Sabbatical Day 238 (1.1.17) - New Year

For some reason 2017 doesn't seem as monumental to me as other new years. I think in the past I was much more resolved to make certain changes but right now, I'm currently in the middle of the biggest change for me yet.

So, I actually don't have resolutions. I just want to continue living each day in the manner that I've been - which is doing what I want to do and being open and accepting to new things.

Our celebration was also very different than it has been in the past several years. For the past 10 I think I've celebrated at home with our Cupertino friends. And this is the only year we weren't able to do that....our celebration wasn't bad at all-it was a lot of fun...but just different.

Sabbatical Day 231 (12.25.16) - Christmas in Korea

This is our first Christmas in Korea and I'm trying to decide if I like it or not. I know that I'm definitely not used to it. It's not a crazy holiday where people are fighting each other over parking spaces and items at the store. (The shops are always just crowded in Korea as it is!) It fell on a Sunday this year and Sundays always seem to be quiet in Seoul.

The weird thing is, while Korea is very festive and they put lights up everywhere along with decorations, there isn't that same Christmas feeling. In the US I feel like people are just in a better mood around Christmas-time because they eat a lot, get to see their families, and get gifts.

Regardless, it's just a surreal experience because I'm used to seeing family on the holiday and ramping up to it. But this year, it's just me and James. He is my family now so I am seeing him!

Sabbatical Day 230 (12.24.16) - Yoga teacher training complete!

Wow, I can't believe the day has finally come! When James and I started our yoga training in August, we thought Christmas Eve was so far away. Now here we are and we just finished our class. It feels surreal. Towards the tail end, I found myself wishing that the class didn't have to end and I wanted it to continue.

We learned a lot of valuable information and I need to take the time to put my notes in order and thoughts down on paper.

While this was a teacher training course, I don't feel ready to teach yoga. This is because I don't want to teach the physical asanas and do not feel that I'm yet in the condition to do so. I want to spread the yoga that we learned and in order to do that, I need to do some major reflection.

Top 3 things from our class that I'd like to remind myself of:

1) The yoga that we know is not fully yoga - the physical poses or asanas are only one of the eight limbs of yoga
2) Don't beat yourself up because you can't get into that perfect pose. They take practice and every day I know I get stronger and more flexible
3) Yoga is a way for me to learn to control my energy. Everything is energy and I don't want to exert my energy on unnecessary things

Sabbatical Day 200 (11.24.16) - Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving abroad was hectic. I coincidentally had a test in my Korean class on the day of and felt completely dejected afterwards. Luckily, we had two parties to attend and I headed shortly after to our friend's house on base. I really felt like I was back at home because it was in an actual house, there was vegetarian food, and there was a TON of food. The next stop was James' boss' house who also had access to the base commissary. There was even more food and tons of dessert. So because of all the festivities, I didn't really miss being home for Thanksgiving.

Sabbatical Day 195 (11.19.16) - Pay It Forward...I hope

Tonight we went to a club in Itaewon. It's been a long time since I went dancing and it was so much fun! It did really make me miss our friends, though. Anyways, we had to take a cab home because the subways stop at midnight. After the cab dropped us off near our house, we saw a caucasian lady and her son walk up to a cab window and show them an address card. Then we saw them walk away from the cab and another person took the cab and it drove away.

I felt so bad for the lady because he son was young and it was past midnight! So we walked over there and offered to help her get a cab. Her husband was actually across the street and they ended up flagging one down, but we were able to offer her some advice on how to deal with cabs in Korea: they are obligated to take you, but you just need to get inside the cab first.

With all the things I read about in the news happening, I find some solace in a FB group that I was invited to called "Pantsuit Nation". There's been some real heartwarming stories of random acts of kindness and I hope that tonight we might have been able to participate in a random act of kindness as well. I know we didn't help too much in the long run for them, but hopefully us offering to assist when they were in distress was enough for that family to want to pay a random act of kindness forward to someone else who may be in need in the future.

Sabbatical Day 189 (11.13.16) - Election Update

So it's been a few days since the election and I have a few observations to make:

1. I need to get educated on Donald Trump's policies - What were his original ideas regarding immigration, Muslims, foreign policy and Obamacare, among others?

2. There are acts of racism happening in the US which is really crazy - I keep seeing posts on FB and this Pantsuit Nation FB group that I was invited to about acts of both love and racism. People being told to go back to some country, swastikas being painted on buildings, the KKK marching in full hood? WTF?

3. I realized that I don't believe in the protests that are going on in the US - What I've learned through yoga is that everything is energy. If your energy is being diverted towards protesting, it could be used more efficiently towards an organization that you are aligned with or towards working directly with your community. What is a protest actually going to? Maybe this also includes my fear of crowds given Korea has had its own fair share of protests lately. (Side note, there was a protest of 200,000 people in Gwanghwamun yesterday to protest the South Korean president.)

Sabbatical Day 185 (11.9.16) - A day full of emotions

Every Wednesday I spend 1 hour practicing my asanas and meditating. Today was no different and I started the morning feeling great! And then I started to watch the election coverage. I couldn't stop watching but at about noon I already knew what the result would be. I had to choke back tears but I tried to keep my faith and have hope.

I went to the jjimjilbang to meet my friend as planned and tried to keep my spirits up. But as I walked to the meet my friend, I tried to figure out why I was so upset. What was it that was making me emotional? 

My friend asked me why I was so scared and so sad and I told her that I am afraid of what the future will bring. What I've seen from the campaign is people acting upon fear. Wanting to stop immigration and bring the country "back" to its greatness. Wanting to divide our country and say that people who are living there are not Americans. I'm afraid of where my place and my future children's places will be in that America. I remembered flashbacks of my childhood where I was told to go back to China. Where people still look at me in shock when I speak English without an accent. Where I've been asked "Where are you from?" Despite all this, America and being American is all I know. But from these election results, I realize that these incidents that I've experienced are not just outliers.

California is a bubble and a great bubble, but seeing all the racist acts happen across the country makes me think that the rest of the country doesn't think like we do. My bubble has been burst and I feel devastated.

However, when I tried to explain this to James, he made me think about what is the worst thing that can happen. I told him I was afraid that Donald Trump might take the US troops out of South Korea, that he might put people in internment camps, that he might start WW3. Well, after blurting all that out, I realized that I am saying all this in fear too and I'm just like people who may have voted for Trump in their fear. I cannot let fear dictate my emotions and worry. The best thing I can do is try to help - educate people in compassion, volunteer my time. Although saying all this, I wish I was back in the US in order to do so. What can I do from Korea?