An Epiphany

I’ve been all stressed out about Korea and trying to make a decision about staying, going, and what to do after, when it FINALLY happened! As Dan previously mentioned, my major life decisions are usually made with absolute finality and come like a lightning bolt from the sky. I almost never second guess my decisions because I’m always super positive they are right ones, and if I do make a wrong move, I know it’s wrong the whole time because of the way my brain is screaming, “THIS IS WRONG AMANDA! ALL WRONG!” Usually my epiphanies come late at night, but in this case it was after a particularly arduous day at work. I just thought to myself, “If Dan wasn’t here, what would I do?” And I KNEW. I would simply leave in August, take the $10,000 I had saved and move to Latin America. I would live off my savings as long as I could (probably eight months), maybe work a little, or maybe not, and then go back to the states in the summer of 2011 to start grad school. This was sooooo obvious. There are simply no other options. I need A LOT of rest and relaxation after this crazy culture. I need time to figure out which grad program I want to apply to and some time to do that. I need fresh air and to get back in shape. I would also like to practice my Spanish.

I immediately spoke with Dan about my thoughts. He LOVED my idea! All weekend we have been trying our best to figure out a.) Where our money will go the furthest b.) Where we will be the safest c.) Where we will love it the most.

So we are for sure leaving in August! I can’t wait to not HAVE to get up in the morning. Seriously, waking up at 7am is NOT COOL.

We also just booked tickets to Beijing for six days at the end of July. Absolutely cannot wait for that. I really hope these next few months just fly by, and I’m sure they will, because that’s how life is in the ROK!

I need that pamphlet!

Do you remember when planning your next move in life was a simple as 1,2,3? Like, hmmmm I just got out of junior high, what should I do?? Go to high school. Well, I graduated from high school, what should I do?? Go to college. Or get a job. Now that I've graduated from college (or have a job), what should I do?? Get a job. Or get a better job. Or travel. Now I have a job, have traveled, or make ample amounts of money, what should I do?? Get married, have a baby, buy a house... WAIT ONE MINUTE HERE! WTF? Where did that come from? That's what OLD PEOPLE do! (no offense old people, or young people who act old)

Now that I'm sober, I've decided to try to plan my next life move. This is harder than it may seem to some-what normal people. Most would say, just do what you want, do what makes sense, do what would make you happy. I, on the other hand, am not most people. I insist on thinking about just about every single thing a young, college educated couple with teaching experience and a love for travel MIGHT possibly do. Currently the list includes (but is not limit to):

1. Staying in Korea for as long as needed to pay off my student loans.
   
2. Take the money we have saved and go on an epic trip around the world (on a very thin shoestring).
3. Take the money we have saved and live in an under-developed country (e.g. Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica) for as long as possible, while living the dream of no job and no responsibilities.
4. Go back to the states, enroll in a state university and get graduate degrees and teaching certifications.
   
5. Go to a different country and teach English.
   
6. Have a baby. Everyone knows this means pretty much everything else is out the window. :) If I want kids, I sure as hell don't want to be old and pregnant.
   
7. Get married. I don't know why, but Dan LOVES this idea. Not today, of course.
   
8. Learn to built platforms high up in jungle trees and become zip-line tour guides.
9. Move back to Oregon, get stupid jobs and have fun showing Dan all around the coolest state in the union.
10. Attempt to gain admission to an awesome university abroad, where we could get our master degrees without selling whats left of our souls to the CitiBank evil empire. The UK perhaps? Australia or New Zealand?

As you can see, I've got a lot of options here. I'm so grateful to realistically have all these options. But seriously, how the hell am I supposed to know what to do? One big down side of having an incredibly intelligent and wonderful partner is he keeps coming up with even MORE things we could do. I don't know how other people decide this stuff, but if I could get that pamphlet at the next "What to do with your life when everything seems like a good idea" meeting, that would be great. Thanks!

Should I stay or should I go now...

Daniel and I have recently been discussing our next move. We thought we had it all figured out. We would finish our contracts in August, then get the hell out of this country. Then we realized if we stayed we could make more money. That there's the dilemma. I had the brilliant idea of just staying six more months. Dan could freelance (illegally) and I could go home with one less student loan bill and three grand more in savings. We could move to NYC in the spring and skip the gray winter all together. Every year you stay in Korea your money making potential increases dramatically. When I first got here I was making 1.9 million won ($1,650) a month. Today I make at least 3 million ($2,600). I work a little harder, but not much. This income makes it very difficult to go back to a country in the depths of an economic recession, no matter how much the culture here bugs the living shit out of me.
BTW, when I say six months more, I really mean only four months of actual work. The other two months would be desk warming and taking a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. So instead of being in NYC in snow, we'll be on the beach or hiking in the jungle.
It's a tough choice! On the one hand, I might go mentally insane if I stay here even one extra month, especially without the booze. If we do decide to stay we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing altogether. But if we go, we could end up broke and unemployed. Which means we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing in that situation as well. Everyone knows you can't be on the wagon and unemployed.
We are still debating, I have until next month to decide. I'm leaning toward going back to the states though. I miss my friends and family and I'm desperate for a road trip. I think the logical part of me says stay. This is the most I've ever made, and no rent, car payment or taxes is a serious bonus. Go or stay?

Amanda has goals for our experiences

I'm not as much of a goal oriented person, therefore the drinking, the excessive, excessive, sweet, sweet, drinking. Amanda, on the other hand, has goals and aspirations for her life, and I'm being dragged into it. Ok our goals:

• Get into shape. This means running, jumping, lunging, louging, lifting, pushing, pulling, climbing, yoga, and tandem cardiovascular workouts.
• Do shit. Like real shit. The type of shit that you can't do with a monkey playing the cymbals in your head on Sunday morning. This involves travel, hiking, learning, reading (and remembering), and writing.
• Save money. We can't count the times we've woken up with a financial deficit we were completely unable to account for hidden somewhere between 2 am and 7 am. Not to mention trips to Lotteria, Little Pete's, Pishee and Grillee, etcetera.
• Move to NYC. Therefore, the aforemetioned financial goal. SK, you're great... well you're not that great, so we gotta go. Our contracts expire August 2010! Peace, Ajummas.
• Have fun. This is the real Everest of the list.

Amanda has goals for our year. Dan prefers a more shoot first ask questions later approach. We'll see how our intrepid teetotaling explorers fare on another edition of My so-called sober life... See you next time!