The Turning Gate

Stateside

The first page of the next chapter

Back in the United States, mixed feelings abound. There's quite a lot I'm already missing about South Korea. I miss my friends, some of whom are akin to family. I miss the indie music scene, the concerts and all the photography that went along with them. I miss my fine restaurants, cafes, bars and the other places I used to frequent. I miss my life, because I don't really have a life in the U.S. anymore.

On the other hand, much as I was enjoying myself in Korea, I'd ceased making progress. I love my friends, and leaving them is the hardest part this. But I'm confident that going to photography school is the right thing for me to do now. It's just these weeks in between; I don't know what to do with them, and my lack of activities is bringing me down. But let's focus on the nice things.

I lucked out on the flight over. The plane had been overbooked and I was upgraded to Business Class. On Korean Air, they call it Prestige. My bags were overweight, but as a Prestige passenger, I didn't have to pay any penalties for them. The Prestige seating area was on an upper deck of the plane, away from the Economy Class seats, very peaceful and quiet. My seat was spacious and comfortable; with the press of a button, I could set it to full recline and lay down. I've never managed to sleep at all flying Economy, but slept like a baby this time. I had a massive movie selection, more worthy choices than I could ever have hoped to watch during a 12 hour flight. I was almost sorry to lose time napping with so many great movies to watch. I love movies! Did you know? The food was excellent. They asked how I'd like my steak cooked, and they baked us cookies and served them warm. And, at just over 12 hours, this was my shortest ever flight from Korea to Washington D.C. All of my past flights took a minimum of 15 hours, more when I had layovers. I was astounded at how short a flight it was. Now that I've been spoiled thus, I can't imagine how I'll ever manage to flying Economy again; domestic flights, okay, but trans-continental? How?!

Now in Bath County, Virginia, the weather has been fantastic, pleasant and warm. The skies are clear, the air is clean and it feels really good to be outside. My brother and I went swimming at Goshen Pass the the other day. The river was like bath water. We dove with goggles and chased fish through the rocks and pools, then laid on rocks in the sun for a while.

Last night, I went out with Rebecca, my only friend in Virginia. We had a nice dinner, then lounged out in a field for a couple of hours, talking and looking at the stars. The stars here are incredible. There are so many, the sky isn't a vast expanse, but feels like a domed cathedral ceiling over the landscape. We saw the biggest, brightest, bluest shooting star of our lives directly overhead, and a number of smaller, more distant shooting stars as well. I should figure out how to photograph the night sky properly and post some shots if I can get them.

Here at the house, we have two cats and three dogs. One of the cats, Ani, is ten years old, half blind and spends her days laying around. The other cat and the dogs just follow me around all day. They're sweet, and I had missed them.

Monday, I went to see Batman: The Dark Knight. It's an incredible film; easily the best of the summer, maybe of the year. If you haven't seen it, you do yourself grave offense. Heath Ledger is magnificent as the joker; his death is most definitely tragic, but what a final performance!

Next on my list of films to catch, Wall-E. It just looks too adorable to miss.

My brother has been helping me to upgrade my car stereo. It's a pretty ghetto upgrade and we need to work out some kinks, but it's a much nicer setup than before, and we're doing it on the cheap (hence the ghettoness).

Maybe today - if not, then Friday - I'm going tubing on the Cowpasture River with Rebecca. Should be a good time. I definitely missed the water while I was living in Seoul. The rivers here are some of the best I've ever seen, and I love them. I'm planning to head north to Massachusetts sometime middle of the month, though I haven't set a date yet. When my camera bags finally arrive (I had to mail them), I'll carry my camera around more and hopefully get some photos up here of the relevant nouns: people, places and things having to do with my time and the upcoming journey, a la Zach.

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