The question of the month has to be "what do you miss most about Korea" with "are you happy to be home" an easy second. The answers aren't always simple but here is my best attempt.
The second question is an easy one so I will answer that one first, I am happy to be home. I have really enjoyed reconnecting with friends, reorganizing the house and chasing the dog and cat. It has been nice not to have much to do this summer. We missed all the normal summer camps (most of them happen in June) so we have been just hanging out with friends. It's great to just pick up the phone when I want to talk to my parents and not worry about the time difference. We acquired satellite TV a few days ago and after a full year of limited TV it has been fun catching up with some favorite shows or catching a movie. Plus considering the weather outside is a frightful 100F+ since we returned, it's too hot to spend much time outside
The first is a bit more difficult. There are so many differences in our lifestyle between Austin, Texas USA and Bundang, South Korea that it is hard to narrow it down to missing just one thing. In Austin we live in a suburban area that is still growing and being developed. In Bundang it was a complete urban landscape, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. It would be easy to say that I miss everything, but that answer also seems like a cop-out. I can best describe it as this; when I moved to South Korea I missed a lot of things about my "Austin life" and now that I'm home I basically miss the same things...but about my "Korean life".
Other questions vary but basically I'm surprised at the number of people that have never traveled outside the United States. There are some that find it astonishing that I enjoyed myself and liked the food. I amaze others with statements like "yes, I would have stayed another year" and "I would go back in a heartbeat". No one is surprised that I miss the shoe shopping, and other than my bed I miss my shoes the most. [Yes at the time of this writing, we are still waiting for out stuff to show up from Korea, but that story will have to wait for another post!]
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