Endings & Beginnings: A Love Letter to Seoul

August 22, 2019

Endings & Beginnings: A Love Letter to Seoul

This summer has flown by so quickly I have barely had a chance to take time to reflect. I find it so hard to believe I am entering into the last two weeks of August: my last two weeks in Seoul. My mother arrived on Saturday and we have begun the process of preparing for my move back to Canada together. This mainly involves a lot of get-togethers with friends and family here, packing upon packing and other errands that help me wrap up my life here. It is such a bittersweet time and I have found myself tearing up at random times thinking about leaving the place that I have called my home for the past six years; mainly the man that I have called home.

I want to take a moment to reflect on a wonder-FULL-y busy summer.

July was met with birthday celebrations for loved ones, a final summer camp at my college and a trip to California. The trip was absolutely blissful. I met my husband in San Francisco and we drove to Petaluma and Napa Valley, then onto Sacramento to visit one of my dear friends, Kirsten and then to Lake Tahoe for some blue skies and waters with my mother. We then flew from SF to Los Angeles , met my dad and headed south to Palm Desert for a week where we relaxed in the desert heat and then spent our final days in a gorgeous Airbnb in the Hollywood Hills. I loved every minute of the trip and was quite unplugged for the bulk of it posting photos every now and then of what I was doing but otherwise not paying much attention to social media. I even missed the 2 part finale of the Bachelorette, which for a reality TV junkie, says A LOT. It was such a beautiful trip and time together as a family. Here are some snapshots of the trip:

Exploring Petaluma, CA

Castello di Amarosa, Napa Valley, CA

Seoul-mates reunited!

Dreamy Lake Tahoe, CA

I came home to teach an English summer camp that was long hours and quite intensive. I almost immediately regretted taking on this job upon entering into the building where it was on the Monday morning, but eventually I just couldn't resist the absolute charm and sweetness of my students and it ended on an emotional note last Friday. I was so busy with that camp, any down time I had was spent catching up on Season 3 of Stranger Things with my husband, working out or sleeping.

Final class as a teacher in Seoul.

This brings me to where I am now. Embarking on my final two weeks in Seoul with my husband, mother and the family that I have surrounded myself in this city with for the past few years.

Dear Seoul,

It's your Canadian resident, Jess signing off on a beautiful 6 year stay. You have blessed me in more ways than I could count and I just wanted to take some time to express my gratitude to you. Here are just a few of the gifts that you have given me:

My first taste of true independence at the age of 23 with just enough structure, security and novelty around it to make me feel like I was in the right place.
My first taste of teaching which allowed me to delve into a new world of self expression and connection with children.
You opened up my world of travel and offered a hub for me to leave and re-enter into from trips all around Asia and Europe. The endless exploring I have been able to do in this part of the world.
The man I would forever call home. Someone who I would be drawn to inexplicably and who would show me a love that I had never experienced before or knew to even exist for me.
A community of friends who feel like family. Women and men from all over the world who I connected with on so many different levels and whom I will never forget and always be connected to.
A family that welcomed me with open hearts regardless of the fact that we don't speak the same language or share the same culture.
Incredible teaching opportunities that allowed for me to connect with students of all ages and offer them a chance to create a relationship with a woman from the other side of the planet.
So much insight and education on my own privilege because of the colour of my skin, the country that I come from and the language that I speak.
A beautiful scenery of mountains upon mountains and temples galore.

Gosh I love this country and your culture but especially your people. I had an astrological reading ( I know, I'm a bit kooky ;)) before I moved out here in February 2013 and my late astrologist (RIP Dr. Julie) read my chart and it's positioning in South Korea. She said to me, "Wow, Jessica, this is good. Your chart in Korea lands in the eleventh house which is the House of Friendships and Community. You will make good friends and deep relationships there." She could not have been more accurate. I have formed some incredible bonds in this country. I am trying to honour them in these final two weeks by spending quality time with the people that I am just so grateful for here in Seoul.

As much as I will miss you Seoul, an incredible amount, I am certain that I am making the right move. It is both terrifying and exhilarating going back to Canada and trying to embark on a new career there. There are a lot of unknowns going into all of this but it feels right and I know that I am following the right path for myself. And this is not a forever goodbye, I never could have known that half of my heart would end up belonging on the opposite side of the planet, in your beautiful country of South Korea.

Thank you.

Love,

Jess

xoxo