Familiarity

It's probably not worth the time it'll take you to scroll down, but below my dear mother's birthday post is the end of my vacation post. It's wholly negative and not satisfying in the least, kind of like watching an episode of the Gilmore Girls. So we are going to move on to more positive fare.

During my vacation, I had actually developed a longing for Korea. Something about that did not sit right with me. Here I was on two tropical islands, and a part of me wanted to get back to Korea. I don't think I longed for Korea herself, but for the ways and familiarity that had been revealed to me about Korea. If you're anything like me and you spend six months in this country, something will stick with you about it. The growing familiarity of the language, the familiarity of the mannerisms, the familiarity of the customs, the familiarity of your own developed rituals, the familiarity of an adopted home. I was as happy as an exhausted, about-to-take-a-4-hour-bus-ride-at-10-PM-and-going-to-work-the-next-morning elementary school teacher could be when I stepped off the plane at Incheon to that familiar Hangeul and that familiar 대한민국 immigration welcoming me back.

I also learned after catching up with friends about their vacation that I was not the only one who developed a dull longing to get back to Korea. I don't think it was the majority of people, but more than one, at least, mentioned to me that there was a place in their hearts for this crazy peninsula. Maybe it's because every day of our lives looks exactly like this:

I'm sorry I used the word familiar so much. It was the best I could do.

Also, I apologize for not updating more timely. I don't think I've recovered from the laziness yet. It's like a big locomotive beginning its long journey again after being stopped by a cow on the tracks. I probably should have just obliterated the cow and not slowed down at all, but cows can be enticing that way. Anyway, the locomotive takes a while to get going again. Starts off smooth and slow, but it takes some dude shoveling coal into it to get it up to an acceptable travel speed. Help me shovel coal!