Status Quo

Hi, all. I'm Wendy. Let me tell you about my status quo.

I have been SO tense regarding all the hostility and threats of war from the north. Sunday, when the U.S. and SK began their big drill in the Yellow Sea, I couldn't imagine sticking around to see the outcome. I packed my baby blue three-piece luggage set until their square sides had love handles, and I researched the shortest flight out of Busan.

Then I sat around and waited painfully for a good enough reason to follow my fear to the airport.

Nothing happened.

Lots of talk happened. But nothing to allow me to run without regret for my haste.
I've been talking to everyone about the war; foreigners and locals, ages 11 to 65. And I'm the ONLY person who seems genuinely scared. I mean, a few people in the mix thought all-out war MIGHT be possible, but that even in that scenario, my city would be untouched.

I'm not convinced. I keep comparing the attitude here to that of cajuns when a hurricane is headed in. It's an excuse to throw a party, right? And sure- a lot of times that works out fine. Great memories are made and you get pictures of Cousin Benny that you can blackmail him with in a few years. But then, every once in a while, you get Katrina. Or Rita. Or Gustav. And then, you're not in the party mood.

Meanwhile, we recently agreed to stay here for a second year, though we still have 4 months left on this contract. We were certainly looking forward to that- and to the new apartments we'd receive. However, the increased tensions between North and South Korea may very well be just a part of the ebb and flow here, but I'm not from here, and I don't think I will ever get used to it.

I remember as a kid how funny it was to catch an out-of-towner's reaction whenever our nuclear plant ran it's monthly test on the emergency siren. We learned to tune it out. We certainly didn't associate the sound with any thoughts of melt-downs or mass death. How could we live there if we thought like that?

I wish now that that I could find a website where you can enter a scenario and calculate its probability. I would enter 'nuclear plant explosion' and 'North/South Korea explosion'. I wonder.

Anyway, in light of my changed level of comfort and, therefore, desire to stick around much longer, I thought i should talk to my boss and reverse our previous decision.
I asked her to come into my room for a private conversation, and I said, "Do you know what a hurricane party is?" and continued to explain my strange reaction to the goings-on.

Now, Koreans are quick to smile and giggle. And my boss does find me particularly amusing and witty, so I make her laugh often. But I have never seen her laugh this hard. She had to compose herself after.
She tried explaining to me that the threat isn't real, and it's all just a political play. I'm hearing it a lot. But I'm not buying into it easily.
She and I will meet Sunday to discuss it all.

I doubt Kevin will join us. He's had it up to here (and he's pretty tall) with hearing me try to convince people they should be at least a little alarmed, too. And let me tell you, I HATE feeling like a weirdo or a wuss because I am wary of the situation. I hate it.
But at the same time, no one is really making fun of me or being cruel. (My boss even apologized for her laughter) In fact, everyone is trying to comfort me and make me feel at ease.

I suppose it's working a little... a tiny, tiny bit. This much * .

Anyway, later, when I entered my boss' room for my session with her class, all the students screamed in unison, "DON'T BE SCARED, WENDY TEACHER!!!"
Which was cute.
Then several continued with their own 'comforting' phrases, some of which went astray:
"We will all die TOGETHER!"
and
"Don't worry! I will hold your hand if BOMB!"

Ah, sweet people. Sweet, sweet people.
I will miss them.