Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

and the stomach grow hungrier. I've been having some serious cravings for Korean food. I try to console myself with the fact that there is a wide and varied selection of cheese in my fridge which would be impossible to come by in Korea, but at the moment all I want is 비빔밥, 보쌈, 김치 만두, 삼겹살, etc; le sigh. Wow, do I miss having my lunch provided everyday at school. Oh, what wouldn't I give for that magical metal tray! Or, having a feast delivered to my home by an ajeosshi on a scooter for the low, low sum of $4. I also miss being able to eat lunch whilst grocery shopping via all the free samples (yes, I am one of those people).

If only there was some way to make Korea not so far away!

What would Emily Post do?

Oh God. I found myself confronted by the most awkward of situations today and had no idea what the proper protocol was. I was over at a friend's place and she was wearing these new pjs that she had just bought. She kept saying how cute they were, how comfortable they were and how much she loved them. In fact, they were so cute she thought she might wear the top out as an actual top. This was fine, except her boob kept popping in and out of the shirt!!! AWKWARD. 'Aren't these cute?' Nipple. 'Actually, this top doesn't even look like a pajama top.' Nipple. 'It's so cute I might wear it as an actual top, no one would know.' Nipple. She was totally oblivious to the fact that she was flashing me every 30 seconds. I haven't known her very long and I'm generally sort of shy when it comes to that sort of thing, plus she was so into the idea of wearing the top 'out' that I didn't really know how to tell her that I was becoming rather more acquainted with her anatomy than probably either of us would like. I settled for saying as earnestly as I possibly could, 'Please don't wear that shirt out. It's better just to wear it around the house.'... Hopefully she listens!

On the way home, I passed a little girl speaking Korean to her mother. Hearing the familiar words pulled on my heartstrings a little. I was half-tempted to try and make friends with them. We could have reminisced together about missing kimchi, 'service' and Korean autumn.

Falling out of reach...

That pretty much sums up how I've been feeling. When I went to Korea I thought about many things : Would I make a good teacher? Would I learn Korean? Would I like it??? The one thing that I didn't think about was leaving. Turns out, that's the hardest part. Readjusting to life back in the Real World is proving to be difficult. I find myself missing Korea and the life I lived there... and with no one to talk to about it. My friends listen politely, but can't really relate. I suppose that's the reason for starting this blog. I need some outlet for my thoughts, so rather than continuing to weary those around me with my emo musings, I'll post them here.