Well, we did fly back home for the big wedding. Everyone got all dressed up and looked real swanky. The ceremony was brief with Celtic touches. The piper-a great touch-managed to sound Irish without making the event feel like a cop's funeral. The bride and groom got their relaxed, mature, jazz-infused (no young children allowed) special night. And, luckily for me, everyone liked my boyfriend.
Not that I was really, sincerely, worried that they wouldn't like him -he's very likable. In Korea,more people like him than like me (I'm fun and kind but a little cranky, you see). So, the family liking the boyfriend is crucial. Also, after some of the guys I've dated, it's good that no one met him and said, "Oh (deadly pause). He's um...nice." No one wants their boyfriend grudgingly described as "Um, nice." Everyone knows what that means. That's polite Irish-American speak for, "this man's an ass who'll break your heart, but I'm too Catholic and well behaved to tell you straight out..."
So, my boyfriend was not just nice. Pardon my gushing, but they said he was "funny," and "sweet" and "gallant" (he is), and "smart" and "good at fixing cameras." Sometimes ex-pat dating decisions are made realtive to the ex-pat social scene. So, since the dating pickings can be slim (!!) for a size eight White girl in Korea, it's also validating to know that I'm not the only one who thinks I lucked out and snagged a good guy. :) Relative to any country's dating pool!
In general, the wedding exhausted me, and made me miss my family anew, but it was amazing to see them. It also reinforced what I already knew: I lucked out and got two wonderful, sarcastic sisters in the family lottery. My sisters rock.
There's a lot of activities I still want to do in Korea, like music festivals and mountain climbing trips, but a part of my heart looks forward to August when I can see my sisters again. Four months left on my contract...time to get out the Lonely Planet and plan those must-do adventures!
