7 Things I miss from America

Last week was what I don't miss and this week I will reverse it. If you have ever worked at a larger school or spent time with a lot of foreigners in Korea, eventually the conversation turns to what you miss about home. I am going to leave out the number one choice of family and friends. That would be too easy and everyone misses their friends and family while they are overseas.


1. Mom and Gram's Cooking
Since I have lived in Korea, I have not owned a proper stove. Even if I did own one, I would not be able to recreate their delicacies. Chicken and dumplings, hot tamale pie, turkey and dressing, homemade pizza, corn bread and collard greens, fried tomatoes, boiled crawfish, fried catfish, seafood gumbo, pineapple casserole, chili and all the ones that I am leaving out. I guess this is the reason that I gain weight when I am back home.

2. Public Trash Cans
When my students ask me what I don't like about Korea, I always respond with this one. I have that a few years ago they removed all of the public trash cans. I can not verfy this, but I have been told that the reason that took them out was that people were using them instead of buying the expensive special trash bags to place their garbage in. I hate walking around with a used coffee cup because I refuse to throw it on the ground. I believe if there were more trash cans it would cut down on the amount of garbage that is scattered everywhere. Although, It would have no affect (/effect this one always stumps me, even after studying the rule) on the amount of fliers posted on cars and then thrown on the ground.

3. Hunting
I know this one will probably be pretty squeamish to my vegetarian friends, but I miss getting up early during hunting season and going out with friends for rabbit, deer, or doves. (I didn't link to the video of me shooting the rabbit. This is just of us letting the dogs out of the truck) You should watch the video and hear what a real Southern accent sounds like. I sometimes wonder if it is the actual hunting or just the time spent with my hunting buddies. Needless to say, there is no hunting in Korea or actually seeing wildlife like there is in Mississippi/Kentucky.(check out this video with my Grandfather's commentary!)

4. Open Areas/Nature
I know this one is a little weak, but it still is important to me. I miss the openness of Mississippi. We have developed every piece of land like Korea. There are huge track of forrest and fields. This is one of the aspects that I love of Mississippi. Where I live in Korea, you have to travel to see any open land. It is apartment after apartment.

5. Shopping For Clothes
This one does not apply to all foreigners, but mainly to us bigger people. I have lost a lot of weight since coming to Korea, but I am still unable to wear most Korean brand clothing. I now can wear Korean blue jeans, but anything above the waist is off limits. My shoulders are so wide that wearing Korean shirts is not an option. I am stuck with going to Ittaewon or Songtan near Osan to buy clothes. I miss being able to stroll through the mall back home and quickly making a clothing choice.

6. Gourmet Sandwich Shops
If I had the money, I would open one in Korea. I miss being able to order rye bread. Give me a Rueben or Muffuletta. In my lifetime there is no telling how much money I have spent at McAlister's or Schlotzsky's

7. Football
During football season in America, I am usually consumed. There was a time that on Friday nights I would catch a local high school game, Saturday was for watching University level football and Sundays were set aside for professional games. It was a 3 day binge of football and then you had your Monday night game and sometimes even a Tuesday or Thursday night game. This equated to a lot a beer and nachos. I now can download games or watch them on gamecast, but it is not the same.


This has been the hardest list to compose since starting Saturday's Super Seven. If there were more things I missed, it would be a lot harder to live here.

Next Week's Topic: 7 Hakwons or Academies Children Attend