1, Miss - Mexican food. Oh sweet, sweet Mexican food. If you gave me three Chipotle burritos and told me that two of the three most certainly had E.Coli I would still take my chances. That's how much I miss la comida perfecta that is Mexican food. The closest we've found here is a restaurant in Hongdae - a foreigner-heavy area of Seoul - called "Vatos Tacos." Tasty, but not quite at the level of what you find in the good old U.S. of A. 2. Don't Miss - Driving. I'm a big fan of public transportation. It's good excercise walking to and from the station, it's cheap (Hullo $3-4 round trip ticket to Seoul from Ansan...the equivalent NOVA to DC would be almost $20 during peak times yes?) and I'm afraid of driving. Before you judge, I have never had an accident so it's not that i'm bad of it, it just really makes me at anxious. I also think that in another life I was a European princess so I prefer to have someone else drive me around. Life goal: get rich enough to make that happen. 3. Miss - Clean air. I never realized how much I took this for granted until I came here. There will be the occasionally smelly dumpster or stinky street corner in D.C., but there is nothing like the odorous adventure of walking through a Korean city. I think it mainly has to do with bad plumbing. Maybe it's everyone pooping out kimchi and really pungent seafood all the time, but it's a very distinct smell that you can't miss, Danny has coined it "KPS" (Korean Poop Smell). It always catches you off-guard too. You'll be cutting through an ally, breathing pretty much odor-free air when WHAM! KPS hits you straight in the nostrils. It's got that effect of one of your own really stinky farts: it's so bad you want to keep smelling but at the same time you feel like you might throw up if you do. The air-quality in general is definitely different. Korea doesn't have a major smog problem like China but that doesn't mean we aren't affected by our southern neighbor's pollution issues. We noticed it more during the warmer months but there will be those occasional days when you look out the window and there is a gritty yellow haze just hanging out. I can't say I feel any immediate physical effects but I have a feeling that when I make it back to the US the difference will be noticeable. So, moral is, love your clean air people. Not everyone in the world is privileged enough to have it. 4. Don't Miss - English. This one actually surprised me. I think, coming from a western culture, I was really intimidated about learning an Asian language. The sounds are so different than our own. Now, after several months of drilling vocab, I'm finally starting to understand some Korean. I got so excited yesterday when one of my students said to my Korean partner teacher, "Chaegi eobsoyo," and I understood that he was saying, "I don't have my book." It's also super satisfying to wield that power of "you don't know how much I know" over my students who think they can say sassy stuff to my face. I never expected to learn Korean well, but now that I'm giving it a try it's something I think I'll stick with. 5. Miss - Bathtubs. For obvious reasons. Baths are magical. Korean apartments are itty bitty so ha ha, bathtubs? Whut? 6. Don't Miss - Bros. Let me tell you a cringe-worthy story that should make you want to go punch a bro-type in the face right now. We're a little isolated from the areas of Seoul that are inundated with Americans, mainly, army guys. So, at times, it's easy to forget that the more embarrassing American stereotypes still exist on this side of the globe. Lest we forget too soon, a pair of personal trainers brought us back to reality one night at the meet-up group where we hang out with both our Korean and international friends. Let's call them Bro 1 and Bro 2. Both were clearly very proud of their overly-buff bodies and assumed that that would automatically grant them a free pass to any Korean woman and her vagina should she be so lucky to speak to them. But, to prove their superior (albeit, fragile) masculinity, they proceeded to challenge every guy in the bar to arm wrestling matches. Face, meet palm. Repeatedly. Over-hearing our friends grumbling that Bro 1 and Bro 2 were from the U.S., Danny and I were quick to jump in and insist that they did not represent Americans and pleasedonotassumethatunderanycircumstances. But the most jarring and frustrating thing that had us both on edge was the way they talked to our Korean friends. They did that annoying thing where they shout and slow down their voices to the point that anything they said came across as condescending and ridiculous. Case in point, our friend was talking to Bro 2, the younger, blonder and dumber one and she mispronounced a word. Jumping to correct her, Bro 2 elongates the word, pinching his fingers in front of her face as he says it and makes her repeat it like she's a naughty child. Then he asks her for a hug. Our sweet and confused friend gives him a half-hearted squeeze before retreating to the pool table. He was gross, it was weird. They sucked. The end. 7. Miss - Snow days. Definitely not a thing here. Especially if you don't own a car. I was super jealous of the huge snow storm all you east coasters got. Shut up about being bored, you got a week of Netflix and chill. I also just discovered adult coloring pages and bought a beautiful set of 50 colored pencils that I have yet to break out, so yeah, tell me again how bad those days off were. 8. Don't Miss - Salt. Koreans are so afraid to over-do it on the salt. Not always the case, but quite often we find ourselves faced with a bland meal, wishing that salt and pepper could be swapped for the very pickled pickles and cabbage. 9. Miss - Reese's cups. We ran out. Send more please and I'll send you back the weirdest Korean products I can find. 10. Don't Miss - Modesty in public bathing areas. This one probably sounds weird. Considering how conservative Korean society is about exposed skin, it's interesting how nudity is totally acceptable in places like the gym locker rooms and Jimjibangs (spas that you purposefully go to to get naked and sit in hot tubs and saunas). You do all this, of course, surrounded only by those of the same sex. It's definitely made me recognize how modest American women can be in "public" places where it is actually totally ok to be unclothed. I've also realized how embarrassed I can be about my body. I was a little nervous trying out the sauna at my gym the first time, expecting to stand out with my tall, pale, out-of-shape waygook body. But when I walked in, I was greeted by am older Korean lady, sitting cross legged on the floor, all of her lady bits on display, who smiled at me congenially. "Welcome," she said, in English. I smiled back, absorbing the warmth of her welcome and that of the sauna. I uncrossed my arms and relaxed, we were just some naked ladies hanging out together, and there's nothing wrong with naked ladies, right?
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