Seoul-ful

The same weekend I went to St. Louis for Mardi Gras, the boyfriend went to Iowa with a friend of his. Mainly to spend some quality time with this friend he only sees a few times a year, but also to, inadvertently, accompany him to a conference. The topic of the conference was mentioned to me briefly, but it flew in one ear and out the other. I was busy fretting over road conditions and whether I should pack a few extra pairs of socks.

Turns out the topic would change the boyfriend's life. Headmasters and recruiters from schools all over the world were there to hire American teachers and counselors for positions abroad. Way abroad. And, lo and behold, the boyfriend's sparkling personality and karmic ability to win every job he interviews for landed him two job offers. One in Seoul, South Korea, and one in Paraguay.

After two weeks of waffling and vacillating and long talks with all those close to him, the boyfriend finally made up his mind. He's leaving for a city outside of Seoul late this summer. He won't return to the United States permanently for two years.

Unlike the boyfriend, it took me all of three days to decide what I thought he should do. Although I'm fairly sure I haven't mentioned it here, the boyfriend is extremely unhappy with his job situation and would do just about anything to remedy it. Including moving as far away from his hometown as is humanly possible. (Coincidentally, Seoul is at nearly the same latitude as Kansas City, just on the other side of the earth.) So, in my mind, it was obvious: go and be happy or stay and be miserable. So, go.

And! Guess what this means? I get to be in an awesome long-distance relationship! (Please note the heavy dose of sarcasm.) And when I say "long," I mean looooooooooooooooooooong. As in, a 15-hour time difference and 24-hour flight away from eachother. As a rational human being, I know that that distance (both physical and emotional) would drive most sane couples apart. As of right now, we're wholly (and certifiably) insane.

I never, ever thought I would end up in a long-distance relationship (LDR). They always seemed ominous, signifying the inevitable end of what was surely doomed to begin with. I mean, it was only a matter of time before the couple moved on, right? Right. I would never succumb to an LDR. That was just bad sense. There was no reason to subject myself to that brand of torture.

Ha. Hahahahaha.

Will it work in our case? Obviously, I can't possibly know for sure. But then again, no one ever know for sure. About anything. All I do know is that we're going to do everything in our power to talk with as much regularity as we can, see eachother as often as possible, and use email for everything in between. Can a relationship be sustained by almost completely digital means? Maybe. Maybe not.

We'll give it our best shot, though.

Not that it will be easy. No, it's like I told him yesterday: We'll be both attached and single, without the perks of either. There will be tests and breaking points and strong forces of will. Hope and cynicism, battles and surrender. But I have complete faith that it's happening the way it's supposed to; my life, his life, our lives. Que sera, sera, eh?