Finding Home

I have lived in the same "small" city for almost all of my life. A large portion of my extensive family has also lived in or around the same city as well. I have built many relationships there. This close knit life filled with a densely interwoven network of relationships was all I knew. I thought this was what life and relationships were life for most of the world. I was unaware of how rare it can be.

I knew moving to South Korea would be hard. The friendships and ties I had built up over 30+ years in the states, would for the most part be left behind, with almost no connection between the former community and the new one I was moving to. I was excited. I was scared. Mostly, I was ready to find and begin building a life and joining this community here in South Korea.
In my first year, I have learned the community that I long for, may not yet exist here. You see, some of the things I long for the most, are not common here.  In the states, it was common for my community to share a meal together, inside someone's home; mine, theirs, it really didn't matter. I had regularly been invited into the homes of a majority of my friends. Dinners, game or movie nights, bonfires and the like are all commonplace in the States. Since I have been to Korea, I have been invited over  to someone's house twice. Both were for very specific one time events, and both were involved directly with a church related activity. It is just does not seem to be apart of the culture to invite others into your home. People still long to hangout and build relationships over meals and games; but it is almost always out of the house. One aspect of this is cafe culture. Korea is known for it's cafe culture. Board game cafes, cat cafes, and garden cafes are common. You can not walk down the road without seeing at least one cafe. For me, I love quiet and unknown coffee shops, where I can plug in my computer and work happily un-bothered by a rush of changing people. I use cafes to work, because I like to keep my home space open for hosting and inviting others over. Basically the opposite of the culture here.
So I have been learning, stretching my wings a bit, intentionally meeting and socializing over a late evening cup of tea in local cafe. Working to embrace new culture I have chosen to make live my life in. It has been enjoyable thus far, but truthfully a bit draining. With the stress of the past couple of weeks, I had desperately needed something that felt like "home" here, since I could no longer depend on even my living situation to provide that momentarily. I needed something and the Lord provided. In the midst of the struggle, I wandered into a cafe off the beaten path, that feels just a bit like home. Murals on the walls, English oldies playing, plants in every corner, and even a couple of pet birds in the middle of the space that randomly like to sing at you. It is exactly what I needed.
I still don't know what the future holds. We will hopefully know more details on Friday about the status of my current place of employment, and I will make a choice then. Housing concerns will follow after that. Either way, I am moving at the end of the month, which means a busy couple of weeks packing up my apartment. No matter what happens, I am thankful that the Lord had me exactly were I was for my first year in Korea. I am excited to see what the future holds and what moving forward will look like when all is said and done. Until then, I am thankful for this little space in central Seoul that feels like home when nothing else does.