good for the seoul

Bless these simultaneously lazy and exciting days I've been having in blissful Seoul, South Korea! So far, our adventures have consisted of weaving our way through throngs of people in Myeongdong and Dongdaemun, avoiding being run over by food delivery scooters, hailing cheap taxis, and bicycling around the apartment complex with my little cousin.

I feel like I'm in a Miyazaki film.

It truly is a cultural hodge podge (the best kind of hodge podge!) around my cousin's place, which was a not-unpleasant surprise after touring through the largely homogeneous land of South Korea. Of course, that's not to say that I didn't appreciate not having to be conscious of my ethnicity wherever I went. For once, it was nice not being "the Asian girl" and instead just "the girl completely butchering the Korean language and complaining about the heat in Russian? Mandarin? Oh, English!"!

Anyhow, I'll be stuffing myself with rice rolls and noodles 'til I burst; who knows when I'll be making the 11 hour flight from Vancouver to Incheon again? Oh Korea, how I'll miss your convenience store treats, grilled kalbi, and sweet bingsu's, just to name a dear few. I'd withstand your sweltering summers, humid monsoon seasons, and fierce winters any day for an icy bowl of authentic naengmyeon #_#

suburban summer

It's 2:17 in the morning and I'm listening to the album, Crazy For You by Best Coast, which is ironic because I'm really not excited to be returning to the Pacific Northwest.

Let me clarify: it's not really the idea of a different coast that isn't appealing to me, rather it's the idea of abandoning this idyllic suburban lifestyle I've always talked shit about before I'd experienced it for myself. As I pumped my legs on the swings toward a cotton candy sky, swatted away the mosquitos that emerged from plush grass, and bicycled down streets lined with spacious houses, I started to daydream about what life would be like if this were my home. Thoughts along the lines of, "Imagine lying on that huge soccer pitch in the middle of the night and stargazing with your friends", were constant.

How much would my life be like an independent coming-of-age film if I could live in the suburbs and do stuff like sneak out of the house and embark on all of the classic adventures that were supposed to come with being fifteen? How cool and different would it be to have to make a day out of going downtown, or "into the city"? The opposite of probably at least 80% of teenage girls living in the 'burbs, I couldn't help but long for a life completely different from the one I was living in an arguably "cosmopolitan" city. For some reason, I just felt more alive in a place with these being its top searched qualities:

Maybe living downtown has something to do with it. More often than not, there's so much activity going on right outside our little condo in downtown Vancouver, distracting you from realizing that you've completely abandoned enlivening your home life. In contrast, there's such an abundance of feel-good, positive energy within my grandparents' home, and I can't help but think it's because you need it if the world outside your walls is so still.

Either way, we're flying back home on Sunday, and then it's off to Seoul. I'll be enjoying this quiet little sanctuary with my family until then!