Jen and Dave

Like the finest of fermented wines flowing richly and warmly through one's veins and capillaries, inching one ever closer to a subdued state of fuzzy reality, dipping again in the pool of residency here in Seoul is having a profoundly similar effect. The shaded days are now easing into Autumn, like slipping into a well-worn pair of jeans, and we once again find ourselves thoroughly enjoying all that this life has to offer. As we crash into the world each day upon awakening and negotiate a gait that brings us briskly to our local hagwon, we find the memories come charging back to us of our first year living the expat life. They harken back to the halcyon days of Seohyeon Station and Bundang, where the "first time buying milk in Korea" memories reside, the first "how do we pay for a taxi?" resides; where, in short, our lives first changed deeply, forever.

Those days shall never be recaptured, the true essences of "firsts" that we experienced here in Seoul - but their ghosts reside everywhere these days, reverberating in every step upon the uneven pavement, in every jovially proffered "Ahnyoung!" to a wee child, and resonate deep within our hearts. An easy stroll along our neighboring river, where the scents of dusk collide with the lights of night, ushers forth memories of our lives last year as strong and as powerful as if we had traveled to the past directly. Yet the newness of our environs shares more than just familiarity of our past - it also drips with a personality of its own, and clings to us daily with the tautness of a newborn's skin, weaving its own way into our minds to be filed into that vast Sea of Memory to be called upon when most needed.

Though the nation's flag is white, black, red and blue, and most of the cars here seem to be of the "black or beige" variety, there's no doubt a mighty haze of pink tints everything here for us. Having a wealth of the closest, most supportive family members and friends such as JJ and I do is a treasure beyond measure and counting, and we rely on them daily. But when you actually reside and work WITHIN an old friend too, well, that's a level of blessing that we are indeed truly thankful for.

It's nice to befriend a Seoul.