Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Out with the Old, In with the New

My 2013 in Review


2013 has been a very weird year with a lot of ups and tons of downs. For starters, it's the year that I decided to leave my Home Country (Mexico) if not for good, at least for a long time, I've been abroad for quite some time before but I always had a home there to come back to, this time, I don't. The family that I left there is people I no longer even consider family, instead, it's my friends that I consider my actual family. Anyhow, what's different about me leaving now is that, this time around, I have no intention to go back anytime soon.


The first few months passed by quite fast while I was dealing with a job I was getting too sick of, taking care of legal matters and things that now seem to be irrelevant. Hanging out with our closest friends and taking advantage of our time left together before leaving.  



A big thing this year was my Mom's passing 1-year-Anniversary; that was such a difficult Summer, it was sad and melancholic, and hectic, and whatnot, I couldn't (still can't sometimes) believe it had been already one year that Mom had left. Sometimes, I don't even know where/how that entire year went by, I don't know exactly what I did or how I even managed to survive. While still sobbing for my Mom, I was also busy making all the arrangements for what was going to be my new life, which included getting rid or my old home (and everything in it), many of my personal things, taking care of some legal issues I had (have) going on, preparing my 5-week trip to Japan and then prepare to make an attempt at settling down and making a new life in (South, obviously) Korea. Too much going on by then, internal and externally so, by the time I left Mexico, I was pretty worn out, but ready for a new adventure. Besides the whole trip itself, one thing that I was excited about was the fact that I was going to spend my Mumsy's Bday close to her (in the sky!) coz I'd be flying then. 


I was particularly sad to leave my house, rather than Mexico itself, because all of the memories I have of that house involved Mom and, after she passed, instead of feeling sad or weird being there, it felt cozy and safe; it might sound strange, I know, but that's how it felt and I liked that, I felt protected in a way. So, leaving that place and detaching from it was a bit of a difficult thing for me to do, but only at the beginning 'cause now I know all my Mom's memories are with me ALWAYS and everywhere I go, so after a few days it was just alright.

In March, my BFF came to visit me all the way from India, that was one of the coolest things in the year! Also went to see the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, one of my fave bands ever! And got even closer with my close friends.




Before leaving, I tried saying goodbye to all my friends (the few I got left anyway) but that didn't work out very well, all I can say now is that I did try because I knew I wasn't gonna see them again in a long time, but they probably didn't take that into consideration -or maybe just didn't care?- and didn't meet me to say goodbye. Oh well. I also got the chance to reunite with the family that we got left, went to Jalapa and saw some old friends as well.




So, we got done everything that had to be done, picked up our (HUGE!) backpacks, went to have our last Tacos with some good friends and then, there we were...at the airport...I wish I could say I was ready for it but I wasn't, in fact, I started getting really nervous about the whole thing and doubted myself and what I was about to do and this time, it would matter more because I wasn't by myself, this time, Gichef was with me and that changed the whole thing. However, I had no choice, what was done was done and I couldn't change it, so I just grabbed my passport, showed it to the airline people, went to find my seat, sat, took a deep breath and hoped for a brighter/happier future.



Many, many hours and just one short stop later (we left Mexico City on the 29th and arrived in Tokyo on the 31st!), we were on the other side -pun intended. We spent the next five weeks in Japan doing a WorkCamp and traveling, and -heat&humidity hell aside- I was completely ecstatic about it, I fell in love with Japan almost instantly. So, by the time I had to leave, I was a bit bummed out even though I was about to start -yet- another big adventure in Seoul, Korea.





 

The first few weeks days in Seoul, it was kind of hard for me to adjust, to be honest; I kept thinking of Japan and how much of a great time I had had there -which maybe made it even a bit more difficult. So, I got tired of "sobbing" around and decided to embrace the new place. Then, we started doing many things in the City and I started liking it. It took me about a month but I finally started loving Seoul. I am not particularly fond of birthdays but when my birthday came this year, I wanted to do something special, so Gichef and I went to my fave place in Seoul: Yeouido Park by the Han River, took wine, music and had a small birthday celebration -that's still one of my favorite days in 2013. The next day, we were off to Jeju Island and I was super excited about it since it was a place I was eager to visit.

 


When we came back, the vacation inception (vacation within the vacation lol) was over and we started working at the Korean (Media) Company that hired us -and for which, basically, we decided to give Korea a shot- and, even though it was hard, it was also fun as we were doing things that we liked and were (are) passionate about. It was hard because the Korean way of working is QUITE different from the Mexican way (if there is such a thing, anyway); or maybe Gisela and I focus too much on being good and efficient while Koreans only focus on being good and taking forever to get there, so it was very frustrating at times, but all in all, we really liked the job, with its 17-hour workdays and all! In the end, a personal fallout with the owner of the company (who was also Gisela's friend and our roomate) screwed everything up and we ended up quitting the job, not because we didn't wanna keep on working there, but because he made it impossible to have a "human" (cordial and respectful) relationship with him, so we felt forced to leave the job...and his house, on the same night.

Which led to us crashing at our Youngsik Oppa's studio for a week before flying out to Japan. That was a tough week, Seoul started getting quite cold and my Mexican self wasn't used to it so I suffered a bit, but I manned up and handled it lol During that week, we said goodbye to all of our new friends we had made as we thought we'd be leaving, if not for good, for a while. I couldn't believe it but I was really sad to leave, I was already in love with Korea and had made it my home so leaving  was overwhelming. Even though I LOVE Japan, I was miserable that week...for the most part, anyway. Then, we finally figured it out and a sign was given to us that we could come back...so we did. We were super excited about it!


We've been back in Korea for about three weeks now and even though I am happy about it, I can't help but feel a bit over nervous and overwhelmed as we're in a completely different situation; we had to find a new apartment by ourselves and are now looking for new jobs and doing everything in our power to make it work, though this time, there is no "safety net", it's just me and Gisela, Gisela and me, for good and/or for bad. Sometimes, I feel very optimistic about the whole thing and I'm sure I believe we'll make it, but there are these other times, when I feel quite the opposite and get kinda depressed about it. 


Now, I don't know what's going to happen this 2014 but I know 2 things: 1) I will not be going back to Mexico and 2) At least, I have my Perritow with me.

So, all in all, I think 2013 was a good year, not the best of course, but not the worst either, I even think it was better than okay and I feel VERY blessed for all the things that happened to me (both, good and bad), for everything I learned, for everything I gained (learning-wise), for all the opportunities life has given me to be where I am and, especially, for all the people I met and because I really never thought it would happen once more, but this year, I was HAPPY again. And I traveled a lot, with Captain Wodjah and my faithful (though quite heavy) camera by my side, as usual. Oh, and went to many concerts, which always makes me happy!











THANKS TO ALL of you who've always been there, no matter what and, of course, SPECIAL THANKS to Gichef, mi Perritow rockerow for EVERYTHING -LOVE you and ADORE you with all my heart! My life would definitely not be the same without you in it. You rock my socks!




Fun, funny, crazy, interesting, frustrating, sad, exhausting, scary, boring, exciting, happy, chillin', upbeat, relaxing...this is all year was; for all the good and the bad, thank you 2013 but please, close the door behind you. May this 2014 bring love and happiness to all of you!


New Year's Eve hugs + kisses for you all -LOVE YA!!!




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