It's How You Get There

There have been so many times lately where I've wanted to do something, and had a crippling wave of fear and doubt come crushing down on me. Grocery shopping was one of those things actually. Going back to "Diagon Alley" with money, to actually buy something, was really difficult for me. All the possible worst case scenarios fought for first place in my mind, and all I could think was that I would fail horribly and never be able to buy anything again. Then of course I would starve to death and die.  Yes, I'm aware my inner thoughts are a titch dramatic.  But I hadn't come this far just to come this far, and it's ridiculous to move to a country where you know you'll be shopping in a foreign language and then be totally put off by it. At this point I've had the COVID test done twice here, taken all the buses everywhere, found my local congregation, successfully handled a drunk ahjussi, bought ice cream at a convenience store, and walked home in the middl...

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck Unlike the ones preceding it, the day I finished quarantine was overcast, the sun hiding away during monsoon season. While technically not free of quarantine until noon, I celebrated early, waking up late after snoozing my alarm. Then a sluggish beginning that involved getting dressed just in time for the sibling call-in. Normally these mornings are our DND sessions, but due to finals for one of us, and general insanity for the others, we chatted with each other on a video call for the next couple of hours while I munched on my cereal.  (Fun fact about South Korea - many of their sweets and treats are nowhere near as sweet as ours in the States. It took me admittedly much too long to realize this. But it was eating their equivalent of Cocoa Puffs that it clicked. The first time I sat down to eat it, I was trying to figure out what was wrong. Bite after bite, it just didn't quite feel complete. My mind and tongue were ca...