The rest of the damn trip

Ok, I need to freaking get this over with because there's Seoul stuff I want to write about and its getting ridiculous.

San Francisco was so-so. It kinda messed up my travel momentum but it was awesome to see my family for the first time in two years. My sisters are nearly teenagers! My parents are old! It was also nice to get a little American shopping in (mostly toiletries, it must be said) and to see some friends that are still living in the city. The best thing about the trip had to be the awesome boots I got on Castro.

Belize was beautiful, gorgeous, and so much fun. Julia's wedding was incredible. I totally cried all through the vows and nearly spaced out when I was supposed to had her Mitch's ring. Everything was just lovely and Julia looked so beautiful in her dress. It was also great to see her family along with Linda, Nathan, Ursula, and Michelle and Jim. Very very good times though Linda and I were stupid and laid out in the sun between 11 and 3 and each got a wicked sunburn.

Costa Rica was the perfect wrap-up to the trip...relaxing, chill, beautiful. Bess met up with me in San Jose and we bussed over to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast. We ate and laid out in the sun and that was about it for 5 glorious days. Our hotel room had an awesome porch and we spent hours reading books and drinking coffee. We spent our last night getting piss-drunk and had to pay for it on our travels back to our respective homes...not fun!

I know that was a rush job but that was the rest of the trip. It was an amazing three months but I don't know that I'd ever be on the road for that length of time again. I can see myself staying more or less in one place for that long, like a volunteer stint, but the constant travel definitely got to me. Which is not to say that I regret this at all. I met amazing people and I was reunited with people who are very dear to me.

It's also made me appreciate my home and how much I love Seoul and my friends here. I also feel more certain than ever, after taking three months away and being so happy to be back, that being a preschool teacher really is my calling.

I am really freakin' proud of myself for avoiding disasters on this trip. I didn't lose anything besides my laundry bag, I had no crises, no drama. I also learned a lot about myself and notions I had about myself. Here are the things (I am such a dork, I wrote them in my journal on my loooooong flight back to Seoul) that I learned on this trip:

1. I am competent.
2. I have oodles of common sense
3. I am funny
4. I need to chill when I can't have control over a situation
5. I should trust people to do their part
6. I am beautiful the way I am
7. I am emotional and that's never going to change and I should stop wishing I wasn't
8. I need God/spirituality in my life
9. I love my friends very very much and carry them with me wherever I go
10. I am pretty damn tough

Thanks for reading through the zany adventures....back to regular Seoul rantings now...