Halfway There

I passed my six-month mark last week. At the same time E came to the end of her year in Korea and I went to Daejeon to say goodbye (photos). It is strange to think that I am now where E was when I arrived. At the time I looked to E as though she had been in Korea forever and she must know everything. So I guess I'm the seasoned vet now. I have just started to feel as though I haven't just stepped off the plane. 

However, my level of Korea is still abysmal. I mastered "thank you" and "hello/goodbye" in my first month. But I am pretty sure I say goodbye when I mean hello and hello when I mean goodbye. Also I only figured out the word for "toilet" around my five-month mark. I am proud I learned to read Hangul. It also does come in handy when looking for food. The one phrase that I can read quickly, none of the grade one style reading painfully sounding out each character, is "im dae" "for rent." Yes my Korean knows no bounds.

I noticed the other day, when wandering around the massive Jagalchi fish market (photos), that I no longer remark the craziness of Korea. It's become normal. The baskets and buckets of unimaginable sea creatures that clutter the streets beside tables of whole octopi under a canopy of mismatched ancient beach umbrellas is just what it looks like. But it's familiar and not so very strange anymore. I guess I am a seasoned vet.