Autumn in Korea - Farewell

South Korea has shown us a magnificent Autumn to  send us off... with a light dusting of snow this morning, just to remind us that it really does get cold here.......Here are just a few photos from around our apartment, just so you can share the joy!! I'm sure I've show everyone Autumn photos from here before, but it is just so lovely....

FAREWELL TO OUR HOME OF 3 YEARS

The two people who have made the most impact on our lives here in terms of helping us settle in and getting us through the cultural and language issues that have come up, are Russell's work colleagues and friends, 한승히 (Sunny - Russell's amazing secretary) and 김숙만 (Dr Kim - Russell's fellow scientist at the IRRI Korea office). We owe much to these wonderful people, and look forward to maintaining our friendship with them in the future.  THANK YOU, DR KIM AND SUNNY!!!

It is time for us to bid farewell to this beautiful country.  I've been thinking a lot lately about the things I've enjoyed about living in Korea, and the things that I haven't liked so much.  

Here's some of the things I love:

• I love the change in seasons, except mid-late Summer (August!!) because hot, humid weather is not my favourite (.....and I'm going to live in the Philippines....go figure!!), and late Winter, because we've already put up with the cold for too many months by that stage!! Spring and Autumn are magnificent, and people really make the most of the weather to get out and do things.
• I love the friends we've made here.  There are so many, and now we have lots of places to visit, all over the world, to catch up with them. Some have moved on, and some are still here, but that seems to be the nature of being an expat - the coming and going of friends.  There is so much I can say about this - it makes me yearn for the stability of Leeton, where we were part of the community and the lives of our friends there (yes, it's different and oh so nice when you can see them as often as you choose); it makes me sad every time I think that we will no longer be an immediate part of each other lives; mostly, it makes me feel incredibly fortunate that I have had this opportunity to make so many new friends and to have had time to get to know them well.
• The Korean people are wonderful!!
• I've enjoyed living close to Seoul, and being able to get anywhere easily. The traffic system works well!!!  Express buses and express bus lanes on the motorways are amazing, and makes the trip into Seoul a pleasure!
• The VERY CUTE Korean kids and their families!!!
• Korean BBQ - what more can I say.  In fact, Korean food, generally, is excellent!
• The fortress walls and other old things!!....especially Hwasong Fortress in Suwon!
• The national parks, mountains and temples are amazing!
• High speed internet!!!
• Driving up some of the valleys to explore the local villages and mountains - beautiful!
• Grocery shopping with Heather - a laugh a minute.
• Insadong, Namdaemun, Dongdaemun, Myeongdong, Gangnam and other great neighbourhoods in Seoul - it's been fun getting to know them.
• Working at Korea International School, both at Pangyo and Seoul - I love the people there more than I can explain!!!
• Coffee shops and restaurants!!! There must be more per square metre here than anywhere else in the world!!!! (OK, someone's going to tell me about Europe here, but I haven't been there, so ......).... and I've had Pam, Paula, Leanne, Laura, Heather, Kelly, Irish and many others to enjoy these with. Thanks ladies!
• Watching kids (and families) out  playing games in parks, playing basketball at 10pm on the courts we overlook, cycling together on the weekends.  In a land where everyone seems to spend so much time at school or work, it's good to see people being active, too.
• Living in Pangyo - right next to the creek and looking out at hills and trees (so nice when you live in a city!).
• Incheon airport has to be seen to be believed - I will miss leaving from and coming to Incheon.

Some of the things I wasn't so sure about when I arrived, but now I really like:

• The parking attendants.  I thought they were silly....at first.  My moment of enlightenment came when I was trying to find a parking space in a multi-level carpark FULL of cars and with many others doing the same as me, with little space to drive, let alone park.  The attendants guided us away from busy levels to less busy ones, smiled, gestured (nicely) in a way that can only be described as dancing with the hands, and sometimes even did a little dance when drivers ignored them!  I even like their uniforms, which sometimes look like they've been borrowed from an older (and larger) sibling, but just make me smile and feel happy.
• Kimchi....of course.
• Coloured lights on bridges and buildings.  This felt very over-the-top when we arrived, but now just feels normal and fun - I even miss them when they're gone, like when the power crisis was happening in mid-2013 (and they were finally turned back on about 2 weeks ago - just 15 months later).
• The traffic....although this is a mixed bag.  The standard of driving is not always good, and there is far too much traffic, but generally it works..... turning right on a red light is legal and common, and this helps clear the traffic..... running red lights is not legal, but common, and generally done at a very slow pace and only when there are no cars coming on the green light - this also helps clear the traffic, and in a land where traffic lights are timed (no sensors), it also works.
• The way words and phrases are translated into English - never-ending entertainment.

Things I just can't get used to:

• Men spitting on the footpath....anywhere, any time.....yuk! I don't notice it as much now, perhaps because I'm used to it, but I still don't like it!!
• People pushing me out of the way to get where they're going, without any apology or recognition......I'M AN AJUMMA TOO, YOU KNOW!!
• People strolling across the street without looking for cars, AND without seeming to notice when a car is right behind them waiting for them to move, AND continuing to stroll down the middle of the road at their own pace......

There are many more things, and some of which I will surely remember with pleasure as time goes on.  Suffice to say that our time here has been an amazing experience, and one that we will remember forever.  It hasn't always been easy, but the struggles have been worth it, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have lived here for a time, to make some very special new friends, and to enjoy another part of this wonderful world that we live in.

So...until next time, Korea.... God willing, we will be back again soon.

THANK YOU

 Before I go, Russ and I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who has loved, cared for and spent time with Mitch, Peta-Erin, Hayden and Alice while we have lived away from them.  We can't express how much it means to us to have such good friends and family, who give our children beds, meals, love and time.  I know this would happen anyway, but the fact that we aren't there in person for them makes it so much more important and valuable.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. We will be sure to pass on that same hospitality to others!