Leah

Leah
Current mood:inspired

Monday night, a large portion of the women's group to which I belong met at Gwangalli Beach to have a final going away party for Leah. We were joined by just two brave men: Dan and my hapkido master, Il Bong Yoon. Tuesday, conveniently a Korean holiday and a day off work, allowed such a weekday celebration to occur. Leah has been done teaching and in the process of leaving for two months now, but was denied her final paycheck of nearly $4,000 and repeatedly promised that she would get paid, only for various unknown reasons the money never found its way from her school to her bank account. At long last, she was able to accept the fact that she might never see her money; she set the date, bought the ticket, and made her plans. Despite the dismal circumstances of her departure, it was a good night and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, which is always the best you can hope for with a party!

When I woke up, I discovered that Leah had slept on our couch. I thought that was fitting, as this was a regular occurrance the morning after a night out. Leah was almost always out with us and her apartment was so far away and our couch was so comfortable...and she was always a welcomed guest. We ate and walked Leah to the bus station, where we said our goodbyes. Something about it did not seem normal, because we'd said our goodbyes so many times before...months before when she had originally planned to leave, the weekend before when we went out for the last time, Sunday night at the women's meeting, the night before when we went out for the last time, and then right there at the bus station. But this time, as we walked away, we had to remind ourselves that she was actually going. The next time we see her will be in America. Oh yes, we will all see Leah again. We have to!

Leah is one of the first people I met here, and the first person that I care about who is leaving in my over-five-months in Korea. While I didn't get to know her quite as well as other great friends in my life, she's made an impact on my life in a way that few other people have. Her attitude and undying positivity, her sense of adventure, her independence, her courage, her strong sense of self...and she's only 20 years old. She taught me more about how to take adversity in stride and how to keep unfortunate incidents in perspective that anyone else I've ever known. She didn't teach me this by lecturing. She didn't give me books to read. In fact, I'm certain she didn't even know that she was teaching me at all. It's because her method was only teaching by her consistently impressive example.

After saying goodbye, Amy and Robin went to go lay on the roof of Amy's building. Since my stomach was still punishing me for the events of Leah's final goodbye party the night before, I opted to nap in my own room which was conveniently located much closer to a bathroom. After a good night phone call to Jamie in Ohio, I slept for a few hours and then picked up the phone to meet back up with Amy and Robin.

I was still on the phone with Amy when the doorbell rang. I don't usually answer the door unless I'm expecting someone, but I leaned over to see if I recognised the face in the camera at our door. I was miraculously able to speak the words "hold on" just before I dropped the phone and ran to the door. When I opened it, a very tired Leah smiled and collapsed into a hug. The flight was cancelled due to fog. She didn't find out until after she arrived at the airport, having taken the wrong bus and requiring a rather expensive taxi to get to the airport much later than planned.

Once again, I will wake up in the morning to Leah sleeping on my couch. Once again, when faced with anothe heartbreaking setback, Leah was smiling and musing about how it was probably better this way. She could relax this afternoon and try, try again tomorrow.