Things I will Miss

1. I will miss walking to work and feeling like I am in a movie. I pass by trash, old women on scooters who deliver stuff all over town, then a tae-kwon-do school where I hear energetic music and kids laughing and chanting, next I cross the street and the soundtrack changes to the Piano music from the piano hagwon, and depending on the season I walk up the hill under yellowing Ginkgo trees, flowering cherry trees, or overhanging red roses. (Oh and did I mention that the sidewalk is rubberized? Blacksburg can't even rubberize their track...)

2. I will miss not paying taxes on everything since

it is built into the price (as it should be).

3. I will miss not paying tips at restaurants.

4. I will miss scottering and parking right in front of whatever location we are going to.

5. I will miss the ability to walk outside in a park a

nd drink wine or beer. People in America don't realize the liberties they are lacking until they visit other countries. Now I am not saying I will miss public drunkenness, but I like picnics with wine.

6. I will miss not getting too stuck in traffic because we can drive on the sidewalk.

7. I may occasionally miss the dying horns from cabs and buses that fade out because they are used to much. I see it as a sign of justice.

8. I will miss how fast things are done in Korea. You go to the bank for a bank card and they hand it over to you within 5 minutes. You go to the International offices and have someone who speaks english helping you within 15 minutes, usually faster and you can extend your visa or get other documentation done in one sitti

ng. I think of the DMV and I shudder.

9. I will miss my students. Well most of them. Although they can be a pain, I know I have a wonderful bunch of kids. It has been so fun to see their English improve and be able to read or answer questions or communicate in ways they couldn't before. I know I am not the best English teacher, but there is evidence that God has made me at least a little successful.

10. I will miss my co-teachers, who although I never get to spend enough time with, have been wonderful.

11. I will miss random festivals that we can bus to, or stop at in town.

12. I will miss weekend trips all over Korea and all the craziness that happens on them.

13. I will miss being an hour from the beach and running into people randomly in subways on the way.

14. I will miss coffee shop talks.

15. I will miss having the choice of 5 different cute coffee shops at almost any location.

16. I will miss the grocery store being literally a minute walk from my house.

17. I will miss people at locations I frequent knowing my name and what I like to order.

18. I will miss the Sangnam Market where they know me and I buy dresses all the time for near nothing (quality dresses at that).

19. I will miss Korean fashion and how they dress up every tiny store.

20. I will miss meeting any non-korean and having a kindredness simply because we are not from Korea. A foreign country is an excellent place to meet people. We all bond so fast because we can.

21. I will miss the freedom of knowing if I wanted I could set up my own little vending table with goods outside.

22. I will miss having super low living expenses. I may even miss our tiny studio apartment.

23. I will miss Yongji-lake nights, Korean culture nights filled with beef and singing-rooms, and Sunday movie nights.

24. I will miss my church. Smyrna has become our little family. It felt that way from the beginning which is why we started going there. We had our wedding there and have made so many good memories with our friends from Smyrna.

25. Stephen and I have been blessed with an amazing friends group. It's a set of about 10-15 that we do most things with and it has been AWESOME! We have had so much fun traveling around Korea with them and taking day trips or exploring festivals.....God willing we will meet up again even though we all live in different corners.

Stephen and I have been so blessed in Korea. We have learned so much and feel like we have grown a lot too. We are recognizing so many blessings in our lives and now it is almost time to leave. Stephen is on his second to last day of teaching. I have 4 more weeks. We have had an amazing adventure here and now we are excited about what is prepared for us to come.....