Anticipating the Light at the End of the Runway

I just finished eating a Korean breakfast, which is a surprise to my stomach that does not like much for breakfast other than a cup of strongly brewed English breakfast tea with lots of milk in it and maybe a banana. I can handle kim chee at night but not first thing on an empty American tummy.

I awoke this morning thinking "I'm going HOME tomorrow!" Earlier this week, I despaired so much at being here that I thought about moving up my flight. Then I knew I was irrational because it'd mess up my Rotarian hosts' whole schedule that they have gone to great trouble and no minor expense to please me. I am not in control of my own schedule, and that is what is making me feel claustrophobic.

Really, though, I am happy to experience Korea up close through living with the Kang family; they have been MOST kind ... and fun. (Wait until I upload some photos: Mrs. Kang has a designer fridge with Swarovski crystals in the handles and doors and an LCD display of alternating photos above the water dispenser.)

I forgot to say I am living in a kindergarten! My Rotarian host is its owner/principal, and the home is the fourth floor of a large building. When I toured the school, I loved seeing the little ones in their uniforms of white shirts and dark pants or pleated skirts with a matching crested blazer, especially a five-year-old girl with carefully French-braided dark hair. I wanted to hug every one of these tiny children, picking them up, kissing them on the soft back of the neck that I call "the kissy spot" and tickling their tummies with blowing air to make noise. Some of the cutest babies in the world are Asian children.

But I want to get home to my own cute baby, our new granddaughter who is now two weeks old. One of our friends wrote that she may later ask me, "Nana, were you there when I was born?" (since Clint and I were there when Trevor was born). I'll have to truthfully reply "No, honey, I was in Bhutan."

I have found some unexpected cultural differences between men and women: even though I am the honored guest, the men took off walking by themselves the first night I arrived, leaving me to trail behind with the two young females. One man, however, has been paying particular attention and gave me a hug goodbye last night: I suspect he wanted to see what hugging American women with breasts feels like. I have decided from observation that if you ever see an Asian woman with breasts, they surely must be purchased rather than endowed; even Wonder Bread can't be that powerful to build strong bodies AND breasts.

Nearly all the people here are very slender, and all the women's dress sizes must begin with a negative sign. I have seen only two young Korean girls who are "big" here but would look entirely normal by American standards; there are more large young men. I don't understand because my other observation of Koreans is that they eat all the time and in very large portions: before I went to bed last nigh tat 11:30, the whole family was eating garlicky ramen noodles. Either the population is on Pepcid or GERD does not exist here.

I will so SO HAPPY to return to cool weather! The temps are chilly here at night in the 60s, but the house is heated through the floor, and I dislike walking on a hot floor. I have a tiny REI thermometer (with compass) attached to my purse, and the air temp at floor level is 85 degrees. I leave the window open, but it does not compensate.

By the way, the pitfall of sleeping with an open window at a kindergarten is that I awake to some song that sounds like a combination of a Korean "It's a Small World" and Barney's "I Love You, You Love Me." I haven't started screaming yet, but now I envision how General Noriega felt when the CIA incessantly blasted his compound with Aerosmith or whatever was chosen to drive him crazy.

I will continue my blog with experiences I didn't have time to transmit while in Tibet, Kathmandu or Bangkok. I need to share the stories of the people, times and places that now have become part of my memories of the world. I have to tell you about what the light looks like glinting of the top of Everest or the genuine kindness of my Bhutanese driver who always wanted me to be comfortable.

See you soon ...

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Pepcid is © Johnson & Johnson • Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals Co. 1998-2007. All rights reserved.

The image of kim chee was originally posted to Flickr by Nagyman at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nagy/23219340/.