Update from Seoul!

Obviously, my plan to update this thing every step of the way has been a major failure so far, mostly because I've been sleepy. I have a hundred posts planned for when I'm on my own computer, because, to be super honest with you, I'm on my husband's laptop and for some reason I am not comfortable with it. But oh well, here's the scoop! (and some pictures I've been randomly taking with my phone.)

Gardens at the Dragon Hill Lodge

 The Navy finally found a way to ship me over here the same day as my husband, unfortunately, not on the same flights. My route was Miami -> Jacksonville -> Atlanta -> Tokyo -> Seoul. That 14 hour flight is a bitch. More on that, on another post.

IPark Mall

Skyline view from the Dragon Hill Lodge

We checked in at the Dragon Hill Lodge, which is the hotel on base. It's not very new but it's really fancy and the food is to die for. We have a big room with TV, DVD player, Microwave oven... pretty much the essentials. We've been here for 10 days. Housing should have our apartment ready on October 10th, and sure, hotel life is nice and everything but I think we've had enough. We're ready to move in, start budgeting and figure life out.

Namdaemun Area

So far it's been alright, can't say I'm completely happy since every night I wake up looking for Chelsea at my feet and she's not there. Honestly, it's killing me not having her here, specially when I see people out walking their dogs or when I see the signs for the dog park and pet center on base. It's pretty messed up and I'm constantly choking up when I talk because I just miss her so much. Thankfully, she's been doing great at grandma's, even though she looks for us, she hasn't been crying or restless and that gives me peace of mind.

So, being here about a week and a half has been quite the experience. It's really hard to go out in the streets and not understand a single thing anybody says, or being unable to read any of the signs but we'll get there. There's free Korean classes on base so I'll probably take those. The subway system is huge, the shopping is incredible... Seriously, there is A BLOCK for just purses. Unfortunately my chunky ass doesn't fit Korean standards for clothing (and my shoe size is really hard to find as well), but there's a few things here and there that fit. I guess I'll either lose weight or just buy accessories, or I can just not buy anything and save money which was the plan originally. We'll see, I think I can manage to splurge on a few things since a lot of stuff is way more affordable than anywhere else I've been.

National Museum Of Korea

I've met some people too, they are Navy wives that had offered to show me around and take me places while the husband works and it's been great that they made me feel so welcome. I like them. Unfortunately their tours are up, two of them in December and one of them in April, but it's nice to be meeting people, maybe they'll introduce me to some other people who are staying here longer. They do a lot for the community and for the Korean orphans, and I can't wait to see how it all works out.

Myeong Dong Area

And that's pretty much it, I'll dig deeper in every topic whenever I'm comfortable. I'm still jet lagged after a week and half and I'm pretty much ALWAYS tired. Anyway, thank you for reading!

Love,

Zayda

Away for a little bit.

September 10

Hi there! Today is moving out day. The Navy Movers are here packing my house (or what we have left) and I'm sitting on the floor with Chelsea by my side.
The move is going smoothly so far, but I'll write more about that later. After everything is gone from the house, we still have to run a million errands and then head out to Miami.

I'm going to Colombia to see my family sometime this week and I don't even have a ticket yet. I am kinda bummed that my husband already has his ticket to Seoul and I don't and I'm really hoping that we can go together, 'cause around 20 hours on planes by yourself must be insane.

Anyway, this post is to let you know that I might be away from the blog for a while. I have some posts in mind but I have no idea where or when I might have Internet access, let alone have my photos, so I'll just roll with it and post whenever I can from wherever I can.
Thank you for reading!
Love, Zayda

A very emotional post.

Before reading this I must warn you, if you don't like dogs, don't care for them or think "a dog is just a dog" you should stop reading right now. Don't say I didn't warn you.

 

So... I've been dealing with this for about a week now and it's time I let it out. Last week my husband gave me the news that we are not allowed to bring our dog, Chelsea, to Seoul with us. If you know me, you know Chelsea is my life. She is my baby, she is my friend, my family and my companionship. We have that bond that only someone who has really loved a dog knows about. 

 

I am upset, I am angry and I feel completely powerless. For the past few days I have been just sitting on my ass feeling like shit, hugging her, playing with her, cuddling with her and trying to squeeze as much time as I have left with her in my life. I know it sounds dramatic but I wasn't planning on leaving her behind and starting my life in Seoul without her.

 

 The reason why Chelsea can't come is because of the place we were assigned to be our home on base. Pets are not allowed in that specific apartment complex. (Which is also a bummer that we don't even get to house-hunt or choose where we will be living.) I don't know the reasons why, but I think it's completely unfair. They have got people moving halfway across the world for this job, and they wont let them bring what makes them feel most a home. A pet is part of the family, and I have read plenty of stories of people moving to Seoul and bringing their pets with them but unfortunately, we are not some of those people.

 

I haven't given up hope yet, I'm still looking for people to talk to about it and see if there is anything at all that we can do. After all, it's the least I can do for my little one.

That said, I am lucky I do not have to give her away. She is staying in Colombia with my mother in law, who is a huge dog lover. 

I have seen her take care of her dogs all these years and I am blessed to have someone like her to take care of my little Chelsea. She's going to keep her until we figure this out, maybe request housing somewhere else and then they can ship her to us, or I can bring her back with me when I go home on vacation. I am just really grateful to know that, be it 6 months, a year or the whole 3 years, I will still get to see her again and she will be back with us.

This makes me feel a lot better. I can't help but think about Karen, who had to give away her two dobermans before leaving, or that one time when I went to a garage sale with my friend Kerbie, and this family was moving to Japan and they could only take two pets so they were trying to find a home for their beagle. I am just so happy that we are not going through that situation, and that she has so many people that stepped up and offered to care for her while we are gone. I don't think I could handle just giving her away and not ever seeing her again. So knowing that I will be able to see her, know how she is doing and live with the hope of having her by my side again, gives me a lot of peace.

 

Yes, I can see the bright side, but I am still devastated. I am so not ready to go through that again (saying goodbye to my dog back in Colombia who lives with my mom was horrible.) I am not ready to not have her furry little body at my feet, following me everywhere. I am not ready to go to bed without having her digging on my side or balling up on top of my head. She has been by my side ever since that October day when we brought her home.

Truth is, this changes a lot. My level of excitement about moving to South Korea decreased considerably after hearing these news. My husband has been really supportive about this, he's very sad too and he is also trying his best to find something we can do about it. I just had planned it in my head and she was in every step of the way. But this is not over yet, it's not over until I am on that plane to Seoul, and still then it wont be over because I'm going to try and bring her with us as soon as possible.

 

 Thank you for reading, and for those who understand and know what I'm going through, thanks for the support.

Love, 

Zayda

Busy, busy, busy, busy.

Man, moving overseas sure takes a lot of work.

I was worried about not having a job these days, but ending it sooner might have been the best thing that could have happened. There are so many things that need to be done. Yesterday I spent the whole day on base getting shots, making doctor's appointments and getting some overseas training. I also had to go and take passport photos (which came out hideous and I am not showing them here), buy money orders, go to the post office and somehow manage to squeeze a workout in between that crazy day.

Being at work, I would have never been able to do all this, and waiting until the two weeks were up, was going to slow down the whole process of moving, so I am really happy I decided to end it sooner. Besides everything that needs to be done on base, I still have a lot to do at home. I have been getting all the stuff that it's going to go to Goodwill and to the Humane Society ready, but there's still a lot that I need to go through and since we don't know yet how much stuff we're allowed to take with us, I am still not able to sort what's going, what's staying in storage and what I'm giving away. 

It is kinda stressful not to know, but I am doing my best just to have everything organized to make it easier when the time to sort stuff out is here.

While at the gym, my friend Cheyenne told me her birthday is coming up and her husband is getting her a puppy (best.present.ever.), but he works a lot so she asked me if I could come with her to check the puppies out. I was excited, I love puppies so much and these were SO freaking cute!.

This was a really nice way of spending my Friday afternoon, since I don't have a lot of not-moving-related stuff to do. So, here are some cute puppy pictures :)

 

Love,

Zayda

Officially unemployed.

Today, was my last day at my job. 

I had been working at a daycare center for a year now. I loved my job for the most part, I adored my children and was very happy to work Monday through Friday, instead of never having a weekend off like it was in my previous job. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but it was a great experience. 

My Classroom

Last Friday, I put in my two weeks notice because of the move, and to be completely honest, I am so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done, that even though I was sad to leave, I couldn't wait for those two weeks to be over. I still needed the money so I was determined to stay 'til my two weeks were up. Turns out, I needed some extra training to be able to work after my one year mark (tomorrow), and I completely forgot about it and didn't do it, so my boss told me I couldn't go to work tomorrow. I decided it wasn't worth spending the money in more training right now, to work for just another week so today ended up being my last day.

I still volunteered to go on Friday to the kids' end of Summer party, I want to say goodbye to them.

I'm really going to miss my children. They gave me some headaches, but they also made me laugh all the time, and most of all, they made me feel young and were my excuse to keep buying art supplies and Hello Kitty crap. I just love them to death and it breaks my heart to leave them, but each one of them will always hold a piece of my heart.

I feel really weird and out of place right now. I have been working non-stop for a year and a half now and suddenly it stops. It's just hard to think that I will wake up tomorrow morning and there won't be a place where I HAVE to be. The fact that I am now unproductive and not making any money is driving me crazy. I hope I can find a good job in Seoul, because I really like having my own money, and I'm sorta used to it by now.

I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings. It does feel kinda good going to bed without setting up an alarm that will get me out of my lovely dreams at the crack of dawn. 

Love,

Zayda

A kind gesture.

Lately, I've been going quite regularly to the Base Gym here in Kingsland. I've been trying to work out and lead a healthier life and I'm slowly getting used to it. The staff there is great, they're always nice and really helpful. On Saturday, I was returning my towel and I must have looked tired or overwhelmed, because one of the ladies that work there asked me if everything was ok. We got to talking and I told her about our move to Seoul, and her eyes lit up and she said "You're going to love it there!". 

As it turns out, she lived there about two years before I was even born, and she absolutely loved it there. It sounds a bit silly but I got excited because she is the first person I've met who actually lived there before, even if it was a long time ago. She said "I'll bring you my photo album tomorrow", and so she did.

She had one of those huge albums, just like my mom has of me from when I was a baby, with all of these amazing photos, and they were just breathtaking. You know film doesn't lie. There was no Photoshop for those incredible sunset colors and beautiful landscapes that I saw. She showed me photos of the house she lived in, the bars and restaurants she went to, she even had photos of a traditional Korean wedding she was invited to. I was just so grateful for her to take the time to bring this bulky, humongous book to work just because of me, I couldn't hide my excitement.

She also kept some of the money and labels from the beer she used to drink and the things she used to eat. She told me about her job there and how she didn't have a car and went everywhere on her bicycle. She showed me how toilets for women were back then, I didn't like those. I just loved hearing all her stories and how she got used to such a different place.

When she was done showing me the photos, she went back to the page in which she had the money and just took the bills out and handed them to me. I told her I couldn't take it, not because of the amount of money that it was because, honestly, I had no idea how much money was there, or even if they are using the same bills today as they did 27 years ago. I couldn't take it because it was hers, it was part of her memories from when she experienced this and I just couldn't take it away from her. She said: "Don't be silly, I haven't opened this book in 20 years, it's like $2.50, I want you to have it and go buy yourself a beer when you get there." 

My smile was huge because I just found it so nice for her to do that. This woman barely even knows me and here she is, in her own way, trying to make my transition easier. She has no idea how that gesture, meant the world to me today.

So, thank you, Karen. I don't drink beer, but I will have one for you when I get there.

Love,

Zayda

A new beginning.

Hi there. Remember me? Yes, I am the same girl that hasn't posted anything on her blog for three months. Well, I'm back. I know my posts are usually more images and less words, and I'm sure it will always be that way, but today I have a lot to say.

I have never been one to share my life on my blog, for some reason I am not comfortable doing so, but a week ago I received some news that are making me change my point of view about all this. If you are reading this, you probably know me already, but if for some weird cosmic reason you landed on my blog without having any idea of who I am, here's a little update on what's going on: 

I'm 25, I've been married for five years to the most amazing man, (yes, all wives say that, but I am right and they are wrong.) I am from Colombia and moved to the US three years ago. My husband is in the Navy and currently, we live in Kingsland, a small town in Southern Georgia, really close to Jacksonville, FL. We recently got orders to move to Seoul, South Korea and we will be living there in less than two months. 

Source: Google Images

Seeing how this is a huge change for us, I've decided to try my best and document it on this blog. First I thought about creating a new blog for that, and keeping this one for my photography, then I thought about doing that other blog in both English AND Spanish so my family could keep up with it, then I came to my senses and realized that doing that would be way too ambitious and I should just stick to one blog, this one. I can't promise steady posts, but I do want to try my best to keep it as updated as I can, I want to do it for me, for my family, for my children (when I have them) so they can see how this journey was for us, and for people who someday might be in the same situation and can learn from our experience with the move, adapting to a completely new culture and the adventure that this is for us.

The journey starts today and I couldn't be more excited. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for reading this and I will truly appreciate every comment, tip and every piece of advice that anyone can share with me.

Love,

Zayda