I woke up this morning to the sound of Korean voices… and I felt like I was back in Korea. For a moment, I thought I was sleeping on the floor – like in Korea. I got up and walked into the Lee’s kitchen. My friend Yire and her parents were chatting casually in Korean. I said good morning to Yire, and did my best to say hello in Korean (1 of 2 phrases I know) to her parents.

RICE for breakfast. Beautiful. I LOVE rice for breakfast.

But with the Korean dinner the night before – kimchi rice, black bean noodles, and other things – DELICIOUS – and the laying on the floor before bed to watch a movie, and the “authentic” Korean massage, and waking up to Korean voices… I kept thinking about Korea all day…

I remember waking up to the smell of homemade kimchi (let me just say – that is a potent potent smell in the morning for an american).

Also, I remember doing a lot of smiling. Because I didn’t understand anyone, and they didn’t understand me. So, we just smiled and nodded at each other a lot. Haha.

My other memory was walking into the bathroom for the first time… Let me explain… We had just arrived at our destination after a 13 hour flight, a 4 hour bus ride, and a 30 minute car ride. My friend kindly suggested I shower first. She hands me a towel – the size of what we would call a “hand towel”. I look at it, and assume this is what they use there. I’m so tired I don’t even care… I’ll make it work. So, I put on the special bathroom flip flops that every house has and I walk into the bathroom… One room, a toilet, and a shower head by the sink, and a drain in the middle of the floor. I was so confused… I wasn’t really sure what to do. There wasn’t a bathtub or a shower… just that shower head. I stood there trying to figure it out for a second. But I couldn’t even fathom. So I had to go back out and ask my friend. She explained that you can shower anywhere… hence the mobile shower head. Such a bizarre concept.

Anyway… I was just feeling reminiscient for the day. Ohhhh Korea. ^^ (that’s a Korean smiley face)