Tessa in Seoul: The End Has Come

*Disclaimer: This post will be mostly about my host family. Scroll down for pictures.

Today is my last day in Korea.
For a while there, it felt like I would never, ever get a chance to write the above sentence. At times, this past year seemed to crawl at a snail's pace. But then the end came and looking back this year has indeed past quickly.

It's been filled with so many fun adventures and challenging experiences that have helped me grow and prepare for the future. I feel better equipped to begin seminary in the fall, I feel confirmed in my long-term goal of teaching at a University level, and I discovered that I am ready to settle down somewhere for longer than a semester or two. I want to have a chance to have house plants and join a book club.

But despite my excitement for the next steps God has planned for me, the best word to sum up my emotion today is: nauseous. I feel nauseous, queasy at the thought of leaving tomorrow. Part of it is the usual anticipation of airport stress, part of it is the thought that I might never come back to Korea (at least not in the foreseeable future). But most of it is realizing that I have to say goodbye to my host family, and the life I have built with them.

When I first met my host family almost a year ago, I knew God had provided a good home for me. I just didn't know in what way yet. All five of them have helped me, often without realizing it, through the difficulties of adjusting to Korean life.

My host dad has a great sense of humor, and is not afraid of joking with me, despite my lack of Korean skills. He also has a never ending supply of patience listening to me explain something in broken Korean, throwing in a few English words and deciphering my intended meaning.
My host mom is calm and steady, and easy to approach when I have questions about Korean culture. I do not have to be afraid of offending her with culturally insensitive questions.
My oldest host sister shares her love for piano with me by showing me what she is learning, and letting me teach her some of what I know. We go to piano lessons together, and it has been a highlight of my year.
My middle host sister has a passion for bugs and would rather build something with legos or paper, instead of drawing or playing make-belief. She combines these passions by constructing paper bugs. She let me help her build bugs from her construction set. (A great honor)
My youngest host sister (only 4) loves to practice English songs she is learning in Kindergarden, and then correcting my English when I don't "say it right" ('cause she knows sooooo much more English than I do...). Yesterday she corrected my English while reading a children's book to her...I don't think she understand the concept of "native speaker".

Whenever I came home from a hard day I could count on my host sisters' constant chatter and cheerful dispositions to distract me from my stress. Granted, sometimes I would feel frustration at never being alone, or never having privacy. But looking back, I didn't really need alone time or privacy as much as I thought. Instead, the girls have taught me patience, how to relate to children, and to be more flexible in the little things.

I have come to the end of my blog post that ended up being more of a homage to my host family than anything else!^^ But, I don't feel nauseous anymore! I think a big part of the stress of today is that I want to show my host family my appreciation and thankfulness for everything they have done for me...but my Korean skills aren't sufficient for much more than a, "reallllllly, really thank you". But maybe that is enough.