Oh, Canada

After months abroad, coming back to your own country can be an amazing feeling. You've come home to your family and friends, homely comforts and soon enough you'll be back to the daily grind. Some though, have quite a difficult time getting used to what was once instinctive in their home life. Some call it reverse culture shock, others call it reality, no matter what you want to call it, there is no question that coming home after a significant time away, can have its challenges too. Here is a list of 9 encounters that you may struggle with after the hugs, kisses of loved ones have subsided...

1. Nothing has changed: You've experienced so much. You feel different, your life feels different, and surely this is not simply internal. The world must be a different place! Wrong. Your hometown has stayed exactly the same as you left it, and they like it that way.

2. You can drink the water: After living in a country where the water can be hazardous to drink, remembering how lucky you are to live somewhere where water everywhere is drinkable and, infact, good for you, can take a few days to sink in. That's when you realize how lucky we really are.

3. The economic situation still sucks: You've lived under a rock for the past few months, holding onto outdated economic predictions that this financial drought would be over by the time you returned home. But you've come home only to realise that it will still be a struggle to find yourself that dream job, and you will be back to serving tables before you know it.

4. You can speak to everyone again: The language you know is the language everyone speaks in your home country, which means you can finally talk to everyone again! Coffee shop baristas, taxi drivers, and bus drivers, beware - this girl has been longing for interactions and she's out and about and ready to chat!

5. Tipping: Servers hate foreigners for this, and, once being a server, so did I. But I finally get it. Tipping is hard to remember to do when you haven't done it. You mean I have to put more down then the bill asks me for? Huh?

6. People actually follow traffic laws: After spending months somewhere were traffic lights and stop signs are simply a suggestion, it's shockingly difficult to remember that jaywalking is, in fact, illegal, and others aren't comfortable doing it.

7. Google maps is my friend again: Because of Korea's hidden alleys, winding roads, odd street names and random clusters of apartment buildings, Google maps could rarely give you door to door instructions. Instead you'd have to look up lengthy walking directions from subway exits or just have someone meet you at the station. What a pleasure Google maps is to have in your back pocket once again. Goodbye organization, hello reliance on technology!

8. Garbage cans: Korea has an odd garbage collection system where some sort of infrastructure picks up random smelly garbage piles from every corner, but garbage cans are few and far between. Being back in Canada, garbage cans are so plentiful, how anyone can even imagine litering is beyond me.

9. It smells so good: Canada's wide open spaces, beautiful mountains and plentiful greenery makes our country smell so fresh and fantastic. Take a breath, doesn't that fresh air smell amazing?

There can be difficulties to coming home, but being away can also remind you of all those small things we forget to appreciate about our home, that makes it such a very special place. So drink the water, breath the air, and put a smile on your face. This country rocks.

The Courtship of a New Culture

Summer is here: the sun is shining and the streets are booming. People are happy, and, of course, the couples are out: couples in restaurants, couples cuddling in the park, couples, couples, couples everywhere. Being single, this could get pretty annoying, and being single in Korea, couples are so adorable, it makes you want to throw up. You'll see more couples riding tandem bikes around the city than riding regular bikes. Couples have matching cell phone cases, couple cell phone charms, couple glasses and, on a daily basis, you'll see couples wearing the exact same outfit from head to toe: shoes, socks, hat and probably even undies, taking corny pictures of themselves giggling their way through the streets. Couples in Korea do everything together, and in this collectivist culture, being single is basically unacceptable. One is never single and happy. One is either in a relationship or looking for one.

What does this mean for the dating scene? Well, throw your North American, Individualistic views out the window. The idea of playing it cool isn't necessary, the ball is never in anyone's court, and the lines are never running blurry. If you are being courted, you are fully aware, as your Kakoa Chat will be chirping away with cheesy emoticons and way-to-forward confessions of like.

Couples are so celebrated here that Valentine's day isn't enough day to express your love to your partner. The following is the list of celebrated days for couples in Korea:

-The 100th Day: You and your mate celebrate 100 days of knowing each other.

-Valentines Day: February 14th. You know this one. In Korea, though, Valentines day is when woman express their love to their men. Better known to us Westerners as Steak and BJ Day. Here, it's actually official!

-White Day: March 14th. Men, don't start packing your bags and heading to Korea quite yet. You're not off the hook. White day is your day to express your love to your special lady.

-Black Day: April 14th. In this country, singles get their own day too! On this day, singles get together and eat black noodles and revel in single misery.

-Pepero Day: November 11th. This was actually a brilliant marketing campaign done by Pepero that shockingly took off. Peperos are delicious thin cookie sticks, dipped in chocolate in a variety of flavours. Each printed Pepero box looks like a big post card and even has space for a note and a postage stamp, and, on Pepero day, you send these delicious chocolates to everyone you love. This marketing idea works so well that the company sells more chocolates on Pepero day then the rest of the year combined. The reason they chose Novemeber 11th: The date looks like 5 Pepero sticks (11/11).

The point is, relationships in Korea are pretty intense and it seems that everyone who comes here ends up coupling up, and often exploring the dating scene of their new culture. Don't though, come here with any prior expectations out of your relationship: stalker-like actions, public displays of over-affection both on social media and in real life and too-serious, too-fast relationships are all signs of a normalcy here. Crazy girlfriends, rejoice!

The Travel Bug

We've all heard of the term 'the travel bug' and if your anything like me, the travel bug has consumed the greater part of your early 20s. The travel bug has lead me parts of the world I never imagined I'd be, smelling, seeing, feeling and exploring experiences that most people could only dream of doing. The travel bug is usually used in a comical and positive intonation, leading those who use it to make fun of their (some would say irresponsible) decision to once again give up family, friends, and homely comforts for an exploration of the unknown. Up until recently, this has been the only travel bug I'd known. Up until recently I was in love with the travel bug, up until recently, I hadn't come across an evil travel bug: this travel bug was more consuming, and more annoying than any I had experienced before. This travel bug's name was scabies.

To break down scabies into one simple word, it is referred to as 'The Itch'. Why? Well, simply because it is one of the itchiest skin infections around. It is extremely contagious, extremely annoying and of course, extremely itchy. I have no idea how I contracted it, because scabies can live on it's hosts body for up to a month before showing any signs, but my efforts to get rid of scabies has forced me to witness the much less positive side of travelling: foreign health care. From a huge language barrier, to sketchy prescriptions, to obscene diagnosis, my experience with the Korean health care system has been sub par, to say the least. But thankfully, I have been treated and if all goes well, the itch will disappear. It is sadly, though, a long and torturous waiting game that can take up to a month before I'm back to my normal, itchless self, and let me tell you, this itch is one that I cannot wait to get scratched.