I Live in Korea...really.

I'll post more about my trip home and to Malaysia very soon but first, there is something I have to get off my chest....

Ever since I hit that 6 month mark of living abroad, have been home and returned and now am going on about 15 months....it's finally started to hit me that I live in Korea.

I know - DUH, right? But wait...I can explain.

Some days, I never utter a word of hangul (word for the Korean language), I read English books and watch English videos on YouTube, I spend countless hours in bars filled mostly with other foreigners, and I don't even notice the passed out Korean business men on the side of the street. Other days I spend completely submerged in this very confused and yet distinctive culture that is Korean which means stopping to stare for a second at those passed out Korean business men on the side of the street, eating a diet filled mostly with rice and meat that only seems to ever experience garlic and ridiculously spicy pepper as seasonings, flashing annoyed looks at the dirty old men that spit huge wads right by my feet on the street, and smiling at all the cute children that shout, "Hello! I love you!" as I pass by.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's just that I tend to notice certain things more on some days than others based on my mood - which can be affected by a number of different variables (no point in even TRYING to analyze that). Maybe it's that I happen to be in the right place at the right time to feel certain ways, such as going to school where I speak English all day and then going to my English-speaking lash extension beautician or (vice versa) being yelled at by an adjuma to move the #!@$ out of her way and then stopping in at a Korean restaurant where I must read the menu in Korean, as there is no other option. Maybe it's based on my personal struggle to figure out who I am and what the hell I'm doing. Maybe it's culture shock from moving to Korea - a place that allows or better yet pushes me to live outside of typical social norms merely because I have light hair and skin. Maybe it's culture shock from visiting home - a place where I feel more restricted to live within the realm of society - and then returning to what's become my new playground. Maybe being the different one has become my new identity. Maybe it's all of the above...or maybe it's none of it.

Whatever it is....I know now that I am living in Korea and I know at least ONE reason why I am starting to realize this....

Asian men are starting to look attractive.

ATTENTION GERMANY: I will be there sooner than we both realize.