Departure
Recently, I had been feeling as if I was finally feeling comfortable with my life in Korea -- I was happy in my school, going quickly upwards in the korean learning curve, developing a good relationship with my family. I was prepared to spend another seven months in korea. The idea of going back to america was not a thought I had entertained in a long while. But with an unfortunate series of events, I found myself on the next flight to San Francisco, where my grandfather was in the hospital. Now before you worry (like many people did apparently), I am writing this from Korea, so I did come back. I'm not going to go too much into detail about the trip. I actually didn't experience any sort of reverse culture shock. It seemed perfectly natural to me that I was in San Francisco. While my reason for leaving was not a happy one, it was nice to see my family again. After a week, I got on the plane bound for Incheon Airport.
Return
Got off plane >> onto bus >> got off at wrong bus stop, possibly the sketchiest place in incheon  
I was rescued by my host mother and sister, who picked me up...in a new car, most likely bought with the money they saved on my food expenses while I was away (as my host mother once said, I eat "well".) It was a happy reunion, they were quite kind to me and told me that I was missed. I had missed them as well. They took me out to eat something I had been craving while in san francisco. I had difficulty communicating, not quite sure if it was because I hadnt spoken korean in a week or because of severe jetlag. I took two days off school to sleep and get my things in order. Yesterday, I didn't go to high school but I did go to Korean class. I was so happy to see the NSLIYans and teachers again. There were several moments where I almost cried...it was an honestly nice day. Today I went to Korean high school for the first time in a while.It was a bit exhausting to be honest, but again, I was happy to see all my classmates.

...  
I've never really liked fall, partly because of my hatred of cold weather. Although more likely my dislike of this season stems from the association with school just beginning. This year, I am actually quite enjoying autumn. A week ago, the foliage was at its peak. Right now, the gingko leaves are beginning to turn yellow, making the streets a lovely golden color. Despite the cold, I find myself smiling at the scenery on my walk home.