Driving home, the sky was blue and the clouds were fluffy white. The fields were green with trees and grass, the air was fresh. Trams slid to and fro in the tracks and familiar streets and buildings welcomed me back.
In the house, there has been some change in furniture arrangement, but it was still the same apartment. My flower-patterened sheets and mom's patchwork quilt were warm and soft as ever. The wooden floor was sturdy and cool against my bare feet. The TV was secured on the Korean channel with its familiar Korean shows. The fridge welcomed me with familar food and snacks.
The cool summer breeze was flowing through the windows (oh, to live without air conditioning in the summer again!), the laundry was drying in the living room emitting the ever-familiar fragrance of detergent and fabric softener all around the house.
We had breakfast around 10, since I was back home at 8:30AM and was hungry. Breakfast consisted of rice, steamed eggs, spinach and shellfish soybean soup, and spicy pork. There were also banchan with dried anchovies and walnuts, kimchi, and some greens. I have nothing else to say other than that home food is extremely delicious and I have missed it so very much.
I don't know why, but it was strangely calming and relaxing to be back home. It wasn't just the familiarity of the place, but everything - from the weather to the bulidings to the atmosphere - everything about Prague made me feel relaxed and at ease. I then remembered that even back when I was living here full-time, I always did feel calm and relaxed around my surroundings for the most part, despite the occasional schoolwork stress and preparing for college. There's just something about the place itself that makes you feel good.
After a series of emotional rollercoasters from last semester, the ever-persistent minor self-esteem issues, and the anxiety over my life and future, inner peace and calm was what I really wanted. I'm not saying that Ann Arbor or any other location is a world of stress and hurt (I like Ann Arbor), but it is certainly a different atmosphere. Ann Arbor for the most part has a feeling of a lively small-town community for me, and while I enjoy its atmosphere as well, I have to say that Prague has more calm that I very much appreciate. It might just be me feeling this, but I stand by my observations.
After a pretty relaxing day, I am now up, ready to start another day. Because of possible jet lag and general fatigue, I have woken up at 6:30 AM, and by the time I'm writing this sentence, it's close to 8:50 AM and the rest of the family has yet to rise (
So to conclude, yay home. I know I'm only here for about a week before I head off to Korea, but I'm still going to enjoy the heck out of the stay.
