The Gradual Transition - Traveler to 'Resident'

It's been some time since I last updated. It's amazing that although I don't really have a job in Korea, my days are quite occupied. I might not be doing anything that's of any significance in the eyes of strangers but I am doing a lot of things.

But I choose this topic to write about because Tako, a girl from Hong Kong who is pretty much like me- came to Korea to try out something new, to experience a different lifestyle or maybe simply to be out of Hong Kong for a while, said this to me last Saturday:

"I think I'm going through the same thing that you are going through when I first met you at Kimchi."

I met Tako at Kimchi Hostel. I believe at that time, I was at my one-month mark since arriving in Korea. The guests and even the staff sometimes do not get why I stay at the hostel all the time. They are always asking me to go out. But at that point in time, I have just decided that I was going to stay till the end of my visa and I just wanted to experience "growing roots" at a place. But at Kimchi, I have found my home in Korea so it's almost like getting used to the fact that I have a permanent place here.

Tako has since moved out of Kimchi Hostel. First she moved to her friend's Korean friend's place (complicated right?) but now she's renting a studio apartment (one-room apartment). And she made the remark. I believe she is settling down and changing gear. Since she has a working holiday visa, she is now getting her ARC (Alien Registration Card) done. The 'traveler' status is now being changed to a 'semi-resident' status. The feeling is very different.

I have moved beyond the settling down stage and am probably in the 'LIVING HERE' stage. I go to the shops in my area. The ahjummah at 김밥천국 (Kimbap Heaven-a franchise that serves Korean food at affordable prices [below 6000won]) and Pizza School probably can recognise me by now. The ahjummah at Kimbap Heaven told me once when I bought Coke to the restaurant that I'd put on weight if I drink Coke. The baristas at Maple Coffee (Suzy and Yoon) are on first-name basis with me. I am taking free Korean lessons at the Yeonnam Global Village which is like a few streets away from Kimchi. Tako joined the class last week so after class, we went to Maple Coffee to revise and do our homework. Suzy sat down with us last Thursday after her shift and helped us with Korean while we help her with English. And we made arrangement to do the same thing each week.

Tako and I also went to another free Korean language class run by kongbubang.wordpress.com. This class is near Sook Myung Womens' University which is on the same line as Myeong Dong. After class last week, we went to Myeong Dong for dinner. Myeong Dong is like Orchard Road or City Hall to me now. So now we have a weekend hangout place too.

Today (16th May), I was going to do something different - expand my social circle to environment beyond 1 kilometers around Kimchi. I wanted to go for Language Cast, a gathering for people learning languages organised by the people who runs "Talk to Me in Korean" and actually registered saying I'd go. I did go. I was at the venue but just before it started, I chickened out and left the cafe.

Maybe I'm not ready yet. Or maybe I don't want to have even more 'connections' in Korea. Already thinking about the fact that I might have to leave one day, leaving my 'family' in Kimchi behind is not something I look forward to. If I start to know MORE people, it might get worse.

Whatever the reason is, I have to try to move on to the next stage. And seriously, life in Korea is full of strange and wonderful happenings. Read my next entry to find out why~