Lingo in Transit

I guess a post like this was in the works from the moment I stepped on my flight leaving Seoul. I look back with great nostalgia and am often smiling to myself thinking about all the adventures that I had, struggles, fun and moments of peace. I listened to a lot of k-pop whilst there as they are usually playing in all the shops and even outside stores (especially phone stores for some reason) and even today, I am brought back in an instant if I hear any song that I had heard often enough or have associated with my stay in Korea.

Change in Seasons
It was my first time living somewhere where I got to experience the complete changes in season. Here in Australia, our seasons are quite mild relative to each other. As our climate is different, we don’t really have many trees which are deciduous so we don’t get the wash of autumn colours. It doesn’t snow. Right now, I’m seeing so many pictures and videos from places where the leaves have changed colour and I am envious of being able to have such places just to be in nature and walk in.

Seeing the change of seasons before your eyes really gives you an obvious time marker- something that I was not use to. For me, it added some urgency into my life and to stop sitting on my hands. Here, the summers and winters feel longer and spring and autumn are missed if you blink. It feels like time is drawn out more. I also miss the range of activities and events that the different seasons can bring adding to the excitement of each season.

Plastic Recycling
I actually really miss plastic recycling. Being able to put plastic food bags, takeaway containers, food packaging and bubble wrap all into the recycling bins downstairs in the apartment general rubbish area was such a great way to be able to easily get to recycle what so much of our food now comes in. In Australia, we do have plastic recycling…..if you save it all up and take it to the supermarket. Which makes it a more cumbersome process.

Delicious Healthy Food (for cheap)
While prices in South Korea have also gotten more expensive, it’s still a lot more affordable than here. For $10, you are able to have a sizzling bowl of hot soup, rice and a range of side dishes (with free refills). Korean bbq was also quite affordable if you went with some friends. Drinks too (especially from the convenience store) are also friendly on the wallet and I frequently helped myself to a strawberry smoothie throughout summer for $3 a cup.

Transport system
I miss not having to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus or metro. This meant that I didn’t need to plan so much about having to make a certain train or bus. Public transport is frequent, clean and quiet. Oh I’ve missed the quietness! I have a short fuse for people who play their music on their phones for the whole carriage to hear and worse now, people scrolling tiktok or instagram with no headphones! It seems like I experience this every time I take the train here.

Green Spaces
Contrary to some assumptions that South Korea might be all high rises (and in some areas it is), there are plenty of green spaces, nature walkways, big parks and mountains. South Korea is a mountainous country so travelling between cities also means getting to see mountains. In my town, I often walked to through a hilly forest area behind a university which has been made for walkers and also included exercise facilities. There was also a large lake nearby with a park built around it which was filled with a constant stream of people exercising and small children riding their scooters. A lot of old desolate areas have been transformed into outdoor recreational areas like the old stream Cheonggyecheon and areas under highways. With most people living in high rises in the big cities, they’ve really catered the outdoors to include plenty of walking tracks. In contrast, many Australians live in houses and our cities are very spread out. As most of our cities are along the coast, land is previous and big park spaces are hard to come by. Being a dry country too, the further inland you go, the more barren the parks become (not to mention all the deadly bugs).

Cafes
I had written a post before with pictures of some of the cafe’s I’ve been too. They were peaceful places (except those in Seoul on the weekend) where care had been taken into creating a ambient place to relax or work. Plants, soft lighting, big wooden tables and simple decorations were usually the elements of most of these cafes. The drinks were not just your matcha latte but included other options for non coffee drinkers. I miss being able to go to one and enjoy my drink while getting lost in a book or chatting with friends. They were not places where people rushed in and out but enjoyed the day away. There was also this culture of going in for a drink only or to pair it with a dessert which eliminated the constant kitchen smells and loud noises.

Walking
I miss being more accidentally active during my day. Being a teacher meant that I was standing most of the working day and had to take public transport daily, often having to stand for part of my ride. I had walks to and from both bus stops. I took the fire stairs at work which is open all the time and what the students use as there were just not enough space with the 2 elevators. Over the weekend, as I was out exploring, I continued to clock up the kms. This was the fittest I had been in my whole life. Certainly the way the city is built, helps with this with shops being all walkable from apartments and always seeing people outside. It’s harder when your city is a city built for cars and shops are further away.

Appearances
Something I did not expect to miss, the superficiality around appearances. I don’t miss the heavy make up, the unrealistic beauty standards or everyone sporting the same look but I miss the notion of taking a little more care or having more intention in looking presentable. Without this added societal pressure, I’ve gone back to my old ways of messy bun and overly casual look. I really do miss looking a little more polished but when you stand out if you are, it has made me relax my way of dressing. I guess this is something for me to work on.

Do you miss any aspects of other countries that you’ve lived or travelled to?