Things we think we will miss....

We have been living in Korea for about 3 months now. Mrs. Rude and I have been talking about some of the things we have been missing from home lately. This post reflects back on a conversation Mrs. Rude and I had before we left for Korea about what we though we would miss and compare it to what we actually miss. 

Things we THINK we will miss:

Originally written 5/3/2014 

Our comments and thoughts from today 11/8/14 are in bold.

Both:

Family/Friends - Friends and family take the cake! It has been hard to only see them via Skype  or FaceTime and the time change even makes that difficult. We are thankful for the pictures that have been sent and would love more!!!! Also, really missing our dinner dates that happened on regular basis with Friends/Family back home.

Our mattress - Eh, Mrs. Rude misses her pillow and the bed is a bit smaller here but I forgot that this was even on our list.

Netflix - It is blocked in Korea... but we found a way around it :) 

Mt. Rainier - Although not snow covered there are many mountains in Korea and they are fun to hike :) 

The green scenery of the PNW - Korea has so much green, we are lucky to be surrounded by it where we live. The turning leaves are beautiful and I will be sad to see them all go this winter. I do miss the Puget Sound. There is no body of water nearby where we live.

All our clothes that will be left behind - Not anything in particular but the variety would be nice. We have worn all our outfits multiple times. We have started exploring more and found some clothing store with clothes that fit! Mrs. Rude loves her heat-tech yoga/legging type pants. 

Mama A's freezer jam! (My mouth just watered typing that) - Yes, Costco jam works but it's just not the same...

Mrs. Rude:

My classroom coffee pot - Found coffee sticks that are pretty convenient ... but not as tasty

My pillow - YES

My blankie - nah

My free books?!? (I'm worried my library book app won't work!) - It works great and loving the audio books for the bus and subway.

My gym classes! - Yeah, I have no upper body or core muscle now. But my legs are solid from all the walking and steps we hike on our way to school everyday.

My super organized classroom desk (the drawers NOT the desktop) - I am attempting but its not even close to organized here. Now I wish for a file cabinet... maybe even just one drawer would be nice... :) 

My own guitar - Nope, There is a guitar that our Head Teacher let me borrow. The strings are steel so a little harder on my fingers but it works!

Mr. Rude:

Cooks illustrated magazines 

All my kitchen gadgets

Let me honest, my whole kitchen!

I have come to realize that cooking is/was an outlet that I do miss. It’s hard to cook with out the setup and tools I just had sitting in the kitchen like I did back home. 

Carpet - Eh, Not gonna lie, kinda liking the heated floor system they have going in Korea for winter and the non carpeted floors are cool in the summer months, clean up pretty easy.   

Dairy products (Costco in Korea carries cheese though!) - I miss the convince of yogurt for breakfast, and cheese is easily found here...but it's just not the same. We have been too scared to even try milk. Lol

Being able to communicate with anyone at anytime in English - School is all English only so not a problem at there. Outside of school we are slowly learning survival Korean but its still not that great. I am starting recognize and able to read some Korean which is helpful, especially for bus routes. And Korean people do understand some English and have been very kind and helpful so far! Struggle sometimes but have not been frustrated yet!

Things we WON'T miss:

Paying rent! - Yes                               

Living in "The Glen" - Yes -  We love our apartment here! It’s not as “homey” but Mrs. Rude is working on that J I will admit the 10 min commute by car to work was nice living at “The Glen.” 

Paying for gas! Relying on our cars to get us everywhere…

The "gas" cost is still here but lower than home. We are averaging about $60+ a month each on Transit. It is awesome to not have to worry about parking, but it is much harder to shop and bring stuff home on public transit…and we are not looking forward to commuting in the snow by foot...

Things we ACTUALLY miss that we didn't think of when we made our original list:

Clothes Dryer – Hang drying all the clothes and bedding takes F...o…r…e…v...e…r… especially as the weather gets colder

Static Guard - Dry Air = Static Shock/Clingy Clothes :( 

Our Bedding - I blame Nettie for getting us hooked on nice sheets...

- The Rudes