Lately I haven’t written much about life in Korea. We’re doing fine. There really hasn’t been specific to highlight over the past couple weeks, so I decided to focus on other blog topics for a change. My wife has been working for a month now, and my son has finally settled into a new routine where we both leave in the morning for work and the nanny takes care of our son. Lately I’ve been coming home a couple hours late each night because there’s so much to do at work, although I usually arrive about an hour before my wife does. For the past couple of weeks my son has grown much closer to me, and we spend more quality time together. I don’t know whether this is because my wife is now working full time. More likely it’s because he’s growing up fast. Our new nanny is doing well, although we have given her critiques on caring for our son and cooking meals (hiring a nanny affordably while living overseas is a great benefit to expatriate life). My wife and I haven’t had much time for domestic chores, and they’re piling up. Lately, we haven’t been out and about too much on weekends, and we haven’t taken any time off. Now that the weather in Seoul has turned colder, there’s less incentive for us to go out and explore Korea. It hasn’t rained or snowed, but it definitely feels chillier now than it did just two weeks ago, dampening our enthusiasm to brave the elements. The falling leaves are piling up around the yard, but I haven’t had much time to rake them up. For the first time in over two years, I have to hire someone (our nanny’s husband) to do the work.
When we first arrived earlier this year, it seemed that we had more leisure time available than we do now. Now, life seems more cluttered. I think it’s because both my wife and I are now both working and working long hours. The extra work and commute time impinges on our time available to do other things, like spending time with our son or entertaining guests or touring Korea. It will get worse before it gets better. On Saturday I will head to Busan for a week and a half for the APEC Summit. It’s the biggest event in Korea this year and a heckuva lot of work. My family won’t be with me. I will put in a lot of overtime down in Busan, and my wife will be busy holding the fort down at home when she’s not working. Thanksgiving will be upon us before we know it, and we haven’t even had time to put together our Thanksgiving plans. We will probably join the community association’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. Things probably won’t slow again down before Christmas. Perhaps peace and quiet will be the best present we receive this year.
Hi Mike, it’s really good that your son has grown closer to you. Every child needs the love and care of both the father and mother. Sadly, we see many fathers, especially in Asia where the father’s sole responsibilty is to work and bring home the ‘bread & butter’ or ‘rice’ in the Asian context. They leave the upbringing of the children to their wives. Keep up your good work!Angeline