As coincidence was around the corner they were looking for a volunteer for six months! The advertisement for this job was put on a forum at their website end of March. I applied somewhere end of May (probably nobody's was interested) and a new step in life is made. As I know breath meditation and yoga are really powerful (www.unlimitedhealth.nl), I really going to experience a deeper meaning of existence. The environment is really natural. The whole package includes forest, sea, hills and caves. I've heard it’s a protected nature Area where cars and western chaotic is not prohibited. Except high speed internet connection off course! :)
Finally after this week I met a lot of wonderful people which gave me a great time that I will never forget. Adoptees share something special and we feel connected to each other. We all have the same issues in the country where we grew up (one more than another). The fine thing about Adoptees is that we don’t have to explain our background or appearance.
Looking back at it now makes me (even more) wonder how Koreans think of Adoptees. Why do they offer these amazing trips full covered without anything for it in return? Is it because they feel guilty of putting so many children for adoption? Does the government earn so much money to Adoption that they want to get even in this way? Maybe because of the Confucius background, that family is still really important and wants to help us to get known of Korea more in this way? Do they want to get back all of the high educated youngsters and boost their economy even more? Are Adoptees a bridge to the east and western culture and is it our job to reveal this understanding?
It all still remains a big question which hopefully we will find out in the near future, but most important is that Korea can be seen as a special country with a spiritual background. Only the flag itself is a mysterious puzzle for most of us. And if we look at the history, north and south tells us a lot about balance in life. Let’s pray that they will be reunited one day!
My mother looks great (for her age) and I still wonder how she is so clear minded at that age (76). She is still having this good right one (slaps me if I don’t understand, and that’s a lot) and can yell like a Pansori (opera) singer. The first night I just slept at her place and at bedtime the rainforest was cut a 1000 square meter in decibel of snoring. I didn’t sleep much (or at all) and in the morning we had breakfast @ immo’s (auntie). She lives only 50 meters away. The funny thing is that I saw my nephew again. He is 8 years old now and knows a tiny bit of English. He’s like tiny terror and I saw Immo hit him with a stick because he doesn’t listen too much (familiar image ;)). Immo lives in a big apartment (120 sq mtrs) with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and air-conditioning in every room. They just live with the 2 of them. The father of my nephew is working somewhere in the South so he never comes there. My uncle died last year of cancer and the big house is as good as empty. Because I complained about my mother’s construction noise, they agreed that I could sleep over at Immo which was a lot better for my night rest. What did I do there? I ate lot… and ate even more till I looked like an oempa loempa. Besides eating I played a lot of Playstation with Wong ho (nephew). He is cute, we’re having little fart contests and sometimes he tries to tickle my balls or grab my nipples. I didn’t have my laptop with me (in Joey’s house) so besides having simple entertainment I was a bit bored and just Facebooked my way around and try to learn some Korean. But hearing all this talk from my mother and auntie makes me think where to start… (no pictures from family, cause I lost camera... come later)
Now 1 week further I finally arrived at Joey’s apartment. It’s great here! Joey is for a long Holiday in the Netherlands and her husband works from 8:00 till 21:30. Plenty of space, internet, many shops, restaurants, some nice hills, an outdoor fitness area and enough Kimchi to survive the winter. Besides that it’s only one subway stop away from my mother’s. I will stay here untill the IKAA Gathering where I can finish some web projects and chill out. The Gathering is a kind of mega meeting (like 5 days) where a lot of Adoptees (probably over 700) from all over the world will gather and participate to all kind of workshops, seminars, sport events, poker tournament, film festival and much more. This mega event will end 8th of August. I also was invited to join another cultural program where we go for a tour through Korea (like a whole circle) and end up at beautiful Jeju Island. On this program is also a lot of fun and cool stuff like rafting and a lot of sightseeing. But for now I don’t know, because it’s a lot to do all and it starts right after the Gathering.
The main event is off course the Templestay. This will be on the menu around mid August. If I enter this period you will probably see my next story. Hopefully till then and for now, everyone a nice holiday and catch up later!
