Monday, June 1, 2009

We're Lookin' for a Home


Nissa and I have lived together for a little more than a year now. One amazing year. But at the moment we appear to be without a home of our own. We moved out of our apartment a few days ago and most of our belongings sit in boxes split up between our parents' houses. They've been nice enough (as always) to let us store our furniture and odds and ends in their basements, garages and bedrooms until we come back to the States. Personally, I really hope my couch survives next winter while sitting in the garage. I'm gonna miss that couch.

Ever since we got married, Nissa and I have been fashioning a way of life for ourselves that's unique to our relationship -- probably something every married couple figures out their first few years. Eating routines, sleep schedules, the splitting up of chores. I like to think we've figured out a way to live that suits both of us just fine. Well, we had, at least. Now we find ourselves taken out of that comfort zone and living in other people's homes (or, for the past two nights, hotel rooms). Granted, we are staying with our families, but it's not the same as our home. The beds are different. The sounds outside are different. The smells are even different.

I guess those are pretty minor changes, though, compared to the ones we're about to face in Seoul. In my mind this must be some kind of ultra-conscious adjustment period in anticipation of the big move. Over the past few weeks, I've found myself looking closely at my friends' and family's faces in an effort to somehow imprint their likenesses solidly in my memory. I've been taking pictures, too, just in case. I've been gorging on fatty, American food to the point of near-sickness but always with a sense of savoring. And I've been ripping my favorite movies to my laptop just in case I get that dependably recurring taste for Will Ferrell or Dave Chappelle. I'm sure none of this will prevent the homesickness I'm bound to feel in a few months. I'm just figuring out a way to cope in advance.

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