Things we love and miss

Since we've been here, we have found so many things that we really love about this place. And still, there are things that we miss about home. Since I love lists, I have compiled a list of things that we love and miss. In no particular order.

Things we love:

1. Noraebang! This is Korean karaoke, and it is amazing! You go to this place, and there are all of these private rooms with nice couches, chandeliers, disco balls, big screen tv's, microphones and tambourines! So you get to just sing in a room with whoever you are with. And there are lots of English songs, thankfully. Tim and I have gone twice, and we pretty much think it will be a weekend staple for us.

2. Dolsot bibimbap! This is our favorite Korean dish so far. It's a big bowl of rice that is served to you while the rice is still cooking, so it gets nice and crispy. It has carrots, brussel sprouts, egg, and pepper paste in it. It's really good, and super cheap!

3. Korean BBQ! We've been to a few different BBQ places now, and they are awesome! You sit at a table that has a big round skillet or grill in the middle, so the food cooks right in front of you. We've had chicken and pork BBQ. They are both really good. They both have veggies, rice cakes, and spicy sauce all mixed in together. Yum. But really spicy, at least to me. I always feel like I need to eat something cold and sweet after I'm done eating Korean food.

4. Our new guitar! We just went into Seoul the other day to check out this music store we had heard about. It is amazing! It's this huge store that is just packed with all the musical instruments you could ever dream of. It was great! We found a good deal on a guitar, and I am excited to learn how to play. I've mastered A and E so far, and am trying to build up my finger callouses. I love having finger callouses. Tim is a pro already, and we're hoping maybe he can play on the worship team at church.

5. The mountains! I've never lived anywhere but Indiana and Michigan, so I'm used to flat farmland! It's really pretty to see the mountains on the skyline. At some point this year, we're going to hike up a mountain! Pretty excited about it. And also pretty sure that I will complain the entire hike. I've already prepared Tim for this.

6. Our church. It is amazing. See previous post.

7. Our students. Even though sometimes we know that they have no idea what we're saying. And even when explaining a vocabulary word is sometimes like playing the game, Taboo. You try to give a definition of the word, and they don't understand the words in the definition! That's when my acting skills have come in handy! I've done all sorts of crazy things to get them to understand vocabulary words. But really, the kids are amazing, as we've described in previous posts.

8. The way people treat us. The other day, we were a little confused about what exit to use at the subway. We were standing there staring at the signs, when a man came up to us and said, "Can I help you?" It was so nice. Last week, we were at the bank setting up our bank accounts. It was difficult because nobody there really spoke English well, so we really needed our boss to be there to help translate. But we eventually figured everything out. Anyway, it was funny because the person who was helping us kept apologizing for not speaking English! We were like, "No, WE are sorry that we don't speak Korean!" We're in Korea for goodness sake! But he was really nice and patient. And we had to wait for a while, so he brought us cranberry juice on a tray. It made me want to cry, it was so sweet.

9. Walking everywhere! Everything we need is within walking distance, including the subway station. Awesome.

10. The park and river walk. We live really close to a river/stream, and there's a really nice walkway that we have started to explore. It goes pretty far into other cities, and a lot of people bike and rollerblade on it. Two things that we want. Bikes and rollerblades. Also, there is this amazing park in that area too. It is gorgeous, and really well-kept. It has a nice soccer field, tennis courts (which makes Tim very happy), a basketball court, a rollerblading track, work out equipment, and badminton courts. I feel like badminton is one sport that I might be able to be kind of good at. So I'm working on that this year. So watch out! :)

11. Our apartment. It's really starting to feel like home.

12. Skype! Whoever invented Skype was a genius. It has been great to keep in contact with people through Skype, and to be able to see them when we are talking. It makes it feel as if we aren't halfway across the world.

Things we miss:

1. Our family and friends. Totes. (That means totally).

2. Carrabba's!!! Our favorite restaurant! Seriously, the day we get back, we are going there. Seriously.

3. Hacienda! Chips and salsa. Yum. There isn't a lot of Mexican food here, but we did go to an American chain Mexican restaurant in Seoul a few weeks ago. It was really good. And we have found some chips and salsa and some tortilla shells at the grocery store. But still. Nothing beats Hacienda.

4. A dryer! We have a washer, but dryers aren't really popular here, for some reason. So we have to use lots of fabric softener, and hang our clothes to dry them. It makes our clothes feel kind of weird.

5. My clothes! I really miss all my clothes. It seemed like I had a lot of them when I packed them all up in my suitcase. But now, not so much. I know my sister is enjoying many of them this year. And she better give them back! :)

6. A dishwasher! I have to wash dishes now, Mom. Aren't you proud of me?

7. An oven. We have a stove top, but no oven. It's weird. So we've had to plan a bunch of meals that can be made on the stove. We're making it work. PLUS, more excuses to go out to eat. :)

8. Me: Singing and acting! It's hard knowing that I won't be performing for a year. But I have friends who keep me connected to it all, and I'm still working on things on my own. Plus, the new guitar will help! And Noraebang. :) But yeah. I do really miss performing, and will be excited to get back into it after the year is over. Thankfully, I have really found a love in teaching, and am happy to be doing that right now.

9. Tim: Tennis! He was playing tennis every day before we came here. And coaching. I think it will be hard, especially when the girls' tennis season starts because part of him will want to be there. I told him he can coach me in tennis. It's not quite the same. :)

10. Movies and TV. A few weeks ago, we did go to the movie theatre that is nearby, and saw "Public Enemy." It was in English and had Korean subtitles. They usually have a couple movies in English at that theatre. So that will be nice. But since we can't rent movies or watch tv, we have been watching lots of "Office" episodes that we brought with us! It's pretty great. We have all our movies that we brought too, so it's actually not that bad. :)

It really bothers me that there are 12 things that we love, and only 10 things that we miss. I feel like it should be even. I guess it's good, though, right? It means we love more things than we miss. We are still in the "honeymoon phase" of living in Korea, though. At least that's what people tell us. So I don't know, maybe in a few months, I'll post a blog titled, "Things we hate!" Haha! I don't really think so. But I guess you never know. Stay tuned. :)