Friday, February 1, 2013

I Think I'm Back

You know how sometimes you write an entire blog post, and then read it over and think, "What the what? Have you not been sleeping well? Are you crazy?! Because that makes no sense, it's unnecessarily sentimental, it was all over the place, and ...SQUIRREL!"

No? Well, I do.

Truth:
I didn't sleep well last night.
am a little crazy.
I am feeling unnecessarily sentimental.
Being all over the place is, unfortunately, my "thing" these days.
And, yes. Squirrel.

So, you faithful few who still check my lonely nomadic blog, thanks for tolerating my second attempt.
What follows is a dog-pile list of what has been on my mind lately. And it is all over the place, sorry. But when it's over, I will feel like my blog is caught up, and that's big for me. A Drop of Awesome , if you will.

* I love Korea. I do. The food, the culture, the scenery, the friends, the memories. It has all become precious to me. I will always look back on our time here with a grateful heart.

* With that said, I miss our families and friends back home so terribly that at times it literally makes my heart ache. I am almost equal parts of sorrow and joy knowing we are not quite halfway through our time here.

* My daughter has declared she wants to change her name to Angelina Ballerina. She gets quite agitated if someone has the audacity to address her by anything besides "Angelina."

* Optimus Prime was my son's moniker of choice for a long time. But it has given way to Super Mario, which is fun and much easier to explain (because yes, he learned who Optimus Prime was by watching a violent, PG-13, Megan-Fox-inundated movie). Thank you, Nintendo.

* I have learned that depression in Korea is similar...nay, identical...to depression anywhere else.

* I have baked more cookies in the last 15 months than I have in the last 15 years combined. This is no joke. That is one aspect of being a military wife I totally did not foresee.

* I think I may finally have figured out my husband's Love Language. This is a big deal, as my husband is a man of few words, few emotions shown, and pretty much no inclination to prance about and discuss his feelings. (Okay, maybe nobody really needs to prance, but the likelihood of his deeply pondering, identifying, and discussing his own emotional needs is JUST as likely as his cavorting about in a pink tutu. Seriously. I love the man.)

* Michael Buble's voice does for my ears what Almond Roca does for my mouth. Ah, yum.

* I love our branch here. Being in a remote military location seems to cause a sort of polarization- there are not many fence-sitters here. Most who choose to be active in the branch are ALL in, and their faith, service and kindness is much of what has made our experience here exceptional. I love the gospel and the wonderful way it provides me with an instant family no matter where I am.

* If you have partaken of a maple-frosted donut recently, know that I am insanely jealous of you. If you have not, please do so in my behalf. I can make do without WalMart or Arby's or even *gasp* TJ Maxx, but I sure am missing those donuts.

* I do not have a pituitary adenoma. I have a clean MRI to prove it. Huzzah.

* If you can envision a country roughly the size of Indiana, excepting a population just over 7 times as many as that of Indiana, and imagine all the local drivers to have the courtesy and common sense of a 15 year-old with a Learner's Permit and the sure knowledge that no police officer will bother to pull them over EVER- then you can imagine driving in South Korea. I doubt I will ever miss the lane-jockeying, law-ignoring,  horn-happy craziness that we encounter just trying to get across town.

* I never used to be able to fathom how a person could live in another country for years and never manage to learn how to communicate in the local language. Well, after over a year here I've mastered three words. I get it now, and I have a new found sympathy for every Spanish-speaking patient I ever cared for. My sincerest apologies.

* My dog loves Korea. Because it is overrun with stray cats.

* I wish I had news about a third Anderson baby being en route, but I don't. Said Elder Neal A Maxwell, "Faith in God includes faith in His timing." So faith is what I have.

* I had never deeply considered how strange English must sound to those who don't speak it. Have you ever thought about the word wow? W-o-w. It sounds ridiculous. Koreans who are deeply surprised or impressed utter this sound: "Hwa!" It sounds ridiculous too. So now I inwardly giggle anytime I hear "Wow!" OR "Hwa!"

And there you have it. One big ol' mind-dump.

Happy Groundhog Day from the Land of the Morning Calm!