December 2020- Moving back to the United States

 

The last day (December 17) in Korea was tough. We had to get rid of our mattress, clean up our tiny apartment, go to the phone company to disconnect our lines, and then wait for my friend Erik to pick us up to go to the airport. Eunhee's sister, mother, and brother-in-law came and they said they would follow Erik to the airport to say goodbye. Unfortunately, Erik was stuck in traffic and he was about an hour late. Thankfully, we left early enough to still make it on time. We said goodbye to Erik and he drove away. Eunhee's sister, mother, brother-in-law, and our nephew came into the airport and waited for us to check-in. Then we said goodbye to them and it felt a bit strange because we knew we wouldn't see them for a very long time since Eunhee would be in the green card process. Then we got in line to get though security before arriving at the immigration desk. For the first time in 17 years, I gave up my alien registration card for good. Bye bye, South Korea....

Since Incheon Airport was fairly quiet, we didn't have any major problems getting to our gate. The weird thing was seeing most of the restaurants closed, and less than 20 people on our way to our gate when we got through immigration. Observing an airport that empty was a little surreal and a bit sad. Once we got on the plane, the plane was HALF full. California was in its peak period for the pandemic, so this worked out really well for us. Eunhee was able to lay down and sleep from Incheon to LAX. I was too energetic, so I watched a few movies. Sadly I can't remember what I watched at the moment. 

When we arrived at LAX, it was a ghost town, but not quite as bad as Incheon Airport. That also worked to our advantage since Eunhee and I were able to stand in the same line in the immigration line (Normally they separate US citizens from non-US citizens as most countries do). Eunhee went ahead of me and talked to the immigration officer. He asked her who I was with and she said "my husband" and he asked where I was and she pointed to me. He then asked me to come over and he asked where we were staying and I told him we were staying with my dad. Apparently, he asked Eunhee the same question and when I confirmed it, we both passed through immigration without any issues. The Lord was right there with us guiding us back to the U.S.! 

Scott Worden

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Happy New Year and Decade from Seoul, South Korea!

Well my friends, 2020 is going to be a huge year. If you're reading this, you'll get rewarded with some huge news. Otherwise, you'll have to wait a couple weeks before I officially announce it to my closest friends. My family already knows the news and some friends that I met on New Year's Eve already know. So....have I kept the suspense going long enough? Well, here it is....The Lord has called my wife and I to move to California by the end of July. Crazy isn't it? I will be just two months short of 17 years in South Korea by the time we leave.

So why in July? Well, our housing contract ends at the end of that month. We considered staying one more year, but my wife would like to get a green card, so the sooner the leave, the better.

What will we do? While living there, my wife will not be able to work until she has lived in America for six months. Then the application process will officially begin once she has lived in the United States for that amount of time. Then she can begin working after six months. I plan to start work in September after traveling a bit in August. I will also keep studying at Gateway Seminary while working. I have to finish 90 credits before I graduate with my Master's in Divinity. By the time we get to California, I will have finished 18 credits so I still have a ways to go, but we're slowing getting there. As far as what kind of job I will do, I'm really concerned about that. I would like to stay in the education field. I used to be a teacher's assistant with autistic kids and I have 16 years of experience in the EFL world. But in California, you generally need a Master's Degree to teach EFL. Maybe I can teach at a Christian private school as a high school teacher, maybe get involved in real estate, or maybe teach online. At this moment, I'm not sure. I am praying and I will also do a lot of applying for anything that can help pay the bills and keep our family surviving. Thankfully, my dad will let us live with him for awhile and we have some savings, so we're not in desperate mode yet. On the other hand, we would love to buy a house, even if it's a small condo.

Will I miss Korea? Absolutely. South Korea is my second home. Here's a list of things that I will miss:

• convenient public transportation
• my church that has Korean people as well as non-Koreans who worship together
• Korean barbecue, Korean fried chicken, and other kinds of Korean food that are reasonably priced
• traveling to areas outside of Seoul that have a lot of nature
• the friendliness of the people that own shops near our home
• my coworkers
• my friends in Korea (Korean and non-Korean alike)
• the mystique of Asia itself
• the ability to travel around Asia easily

Am I excited or scared? Both. South Korea has been comfortable. I haven't had many worries especially financially. That will be my biggest concern. I will also have to balance between working in America and studying while living with my dad for a short period. This means less privacy and trying hard not to wear out our welcome at my dad's home. However, my dad is looking forward to us coming home and so am I. Things that I miss include the laid back lifestyle of Southern California, the food, and my family. This is obviously at the top of my list since I haven't seen my nephews and nieces grow up. 

How about my wife? She is excited. She can't wait to leave. She feels very burned out with church life in South Korea. Busy, busy busy...And she's been to America three times. She keeps researching about the price of homes every day and she keeps talking about leaving. She's ready. 

Please pray for us. We need it! We want to obey the Lord's direction, but we also want to be wise in how we follow His lead. We want to be wise with our finances, while at the same time be independent while we are living in California. Please pray for my wife's visa process to go through and for it to go smoothly. Please also pray that I will get a job that coincides with me studying. On top of that, I want a job that's rewarding, not just a dead-end one. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy