Payday comes in about a week and with it the last payment to cover the remaining balance of the last remaining credit card. It has been a long road to debt-free, but truth be told, it wasn't too difficult. All we had to do was remove ourselves from our home country for two years. To say we've lived frugally in Korea is an understatement. However, I cannot say that living any differently would have been more fun. Sami may disagree. She may say that she has been the one to sacrifice, whereas I have been prone to bouts of indulgence. Yes, the NBA Playoff Package has been a blessed joy that has carried me through these last couple of months, while Sami has reduced herself to reading the same used paperbacks over and over.
We came here with over $20,000 in credit card debt, mainly from our memorable wedding performed six weeks prior to our departure. Even though our combined household income is less than half of the amount it was before we left, we have been able to chop that amount down monthly due to decreased expenses. No rent, no gasoline, no car insurance, no cable, no cell phone bill. Okay, scrap that last one. We do have a cell phone and pay the equivalent of about ten bucks a month. It is pink and has a sliding screen. It "wakes" me at 7:45 am each morning with what sounds like porn music, even though I have been getting up an hour earlier with the sun. When it rings, Sami and I run from it, fearing we may be required to use our horrid Korean. It doesn't have a keypad so my texting skills have severely diminished. When we visited the states last August, I attended a friend's wedding and was immediately struck by the cell phone worship performed by my old fraternity brothers. They admired each others and coddled their own the way we used to treat fake IDs. Passing them around like proud parents.
True, this is only one example, but I have grown so accustomed to living minimally, that I know I am going to experience a reverse culture shock when we go back. I can see myself now in tears realizing how many television channels there are, or having a mental breakdown in a bookstore. Right, I know. There aren't any bookstores anymore, just Kindles or whatever.
Speaking of home, Sami and I purchased tickets for our return flight in September today. They were around $1,250. Maybe a little expensive, but I don't mind paying more for a reputable airline like Korean Air. Especially when our employers are reimbursing the cost. Comfort is of the upmost importance when flying long distances, especially since we will be alternating turns cradling a newborn for the duration. At first I was a little skeptical of being "that couple" who brings a baby on board, but have since learned that newborns are a cinch. Their lungs are too weak to really belt out a cry and they sleep all the time anyway (he says while crossing fingers).
Another reason I don't mind using a nicer airline, is that the haunting memory of our last trip still resonates. It was the final leg of our Southeast Asia trip from Bangkok to Palawan in The Philippines (and then from The Philippines back to Korea, but that is a story for later). We took a red-eye flight and, before leaving for the airport, spent our remaining hours in Thailand plowing through our remaining baht. You see, Sami had divided our cash out for each country and, unlike Vietnam, we had a small surplus. Sami quite enjoyed the unusual opportunity to spend freely and ended up snagging a fistful of balled summer dresses at around five bucks each. The only criteria being that they cover her then imagined baby bump.
We waited for our van to the airport outside of a travel agency along a semi-main street. A night noodle stand had set up shop and a large rat roamed the curb, twitching its whiskers and quickly shuffling its fat body with tiny feet. I will never get used to seeing rats. Eventually, the van picked us up and crawled us through a herd of partiers- bar after overflowing bar and white people in overstuffed recliners getting massaged.
We flew Cebu Air. I know everyone complains about lack of leg room on flights, but my balls were on the seat in front of me. Sleep was not happening, not even after an unhealthy dose of melatonin. Cups of water and pillows had to be purchased. All of this wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't so hot and sticky. We had hoped landing would be a relief, but customs in Manilla was the worst we had ever seen. It was four or five in the morning and everyone was cranky. A little girl in a line over from us cried and cried out of exhaustion. We kept hoping someone would let her family cut in line to the front and save us from the nightmarish howl. No one did. Later, while waiting for our connecting flight, we watched the riots in Cairo.
The connecting flight to Puerta Princessa in Palawan was just as bad, but short. We got in early in the morning with nothing in mind but sleep. Our friends who had already checked in the night before had other plans. Let's go out on a day cruise. Screw it. Let's do it.
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