You never know what you take for granted when you are comfortable in your own country. For the past three days, my roommate has been recuperating and resting. Even a simple trip to a restaurant takes much more effort than you think. Here you need to be aware of your budget, look up directions and hours, translate the menu, order in Korean, and pay in Korean. Now, these are all small things that are easy one by one but compared to sitting in a drive through, or going grocery shopping (which is also exhausting because the store is organized so strange and using self-checkout is absolutely horrifying) In a foreign country you have to put double or triple the effort into each small occasion. After weeks and weeks of this added effort, you begin to tire yourself out and need a day (or weekend) for recuperation. Of course, each time after you are recuperated it starts off all good again and happy, but I felt guilty for wasting my time in Korea by resting for days. I have come to realize that I should not feel guilty, I am adapting well in Korea and mental exhaustion is part of that.
Going back to America I don't know how I will readjust to the ease of communication and function. While I am constantly learning more and more ways to respond and ask for what I need in Korean, it is still not enough to get rid of the anxiety during new situations. Like when Kimberly and I went to an arcade to exchange our money for smaller bills at a machine and the machine just took the $10 and didn't output 10 $1 (in won). We did not know what to say to call the owner that our money was taken, luckily someone was nearby to help us call on the phone and explain the situation but the inability to solve some of our own problems is real anxiety that we have to live with.
Another one of the most stressful days of my time abroad was Halloween. We went to the most popular area to look around and it was completely crowded. One of my friends ended up having her wallet stolen. All of her bank cards, ID's, and information were in her wallet and it was gone in an instant. Luckily my friend knows a lot of Korean and was able to explain the situation and make a report to the police station. We had to find the station, and an officer and wait for the report to be made. I have never even dealt with police in America so doing it in Korea was even more terrifying. We all worked together to help my friend contact the banks and get everything canceled as soon as possible.
I am thankful that I am staying in a country where people are very helpful when you are lost or confused. I won't make myself feel bad for wasting a couple of days to rest because I will be able to experience things with a cleared mind after. I am also happy I started this blog to reflect on these feelings
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