Our Adventure in Seoul, South Korea: Good-Bye Seoul, Hello United States!

Eri and Leo wearing the traditional Korean hanbok given to them by as a goodbye gift by our Korean friends.

The Steeves family has left wonderful Seoul, South Korea. We start 2017 in another country: the United States. We are living at Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri, where Geoff will be flying the B-2 again; I will continue contract writing and editing with three wonderful organizations; Eri will continue the first grade and Leo will continue preschool, and making their mom and dad proud.

We have been away for 5 years, living first in Brazil and then in Korea.

There's something about coming 'home,' even though we are returning to a real shit show (I'm paraphrasing The New York Times as well as factual observation). It is particularly poignant after traveling in more than a dozen countries where we were welcomed and respected because we were foreigners there.

We return with a new perspective of our country, one that is formed from being on the outside looking in. We have learned so much about how the United States is viewed by others around the world, and, in particular by its benevolence and its democracy. America has always been great and it's sad to see that compromised. But, this is not meant to be a political statement, but rather a snapshot of our return. And to give you hope. The last two aforementioned countries the Steeves family has lived in have impeached their presidents about two years or so after our arrival. I am looking forward to 2019.

For now, we are adjusting to living in the United States again and that our adventure abroad is over. We were surprised to have two overseas assignments, back to back, no less, and, well, it made us want a third stint abroad. We are thankful and appreciative of these two adventures. We recognize the impact it had on us and that we are better people because of all the experiences we had. And, we did it together.

Eri, 7, has lived nearly all her life abroad. She is fluent in Portuguese and can speak some Korean. She has been to 14 foreign countries. Leo, 3, has lived his entire life abroad. He was born in Brazil and has traveled around all South America and Asia, though he has only been to three U.S. states.

A smart man once told me that life only becomes routine if you let it. I was smart enough to marry him and life has been one new experience after another. He'll make sure our next adventure is just around the corner. I'm ready to go.