Seoul Searching: If I hear "traditional Korean" one more time...

Hello all! Well, I'm back from my really long and draining and fun and insightful and at times hell-ish Chuseok weekend with the family. Let me start by saying that I would normally not want to spend that much consecutive time with my real family over the holidays (no offense mom and dad), let alone a Korean family with whom I can only barely communicate. All in all it was a really fun time and the entire family is really nice and funny (I have yet to meet a Korean who I don't like) and very welcoming towards me. After two days however, I was ready to come home or at least have internet or a working phone (left the phone charger at home). We arrived at my host dad's mother's house Thursday night and a couple of relatives came over for dinner, including my two boy host cousins, Mun Shik and Won Shik, who are a year older and a year younger than me. They were my saving graces this weekend. They are really really nice and their English wasn't too bad. Friday afternoon they came over to pick up Tammy, me, and another girl cousin to go to a Traditional Korean Folk Village nearby. It was beautiful and we saw a couple of performances, including a Salmunori music group. Just when I thought we were going to leave the village we ended up walking not through an exit, but through an entrance to an amusement park that for some reason is connected to the village. We ended up spending like two hours going on all of the rides at the park. I love anything that lets me feel like a little kid again. Saturday was Chuseok, so we all woke up early, put on our Hanboks and after the men performed the ritual bowing to the ancestors, we ate the pounds of delicious Korean food my host mom and aunts had prepared the day before. In the afternoon my host cousins and family went to Suwon castle, which was built during the Joseun Dynasty (spelling?) when the King was trying to move the capital to Suwon. The only negative part about visiting the castle was that, as usual, I had no idea where we were actually going to. My host mom only mentioned something "cultural" so I mistakenly wore nice shoes with small heels and had to walk around in them for 4 or 5 hours. Typical. This morning the whole family went to a local park where we played badminton, ate cotton candy and cocoons (I did not partake in the cocoon eating), and rode bikes.
Needless to say, I am completely mentally and physically exhausted from the weekend. There were about 2 hours this afternoon where I just wanted to cry because all I wanted to do was go "home" and lay in my comfy bed. Sleeping on a wooden floor with only a thin mat, hard pillow, and shitty blanket for three days will make anyone miserable, regardless of how much fun the days were. There was also a moment when I was laying on my hard, uncomfortable mat last night where I thought to myself, "Am I really laying here in some strangers apartment in the middle of South Korea while my family and friends are halfway around the world? What the f*** was I thinking?" I have these moments a lot, but they're quickly overturned when I think, "Holy sh*t, I'm in South Korea for a year and I have the opportunity to have all of these awesome, once in a lifetime experiences." I think I'm going to leave with a love-hate relationship for this year.
Speaking of leaving, I often think about how weird it's going to be when I do go back to America. I've been told reverse culture shock is a lot worse than initial culture shock when you come to a foreign country, and I can already see that is going to be true. On my ride home I was thinking about all of the things that will be weird to encounter again after my year here. Here's part of my mental list: carpet (I have only seen carpet in nice hotels here), wearing shoes in the house, forks and knives, dryers, obese people, having taxi drivers actually understand where I'm telling them to go the first time I say it, tipping, buying anything (Korea is SO CHEAP), not having every stranger I pass stare at me, be able to actually read signs on stores without much effort, and television.
As a random note, Mun Shik was showing me his pictures from his trip to the US two years ago and most of the pictures were of the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas and San Francisco. But there was one random photo in the midst of all of the others ones of him standing with a Hooters girl. Now that's a true American experience haha.
Speaking of American experiences, I thought I'd tell you about my cultural contributions I've made to my homestay so far. First and foremost, my host mom and sister now eat toast with jelly every morning for breakfast with me. Host dad still hasn't given in yet though. I've also introduced them to french toast, although their version is sans butter and syrup...still better than kimchi and fish for breakfast though. My host sis and I also made banana splits the other night and shes asked for them every night since. I've also introduced my host sister to a bunch of American music like Beyonce, Rhianna, Justin Timberlake, etc. However, my favorite song I've gotten her into is "Rich Girl" by Hall and Oates. She can't get enough of it. I've also introduced the family to YouTube and their favorite video so far is the Korean baby singing "Hey Jude". My host mom walks around the house singing it all the time. I've also introduced them to a bunch of games like UNO, Egyptian Rat Screw and Rummikube.

Here are some pictures from my Chuseok weekend: