Things I miss

I have been in Korea for 3 and a half weeks now and am starting to miss some ‘American’ stuff. This list is what all I miss most about being in Korea versus America.

1. My friends – I miss couch time in the hall and puzzle nights in our dorm. I miss being jumped on while lying in bed or at my desk. I miss getting to talk to my sisters and my brothers about anything and everything. I miss twizzler fights with my roommate and getting locked in my closet so I can never leave. I miss spastic squirrels who jump at us and give us heart attacks and watching squirrels try to carry a whole apple up a tree. I miss Phi Lamb worships every Monday and Prayer groups during the week. I miss all my friends from school and life.
2. My family – I miss my brother trying to show me the newest game he found on the internet or the latest battle he won on his computer game. I miss helping my little sister take care of my nephew and babysitting him so she can go to karaoke night. I miss IM talks with my older sister about her latest experiments and her life in Baltimore. I miss helping my mom cook and my dad showing off his latest gadgets he has gotten. I miss talking to everyone in my family and hearing their voice.
3. BOOKS – I miss having a basically unlimited library of books available at my own house to read and reread at my leisure. I brought 3 books with me to Korea and have read them all twice plus 3 books I borrowed from the library at the school. My list of books read in the last month is
i. The Best of Guideposts (1x)
ii. Montana Skies 4 books in 1 - (Healing Love, Compassionate Love, Love Remembered, Love Abounds) (2x)
iii. A Love Woven True (2x)
iv. Pride and Prejudice (on my computer)
v. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
vi. The Secret Garden
vii. Walk Two Moons
With the lack of internet at my apartment I spend the evenings reading and playing solitaire on my computer so I have had plenty of time to read. I just lack in books to read
4. Mexican Food – I love Korean food (I would even go as far as to say that I like kimchi) and get plenty of chances to eat that but you cannot find a Mexican restaurant in all of Asan. The other Texan here says that you also cannot find tortillas or any of the other essentials to make Mexican food here in Asan. There is rumored to be a Mexican restaurant in the Itaewon district of Seoul but I haven’t had a chance to go up and see if the rumor true. I have also heard that a grocery store in the Itaewon district sells American groceries (for the army ppl) and has tortillas and shredded cheddar cheese so that quesadillas and tacos can be made.
5. 24 hour Wal-Mart – Although Wal-Mart has its evils it has everything needed and in one place. I haven’t yet found out how to get to the E-mart in Asan (which is probably the closest thing to walmart in Korea) but there is one within 2 miles of my apartment. For now we just have to get what we need from one of the many convenience stores on the way home from school in the evening. The stores do have a lot but not all of the stores have everything that we need so sometimes we make multiple stops in search of Q-tips or laundry soap. I miss the ease of running to Wal-Mart whenever something was needed. I also miss late night Wal-Mart trips with my friends to play and goof off because we were bored.
6. Washing machine – Our apartment doesn’t have a washing machine so I have to hand was everything. Its not to bad to hand wash socks or shirts but hand washing my sheets and towels is a lot of effort. We are supposed to have a washing machine in the new apartment but no dryer. Koreans don’t do dryers. Everything is hung on the porch outside after it is washed.
Ok, that is about all I can think of that I really miss from America at this point. I’m sure the list will grow and shrink as I stay here and become used to Korea.