Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We’ve stopped updating regulary. I know I know. I’m sorry. But it feels like time is just flying past us here. We joke often about how “busy” we are here in Korea. It’s laughable because Jacob really doesn’t have a steady job and I only work 30 hours a week, sometimes only 4.5 hours for a single day. We really have more time off than we’ve ever had before but somehow we still feel busy.

Our weekends are booked months in advance. It feels like there is so much to see and so little time to see it that we have started planning. I’m on cloud nine. While we may not actually accomplish much in Korea we still find more than enough to fill our time. I’ll do an update on what we’ve been up to later.

The change of scenery took a little getting used to. There are still some things about Korea that I will never understand and never like (spitting, being pushed, people screaming at me in a language I don’t understand) But I’ve come to realize that there are just as many things that I’ve really grown to love and appreciate.

I love the freedom that I’ve come to associate with living in Korea. While this really has nothing to do with Korea itself it’s something I really cherish. I have no responsibilities. None. It almost feels like we’re kids again, but with an income and no one to tell us what to do. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this much freedom.

We’re pretty much rockstars. Sure it’s sometimes annoying being the foreigner because it means that we are stared at a lot, but most of the time it isn’t malicious, people are just curious. We’ve also found though that because we are foreigners people will go out of their way to help us here. Janelie’ has had a woman share an umbrella with her, we’ve been given free stuff, we’re allowed to change buses halfway through the route because we’re lost.Most of the time  I hate being looked at but other times it’s pretty handy or amusing if you play along with it.

We’ve made amazing friends in a very short time. It’s hard to believe we’ve only known these people for 3 months. Living in a foreign country has  a way of uniting people quickly. I will always keep the people I’ve met here in a special place in my heart.

It scares me a little to admit this, but I think part of the reason we’ve stopped updating so often, is that all of the little things used to feel so big to us, but now it’s just a regular part of life. The screaming Koreans, the old ajummas, the stinky market, I barely even notice most of it anymore.

So I guess it’s all this to say, while I miss home, I’m having the time of my life here. I can’t wait for the next 9 months to see what more excitement and adventures we get ourselves into.