And then the unthinkable happened...

...I became homesick.

This is a new experience for me. Prior to the past few weeks, whenever I've used the word 'homesick' it's been followed by words such as 'for Kyrgyzstan.' (And I would totally return to Kyrgyzstan in a heartbeat if I could find a way to make it financially viable. Plane tickets are just too cost-prohibitive to make popping over to Central Asia an option whenever I feel the need for some mountains and a yurt.) The thing is, I've spent a lot of time living overseas, and I've never felt homesick. I've been in situations before where I've wanted to leave - but not because I wanted to return home. In fact, when I left the US in the summer of 2010, I was completely convinced that I'd never return.

And yet now I'm homesick.

Part of it is that I am not satisfied with my job. It's not a bad job (and the salary is excellent), but I have discovered that I am simply not cut out for corporate life. Chasing the almighty dollar (or won in this case) really just isn't enough to motivate me. I miss having a job that I can feel passionate about... and I really, really miss teaching. As such, I've decided to apply to graduate school programs for TESOL, and will be leaving Korea at the end of my six month trial contract. It's up at the beginning of March, and I've already told my employers that I won't be seeking to extend it. (They've been very nice and understanding about it.) My last day of work is March 5, 2012... but right now, that feels like an eternity away.

Still, I'm homesick. I miss my family and friends, my cats, dogs, and horses. I want to be working on the old house. I want to be straightening everything out with the cat rescue. Essentially, I want to do everything that I'd intended to do when I returned to the US in 2008. And being older and wiser, well, let's just say that I will never, EVER be manipulated into the kind of abhorrent situations I found myself in back in 2009.

Homesickness is a new and strange feeling for me. I know that it would be best dealt with by going out and getting involved in life here in Seoul... but after a full day's work in Corporate Korea, I don't feel like doing much other than crawling under the sheets with my Kindle. That's certainly how I've spent this weekend. That and working on grad school applications...