한국-50 Weeks Later

Every so often, it hits me that not only am I not in Korea, but it's been close to a year since I left.  While I was living there, I sometimes felt like I would NEVER be finished in Korea.  Now it seems so long ago since I lived there, it's like it didn't even happen.  And, as time marches on, I am finding that I actually MISS a lot about Korea.  I don't think I would ever want to live there again, a year was enough for me, but I certainly have a lot of fond feelings for that kimchi filled country.  Of course, what I miss most are all of the incredible friends I made there.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of all of them and the wonderful times we had.  Surprisingly enough, I miss a lot of other things too, things like:

My rice paddy.  I hated living at the far end of this rice paddy because as you can see it's quite a small area and it took ages to get into civilization.  However, I spent many countless hours exercising through here, walking around snapping pictures of wildflowers and birds and frogs, and getting away from the craziness of Korean day-to-day life.  I probably miss this the most, this place saved my sanity sometimes.

The Wednesday Night Market in my neighborhood.  Once I got over being intimidated by this, I began to pick up all of my fresh fruits and veggies here.  In the summer, the watermelons were almost too big to carry and much sweeter than any watermelon I ever had before.  The citrus fruits, garlic, and apples were to die for.  And oh so cheap!

Haeundae Beach in Busan.  A great place to go with friends and a few drinks.  

This Asian temple thing.  I don't know what this actually is (I think it might have been some sort of office) but I loved it.  It was at the north edge of the rice paddy and sometimes when I would walk past it I would think 'HOLY CRAP I SERIOUSLY LIVE IN ASIA!'  It was really cool to see stuff like this on a daily basis.

The kimbap shop across the street.  I love this place hardcore.  The food was always amazing and so cheap.   I took the prices for granted when I lived there.  I get bibimbap for lunch once a week and it's $8 here in Australia, but less than $4 in Korea.  I've seen kimbap here for $7.  I couldn't believe the price either.  But the best thing about this place were the lovely owners.  They didn't speak English and my Korean was super limited, but they were so kind and whenever I would come into the shop, all 3 of us would have smiles on our faces.

Jjimdalk.  If you asked me, anytime, if I could have anything in the world to eat, what would it be?  The answer would be jjimdalk without a doubt.  I've scoured the world looking for this delicious steaming plate of chicken, rice noodles, potatoes, dokk and assorted other tidbits, and I have come up empty every time (if you know of a place in Australia or the US that has this on the menu, PLEASE let me know!)

Korean ice cream.  To be fair, I can get this in a lot of Korean shops here in Sydney, but it's way more expensive.  I would have an ice cream everyday when I got home from school.  

The Naughty Cat.  This store had the cutest costume jewelry in the world.  I'd spend like 10,000 won a week there and have different earrings for each day of the week.  And a week later when they broke, you could afford to buy an all new, different set for the next week.

Korean Costco.  I'm not sure why I am putting this on the list because a visit to Costco would usually give me high blood pressure for the next week.  I do have some fond memories of it, especially when my friend and I would go during the week and have pizza in the food court and buy snacks.

Gonee Cafe.  This little place opened up in March of 2010 and was the only place in Daegu where you could get taro bubble tea.  We were SO excited to find it and we would go at least once a week to get some, to the point where the adorable owner of the place wouldn't even have to ask us what we wanted, he would just confirm our order.  

Cherry blossom season.  They were everywhere you looked and it never got old.

Galbi night...and the free corn that came with it.  One time we actually upset the waiters because we asked for so much corn.

Honey makkeoli.  The most delicious alcoholic beverage on earth.  Fermented rice wine with a generous serving of honey mixed in.  Plus, for $5 you could be drunk all night long.

Downtown Daegu.  The lights, the sounds, the near deafening K-pop blasting from every store, the people, the pushing, the dancing shop girls, the motorbikes, the traffic, the smells, the maze of streets, the endless coffee shops and hofs...it was never a dull moment.

My students.  Well, the good ones anyway, which these kids are.  I made some real connections with some of my students, despite the language barrier.  I have no idea if I actually taught them anything, but they taught me a lot about myself and about their culture.  I often wonder how some of them are doing...

An Idiot's Tale.  This was my favorite blog of all time, written by a yankee nom who called himself Mr. Wonderful.  His blog 'celebrated the mundane' and he talked about his family-his wife, The Dragon Lady, and his sons The Children of the Rice.  Everyday would be almost the exact same-he woke up at 6 am and didn't dream that night, he went to the bathroom while reading the newspaper, he smoked his cigarettes and had coffee, he drove his Santa Fe to school, he taught the bad girls who smoked cigarettes in the hallway, and then he would spend his afternoons at he PC Bang writing his blog and drinking 10 cent cups of coffee.  On weekends he would get skunked on 'toad juice', aka soju, or perhaps some Cass or Hite.  Sadly, he closed down his blog, but the memories live on forever in our hearts.  And Blian Golden Balls to all of you.