My contract at LBridge ends in just over two weeks. There are ways in which I'm looking forward to moving on from some of the more frustrating aspects of my job, but the truth of the matter is that I'm very much not looking forward to leaving Korea. I've been in Korea for almost two years, and I've never once felt homesick for my home country. I have felt homesick for some certain geographical or meteorological things: a California fog or a Minnesota blizzard or Lake Superior or the Chicago skyline. I have felt homesick for friends and family, sometimes. But my country, despite the election of Obama with is mandate for "change," seems downright nuts.
Perhaps I spend too much time viewing my home country through the lens of Jon Stewart: this recent episode underscores so many of the aspects of life in America that seem truly messed up. I particularly enjoyed (maybe in an embarrassing schadenfreude way) the following exchange:
"I want my America back!" — Crazy lady in a townhall meeting about healthcare
"She wants her America back? Go tell that to the Indians." — Larry Wilmore
I know for absolute certainty that South Korea is no less messed up, in its own special ways… but living here as an alien, I don't have to worry about it so much. I don't have to feel responsible. I can look around and say, "Very interesting. I'm sure glad this isn't my country."
Oh dear, oh dear… have I become (resumed being? never gave up being?) one of those America-hating liberals? I feel like a caricature.
Regardless, I'm kind of dreading my return to America. Are things as bad there as my limited view seems to indicate? Is there really that much acrimony, anger, and division? Is the economy really that bad? Have I been living in a fortuitous bubble?