What I Miss The Most About Home

Obviously I miss my family, friends, and animal babies, but what I miss materially are the bathrooms. A lot of the restrooms have extremely nice toilets equipped with an electronic bidet and heated seats. Unfortunately, the restrooms in areas that are heavy populated have holes in the floor. If you know me well, I have a very sensitive sense of smell and a really strong  gag reflex. If I am forced to go into one of the stalls with a hole, I end up gagging profusely. All of the women and children must think I am either sick or bulemic. I know they are grossed out by me because of their fear of germs. The good thing is, I will most likely never run into them again. 

I also miss the fresh air! I would much rather it be 90 degrees in Oregon. At least it is a dry heat that you can breathe in. Here in Korea and Japan it is extremely humid. I feel so uncomfortable most of the day. I never get hot in Oregon, so this feeling is new to me. 

The things I will miss are the food and culture. The milk, both here in Okinawa and Seoul, is amazing! The Hong's get their milk delivered to their front door three times a week. It doesn't last as long here, but it is well worth it. Also, the bread is irreplaceable. I haven't had bread better than what I have had here. Soo, takes the whole bread experience to another level and makes fresh bread almost daily. I only wish that I could bring the milk and bread back home with me. 

Here in Okinawa, they grow a lot of their own fruit. So the shortage of fruit has not been an issue. But in Korea, it is a different story. The fruit is insanely priced. I saw a box of fruit at the grocery store, with 6 apples and 3 Korean pears, for 120,000 won!! Don't get me wrong, they were beautiful, but who would pay that much for fruit? A good gift to give a family in Korea is fruit. I really want to buy the Hong's a watermelon. It is so hard to pay so much for something when you know you can get it for a fraction of the price in the states. I believe, on the eatyourkimchi blog, they paid 100,000 won for a watermelon.  Too bad I couldn't just ship them fruit from Oregon. 

In Korea and in Japan the people have a deep respect for their elders. Regardless of your financial or public standing, if you are older, you automatically get more respect. If an older man or lady gets onto the subway or bus, it's an unwritten rule, that you must get up for them. If you do get up for them, they usually try to hold your bags for you. At first, I was uncomfortable, but they really insist that they hold your belongings. 

Well, I am off to the aquarium!!