I’m going home on August 8th. Home is on the horizon.

And yet, I know that once I’m gone, I’ll be missing this crazy place. 3-for-chun won ($0.80) boong-uh ppang (fish-shaped pastries filled with red bean filling… yum). $3 soon tofu. $1 kimbap. $2-3 earrings that look damned good, $4 graphic tees. Cheap everything, really, except for fruit (paid about $9 for 2 pounds of grapes, eesh).

Maybe this should’ve been a food blog. Oh well, too late now. I am seriously craving some New York style pizza… thin crust with piping hot cheese and sauce… mmm. And  a few other home comforts like my canine companion and pals.

To make the most out of my stay here, I’ll be trying to do the following in the few days I have left:

• Visit some family on my mom’s side and see my adorable 2 girl cousins… haven’t seen them since they were 4 and 6
• Get new luggage and gifts for friends
• Go to Hongdae and check out their nightlife and dance clubs
• Wrap up all leftover work at the office including translations and convention details

I think that’s doable.

My time here has been insightful, filled with a lot of fun but also loneliness,  constructive, and rewarding. I haven’t achieved nearly all the things I’ve wanted to (becoming fluent in Korean and figuring out what I want to do with my life) but it has lead me on a direction towards that.

Random fact about Korean people: They think it’s weird to sit side-by-side when at a table/seating area. And my 13-year old male cousin is afraid of cats.

I have no more. Will update with my Hongdae experience in a few days :)

Been here for about a month now, and I think I’m taking the change pretty well.

Pros:

• Nice to have someone home-cook all my meals for me :D
• Shopping is hella fun cuz everything’s so inexpensive
• Fun to people watch cuz the girls here make so much effort (heels and makeup to go to the supermarket? Of course!)
• The subway is clean and cheap (’bout 90 cents to $1.20, depending on how far I go)
• Made new Canadian friends! Tiffany especially is awesome-cool.
• My uncle’s apartment is on the first floor. So far we’ve not turned on the AC once but there hasn’t been a need to… Lower-floored apartments for the win!
• I feel like my family here actually cares about me and my well-being (besides my dad)
• Have a good, steady job that’s not too demanding
• Opportunity to travel to new places for trade shows
• My cousins are all adorable and fun
• Heard it’s been raining buckets in New York. The weather here, while muggy, has been pleasant. I think it’s only rained about 2 days here so far.
• Lots of time to do the things I’ve always said I’d “get around to” doing. Setting up websites and reading, mostly.
• Prepaid cell phones are cheap. 2 cents for sending a text, free to receive, free incoming calls… awesome.

Cons:

• Fruit, however is NOT cheap. $5 for a little tub of blueberries? $20 for a watermelon? Gack.
• Pizza is also expensive.
• A lot of clothing here is made in one size… I hate that
• My aunt & uncle expect me home by a certain time
• I miss Jamar, my friends, and Aji a lot
• The aforementioned make-a-lot-of-effort girls usually are with boyfriends that are way less good looking and way more casually dressed
• Generally less freedom and privacy, though it hasn’t been too bad
• The subway stops running at midnight arrrgh <– hate that
• Some of them really do eat dogs :( But never tiny purebreds… those they keep.
• The time difference from here and NY makes it hard for me to take care of billing calls / anything that requires calling to NY

Hmm, I guess my pro list is way longer than my con list. I’ve thought it would be a lot harder for me to adjust and get used to life here but it’s not. I can actually see myself staying here for a few months with not much trouble. And the trip has forced me to put my long-idling laptop to use. A perfectly good laptop that I didn’t use for over a year… Shame.