myretroperspective

Dear Seoul,   I'm such a sap but every time we leave you, I well up a little bit. Seriously. I'm not sure what it is but I've grown attached to the city and I can't wait to call you home this spring (more on that announcement later, I promise).   Dear Spring,   hurry up.  Dear Shoe Shopping, I don't think I've ever hated you so much as when I have to go with my husband. But I think that's only because the prices here are sometimes twice as much in the states, there's no discount shoe stores, and we are only guaranteed to find 'large sizes' (aka anything over a US size 10) in one area of Seoul and most of the time they are sold out. Dear Rant, I'm now finished. I realize this is only a small annoyance in comparison to all of the positives to living in this country. Dear Readers, I know I've been quieter than usual in social media this week. I'm spending some time away from the computer as much as I can to enjoy time with family and ...

Dear Korean Wedding,  my husband officially survived his first wedding as a couple. I can't believe that it took almost three years to even attend a wedding together. You were so fun to go to even though I couldn't wrap my head around certain aspects of the ceremony like the smoke machine and bubbles while they said their vows.  Dear Apartment, I'm grateful for the amount of room that we have and for just Jeremy and I, it's more than enough. But six people staying in a 700 square for apartment this next week might be pushing it..  Dear Grapefruits, I bought eight of you this weekend for $10. It's times like these that I miss my grandpa's house where he had a whole grove full of oranges, grapefruits and tangerines. Since moving abroad it's my mission to have a lime tree, grapefruit tree and avocado tree when we move back to the states.  Dear Korea,  thank you so much for having Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) it's a great excuse for yet another vacation. ...

Dear Patbingsu, I don't know how I've survived in Korea for so long without you. I finally caved and tried this traditional Korean summer treat the other day and I must say, I'm in love. The traditional one includes shaved ice on the bottom with red bean, sweetened condensed milk, jelly bits, rice cake, ice cream and fruit on top. Ok, I admit, after typing it up, it sounds disgusting. Just trust me on this one. Dear Jeremy,   I'm so glad that you have lots of experience riding bikes. I don't know if we would have made it out of Cambodia without it. I have never in my life seen such crazy driving. We would have the green light but still drivers would come from the sides and weave and honk their way through the crowds of motorbikes and cars to make their way to the other side.  Dear In-laws,  I can't believe it's only one week until you get here! Don't worry, we won't make you eat anything  too  strange. Dear City, you keep opening the cutest lounges...

Dear Laundry, this is one of the times I miss the comforts of the good ol' US of A. Dryers are not common in Korea, and while I'm thankful to actually have one, it's a steam dryer. Which means that it takes roughly 4-5 hours for a load of laundry to completely dry. So we opt for half drying it and then hanging it up to dry. But this is when our little cat, Zeke, thinks that it's play time...or rather nap time, and climbs up on top of the drying rack to walk around on our clothes and take a nap.  Dear Decisions, can't you make yourselves? I'm already just about the most indecisive person, and that's just with decisions about what to have for lunch. Dear Jeremy, it's pretty darn cute when you start unknowingly humming 'you are my sunshine'. I don't want kids yet but you're going to make a pretty cute dad one day. Far far off into the future (don't get any ideas mother-in-law). Dear Teaching, I have been told that once you've deci...

Dear Zeke, you're adoptive aunt and uncle were kind enough to come check in on you while we were gone. But apparently we need to work on your hosting skills because every time they would try to play with you, you would run and hide. We've got work to do mister. Dear Cambodia, I'll admit, we didn't have the highest expectations for you before we went. But you well exceeded our expectations. I just wish you didn't get us so sick when we returned. Maybe it was our bodies way of telling us we should have just stayed there. I'll be sharing more recaps in the next few weeks! Dear Readers,  We actually ended up having access to internet last week but I purposefully steered clear of anything email, blog or social media related. Because I know myself too well and know that an innocent 'I just want to check  one  thing' will in fact be much more than just one. While it was a great retreat and a great excuse for a ' no technology' week , I must say that I r...

Dear Island, it's that time of year again when I take back all the negative things I've said about you and gawk at how beautiful you are with the hills full of blooming trees and the vivid green rice fields. I promise to keep my mouth shut until you turn bitter cold. Dear Friend, you invited myself and three other friends into your home so your mom could cook us a traditional Korean home cooked meal...just because. Your generosity amazes me and I've never had such good Korean food before! Now time to actually learn to cook it for myself Dear Co-teacher, when you saw me walking into school with a Red Bull in hand, you politely informed me that Koreans typically only drink Red Bull when they had been heavily drinking the night before and had a hard time staying awake...ummmm (please picture me stopped dead in my tracks glancing from the can to her). We drink it in America because we're tired.  Dear Beach, you are one of the main reasons I love where we live. There are ...

Dear 4th of July, typically living out of the country, these types of holidays can be quite dull since no one else in the country celebrates. But my friend Amber  and I, along with our pyromaniac husbands decided to set out to the beach and set off some fireworks. All was going well and we were enjoying the fact that for a moment, it felt like we were back home celebrating. We lit off a handful of the small fireworks that we were able to find here, along with played around with sparkler photos...That is until the flashing lights of a cop car drove up behind us and told us we were too loud and we had to leave. Dear Student, this semester we talked a lot about 'tact'. Apparently I need to go over it again because we had the following conversation while at a group dinner this week (by the by, just for visual sake, this student was in his fifties). S: Teacher, when do you plan on having babies? Me: No time soon, we want to wait awhile, why? S: I want to give you a tip. Me: Ok.... ...

Dear Seoul, after a great weekend of thrifting, blates, eating legit (as legit as we can get in Korea) Mexican food, we're ready to go back. Sometimes I just really miss living in a big city with so much to do and see. Oh and I'm a sucker for street art such as this one pictured above. What do you want to do before you die?  Dear Island, it's safe to say that our time with you is drawing to an end. We have loved living here for the past two and a half years but its' time for a change. We have something in the works, hopefully a new destination, but its still too soon to say anything quite yet!  Dear Zeke, I admit, this is on the verge of mean, but you provide the best entertainment! I love having a daredevil cat.  Dear Snail Mail Collective, in the eloquent words of my partner, Melyssa , I'm so excited I'm about to pee myself! TMI? Perhaps...but I'm ok with that. I'm just so excited to see so many excited participants and can't wait to start conne...

Dear Amber,   thanks so much for taking me to learn cupcake decorating for my birthday! Even though I'm pretty sure the owner was giggling so much because, well, let's face it. Frosting decorations just are not my forte (hint, all the pretty perfect ones in the picture above belong to Amber).  Dear Seoul, you're my favorite city in Korea by far. I'm so glad we get to spend the weekend, hanging out with friends, shopping, and of course getting our fill of Mexican food. I can taste the guacamole now...  Dear Crystal,  I hope you're enjoying your little Philippine getaway but I'm ready for you to get back so we can have a blogger meet up this weekend! I can't wait for you to show me the ropes in Seoul for vintage shopping! We all know that you're the best at it.  Dear Hubs, I'm so glad I married someone who gets worried about me if I'm too quiet. Which we all know doesn't happen very often.  Oh and stayed tuned because I have some big news com...

Notice anything different around here? I'm so excited to finally launch Lost in Travels' new look! There are going to be a few changes around here in the coming months and I can't wait to share everything with you guys! I owe the new format all to a good friend of mine, Rachel, from back home. She's pretty much a design genius. I'm thrilled with what she's provided me and especially excited about the new header which she made a custom font for. I have no idea how to even begin to do that. See why I called in a professional? Also, check out the new ' Travel Tips ' page at the top. I hope my trial and error travel experiences can help you on an upcoming trip! isn't she just gorgeous? Dear Students, I walked into class last week and was bombarded by sweet  messages on the board and everyone holding a cake and singing happy birthday. A+ for everyone. Dear Friends,  I always thought that birthdays in Korea wouldn't be that great because I didn't h...

Dear Philippines,  I still can't believe that just one week ago we were repelling down waterfalls, swimming with whale sharks and sipping mango smoothies by the beach. It was the best mini vacation I could ask for. I'll start sharing all the details next week! Just after I stop looking through all our photos on repeat.  Dear Hubs,  I still can't believe you pulled that off without me knowing! Six months is a  long  time to keep a secret that big! snorkeling with whale sharks Dear Father, thank you for sending me off to Korea with an adequate supply of meds. Taking a z-pak at home is infinitely better than going to the doctor and playing a round of charades. Dear Zeke, ever since Kimchi left, you've been moping around the apartment and instantly whining for us to pick you up the moment we step through the door. Sorry we gave your friend away. Dear Friend, you once told me that after turning 25, it all goes downhill. I know you were joking but I now really hope...

Dear Kimchi,  Hubs came home with you after you followed him on his bike ride. Worried that you wouldn't make it much longer since you're only a few weeks old and you were living on the side of the road, he brought you home. I'm so thrilled that after just two days we found you a permanent home with a great friend of ours. Even though I admit that I'll be sad to see you go after afternoons spent with you napping on my lap.  and watching Zeke actually start to like you...or at least put up with you. He's a mischievous little one I tell ya. Dear Hubs, you are oh so sweet with all the work you put into the blog for me. Do I think I'm the best? Heck no. But it's nice to think someone does. Dear Weather, can you just pick hot or cold please? This switch has given me the nastiest of colds and it's difficult to teach when I can't even breathe out of my nose. Dear Self, please refrain from asking students, especially middle school students, how to say somet...

Dear Readers, in case you missed it yesterday, I have new sponsor options! Check out my sponsor page to sign up now. And for the next week, I'm offering a 20% discount on all ads with the code 'bloglove'. If the spot you want is all booked, go ahead and still sign up to reserve your spot in line!  Dear Beach,  after two days of serious typhoon weather this week, we're so ready for you. Please don't rain. Dear Hubs, I'm glad you started mountain biking so much because let's face it, who doesn't love a man in padded biking pants? But I admit I get just a tad bit nervous when you come back and show me crash footage like this. This picture is actually of our friend Jared  and thankfully he walked away with just a bruised rib. Dear Hair,  it's time to cut you again and even though I found a great place to go that does exactly what I want, it's still nerve-wracking to go to a place that you have to explain what you want through charades. Dear Zeke, I...