Missing the Following:

Its been ages now since I last stepped foot on Korean soil. Do I miss it? Yes. Very much. Am I glad to be home- of course. But still. To think, this time last year, I was enjoying Chusok, Soju, and the beauty of Korean autumn. I miss the following in no particular order:

1. I miss being a teacher! I miss going on dorky field trips with my preschoolers.

2. I miss this guy! Convenience Store Guy never spoke much more than a lick of English but was always friendly as hell and a bright, friendly part of my day.

3. Mingi. This kid was so frickin' cute and soooo unruly and misbehaving. Gotta love a spoiled 4 year old Korean child constantly keeping you busy.

4. Wild nights as the Soju Monster and good company. Damn, I know the terrible quality Korean booze downright ruined my stomach but still, where else can you get a bottle of booze that will get you wasted and almost hallucinating for only $1,000 Won ( about $1)????

5. Weekend trips! What a blast, even if it was cold and rainy and I bitched the whole time, I was still having fun. Trust me on this:)

6. The busy streets of Meungdong. Trips to Seoul came either one of two ways. Either ride for 45 minutes on a nauseating, over-crowded bus or ride for an hour and a half on an over-crowded, stuffy subway. I always chose the subway, or else I would feel like vomiting the rest of the day. Meungdong was always the ultimate fashion and shopping mecca for young Koreans.

7. Walks along the river on the little path to my house. I miss my old neighborhood, with all of its random call-girl cards strewn about, PC Bangs, and junk convenience stores. Oh, and I miss cans of Gatorade. Soo delicious!

8. Cute stuff galore!!!! Everywhere I went, cute and bizarre things would steal my heart and practically rip my eyeballs out of thier sockets. Everything and everyone was just so dang adorable, I felt as if I might burst.

9. Mondu. Of fuck, do I ever miss mondu!!!!!!! The ultimate warm your belly food. Those soft little dumpings are what dreams are made of. And cheap, cheap, cheap.

10. Korean BBQ and drunken, misbehaving coworkers. Lindsay's face is priceless and Aram, we always loved your misbehaving, abnoxious ways, even if we pretended we didn't. And my God, Korean BBQ is just sooo frickin' amazing. Best food ever.

Sometimes, I hear a little voice that tells me that I am ready for more travel and adventure. Day in and day out, I work here. We try to spice things up by getting a dog, getting a new car, new shoes, whatever but it still seems dull in comparison to my life this time one year ago. Then again, I remember many weekends never even leaving my apartment apart from getting a bite to eat. I remember being incredibly alone in one of the most densely populated countries in the world. But to me, the past is best romanticised and played up a bit.

Missing the Ssamzie Market

It has been 3 months now since I came back to Iowa. I still sometimes start my sentences out with, "When I was in Korea," but for the most part, things have gotten pretty much back to normal around here. I am happy to be home and happy I no longer have to endure racism, my wacked out Korean American prick head teacher, or any of the other bullshit involved with living somewhere unfamiliar where you just don't fit in!

I do, however, miss the shopping in Korea!!! I miss taking weekend trips alone into Seoul to explore what I wanted to explore and to take my time and get lost and make discoveries along the way. One of my favorite places to go was the Insadong Market on Sunday afternoons. It is a total tourist trap but also completely awesome! I especially enjoyed Ssamzie Market, the artsy center where I coveted all of the awesome stuff in the boutiques.

Ssamzie Market has tons of DIY crafted items, jewelry, and even an Ana Sui Boutique. One of my favorite vendors was this amazing girl who did miniature dioramas of Seoul cityscapes and little Korean rooms. Soooo awesome! I am kicking myself for not picking up her book while I was there. Why was I such a cheapskate? Darn it!

Dalki is well loved in Korea and is kind of the Strawberry Shortcake of the country. I think she looks kind of mean and angry but I guess cute at the same time. This little vendor was making strawberry smoothies and little Dalki inspired treats.

Well, I hope someday I will get to go back and take a trip purely for pleasure so that I can re-visit all of the places I loved so dearly!

More Photos From the Seoul Toy Museum

The Seoul Toy Musuem was one of my favorite places in all of Seoul. I went there twice during my stay in Korea, just because I liked it that much! I probably took hundreds of photos that day so I decided it is only fair to share more of the great photos from my trip to the toy museum. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Korean TV

While living in my basement dungeon in South Korea, I had plenty of time to veg out and watch TV. Most of the channels were in Korean but there were a few in English, including the Fox channel that played car chases, action flicks, and funniest home videos 24-7. Thank God Tooniverse played the Simpsons every night at 11 p.m. I also must admit that I enjoyed watching the Korean channels, although I was pretty much clueless 100% of the time as to what the hell was going on:)

Sometimes, I actually miss watching those wacky shows on Korean television. Even the infomercials were hilarious to me. And of course, every commercial was a total mind-fuck, for sure!!!

Home Sweet Home

Of all of the most important things I collected during my time in South Korea, I would rate my toys at the top of the list! My toys finally have a home here in Iowa, as seen here displayed on a few shelves. Seriously, every time I look over at my toys, I get super happy. I love toys!

Korean Inspired Doodles

I thought it was only fitting that I would revisit doodleland and create some cute things based off of stickers I picked up in Korea. Food and cuddly bears and Stinky tofu- my favorite subjects:)

Sara's Top Moments in Korea

Thought I would get a little bit nostalgic and rehash some of my best Korea memories:)
Note: Some photos were stolen from Lindsay's blog..... With love!!!