Travelling back to my Second Home

I was there a whole month. And everyday felt like the happiest day in my life.

As planned I travelled back to Korea last July to stay there for almost a month. The first step out of the airplane felt very familiar. My heart used to beat like crazy after landing, but by now I had gotten used to arriving in Seoul after a long exhausting flight. As if it had become a routine.

This time though, I had to go through the same immigration as other foreigners. When I was living in Korea I was able to stand in line with the Korean citizens, which attracted a lot of curious glances. But even if my status wasn’t the same anymore I was simply happy to be back.

My suitcase arrived last on the delivery belt. Because of spending a lot of time waiting around, I arrived pretty exhausted at my friend’s house. Sadly she had fallen sick, and I ended up having dinner with friends from a group chat. One familiar face and two new ones. Funnily enough, I always have the same food on my first day in Korea: chicken. Not because I choose to do so. It simply happens to be that way.

From the first moment on everything felt natural. As If I hadn’t been gone for almost a whole year. And luckily my Korean skills didn’t seem to have dropped. As usual I had conversations in Korean with my friends and started thinking in different languages again.

Every time I saw an old friend I was beaming from happiness. And I realised just how grateful I was for my social network in Korea. At the same time I could feel how close I had become to some people. Close enough to talk about anything and feel safe around them.

I am very grateful for everything. I didn’t want the time to pass. A month felt too short. Of course, it was tiring to meet different people every single day. But I had to admit once more to myself how much I have the need to be around people.

I can’t really explain why I feel so much at home in Seoul. So much, that sometimes I even forget that I myself am not Korean and don’t react when someone says something in English.

I can’t really explain it – but I know that I belong here. Maybe you can relate?