This morning I walked by a man with a fruit cart on the street. He had all different kinds of fruit and I only got a passing glimpse of a bunch of bananas as I hurried past. And my mind slammed on the brakes.

Do you remember in the movie Ratatouille when Anton Ego tastes the titular cuisine? How he was instantly taken back to a different moment in time? When I was growing up in Korea, our family wasn't particularly well off (not that we're rich or anything now) and Korea wasn't the same as it is now. Bananas and other fruits were relatively expensive. So when I was a little boy walking around with my parents, and I saw bananas, not knowing any better, I asked for one. Of course they couldn't afford it, and to this day my dad will mention how much it hurt him that he couldn't buy that banana for me. And all of this came flying back to me in a split second.

This sort of thing has been happening a lot here. Memories that I thought I'd lost find themselves and give me a tug. And suddenly I'm more whole than I was expecting to be.

Save my mom, everyone on her side of the family is here in Korea. She has three sisters and two brothers. My mom is the oldest and my cousins refer to her as 미국 이모, or American aunt. It's strange. I have vague recollections of my aunts and uncles, and only two of my ten cousins were born when I was here last. Each of my aunts looks like a sequentially younger and slightly different version of my mom, and they all have her easy laugh. I'm still having trouble keeping all the cousins straight, but they all seem like good kids.

I was warned by other people that have visited Korea that I would probably end up spending a lot more time with family than I planned, and that's exactly what's been happening. I don't mind much though. Family is good, and my family is good people.

As Countdown to the Motherland continues, I spent part of the day Saturday at the annual Chicago K Fest. It was hot and semi-crowded, but I got to eat some street food and watched Edmund and PDan wrestle in the sand pit. With their shirts off. In front of both of their respective youth group kids. It was a little inappropriate. Here's the fantastic video.

Then I was convinced to attend the last Connect meeting ever, mostly by the lure of free food. Though it lasted way past my bedtime, I still enjoyed it. Recently it seems God has been reminding me a little bit about living closer to Him, specifically about trusting Him with my future. Before I decided to pursue medicine, I took a long road trip to New York to think about it. This time I have a long flight to Korea. Eh, maybe I'll be better off sleeping.

A week from now I will be somewhere over the sea, going back from whence I came. I'm pretty excited, and a bit nervous. My Korean still sounds pretty good after twenty-two years, but it only sounds pretty good for about twenty-two seconds, after which I run out of words that I know. Korean variety show clips, don't fail me now.

I had a rare day off today, and ended up eating dinner with Myung and Anna. Myung bought Anna a drink to celebrate her recent entry into adulthood, and I had a diet Coke to save my liver before Maria drowns it in soju. Anna is going to India in two days for a quarter studying abroad. She was excited about eating with her hand, tea times, and Bollywood.

Later I picked up a bag from Will that I'll be taking to Maria. He is leaving for China this weekend until maybe forever. He was excited about seeing what God's will had in store.

I've never been to China or India, and my last memories of Korea are in black and white, but from what I've been able to piece together from random things, Will will be riding a bicycle, Anna will be dancing to a cheesy song, and I will be wearing some tight pants. I think I'm the big winner there, and I think my new Korean bride will agree.