Gili Air Island. Side note: Gili means Island and Air means Water. So the island is called Island Water. It's beautiful.

Where I ate my lunch everyday (or rather, where I tried to. Lactose intolerance was killing me about this time but the view helped).

There was a road that surrounded the whole island just like this. Incredible. I was so sunburned after that...

Offerings for sale at the market in Ubud.

The market had it's own temple where women would go and pray for good luck in their day's sales.

Almost all the street sellers I saw were very skilled at carrying things on their heads. I was quite impressed.

Some of the rice terraces in the deep ravines surrounding Ubud.

Rice terraces bathed in morning sunlight.

This is the Holy Water Temple where bathers line up, make an offering and dip themselves beneath each fountain for purification, health and good luck.

It was so festive! Jeremy and I really wanted to get in and take part but we didn't have a change of clothes and the line was really, really long. I regret not doing it anyway but oh well. 

My second favorite photo of them all. :)

Return from the ABYSS!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in some time. I've really needed to focus my energies elsewhere over the last three months. Namely on finding work and trying to get better physically and emotionally. And I feel it. I feel so much better. I don't think I've felt so good or so confident in all of my two years in Australia.

I wish I had the courage to tell you all about it but I don't. Maybe I will in a few months or in a few years. Or maybe you'll just have to wait for the book. ;)

But long story short, the difference is that we are indeed leaving. In the time since I last blogged, we got back all my necessary documents to go to Korea, we took a vacation to Bali (Indonesia), we made some inquiries and we made a final decision to go. It wasn't easy and it was honestly mostly me going back and forth about whether to stay or go despite my very unavoidable unhappiness here (Jeremy was pretty certain he wanted to leave). I felt a great deal of obligation to stay, take advantage of this visa I just got and make people happy. But I couldn't make myself happy. I've been trying for two years and it hasn't happened yet. I finally made up my mind a few weeks ago when I realized the only person I'm obligated to make happy is myself and the love of my life, and well, my unhappiness wasn't making either of us happy.

Instead of trying to suffer through another year here, we've decided to go back to Korea. This will give us a chance to make some headway on our finances, our savings, our loans, our everyday fun-factor and more. We hope to get a dog and I've already been making inquiries with shelters (watch this space for cute puppiness!), along with a car so we can take road trips together and camp under the stars. These are all things we can't afford to do here but they are things we want to do and things we should be doing because we are young and without kids!

The details are that we'll be living in Busan and teaching with CDI (the company Jeremy worked with before). It'll be mostly middle school aged kids and it'll be about 4pm -10pm 4-5 days a week (depending on enrollment). Don't ask me how this early bird is going to deal with those late hours--I'll figure it out! We're leaving Sydney on February 17th and will arrive in Seoul on the 18th for one week of training before starting our jobs on the 28th. It's a tight schedule but we're making headway and have sold most things already.

If you ask me, I'm really looking forward to going back. Korea feels more like home than here. It's where my friends, my dentist, my hairdresser and all my favorite coffee shops are. It's where we fell in love. It's where I found my feet as a real expat. It's where I hiked, lost weight, discovered cultures, sang in the street, rode the subway, laughed, cried, made the best of friends, had adventures and inadvertently screamed "Vagina!" in Korean while running through a train station! (It so happens that Jill (the name of the friend I was chasing) means vagina in Korean.) I have so many good memories from the land of kimchi and it's no mistake that when we get together with people, all we do is talk about Korea. (I'm pretty sure we annoy people because of it.) And of course, I'm really looking forward to eating the food. :)

So please feel free to come along with us as the story continues in Korea Part II! I'll be blogging about the culture and all our adventures here and hope that you'll all the funny stories and revelations to come. Until then, I'm going to be busy! You can expect a blog or two more from Australia as we wind down the next three weeks but the real deal won't be until we touch down in Korea.

Thanks again for sticking with me and continuing to read despite the boringness and lack of blogging on my part. I think 2011 is going to be great. :)

Love and hugs,
Kortney