What Happens Next

This past week, DH and I completed the green card/visa interview at the US Embassy in Seoul.  There was a moment or two, where it seemed like we may not be granted permission, that all our paper-gathering would be in vain, that perhaps, after all,  we may not be able to move back to the US next year.  I was surprised how nervous the interview made me, but luckily, with the help and understanding of another employee, we passed.  DH has his visa in hand and we're all set.  Sort of.

My time in Korea is getting further from the beginning and closer to an end.  I have less than 6 days left of the semester, and what follows after is vacation, mixed in with a trip to Jeju, winter camps, desk warming, two more weeks of the academic school year (although I don't know how much teaching will get done then) and goodbyes.

I've started searching for tickets back home to the US and even sent off a handful of resumes.

But I'm not in a rush.  I am happy to enjoy my last 2.5 months here in Asia with the kids, with this country (despite the freezing cold).  I feel grateful to Korea for all the many chances it has given me to learn and see and feel things that were out of my scope for the first 26 years of my life. It has helped shape me in a unique way that staying in Germany couldn't have done for me.

Yesterday, my husband said he felt something different this time when reading the words, The United States of America, on his visa.  He said, "For the first time, I realized I'm really moving to America".

As for myself, I'm not sure it's hit me yet.  Life will of course continue in the States, but I feel like I'm coming to a close on a particular chapter in my life, with still two months to go, I have time to make an ending I feel suited to it.

A magical view of Namsan Tower in the snow.