I am in Jeju Island, South Korea now. I arrived late last night. For the next two weeks, I am staying as an artist-in-residence at (salt), a hotel and artist/community space. It's very nice, and I am typing on my Pomera looking out to the ocean...

There is peaceful samba (?) music playing in the background, which feels nice for writing on Pomera. I am about to meet Yoojin for coffee. She suggested I check out the roof in the morning with the sun, which I have yet to do but am excited about.

When I arrived last night, I read over the rules of the residency, which is called "layover." It's a beautiful frame, the layover, between flights... or between two trips in life, or whatever. You can't do everything in a layover, but you can at least enjoy relaxing, reading, working, or something... before it's time to board the next flight.

During my coffee chat with Yoojin earlier today, we discussed city and country (or, "not city") life. She has been on Jeju Island now for six years, working on the project that is Salt, this hotel/residency, but before she lived in various cities around the world. In reflecting to me, she shared how nice it is to not have to hustle and work intensely like people in Seoul. But at the same time, sometimes it can get rather sleepy and quiet in Jeju.

Is there any happy in-between, or will we always be taking trips to balance? City people to the island, and island people to the city? We agreed it often feels like there is no perfect in-between, no singular place that has an ideal balance, at least for us. Maybe it's about finding a home base that feels aligned with our overall sense of being, and then taking trips every once in a while to balance out.

This reminds me of the themes explored in "Peak Season," a film released recently I watched at home. It's about a newly engaged couple who visits beautiful and scenic Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on a vacation. The guy ends up getting pulled into all these remote meetings for work while on vacation, while meanwhile, the girl, who recently quit her corporate job and is on somewhat of a layover in life herself, goes off and learns how to fly fish and enjoys hiking with a local guide. At the end, there is a real question of whether the girl wants to stay (in some sense) in Wyoming, or if she should return to the certainty of her life in the city with her forthcoming marriage.

I think the film has a lot to do with the fantasy we all experience while on trips -- that is, what if this were permanent? What if I wasn't just visiting, but I actually lived here?

It might be healthier to realize you like trips versus you like that particular place, which is what I imagine the main character from "Peak Season" realized, too.

But at the same time, home bases and their particularities can truly affect us, and sometimes a change of home is helpful.

In that case, I like the idea of having an ongoing relationship with a place. If I enjoy a place so much that I am considering moving there, it could be nice to simply try out living there for a more extended period of time before going all the way, or by continuing to return to that place for vacation rather than seeking out somewhere new each time. Also, "going all the way" doesn't have to be permanent either. Nothing in life is permanent, so maybe we only know in hindsight why certain things lasted longer than others, anyway.

It has been just a day, but so far I am feeling grateful to be on layover in Jeju. Today I saw the volcanic rock in the sunshine, felt the wind from the rooftop, grocery shopped at a mini market, and drove my first car in a foreign country.