Oneul
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Hello, everyone~ How are you doing?
Now that Christmas and New Year have passed, have you returned to your daily routines?
It feels like the festive atmosphere has ended, and we're back to normal life.
As you all know, I'm living in France.
It's been about six months since I came to France, and sometimes I miss Korea.
I haven't been here long enough to feel homesick, and I'm very satisfied with life in France, but I occasionally miss Korea.
So today, I’d like to talk about when I miss Korea.
First, I miss the convenience of Korea.
In Korea, everything was close, fast, and convenient.
There was a supermarket and a convenience store just three minutes from my house, and a large supermarket ten minutes away, so I never had to worry about grocery shopping.
Sometimes, when I didn’t feel like going out, I’d use an app to do my grocery shopping.
Even if I ordered at night, it would arrive early the next morning, so grocery shopping wasn’t stressful.
However, in France, there’s no large supermarket near my house, so I have to take a bus once a week to go grocery shopping, which turned out to be more tiring than I thought.
Since I go only once a week, I buy a lot of groceries, which makes carrying them back difficult
Also, I need to make a list in advance and make sure I don’t forget anything, so grocery shopping feels tiring.
In Korea, I used to go to my favorite cafe before work, get takeout coffee, and start my day while drinking coffee.
There were so many cafes near my house that I enjoyed visiting a different one every day, but in France, there’s not a single cafe near my house.
To go to a cafe, I have to go into town, which takes about 20 minutes on foot.
Going there and back takes over 40 minutes in the morning, so it’s not easy to go.
I do have a coffee machine at home, so I can make coffee, but drinking the same coffee every day gets boring.
At cafes in Korea, I’d drink an Americano, but if I got bored of it, I’d switch to a vanilla latte, smoothie, or fruit juice.
Since I mostly work from home, I’d sometimes go to a cafe to work when I couldn’t concentrate.
The cafes were spacious and quiet, making them great for work, and changing the environment helped me focus better, so I liked working at cafes.
But now that I have to work from home every day, I feel a bit stuck.
Sometimes, when I didn’t feel like cooking in Korea, I’d order delivery or pick up food from nearby places.
There were many restaurants near my house where I could easily and cheaply enjoy various dishes like kimbap, dumplings, tteokbokki, or chicken.
But in France, dining out is so expensive that I end up cooking at home.
Ingredients like vegetables and fruits are cheaper in France, but the cost of eating out is much higher than in Korea, which surprised me.
So sometimes, when I don’t feel like cooking and think about ordering delivery, it’s too expensive, so I end up cooking at home instead.
At times like this, I think, “If I were in Korea, I would’ve already ordered delivery or picked something up to eat…”
The second is about freedom.
In Korea, I could go out whenever I wanted, whether it was to buy coffee or food, early in the morning or late at night.
Even after 10 p.m., I often went out alone to listen to music while walking or exercising.
In France, I can go out anytime, but they say it’s dangerous to go out alone late at night.
And honestly, the biggest reason I don’t go out is that there’s nothing near my house.
There are only other houses, a small supermarket, and a fruit shop near my house.
So even if I go out, there’s nothing to do, and especially at night, the streets are empty and it’s cold, so I don’t go out.
I enjoyed walking and cycling in parks in Korea, but where I live now, I have to take a bus to get to a park.
The park is much bigger and better maintained than parks in Korea, but it’s far, so I don’t go often.
I can go shopping or buy something anytime I want, but since I’m not good at French yet, I feel a bit hesitant about going out alone.
So sometimes, I feel inconvenienced by this.
The third is missing my family and friends.
I used to go to my parents’ house every week and have dinner with them and my brother.
We’d chat a lot, sharing what happened during the week or talking about our worries.
Back then, I didn’t realize how precious that time was, but now I see it was truly valuable.
I still call my parents often these days, but because of the time difference and our busy lives, it’s hard to talk for long.
And sometimes, I miss meeting friends to go shopping or visit good restaurants together.
I’ve shared when I miss Korea, but I’m also satisfied with life in France!
Instead of meeting my parents every week, I go to my husband’s parents’ house for dinner and spend time with them.
My husband’s family takes care of me warmly, so I don’t feel lonely at all.
Instead of going to restaurants or cafes often, I’ve been cooking and making coffee at home, which has improved my cooking skills and allowed me to try making various coffees.
So even though I sometimes miss Korea, I think I’m managing well in my own way!
Have you ever felt homesick or missed your hometown while living abroad?
Share in the comments when you felt homesick or lonely and how you overcame it!
I think it would be nice to talk about it together!
Thank you for listening to my podcast today, and see you next time~ Goodbye!
If there were any words you didn't know while listening to the podcast, look up their meanings and listen again!
