Didn't That Just Happen?

Lately, it's been Groundhogs Day around here.  I feel like I spend every day doing three things.

1) Unpacking boxes/organizing and cleaning.  Saturday was GORGOEOUS, and would have been the perfect day to explore.  We were sooooo tempted, but we just had too much to do.  We've made huge progress, but most of the time I feel like we're still living in chaos.  The best part (read: worst part) of this is that we will probably get done just in time to receive our other big shipment of household goods, and then we get to start all over again.  yay.

2) Helping Cora with schoolwork.  I am home homeschooling Cora this year, and I really think it is working out for us.  She can do most of it on her own, but my roll as her "learning coach" is a constant and all-day thing - answering questions, discussing subjects, helping with experiments, etc.  In some ways, it is much less demanding than I thought it would be, but it does limit what I can do during the day.

3) House-training a dog.  Aaaaahhhhhh!!!  You may recall how I rejoiced when I was done potty training my youngest kid.  You may recall how much I LOATH potty training.  And yet, here I am doing it again.  It takes constant vigilance, repetition, and a strict schedule......so, pretty much the same as a kid.  I feel like the older person who is so excited that they finally get to retire, and then a few months later they have to get a job as a greeter at Walmart to get by.  Okay, so that's a bit melodramatic, but seriously.....

Despite the monotony of most days (which, let's face it, is the same no matter where you live), we do love it here and are feeling at home here, and we've got some fun things planned in the near future.  Plus, unpacking and house-training the dog won't last forever.  Then I'll actually have time to read again, and bike, and maybe finish some scrapbooking.  Sure, that might happen.

I do miss Korea though.  It was inevitable;)  Some things that I miss are rather strange.  Like my fridge, for example.  Yep, my fridge in Korea was apparently the best fridge I've ever had, and the one I have here is maybe the worst.  That's a hard transition to make people!  On the plus side, I have a garbage disposal here.  Oh Blessed Garbage Disposal!

We miss the fantastic teachers that all the kids had last year, but it's not like they were going to get the same teachers this year anyway, right?

We miss the FOOD!  There are actually quite a few Korean restaraunts around here, although we have yet to find one that we feel is worthy to call itself a "Korean" restaraunt.  Even though the owners are Korean, they have Americanized their menus too much.  Ordering Bulgogi is akin to ordering a Beef Teriaky rice bowl.  Come on people!  The day we flew out of Korea, we had our last meal at a Korean restaurant right there in the airport.  I ordered Bulgogi Bibimbap, and Joe ordered the Kimchi rice.  It was soooooooo good, and we thought it was quite the send off - thanks for that Korea. We'll still be trying out more places here, but it's a dang good thing I learned how to make some of our favorite dishes.  Unfortunately, I can't make things like Odang, or Pizza School's Sweet Potato Pizza.  Total bummer.

I miss our neighborhood in Korea.  So much more interesting than a suburb......of course, we didn't have deer, turkeys, raccoons, and other such wild life running around our neighborhood in Korea, so I guess our suburb isn't too boring;)  Not to mention, I can see the ocean from my back yard!

And is it weird that I miss Alpha, when I have a Michael's here?  Alpha is like a office/craft store, but very small.  That was my little go-to store in Korea - we had a special relationship. 

And the fabric market:(  I haven't been to a fabric store here yet, because I don't have my sewing stuff yet, but I am not looking forward to it.  Talk about a down-grade.  I might have to get counseling for that.

Of course, we miss our friends most of all, as is the case with any place we move away from.  Thank you social media.  You are way too addictive, but you keep me connected to those I love.  Aaahhhh, the memories;)

There's other things I miss that I can't think of right now.  I don't LONG for Korea though, and it's highly likely that we'll actually move back there in a few years, so there's that. 

Right now it's time to see new things, and go new places, and make new friends and new memories, so that we'll have lots of things to miss when we move away from here.......just as soon as I finish unpacking;)

Lame Update

I've been having blogger's block lately.....that's a real thing, right?  But I figure I'd better give everyone a quick update, since I haven't really posted anything about our new place. 

Speaking of our new place, here it is.

 Those are wild turkeys out front - there's a large group of them that wander around our neighborhood.  We've also seen gophers, lizards, squirrels, lots of birds, and tonz of deer.  In addition to the wildlife, we have a lot of nice ammenities (all of the housing is privatized now, so they've fixed up the neighborhood a lot).  We've got a gym/indoor pool, and a large park that includes a dog park, volleyball court, basketball court, raquetball court, tennis court, horseshoe (court?), etc.  My kids just like the 3-story slide.

Things I still need to do:
1) Go to the gym
2) Unpack boxes
3) Make my lawn green

 Speaking of my lawn,  the kids have all been working on the yard.  Cora, especially, is a little bit obssessed, and is determined to have a green lawn, and a nice backyard - fine by me;)

 

The house itself is fine enough, and we have settled in quickly.  Our house now looks EXACTLY like the house we lived in the first time we were here, except it isn't a duplex, which is nice now that we have 4 noisy kids;)  My only complaint is that the shower head comes to my eye level, which means I have to squat a little to wash my hair.....of course, it's worse for Joe. 

Things that I've observed:
1) It's chilly here, which we like, but I only packed one jacket and a few pairs of long pants for each person.  We're surviving.....and acclimatizing.
2) The highways here are very littered.  It's sad, because this is such a beautiful state......well, most of it anyway.
3) This place is extremely bike friendly and dog/pet friendly.

Speaking of dogs, the other new addition in our lives, besides the house, is a dog.  I'm not really sure how it happened, to be honest.  The kids have been asking for years, to no avail.  I wanted a dog too, but had kind of been talking myself out of it for the past little while.  And then, BOOM, Joe (who had been the avid opposer) says, "Let's go to the shelter and look at dogs."  Huh?!!!  So off we went, and before we knew it, we had come back home with this.

She's super cute;)  A 3 1/2 month old miniature schnauzer mix.  We named her Bo.  The kids adore her.  I adore her.  JOE ADORES HER;)  She's just a baby, and I have been reminded again and again why I was supposed to be done after 4 kids.  But did I mention she's cute?  It's barely saving her right now, and I know that once she's been trained, she's going to make a really nice addition to our family. 

Things that are driving me crazy:
1) Trying to train a dog
2) Dropped calls, which are non-existent in Korea....plus, the pictures I take with my phone are even worse than the pictures I took with my old phone.
3) Sand everywhere - I am constantly sweeping up piles of sand in my house


Speaking of sand, we took the kids to the beach, and their first time playing in sand dunes.

Sand gets in so many places when you do that, but the kids LOVED it.

Things that are making me happy:
1) Two of our favorite hole-in-the-wall eating establishments are STILL HERE - Baldamero'ss Taco Shop and Jim's Chinese Restaurant.  So yummy:)
2) We have a fenced backyard - this is handy for children AND dogs
3)  This guy

Speaking of Joe, he starts his first Iraqi class today.  Send good thoughts his way:)

I'm Rich

When the military moves you over-seas, they send your main shipment of household goods the old fashioned way - a sloooooow boat.  This means that there is a two month period that you don't have all your stuff.  Ideally (for me anyway), you want to send your shipment a couple of weeks before you move, then take a month of leave inbetween, and then wait for a couple more weeks in your new place for your shipment to arrive.  However, if you can't take a month of leave inbetween (like we couldn't do), you have to decide if you'd rather be without your stuff for longer in the place you already are, or the place you're going to be.  Of course, the military loves taking away choices like that;)  In our case, they didn't give us our orders until 2 weeks before we left, and without orders in your hands, you can't do ANYTHING (schedule flights, movers, inspectors, etc.). 

So here we are, in our new house, and we'll be here for 2 months without our stuff.....and I find that I'm missing my stuff.....and part of me feels very materialistic, and guilty about that.

It's good to get a little perspective.

On her facebook page, my friend Kimberly requested that people share their "First World Problems" as a way of learning to better appreciate the incredible ease and benefits we really do enjoy.  What a great idea, and I loved the examples (in quotations below) that people posted.   It was just what I needed:)

"So much clean, hot water comes gushing out of my shower that I have to keep my time down to around 5-7 minutes before I start to worry that the water might overflow the enclosure."

Yes, we have hot water, clean water, and plenty of it.  And we don't even have to pay our own water bill.  Did you know that 11 percent of the world's population still lacks access to clean water?  Just saying.

"I had to iron my silk suit TWICE today because of packing wrinkles so I could look nice at a place where people probably don't care how I look to worship a God who loves me the way I am. I also had trouble picking it out because my closet is FULL of beautiful things." - and - "My son tipped a full bowl of cereal and milk on me this morning, so I had to change into a completely different outfit for church." - and - "I could only pack 3 pairs of shoes for our vacation."

Yes, all 6 of us have suitcases full of clothes that we brought with us.  And we have more on the way in our shipment.  And we all have two pairs of shoes here.  AND it is flipflop season all year long here!!!;)  Did you know that almost 1.5 billion people don't even own one pair of shoes?  Just saying.

"My bed was too soft this morning. It was extremely difficult to decide to get out of it and start the day." - and - "We're having a problem with the drain in our master bathroom shower, so I had to walk ALL THE WAY downstairs to our SECOND bathroom to get ready this morning."

Yes, we have a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house.  We might be sleeping on air mattresses temporarily, but at least it's not the floor.....or the ground....or outside.  Did you know that one quarter of the world's population lives without shelter, or in unhealthy and unacceptable conditions?  Just saying.

"My husband took our GPS so I had to actually look at a map (an interactive map on Google maps!) to figure out how to get somewhere." - and - "We only have four computers (well, five if you count daddy's smart phone), so some of us have to do things offline sometimes. I have to use a digital timer to make it fair." - and - "I cancelled Netflix so now I have to read for entertainment."

Yes, we have electricity, the internet, and plenty of electronic devices to keep us entertained.  PLUS, we have a great library only 1 block from our house!  On a similar note, all of my children have had, and are getting a good education, and our elementary school is also within walking distance of our house.  Did you know that one quarter of the world's population live without electricity, and 785 million adults can't read?  Just saying.

"I paid lots of money for heavy blobs of metal to build muscle because I don't farm my land, milk the cow, hunt for food, chop wood, and fetch water."

This one made me laugh for sure.  We have a (free to us) gym and swimming pool within walking, biking distance.  We have bikes, and gorgeous bike paths along the coast.  I also have room in my fenced-in backyard to plant a garden, if I want to....but I don't HAVE to.  Did you know that millions of women and children spend hours of every day getting fresh water, and that millions of people have to collect firewood or dung every day as their only source of energy (cooking, warmth, etc).  Did you know that you can (if you're feeling charitable) buy a goat for a family for $50 and completely change their lives?  Just saying.

So, here I am, and I'm looking around at my house, furnished with camping chairs, air mattresses, and a borrowed folding table and folding chairs, and the place feels kind of empty, but I realize how BLESSED we are to have this much!  And how lucky we are to be here!  I'm sure that I'll still have a smile on my face when our shipment gets here, but I won't be complaining about how long it takes;)

Coming Home

This was the post I wrote 3 years ago about our move to Korea.  And now, here is my post about our move to California.

Dear Seoul, you've been a peach, and I really enjoyed our last view of you from our hotel room.

Dear Liddells (us), we must be pros at this whole airport check-in/security/customs thing, because we got through that as smooth as butter.  Go team Liddell!

Dear Incheon Airport, thanks for having the free "cultural experience" (traditional instruments and singing) right next to our terminal.  It was a nice send-off.

Dear Liddells, our we too plugged in?

Dear Liddells, never mind....whatever works;)

Dear 5 hour wait at the airport, you were nothing;)

Dear United, I don't like you because you give me NO leg room.  However, strangely, I like your weird food.

Dear empty seat next to Alex, I love you.  Of all the passengers on this almost-500 seat plane, you chose to be next to US!!!

Dear children, No, I did not buy you any snacks, toys, or other forms of entertainment for this flight, because as soon as they serve us dinner, I am forcing all of you to SLEEP!

Dear children, be careful with your drinks, because if one of you spills your drink, so help me....

Dear self, way to spill your drink.  Do you see the irony in this?

Dear CPS, my poor boy can't stop coughing.  This is bad because he can't fall asleep, and I'm sure he's disturbing the guy next to him.  I know the package says no more than or so, but would it really be so wrong to give him enough cough drops that his blood-alcohol level gets high enough to zonk him out?

Dear children, it took some doing, but thank you for all going to sleep.

Dear producer, director, actors, and everyone else involved in the making of the film "The 3 Stooges", ummmmmmm, are you embarrassed?  Or were you actually TRYING to make the stupidest movie ever, of all time?  I only watched about 20 mintues (and that was only because I couldn't sleep), but that was enough to make me want to die.

Dear self, what happened?  You used to be able to sleep anywhere, anytime.  Is it because Alex keeps kicking you in the thigh?  Are you jealous he gets to lay across 2 seats, and you don't?  Is it Madelyn, on your other side, who's legs are across your lap?  Is it the fact that the whole row of people behind you keep talking loudly in Korean, quietly whistling songs, or are the only people on the plane who have their lights on (their ridiculously-bright-shining-right-in-your-face-when-you-recline-your-chair-make-you-want-to-cry lights)?  Or is it something else?

Dear man with the cat, thanks for entertaining my children while we were waiting to de-board the plane.

Dear America, it's nice to see you.  Here's a little somethin' I did just for you

Dear Hertz, I hate your guts and I hope you die.  The first hour was hard, but I expected to wait in line that long, so I can forgive you for that.  What is unacceptable is that it took you an additional TWO HOURS to correct your mistake of giving us the wrong vehicle.  When I made a reservation for a mini-van, that is what I actually wanted - NOT a crossover, which couldn't even fit half of our luggage.  And then, giving me a $25 coupon for my troubles was a JOKE.  And THEN, telling me that you didn't HAVE to give me the coupon, and that you were just being NICE....well, if I wasn't a civilized sort of person, I would burn you to the ground and sprinkle your ashes on poop....or something like that.

Dear California, I don't remember you being so brown and dirty.

Dear fog and smell of the ocean, ahhhhhhh, that's better.  Yep, I'm home:)

I Can't Believe it's been 10 Years

I'm going to take a moment away from our moving drama, and post something in memory of my Grandma Wanda Snow Petersen, who passed away 10 years ago today.  I still think about her almost every day, and I constantly have questions that I want to ask her.  She was such a huge part of my life.  I was very blessed to be able to speak at her funeral, and share her life sketch.  I'd like to post what I said here:

I was asked to give my grandma’s life sketch, and the only way I know how to do that is to tell about her life from my own perspective. Over my life, my perspective of my grandmother’s life has changed, but one thing that has always remained the same is that she always amazed me.

One of my first memories of my grandmother–actually this happened many times–was sitting

next to her in church and she would have her purse on her lap and would rumage around until she
found some lemon drops and she’d give us one of her lemon drops. And then she would pull out
one of her many handkerchiefs and fold it this way and fold it that way, and suddenly it would
become a baby in a cradle. I thought that she was the most MAGICAL person there ever was.

When I was born, Grandma started a savings account for me, as she did with all of her

grandchildren. Every Christmas and every birthday I’d receive a card saying that she had
deposited a little money in there for me, and when I was young I thought that she must be very
rich.  She helped me, and many of us, go on Heritage Tours, go on missions, go to school, get married, etc.  As I got older I realized she might not be the richest person in the world, but she definitely was the most GENEROUS person there ever was.

For as long as I can remember, my family has always watched General Conference over at

Grandma’s house. It’s just kind of a tradition. And when I was young I thought she must be a
very religious person, because not only did she have it on the TV, but she also had it on on the
radio in the kitchen;)  Grandma had callings in both the Primary and the Young Womens. She used to say that she had read the Book of Mormon several times when she was younger, but really learned the most about it from Grandpa, and especially when he was the Sunday School teacher, and she always talked about how much she loved it.  She was never afraid to share her testimony of the gospel, and she was one of the most spiritually DEVOUT women there ever was.

Grandma was a very active member of the Democratic Party, even though she lived in Utah;)  She always put up the signs in her yard so everybody would know who to vote for, and one year she even ran herself for city council. And as Aunt LaRene said, she came very close to winning for running in the most Republican city and the most Republican state in America. I’m sure that she was the best DEMOCRAT there ever was. 

Grandma always had a dozen or so cats, or so it seemed. If a stray cat came by Grandma’s house,

it was his lucky day. She’d feed that cat; she’d neuter that cat, and she’d love it until the day it
died. One of her favorite cats was Jenny Purr that my parents gave to her, and she was with
Grandma for a very long time. She was a very smart cat. She even learned how to open
cupboard doors with her paws. So when I was younger I was sure that Grandma was the best cat
trainer there ever was.  In any case, she best CAT LOVER there ever was.

Grandma taught school for 38 years, and she was still substituting when I first entered grade

school.  In fact, she even substituted for a couple of my classes. I wasn’t even embarrassed
that the substitute was my grandma.Many times during my life, when I would tell people that Wanda Petersen was my grandma, I would get responses such as, “Oh, she was my teacher,” or “She taught my children,” or “She was a wonderful teacher.” And I always knew that she must have been the best TEACHER there ever was.

When I was about eight years old, Grandma published her first book, and she published four

more after that. She wrote articles for the American Fork Citizen for a while, and she was a
member of the League of Utah Writers and Pen Women for many years.  Of course most important, all of us remember her telling the story of Epaminondas to us kids, and I always knew she was the best STORY-TELLER there ever was.

When I was a teen-ager she would let us have sleep-overs at her house for our birthdays, and she

would plan everything. She would make the food; she would make up games for us, she’s make
a cake, and she would have plenty of ice cream. She would let us stay up as late as we
wanted to. I was sure that she was the COOLEST grandma there ever was, although now I’m
thinking along the lines of the most PATIENT grandma there ever was. But I’m sure she was both.

When I was old enough to go to college, there was no doubt in my mind whether I would go.

Grandma always taught me the importance of education. Never in a pushy way, though. She
would just share stories with me about BYU, like how much things cost back then and tuition,
and her first writing job on the school newspaper that made her think that she was a writer, and
how much fun she had going to college. I knew that not many women went to college back then,
but she eventually got her Masters in education.  Grandma always seemed to know everything about everything. She loved Utah history, and whenever we would travel, she would tell us things about the little towns we passed through. My favorite was about Levan, Utah which was about a small town south of Nephi. She said that it was the geographical center of the state of Deseret, and they named it Levan, because that’s navel spelled backwards.  I thought that was hilarious, and I knew that she must be the SMARTEST person there ever was.

Grandma always loved to travel, but she would never come back without slides and souvenirs for

all of us. She made the world seem so close and so exciting, and you knew by the way that she
talked that she loved every person in every culture that she came in contact with. She went to
such places as China, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Denmark, Germany, Switzerland
and Greece, France, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, and many other countries,
not to mention every state in America except for two. I always thought she was the most CULTIVATED and WELL-TRAVELED person there ever was.

Grandma had a great sense of humor. She always had little sayings like, “Come again when you

can’t stay so long,” “They’re using us kids as old people now,” and “I clean when the Spirit
moves me to.” She was always smiling, laughing, and loving life. She was the FUNNIEST person there ever was.

I can't talk about Grandma without mentioning food;)  I don’t think that Grandma ever used a recipe, but somehow everything was always delicious......except for the time that she mixed Dr. Pepper with orange juice. That didn’t turn out so good. But I’ve forgiven her since then, and I’m willing to concede that she was the best COOK there ever was.

When I was going to get married, Grandma talked a lot about Grandpa and when they were

married. She said that after he kissed her, she knew that she could love him, and I always
thought that was kind of funny. Even after being apart from him for 29 years, he was still such a
part of her life. And now she will be laid to rest next to him in Ferron, which happens to be
where they had their first date to the Gold and Green Ball. I know that she was the most loving
WIFE that there ever was.

When I had my first daughter, Cora, Grandma must have told me a thousand times that when she had

Kay (her first baby and daughter), she thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and wondered why everyone else didn’t agree. Grandma always spoke of her children in the most loving and proud way, and her children loved her, respected her, and, I’m sure, were as amazed with her as I was. I always knew that Grandma was the best MOTHER there ever was.

At the end of June (2002) we were all blessed to celebrate Grandma’s 90th birthday with her.  One of

 her wishes was to see all of her loved ones, and be able to tell them how much she loved them, and

for them to be able to tell her how much they loved her. What an amazing opportunity that was for her and for us, so soon before she left us.  As I think of that day, and as I look at it now with you, I know that she left behind the greatest LEGACY there ever was.

One more thing. A couple of days ago I heard this story. One time Grandma was with her sister,

Beaulah in Sacrament Meeting and Beaulah asked Grandma if she had a pair of tweezers in her
purse. Grandma did, and pulled them out. Beaulah fiddled with whatever it was she was
working on, and finally exclaimed, “What I really need is a pair of pliers.” Grandma then
reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of pliers. Everyone got a real kick out of that.
The morning that Grandma passed away, we got out her temple bag to get the clothes that she would be dressed in. As we were going through the clothes to make sure everything was there, we pulled out a sweet roll wrapped in a napkin. It brought us a moment of laughter in a time of grief. Grandma was the most PREPARED person there ever was. And I know without a doubt that she lived such a life that she was prepared to meet her Heavenly Father and Savior.

I wasn’t sure exactly how to end this, but last night I was reading through her autobiography,

“My Second Estate,” and it gives a far better life story than I have or ever could. If you haven’t
read it, I encourage you to do so, and if you have read it, I encourage you to read it again. And in
closing I’d just like to read the last paragraph of her book. And I’ve taken the liberty to change it
just a little bit. These are her words:

"I end my life with the fervent hope and prayer that it will be of interest to you, my family

members and possible be a little inspiration in your life. You are the most precious of my
earthly treasures. I love you all dearly for the love and devotion you have shown me,
especially in later years when I needed it most. My admonition to each of you is
this–seek to gain a knowledge of the restored gospel which is the plan of life and
salvation instituted by our Father in Heaven for the exaltation of His children here on
earth. A knowledge of this plan and obedience to all of its teachings is the sure way to
perfect and eternal life. I know this is true."

Grandma holding me as a baby

Grandma with me when I graduated from Snoww College

Grandma holding my first baby, Cora

Last Words from the Land of the Morning Calm

What is your favorite Korean food?
Joe - Spicy Pork Kalbi (marinated, grilled meat - usually served in Meat and Leaf style - see Cora's answer below)
Ruth - Bulgogi (the soupy version with stringy mushrooms, oninos, etc.)
Cora - Meat and Leaf, any variety of meat (this is where you grill up your own meat on a little grill in the middle of your table, and then you take a lettuce leaf, put some rice on it, a couple chunks of meat, some mild chili paste and maybe some garlic, wrap it up, and shove it all in your mouth - sometimes called a Korean taco)
Joseph - Mandu (Korean dumplings)
Madelyn - GyeRan Jjim (a steamed egg dish)
Alex - Glass noodles, like in Chapchae (a dish with noodles, meat and veggies)

What is your favorite Korean word?
Joe - I don't know how to spell this, but Oshitashipee ("as you know")
Ruth - Ottoke (means "how?" or "what to do?" - it's said with DRAMTIC feeling when there is a problem, or something is wrong)
Cora - Bosintang is the weirdest (soup with dog meat in it)
Joseph - Anyong Haseo ("hello")
Madelyn - Kamsahamnida ("thank you")
Alex - Anyong Haseo

What is your favorite place that you've gone to in Korea?
Joe - That's hard, but I think Bumunsa (our favorite Buddhist temple)
Ruth - Yes, very hard to choose from - I'll say the city of Gyeongju, it has so much to see and do there, and it's just a beautiful part of the country.....or maybe seeing the dinosaur footprints - that was just cool;)
Cora - Everland (a large amusement park in Suwon)
Joseph - Lotte World (another large amusement park, half of which is indoors)
Madelyn - Daeso (a Korean dollar store where she loves to spend the money she earns)
Alex - The 7/11 to get icecream

What will you miss most about Korea?
Joe - The bike paths
Ruth - The fabric market, the culture, the food.....many things - yep, I'm going to have to do a whole post on this one a little later;)
Cora - The food, and fun parks
Joseph - The food
Madelyn - Miss Choe (her 1st grade teacher)
Alex - The food

What is something you won't miss about Korea?
Joe - The traffic
Ruth - The humidity
Cora - The crazy driving and the funky smells
Joseph - The traffic, and how long it takes to get everywhere
Madelyn - Kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage - a staple here in Korea)
Alex - Disgusting things at lunch, and rocks

Would you ever want to come back?
Joe - Yes....because I have to say that....just kidding....kind of;)
Ruth - Yes, in a few years
Cora - Maybe
Joseph - Maybe
Madelyn - No (this surprised me)
Alex - Yes
We shall see people, we shall see.

Goodbye Korea.

City Life

In my heart, I'm not really a big city kind of girl, so sometimes Seoul and I don't get along..........but sometimes we have our moments;)

It's 10:30 at night, and I suddenly have a hunkering for a pepperoni pizza.  Sure, why not?  The city is alive and buzzing, and I feel perfectly safe walking out into our neighborhood by myself.

There is a lots of traffic.  There are a lots of people waiting for taxis and buses - all different kinds of people.  I like to watch them.  Everyone is fascinating.

There's a large building across the street that has lights across all their windows.  They change colors every night.  Tonight they're purple.

I pass one of our favorite Korean restaurants, and there are people gathered around outside.  I glance at the white board they use for a waiting list, and there are still 2 groups in line for a late dinner.

I pass by the coffee house.  Nobody is planning on going to bed any time soon.

I can smell all the delicious smells coming from the different restaurants and shops, each one a little different from the next.  I can smell other things, not so pleasant, but they pass quickly.

I order my pizza.  While I wait, I decide to go around the corner to the bakery.  I'm in luck, they have the nutty rye rolls that we love.  I get some cream cheese pastries too.

On the way home I stop by 7/11 to get some drinks.  Inside is a patient from the hospital in the neighborhood.  She has her hospital pajamas on, and a cast, and she's getting some snacks with a friend.

I pass by a group of friends who are trying to take a picture of themselves with a tablet.  They are laughing at their own efforts.

I take it all in.  I don't mind that there is sweat dripping down my back (even this late at night, it feels like a sauna outside).  I don't even scream when I almost step on a cockroach the size of a small mouse (don't see those every day).  I just take it all in, and enjoy the walk.

It will be my last time.