So, as my time in South Korea comes to an end, I thought I would post some of the things I will miss about this amazing country, but to be fair, I am also going to vent about the things I will not miss. And the things I miss about back home.
I will miss street food, like dduk boki, red bean pastries, chicken kabobs, and more. But I will not miss dried squid and silk worms being sold on the street. The smell is unbelievably horrible.
I will miss the amazing and efficient transportation system that can get you anywhere in the city cheaply. I will also miss cheap taxis that are more abundant than in New York. I however horribly miss my car and jumping on the freeways back home, car pool lanes especially. I will also not miss greedy taxi drivers that do not want to take you home at 5 in the morning after the bar because your place is too close even if it is pouring rain or below freezing outside.
I will miss the seasons. It was my first time ever experiencing fall and spring. They are absolutely beautiful and I will never forget the red orange and yellow leaves, or the pink cherry blossoms. But I will not miss the freezing winters and can't wait to get back to cali where we consider 45 degrees really cold!
I will miss how sweet and generous parents are here. I have recieved so many gifts and people going out of their way to help me. But at the same time I will not miss crazy mom's who make your staff cry and accuse you of not caring, or who bully the other moms. God! they are crazy here.
I will completely miss walking down the street and being in my own world because I don't know what anyone else is saying. The few times I have been around English speakers I want to shout 'STOP TALKING' because I can't help but listen to their conversations.
I will miss all of the amazing shopping and cute fashion. I can't wait to walk off the plane and I hope everyone can recognize right away I spent a year in Korea just by what my closet now consists of. However, I will not miss being laughed at because my feet are too big and no one carries my size, or being told the size of the shirt is 'free size', in other words '1 size fits all' because although I am not fat at all, in Korea I am definitely not '1 size fits all'.
I will not miss being pushed around on the bus or subway. When someone needs to get by so they can get off you would think they are pushing you because they dont' know how to say 'move please,' but that is not the case. As it is now known to my friends and I it is just being 'koreaned' out of the way, as they hardly ever say 'excuse me' to anyone.
I will NOT miss men women and children spitting on the street everywhere.
But, most of all I miss my family and friends but will horribly miss all of the amazing people I have met here: Kyung-yun, Song, Do-yeon: the 3 Kroean TA's I was able to work with. There are so many amazing things about this country I will miss and I want to thank everyone who taught me and shared with me along the way.
