Meghan은 간다, Meghan ya no esta aqui

Jiggety Jig

Well, being home certainly feels normal and so writing in this blog has not been on the list of priorities, mostly for the fact that being at home doesn't feel exciting or new. But, I forget that some of my friends (of the Korean persuasion) don't know much about my home life and so I do want to share some of that with them.

Being at home (home = portland) mostly means relaxing and seeing friends and family for the time being. It means shopping at Target and eating at favorite restaurants, hanging out with my friends, and enjoy the greenery. That has been most of the extent of what has happened since I've returned to the States. Not that exciting! However, being at home feels somewhat different because I am entirely dependent on my friends and family to help me, and that feels strange since I was not this dependent before I went to Korea. I have no car or cell phone and I am sleeping on my friends' couch :)

Last Thursday I got on the train to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces in Southern Oregon. The train ride is kind of long (about 7 1/2 hours), but relaxing. The train is almost ALWAYS late, as it was both times I rode it. But, the scenery is spectacular. I didn't take any pictures from the train because I'm too embarrassed to do so. But, it's mountains and forests, etc. etc.

I had a really great visit with my family. My brother and sister-in-law just purchased a new home, which as we say a "fixer-upper", meaning it needs a lot of work. But, they are right for the job! It was fun seeing their new place, my brother taught me how to drive a stick shift, and I got to hang out with these cuties:

They had moved out of town and have a bit of land. Here is the beautiful view from their front door:

A few posts ago I did a "Facts about Korea", and now I'm going to entertain the other half of my readers with a "Facts about Oregon"!

Oregon is yes, the state above California. It is pronounced "Ore-eh-gun". It is almost divided in half by the Cascade Mountains. The western half is lush and green and ends at the Pacific Ocean. The eastern half is like a desert with pine trees and ends at Idaho. Because of this major difference, climate differs throughout the state. Its population is somewhere around 3.5 million, with 2.1 million living in the Portland metro area. Oregon became a state on Valentine's Day, 1859, and Portland got its name from a coin toss (if the other person won it would've been called Boston). More fun facts about Oregon (like how the state beverage is milk! I knew I was an Oregonian!!) visit wikipedia.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a picture of a place I love, the Columbia River Gorge:

I leave for Mexico on Friday and we're driving there. I'll try to take lots of pictures and write about our trip :)

posted by Meghan @ 9:10 PM