A Korean favorite: Leesle modern Hanbok
One thing that continues to fascinate me about Korea is the omnipresent mix of old and new wherever you turn your eyes. Whether it’s the busy streets of Seoul where […]
A meaningful day
오늘도 알찬 하루 돼~ oneuldo alchan haru dwae – Have a meaningful day today. This was the content of one of the final texts my best friend sent me only a couple of […]
All the things we can’t explain
With a background in social science, I’ve spent most of my adult life focusing on the things that can be measured and scientifically proven. I’ve left very little room in my […]
49 days
Yesterday marked the 49th day following the passing of my best friend. In Korea, this day is usually marked by a memorial service, which has its roots in Buddhist tradition […]
A power bigger than yourself
If you’re becoming depressed from reading my updates about grief, I don’t blame you. Feel free to unsubscribe at any time. For me, however, writing is cathartic. It helps me […]
Soulmates
When I lost my best friend a few weeks ago, I lost my soulmate. And when you lose your soulmate, a part of yourself dies with them as well. I […]
Grieving
For the past several years I’ve been using Korean in happy situations, boring situations, professional situations, mundane everyday situations, medical or academic situations. But never for anything as tragic as […]
The blog post I never wanted to write
My heart has been shattered into a million pieces. My soul is broken. My body feels like an empty shell. The night before yesterday I received the most dreaded message […]
Hope
To hope. To have hope. To not lose hope. Hope seems such a fleeing concept of thinking positively about something you wish will happen in the future. As in “I […]
Living on a prayer
As humans, we tend to wake up in the morning thinking this day is going to be just like any other. Well, sometimes life brutally reminds us never to take […]
Yanghwa bridge
For most Koreans, Yanghwa bridge (also known as Yanghwa daegyo) is more than just one of the many iconic bridges spanning the wide waters of the Han River. Yanghwa daegyo […]
How fast can you lose a language?
In less than a week I’ll once more be jetting off to Seoul and I’m beyond excited. I’ve already spent two months away from my second home and I cannot […]
I’ll be fine
It’s no secret that I’m on an emotional rollercoaster these days and that the joy of being free and independent and the frustration of feeling useless are battling for my […]
What I miss about Korea
You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I’m well aware that I wrote a semi-rant post in June when I was under a lot of temporary stress and […]
The power of serendipity
Acquiring a new language is much like discovering a new identity. A new version of yourself if you will. If you know more than one language, then I encourage you […]
Gratitude
While Monday was tough for me, I feel that things have been picking up a bit the past couple of days. Since I’m on sabbatical, I’ve got a lot of […]
