Since moving to South Korea, I’ve gotten very comfortable living here. My work is great, my home is nice, I’ve met tons a nice people and have been crossing thing off my bucket list. I’ve even gotten into a comfortable routine and enjoy trying to speak Korea with my co-teacher and staff at school. My Korean is still really bad and I really need to devote more of my time to studying, but I have gotten a few words down and understand quite a bit when they speak to me. It’s a work in progress.

That being said, there are a couple of things I really miss that the home has and Korea doesn’t (Especially since I just came back from visiting family and friends, see vlog here). They are things that I can and do live without, but I wouldn’t mind if there were available here. Let’s start with food:

1. Hot Cheetos // They have Cheetos here. They do. But it’s definitely made to the Korean taste. I find that a lot of American brand chips here are remade to the Korean taste bud and its a bit sweet. At some point I’m going to see if any of the foreign stores in Itaewon carries it, but I’m doubtful.

2. Ovens // I really miss having an oven. I mean, I could buy one of those mini conventional ovens, but my small little apartment doesn’t have the room for that. Back in the USA I cooked using the oven all the time; baking chicken, roasting vegetables, making cookies, etc. Here, it’s super rare to find a place with an oven.

3. Driving // I have a car back in the USA that I’m paying off. It’s sort of a deal with my mom. She drives my car and pays for the upkeep (ie. oil changes) and I’ll pay the loan. I miss my car (it’s a white Chevy Equinox I named Ghost) and I miss driving. However, I wouldn’t want to drive here. The laws of the road here are very different than back at home. Some drivers will pretty much do anything to get to their destination faster.

4. Target // Yeah. I miss the store Target. I think the closest version they have to a Target here is Lotte Mart or even E-Mart. However, back in the USA (with the exception of the time I live on Whidbey) I always lived near a Target. In my neighborhood, there is no version of that. Lotte Mart and E-mart are a good hour bus ride away.

5. Mexican Food // Unless I go up to Seoul, you can’t find any thing similar to Mexican food. The closest I’ve gotten is making quesadillas at home but even then still not the same. Real cheese is hard to find in the regular grocery stores and I’ve haven’t even seen salsa.

6. Stores like TJ Max, Marshalls & Ross // There are tons of small boutiques in my neighborhood but as a medium-sized American, I don’t fit in most of their clothes. Finding a wide variety of clothing brands at affordable prices like you can at TJ Max here is just not possible. Or at least I haven’t found any.

7. Coffee // I don’t mean like at a cafe. South Korea has tons of cafes. Even on the first floor of my apartment building, there’s a cafe. What I mean is, being able to by coffee in a grocery store and brew it at home. To get good decent coffee, I have to order it online and it’s expensive. My last order was for 200 grams at 9,200 won. That’s about $1.05 per ounce. And I have to order it almost weekly.

So those are the 7 things that I miss that’s back at home in the USA. It’s not a lot. Like I said before, they are just things and places that I can live without. But totally miss.

What would you miss if you lived far away from home?

Until next time… 안녕히 가세요, jane*