Missing places you lived, visited or came from is a totally normal thing, and you often find its weird little quirks that you took for granted when you were there. As much as I love Scotland and everything it has to offer,  here's my list of 10 things I miss about Korea:

1. 노래방!!!! Noraebang!! (Korean Karaoke)

Karaoke is always fun but in the UK you have to sing in front of the whole bar and wait your turn. There is actually nothing more fun than getting a group of friends together and singing all the cringey throwback songs with that awful reverb in your own private room. I wish 24hr private Karaoke was a thing here...

2. The weather... 

How annoyingly British of me to say it but the weather is just so good in Korea! The sun always shines, the winters are cold and the summers are hot. Since my return to Scotland I think I've seen the sun about 7 times and my skin has gone back to its usual shade of translucent white.

3. Convenience stores (7 Eleven, GS25, CU etc.)

No matter what the question is, the convenience store is the answer. On a night out? Need somewhere to have a break? Convenience store. Feeling hungry? Need a full hot meal and a place to sit down and eat it? Convenience store. Need a seat? Want to sit in the sun? Convenience Store. The list goes on.

Obviously Scotland has corner shops, (yes, even in the Highlands, no, we are not cave people) but they just aren't the same.

4. Korean cosmetics.

Etude House and Tony Moly have to be about the cutest makeup shops ever and they have THE cutest packaging. Not to mention how cheap yet high quality everything is. Getting super pigmented, creamy, long lasting eyeshadows for 2000won each (£1.40) just does not happen here.

which brings me on to the next thing:

5. Everything is cute.

From face cream in a panda shaped tub to juice bottles with the cutest illustrations all over them. Its almost harder to buy plain things in Korea. It brings me immense joy when even the most basic, utilitarian things can be so cute you smile every time you use them. I'm closet Kitsch, tomboy on the outside "my mascara is a panda and my purse is a bunny rabbit" on the inside.

6. A daily chuckle at english slogan T-shirts.

I'm Just going to leave these photos here:

7. The scenery

Now don't get me wrong, I love the Scottish Highlands more than anything. The scenery is just different in Korea. There are so many trees and hills and best of all, cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms literally turned everything pink for two weeks and then it was, like, snowing petals for a day!

8. Kakaotalk/KakaoFriends

I am so unbelievably annoyed and upset that I managed to lock myself out of my account and lose all of my contacts. It was the best/cutest messaging app ever and I have lost contact with my Korean friends by locking myself out and I will never get over it. I miss it so much.

9. Peach flavoured everything

Peach is a flavour we just do not have enough here, and I'm really not sure why? Its marvellous.

10. The people

My friends, both Korean and other foreigners, made the whole experience absolutely amazing. And I miss them all the most out of everything.

I was recently living and studying in Daegu, South Korea. While this was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life so far, there was one BIG problem:

Korea doesn't really  do the whole "Veggie/Vegan" thing.

After eating nothing but white rice and Shin Ramyun for several weeks, I took it upon myself to learn how to experience real, authentic, Korean food whilst maintaining my Vegetarianism. It was hard, I made a few mistakes... (apparently octopus tentacles are not considered 'meat' or 'fish' and thus may appear in front of you even after telling them you do not eat either) but we got there in the end. Now here are my top tips from me to you, veggie to veggie:

1. LEARN THESE PHRASES: 

고기를 안 먹어요. gogi leul an mog-eoyo - I Do Not Eat Meat

물고기를 안 먹어요. mul gogi leul an mog-eoyo - I Do Not Eat Fish

해산물을 안 먹어요. hesanmul eul an mog-eoyo - I do not eat seafood

고기는 빼주세요. gogi neun beh joo say oh - Without Meat please

물고기는 빼주세요. mul gogi neun an mog-oeyo - Without fish please

해산물은 빼주세요. hesanmul uun an mog-oeyo - without seafood please

I usually said the top 3 of these phrases one after the other to the server before then asking for the dish with one of the latter 3.

you can substitute anything that you do not eat into these phrases where highlighted, for instance if you are vegan, you could ask for it without egg by taking out the word for meat and putting in the word for egg.

Im going to insert a link to a youtube video that helped me a lot, in this you can hear the pronunciations and learn them much easier. in fact, her whole channel is useful on a variety of topics, but I will like the specific video HERE . 

2. LEARN THESE DISHES:

비빔밥 - Bibimbap. Rice, vegetables and egg with spicy sauce, beautifully presented. (My favourite)(egg can be easily removed)

잡채 - Japchae. glass noodles and veg, so tasty! again, make sure to mention no meat or fish. (This photo is of a Japchae filled bun from a street food stall in Seoul, but it is usually served on a plate)

감자 전 - Gamja jon. like a potato pancake, but make sure its a veggie one! (I don't have a photo of this one, but it looks like a pancake made from potato baisically)

3. YOU ARE THE WEIRD FOREIGNER. NEVER FORGET THIS.

Most Korean restaurants and servers will try their best to help you, but remember that vegetarianism and veganism are not common in Korea, and they may not understand you properly. Do not get offended or hurt if you tell them that you do not eat fish and they bring out something with seafood on it, they are not ignoring you or deliberately trying to get you to eat meat, its just a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. Be polite and respectful at all times.

4. LOVING HUT

This is a chain of restaurants across Asia that cater to vegans. ALL THE FOOD HERE IS VEGAN! That's right, ALL of it! a great way to try traditional dishes and flavours without compromising your beliefs.

5. LOTTERIA MOTZERELLA HASH BROWN BURGER

HOLY S*** this is the best thing ever, saved my life so many times. Im not even going to try to explain how good it is, just look at this picture and see for yourself:

6. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, THERE'S ALWAYS PIZZA AND FRIES

I literally never eat from chain fast food shops like McDonalds in the UK, but when needs must, you can always rely on chain restaurant fries.

I hope this all helps, and my last message to leave you with is to just try your best. About 4 or 5 times out of the whole time I was there, I started eating something only to half way though find a chunk of bacon or on the first bite detect a fishy taste. Be real with yourself, you eat three times every single day, there will most likely be an accident or two in there. Do not beat yourself up about it, its not your fault. Just stop eating it and grab some snacks on the way home! C'est la vie!