The end comes for all of us. The last day that final moment when we look back on our time in Pusan and say goodbye to the people and places that have been so much a part of our recent experience.
No doubt, you have heard countless accounts of fellow expatriates getting ready to leave, actually leaving, and some planning a return. Perhaps you have even read those stories in this publication. Maybe, you have wondered what it will be like when our time is up, too. Well, take a number, it is my turn.
Undoubtedly, there are several essential elements that make up the complete process of being here. I have found three. First, love. It is the single most important prerequisite for being here. You are either running away from it (which is what brought you here in the first place); or else, you came here to find it. Maybe, it is a combination of the two, I do not know. In either case, something mystical happens when you step off of the plane and begin to live here. Korea is your great romance.
Second comes pain. I think it is related to love. An inordinate amount of alienation and disenfranchisement occurs in the name of love. Now is the time of your big test, the time of trial. Can you cope with the throngs of mad crowds in Seoul or Pusan? Can you make sense of a language that is not logically or naturally yours? Can you endure the struggle of going without the many necessities you used to know? These are and more are the personal crisis that we all face.
Third is the resolution. As with any process comes the chance to resolve all conflicts and positively work toward the peaceful end. This means you will not be allowed to continue holding grudges. Perhaps, your employers tried to cheat you of money. Maybe, relatives back home are still angry with you for coming here. Whatever your difficulties were here, you must eventually resolve them. Perhaps, it is just a matter of looking into the mirror and saying, "yes, OK, all right, I forgive you." Perhaps, something more is involved. Whatever it is, we all must find it, and accomplish it.
However things turn out, as we climb aboard that final flight, we thank God it is all over. I maybe here again in September to do it all over again.