Back to the Homeland

(Picture Caption: My biological Father, Mother, Brother, and myself in May 2002 in Seoul.)

The Dirt - So in order to understand what I'm about to do, I figured I'd give a background on how I got to Minnesota. My birth mom got pregnant, gave me up for adoption b/c it's a no-no to have a baby and not be married. Only my birth dad and birth mom's sister knew I existed. My birth parents got married and a year later gave birth to my 100% blood related brother.. and the kept him :) I'm ok with it b/c I have had a pretty sweet life here in the U.S.A.! Now my parents are divorced, birth father is re-married and I have a half-sis on that side. My birth mother was married, then divorced, and not sure if she's dating anyone.

So right now, I have at least 7 parents (maybe 8) and 9 siblings from 4 different families. The man who can draw out and understand my family tree is the one I am going to marry! hahaha...

Since I have this crazy family tree and dont know much about half of it, I have pondered for about 4 years if I should take a year and head back to the homeland and see what it's all about. After much thought, I decided what the hell and to go for it. Leaving my current job was hard ... and I felt like this is the perfect time for me to take on this adventure- I'm not getting any younger, I'm single with nobody keeping me from traveling, completely lost in what I want to do with my life, am mature enough to really gain a lot from this experience, and can make more money to work less!

So these next few weeks I'm closing one chapter in my life to start another one. I've moved before but this one feels different than the rest. Chillin with the birth family,being around people that all look like me, and not knowing a lick of korean are three things that are kinda freaking me out. But I'm ready to take the challenge and hope I come back a better person for it.

My goals:

1. Try not to eat anything I can get in the USA
2. Explore as much as possible
3. Learn enough of the language to survive
4. Better understand the asian culture and immerse myself in it
5. Have no regrets when I am done
6. Figure out why I am the way I am... is it because of NATURE or NURTURE or BOTH!?!?

I'll be living in Mok-Dong (which is in Yangcheon-Gu aka Southwest Seoul). Seoul is the capital and is divided into "gu's" and the "gu's" are divided into "dong's".. I'm working for YBM and their website is http://www.ybmecc.co.kr/ if you need to a reason to procrastinate :)

I fly out mid June so in the meantime I'll be driving back to MN... hang w/ those close to me ... and figure out how to pack a year in 2 suitcases and 2 carry-on bags! I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many challenges I'll be facing in the next 12 months...