Leaving Korea

Now that I can count the days until I leave Korea in single digits, I’ve been taking stock and thinking about what I’ll miss, what I’ll be happy to leave behind and what I'm looking forward to.

What I’ll miss:

1. Jen, Jared & Robb.
2. Dip-dyed doggies.
3. Earning money.
4. My students and my co-teacher, Sue, and her family, Big Paul and Little Paul.
5. Being able to walk around alone at night without worrying about personal safety (most of the time).
6. My high-speed, unlimited download Internet connection.
7. Cheap, delicious, healthy food.
8. Market-O Brownies.
9. The old ladies who work the fields near my school and the railway crossing guards I see everyday on the way to school.
10. Green, green rice fields.

What I won’t miss:

1. The over-emphasis on appearance.
2. Inappropriate dress sense. If you’re going out for a coffee, do you really need to wear a cocktail dress and 6 inch heels? If you’re climbing a mountain, do you really need to wear a belt for a skirt and pair it with… you got it – six inch heels?
3. Side-stepping mopeds and the occasional car coming at me on the sidewalk. If I wanted to be run over, I’d walk on the road.
4. Being followed around when I'm shopping.
5. The naked guys in the apartment across from me.
6. Being alternately invisible or a freak show.
7. Crazy food combinations - pizza with blueberry dipping sauce, corndogs with sugar etc.
8. Seeing people spitting or pissing in the streets. 'Nuff said.
9. Concrete - everywhere!
10. The Ulsan Education Office and their racist, discriminatory attitudes to NETs.

What I'm looking forward to:

1. Seeing my family and friends again.
2. Blending in (e.g. not being stared at so much).
3. Being able to converse easily with strangers.
4. A dinner of lamb chops, peas, baked pumpkin & mashed potatoes with gravy.
5. Beignets!
6. Exploring New Orleans again and taking in the architecture and history of the place.
7. Audubon park and zoo.
8. Mum's carrot cake.
9. Tormenting Janine's cat.
10. Being on vacation for 2+ months!