so long and, thanks for all the kimchi...

*for those who can read Hangul, I'm aware that I'm missing the first syllable of Starbucks, and the sign actually reads 'Tabuckse Kopi'*

At around 5am, I stumbled up to the Starbucks counter and ordered my coffee. The situation was rife with problems, the least of which being my phone not responding to my gentile touch. While I was only slightly distraught about my current disconnect from KakaoTalk, I was more perturbed that my Grande Americano was not being rung in. Through half open eyes, I simply repeated my order, slowing down hoping to properly annunciate the already hard to annunciate Korean syllables. I really didn’t understand why this strangely large woman didn’t understand my order. It wasn’t until another beloved, albeit elongated Starbucks employee, behind the cashier leaned over and whispered “He’s speaking Korean.”

 In a sudden panic, I did a quick inventory. The woman behind the till wasn’t a large Korean, she was a large African American lady, and her companion was a tall Middle Eastern woman. In the moment I cocked my head to the side, and my heels together. Something was wrong, and no heel clicking could revert my current footing. Not in Kansas anymore I remembered I was standing in the Vancouver Airport, freshly squeezed out of an aging airplane (the plane’s bathrooms had ash trays). I’m not sure if it was the whirlwind of the previous weeks or the lack of sleep that created my confusion.

For those of you also confused, I did expect to stay another six months in Korea. However, that didn’t end up being in the cards, and I returned home. I’m also well aware that I haven’t been the best at keeping this site updated over… well over the past year. I haven’t really had much time to complete the dozen or so entries that I’d started. Now that I’m living at home (and unemployed, YAY me!) I finally have some free time! And plan on finishing several of the posts. So! Stay tuned (whoever is left reading) there is more to come on my experience in Korea.