midwest living

strip malls and bitter cold.

after a couple of weeks in south china and the us pacific northwest, i'm in suburban chicago. yesterday i became an uncle (again) with the birth of my newest little monster!

to help defray family anxiety, i'll be here a month to help sister and bro-in-law with niece #1, who is doing her best to earn the "terrible twos" moniker. but as my sister's husband put it, her samchun (me) used to care for a room full of crack babies, so i can handle one spoiled smartypants.

negotiating her tantrums is made much more bearable thanks to really yummy food and the simple pleasures of being among family. plus, there are perks to the suburban midwest lifestyle, like shoveling snow out of the driveway and taking the SUV to the mall to be among thousands and thousands of fat white people.

all said, i already miss seoul and expect that in four weeks' time, it will be a happy homecoming. given all of the friends and hot strangers who seem to be heading to korea for the holidays, note to self i should consider staying put next winter.