Back by popular demand, it’s time for Mobile Molly to do some catch up writing. So, as briefly as possible I will fill in the last five months of my life.
August. What a month. I actually regret not writing in detail about all the things I did. In short, I started the month off with a two week vacation. Half of it was spent in Fukuoka, Japan. The other half was a bit of a staycation (stay at home vacation). During which I just sat at home and celebrated my birthday with my close friends. I probably preferred the staycation more actually. Japan (or at least Fukuoka) didn’t really live up to my expectations. Compared to Korea it was less lively, more expensive, and the beach was nothing to write home about. On the plus side they had a ton of delicious food from all over the world, so you know where I spent the majority of my vacation.
The next two weeks were broken up by another mini vacation through a company called Adventure Korea. Fliss, Indy, Mason and I signed up for this three day two night stay in the Southern most area of Korea in Namhae. Some of the highlights included kayaking, lantern flying, fishing by hand, late night bon fires, and taking a nap in an awesome pagoda right on the cusp of the ocean. Some of the non highlights included kayaking with a hangover, resulting in a massive vomit fest in the middle of the ocean. We also had the worlds craziest old lady as our home stay host for the first night and she spent the majority of the time trying to swindle us for extra cash and saying that we were getting her precious floor wet. Or at least that’s what I think she was saying considering I was the only one who spoke any Korean/ The stuff coming out of her old haggard mouth was pretty hard to decipher.
Kayaking
Crazy old lady demanding money
The lovely pagoda I napped in
Trying to catch a fish in my hand (SUPER HARD!)
Flying paper lanterns with wishes on them
I was too lazy to upload my pics from this, so these are Indy and Fliss's. They're better anyways!
By the time the month ended I had tons of stuff to write about, but I had been so busy there was no time. So September started with the best of intentions to write down everything in much better detail. I soon learned some things don’t always turn out as planned. On a Friday at the beginning of the month as I was leaving work my boss asked to speak to me in her office. With tears in her eyes she handed me a piece of paper stating that she couldn’t afford her foreign teachers anymore, and probably would eventually close the school. Out of no where I was informed that I had two weeks to figure out my life. I obviously cried, got angry, got sad, but ultimately understood her point. I have watched her financially suffer almost since the beginning of my job there. Meanwhile, I was reaping the benefits of good pay and a good job. I knew it would come to an end eventually.
I got together with all my friends that night and thought about all of my options. Fliss effortlessly knew that she was moving to Seoul, but the decision wasn’t that easy for me. If I was to re-sign with another company it would be another year, on top of the 9 months already before I went home. While I didn’t necessarily want to move home, I decided it was the best thing for me to do. I had some of the hardest goodbyes ever as I was leaving Korea. I left my students that had changed me, my job that I loved, my new friends from all over the world, a great boy that I had been dating for a few months, and my amazing Korean friends who have helped me with so many things. I cried all day on the last day of work. I wrote every student a personalized letter and printed out pictures of us together. The looks on some of their faces still make me feel like absolute shit when I think about leaving them. Needless to say, I didn’t take my arrival in America well. I was heartbroken, confused, and didn’t have the slightest clue what the fuck I was going to do with my life.
I was fortunately lucky enough to come home to the best people ever. My family was great and let me be a complete lazy bum without harassment. My friends were supportive and reminded me of all the good things I’ve been missing while I was away. Right after my arrival I got to see Annie and Frederic because they were also visiting from Sweden. I saw my friend Vince get married. I had an awesome welcome home party with family I hardly ever see. Before I knew it, it was October 1st, and I had become a waitress for a Japanese restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.
As you can imagine, going from teaching English in Korea, to waiting tables in Minneapolis made me feel a bit unsatisfied. The problem is, I have yet to find and be motivated for a long term career choice. I have no idea what I want to do! I loved loved loved teaching English in Korea but I also want to travel more, live in other places, and I don’t think I could work with kids my whole life. So, while sharing a cocktail at the local watering hole, my friend Laurie effortlessly talked me into moving to Australia. She has been living there since February and absolutely loved it and it would be very easy to get a job waiting tables and a good opportunity to live somewhere else.
The hard part was saying goodbye once again. In a little less than three months I managed to rekindle some of the best relationships, make some new ones, and get really close with my sister Sheri. Far too many nights were spent bullshitting, smoking cigs, watching TV, and even having a good drink now and then. I always thought I’d hate living at home, but damn do I miss it now! When I left I cried like a baby and I can’t help but feel terrible for leaving people once again. I’m so lucky that so many people have stayed by my side, even when I can’t physically be there, and those people will never be forgotten!
So, incase you didn’t know this already, I’m writing from Sydney, Australia! It is summer, the weather is amazing and the city (or at least what I’ve seen) is absolutely beautiful! I’ve only been here about four days but it already has a hold on me.
From the start of my trip here, it’s been pretty smooth. I was lucky enough to have two open seats right next to me on the plane, so traveling from LA to Sydney was basically flown first class style! After getting off the plane I was immediately set up with a phone and greeted by Laurie. I hardly had any jet lag and was fully acclimated within a day. By my third day here I found a nice big room to rent out in a house for a good price (in OZ standards) only two blocks from Laurie!
In terms of jobs, I’m not going to lie, I haven’t been too proactive. I just found out that a friend from Korea is coming to Sydney tomorrow so I would like to spend some time doing some sight seeing and catching up and just relaxing until the start of next week. I move into my new place then, no more couch living, and I’ll have a chance to get into a more set schedule. I did however take my RSA (Responsible Serving of Alcohol) class so I can get a job in a restaurant now. I don’t think I’ll have much trouble, especially with all of my experience.
Hopefully I will have some good stories and pictures in the next few days. I’m not going to lie though, writing in this blog was much easier two years ago when I had never traveled outside of America, let alone lived in another country. Everything was crazy, new, and worth writing about. Who knows if Australia can top the awesomeness of Korea, let’s hope it at least gets close!
