Japan

I had to get my Visa renewed so I can stay in Korea until I leave in December. I have a ticket to fly home on the 13th. In order to get your Visa renewed, you have to leave the country and then come back in. Most foreigners do it by taking the ferry from Busan, Korea to Japan and then come back to Korea.

You have to have a reservation and finding a travel agency that speaks English was not easy, but I found one and arranged everything. I also reserved a room at a hotel. I took a bus to Busan, and the trip down there was very pleasant. The bus terminal was not in town. If I felt more comfortable about taking the train, it would have been more convenient to do so. The train depot was within walking distance from my hotel, and it was very close to the ferry terminal.

I took a taxi to the the ferry terminal and I still did not understand what I was supposed to do and met another American who was doing the same thing I was doing. He was a man my age and very pleasant. As remarkable as this was, we ended up hitting it off very well and spending the day traveling the ferry to Fukuoka, Japan and then as my friend showed me turning around immediately and headed back on the same ferry. The trip was worth the time and money. It was beautiful. It was raining in Japan but not in Korea.

We went out to dinner in Busan and had a wonderful time. The trip took about three hours one way. Then he went on the train and I stayed in my hotel and I went to Daejeon the next morning. My friend's company really made the difference and I had one of the best days since coming to Korea.

One thing about life is one never knows what will happen around the corner and when you are a senior it becomes very apparent the corners are getting fewer and fewer. His children, like mine, are grown up and his live in England along with his grandchildren. Normally, I am a solitary person so it is a treat to be with someone my age and someone I really got along with very well. Most people just assumed that we were a couple so there were no problems in the immigration and custom lines. We have already talked on the phone and exchanged emails.

Sunrise

I woke up yesterday feeling that I have closed a chapter in my life here in Korea and I am now entering a new phase although I have no idea what it could be. I am not upset or mad at not getting a contract and feel quite happy about it. I hope to be going home in December but have not heard if I will be getting a ticket home at that date. To be honest, I thought these good feelings may be because I may have had too much coffee, but the feeling persisted this morning.

I write and read everyday. W. Somerset Maugham in his book, "The Summing Up", stated that he derived a great deal of joy from reading and it was hard for people to understand this. He remember the thrill of first reading a page of some book or another. He would put down books and go out and live life as he was supposed to. He said life is to be lived and experienced in all of its complexities and that meant food, love, and whatever. However, he always returned to his books. That is what I am doing now other than writing. I am reading whatever books I can get my hands on now. Even the book, "The Summing Up", I am reading for the second time. I am reading other books for the second time savoring their words and seeing things in them that I did not see before.

I am paying more attention to the world around me and enjoying Korea and its people while I am here. Before, I think I was more wrapped around my problems and never really saw it. It was hard to take walks as the heat made it difficult to do so. Now, I take walks and enjoy the parks around my apartment. I bring my journal and colored pencils that I recently bought. The changing of the leaves have not really started yet but should soon.

I think I am learning a new philosophy here since I have to depend so much on my own company. I am learning not to care what others think of me and my abilities and whether or not they are true. I realize that this way of thinking is called "co-dependency" but getting rid of that concept in one's own life is very difficult. I think I am making some headway. It lightens the load on one's shoulders considerably.

There is so much more joy in my life and that is good of course although I am not sure where it is coming from. I watch children playing with their parents and grandparents in stores, older people working in their gardens and I can appreciate it here in Korea that so many of them are still working very hard so late in their lives.

When I start to give myself a bad time for not doing this or that I cut it off as soon as possible. The real key to all of this is to live a mindful life. It is easier when one is 65 years of age than when I was younger. I thought the future stretched out there forever. Now, I know better. I see my children becoming middle-aged so I can't lie to myself and say I am middle-aged anymore. I listen to music for the sake of listening to music and less to drown out life's problems. Coffee or no coffee, the sunrises are much more beautiful these days.

Plans, Changed Again

I remember the saying that if you want to make God laugh, just tell him (or her) of your plans. I told my kids that often enough when they were growing up. I certainly should have remembered this myself. Sigh.... Well, my plans have changed again.

I am not going home by boat or ship as it would cost a great deal and I would be going in very cold weather and would have to stay holed up in my cabin anyhow. So, that plan is out the porthole. Second, Korean Immigration has canceled my VISA as of October 9th. I am not ready to leave by then. If I leave the country and come back in, I can get my VISA renewed for three months. That is the plan. I don't want to go to China or Russia since I think I need a VISA to get into those countries; however I don't need a VISA to get into Japan. I made a reservation to go to Fukuoka, Japan by ferry from Busan, Korea and then to return on the same day. I will spend four hours there in Japan.

I will be leaving Korea the first week of December or at least then is when I want to. If not, I will have to go back to Japan and get my VISA renewed for another 90 days. I will be running into winter and there is another monsoon in winter.

I am looking forward to going home. It is hard moving around a country where the main language is one you don't speak. It will be nice to be in a country that I can even go to the store and ask for anything I want from any salesclerk. I am also looking forward to buying books in English, and seeing my family. One of the first things I will buy is a newspaper in English when I get back to the USA. I watch the news on the Internet but having an actual newspaper in my hand is something I have missed very much.

All of this is my plans. Sigh....

New Direction, Same Place

I have decided to stay in Korea to the end of this year and not renew my contract with the university where I was teaching. That was easy to do since they laid off all of the women professors, both Korean and foreign, and hired men. The men all have four year college degrees. The professors who were there had masters and one was Korean and got his in the States and the other was Australian and he got it online. The women including myself all have masters' degrees in the field at regular universities. I knew I had good reports from the students that I did teach.

I was very angry at first, but then I saw the gift that it brought me. I had reached a level in which I was facing an overpayment of my Social Security in the United States and I wanted to work full time as a writer. I am currently working on a book of short stories. I have never done a book of short stories before as I have written only novels. Short stories gives me the chance to try and publish them in other markets before having them published in book form. It helps with the sale of the book. I am being optimistic here.

I also found a way of getting books in English and most of them are the classics. I have been reading them some for the second time and noticing how they are put together. Some of the books I have been able to get are no longer available in English anywhere even on Google Books and even on Amazon. I also read children chapter books since I write occasional books in that genre. I love to read them. I have discovered a writer by the name of Diana Wynne Jones. She is wonderful to read especially the book, "Howl's Moving Castle".

I have been able to make friends with some Koreans and Americans and attend church on Sunday as the meeting is in English. They know I am not a Christian and they don't seem to mind. I bought a Bible in English and read it occasionally as it is a way of understanding literature in English.

I will be going home as soon as my son books passage on a freighter as I am not flying home but going on a ship and taking a slow way home or at least that is the plan so far. I am very excited about this. It is a common way for people to travel in the Pacific area and booking one way is the way most people do it.

When I first started this blog, I had no idea things would turn out so exciting. Things seem to continue to do so. I take trips to different towns and cities in Korea and have a grand time. I spend the money I have made here. Since I don't have any bills, I can make my money stretch and my rent is very low. The lowest utility bills I have ever had in my life have been here in Korea. So far, I have not paid anything over $15.00 a month in gas or electricity.

What saves me money is I can't buy clothes since nothing is over size 10 here. Even if I was very skinny and somehow got shorter (I am 5'8"), I could never fit in the clothes. The smallest size I will ever wear will be size 12. You can't even buy nylons for people with size 12. I did buy some sandals but they were for men. In the States, they would have looked just fine for women but not here where most women wear very high heels. Their feet are very thin and my feet are broad. I would never wear heels anyhow. Men have the same problem.

Men get paid more to teach then women and they get their clothes tailor-made. They even get their shoes made. Most have families to support and it is very bad form for women to work if their husband is able to work. That is changing but not in great numbers as yet.

It is a man's world here in Korea. Korean men will not move for women if walking and certainly will not stop for them in crosswalks if driving. I have learned to move fast even if the light is green for me. In stores they will knock me over and I am a senior. I am taller than most Korean men and when I was teaching they did not do that as I was a professor, but I am now on the hit list.

The apartment house I live in is very small, only three stories and is owned by a woman so I am treated well. She and her husband tend a victory garden next to the apartment house and she gives away the produce to all of the people in her building. I am the only woman in the building and she is very nice to me.

I still walk a lot and eat well. I love to spend the day at a department store called Home Plus. When it was very hot, I would eat a rice burger and have coffee. My lack of Korean is not an issue. Everyone is very nice to me. I often see people I know and they invite me to eat in the Korean Restaurant upstairs which I never do because I can't order anything as the menu is for large families although the price is very cheap. I could never eat all that food. The Korean love their food very spicy and full of red paste and soy sauce which I can't eat because of gluten problems. Still it is nice to eat up there and talk with them and to drink the coffee that I can buy at a low price.

Things are going well. I am having a good time, much better than I expected. If I go home on a freighter I will see even more of the world. Wish me luck on that.