…But there are other stories, other memories, other thoughts, that have lodged themselves deep in my heart, nestled in close for safekeeping. I actually tried to write this post about a month ago…spent an hour typing away. And then promptly mis-typed and pushed the trash button by accident. The whole thing disappeared into cyberspace, and I took it as a sign that this particular story wasn’t ready to be shared yet.
Kudos to Kevin and Claudia for keeping it real regarding the adoption tax credit on the New York Times.
When people ask me what I think about Seoul, and Korea in general, it’s hard to explain. I didn’t exactly fall in love with Korea. Like any country, it has its flaws, and they are, just as in the US, innumerable and complex, and more often than not, both outrageous and heartbreaking. But I came home with a deep feeling of unresolved tension…a sense that while I could get away with coming home this time, but I better get back there, soon, because there are still things I need to do there.
A friend and I were talking before I left about how trips like this open up liminal spaces in our lives. These “in-between” spaces that happen when we step outside our normal everyday lives open doors to places in the world around us and in our hearts that we didn’t know existed. In these past two weeks we all have returned to our roots in search answers to questions about our past.
But it’s not just the past that we have experienced in our time here. This in-between space has been a place of growth and change, a chance to touch the well of strength and resilience that lies deep within each of us. I know for myself, and for many others here, these two weeks together, in this liminal space we have created together, have started a process of transformation that will unfold for days and years to come.
Seoul is everything I expected it to be: loud, crazy, wonderfully busy. We’ve had a great three days getting to know “our” area, the Hongdae district, home to Hongik University.
Borders and Bridges 