There are a lot of wonderful things about Korea, so this was hard to narrow down... but here goes!
10) The family time. E works a really bizarre schedule that has allowed for more family time than we have ever had, or probably ever will have! It's really been nice.
9) Everland. The Disney like amusement park about an hour drive away that we had season passes to and we all loved. I mean loved. It is one of my happy places, and I think E and the boys would agree.
8) Koreans' attitudes towards children. First of all, so many places have facilities for kids. Lower sinks, kid sized potties (not that we're needing those yet... alas), great kids meals. Secondly, most Koreans will spend time talking to my kids or entertain them while I'm shopping or looking around. But also, they don't think anything of it if kids are acting, well, like kids! They don't expect little kids to sit still at a restaurant, and don't think anything of it if they are up and running around. It's so nice, because my boys don't love to sit still! (Imagine that!)
7) The CDC (Child Development Center) on base. They have awesome hourly care here. I've never used a child care facility before, but N actually went twice a week here. His teachers were great, he knew a ton of kids from his class, and he would even come home singing songs he had learned there. It was a nice break for all of us, and I'm really going to miss them!
6) The pediatrician here. She has totally improved N's quality of life by putting him on some asthma drugs and making him feel much better. e too!
5) The shopping! There are fantastic deals to be found here in Korea, I mean fantastic... like I'm already regretting not buying more. Purses, clothes, furniture, fabric, purses, antiques, jewelry, and did I mention the purses? Two of my favorite finds include a step cabinet, which looks like a stair case filled with drawers and cubbies, and a carved rocking horse that I got the boys for $55! And some purses... and some fabric...
4) The food. I know many of my friends here will not agree with me on this one, but Korean food is quite good! I still haven't found a love for the traditional cabbage kimche, but the cucumber variety is one of my favorites. The bulgogi (BBQ beef cooked over a grill in front of you) is incredible. Bibimbop (a bowl of rice and veggies topped with a fried egg and lots of chili paste) has become a family favorite, especially little e who loves chili paste on his rice! And speaking of rice, the Koreans definitely have the best rice around. It brings a whole new meaning to sticky rice. Awesome. I could go on for some time, the yogurt, the Pepperos (biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate), the strawberries, the oranges... OK, so I really like food. But you all already know this.
3) The travel opportunities. We have been truly blessed to do quite a bit of traveling while we were here. We went to Okinawa, Japan (during a typhoon... but that's another story), China, and Hawaii. Not to mention a trip to Busan on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula, the DMZ, and many, many day trips to Seoul.
2) Our apartment. There is something freeing about only having 1000 lbs of stuff to deal with. Cleaning is minimal (it probably shouldn't be so minimal... oh well), and the toys have completely taken over the living room, and I just don't care! I mean instead of a coffee table I have a choo choo table. What could be better? I also really like the layout of this place. I can pretty much keep track of the boys from anywhere inside. I'm really going to miss that. Our view out the back is some woods and rice paddies. It's really peaceful out here. We have cow farms that we drive past on a daily basis and studying the progress of the rice has become a daily fascination.
And the number one thing I will miss about our life in Korea...
1) Our awesome friends that we have made here. This is true of every assignment we've ever had. The friends really make the assignment. I didn't think I would get so involved or make so many friends in such a short time, but God is good, and he gave me some awesome ladies to hand out with. Thanks so much!
1 comment:
Aww, I miss you guys already!
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