Package from Ben and Amy!

We miss Ben and Amy an irrepressible amount.  If you followed our Korean blog you know that we had a strong connection with them from the get go and our friendship grew really strong... then we left.  It's amazing, no matter how excited we were to travel and to come home, the first thing we said to each other when we got in the cab that morning to head to the bus station was, "Sheesh, I'm really going to miss them." 

Our friendship is a little unexpected in some ways.  On paper, we're completely polar.  In fact, right after we met them in Korea we looked them up on Facebook (as is the new norm in socializing).  And what we found made us pretty nervous.  We're political and ideological opposites.  Penguins and polar bears.

It made us clam up and act a little awkward during our next couple of hang outs.  The first time we went over to their place we ended up watching The Devil's Advocate.  I don't think any of us wanted to watch it.  It was just so awkward and poignant that we didn't know what to do.  

Of course, all the awkwardness was for naught.  We have way more in common than what's made obvious on the surface.  Our world views are startlingly similar.  We want the same things from life.  We share many of the same joys and rant about most of the same problems, large and small.  Our solutions may be different, but it's never really mattered.  They listen to us and we to them.

Maybe we should all run for senate?

I kid.  Kind of.

Anyway, we received our Happy New Year package from them a few days ago.  Our management had had the box for two weeks before notifying us.  That part wasn't so great.  Especially since Amy had lovingly enclosed two packages of ornate rice cakes.  They might have been alright two weeks ago.  They were definitely not when we got to them.  So, that was a huge bummer, but the remaining contents were super exciting. 

From left to right: bag full of little Korean candies and teas, choco peanut snacks, rice ball molds (featuring two sizes of kids' faces and a bear!), soap from their resort in Thailand (smells like lemongrass), mandu folder, and awesome paper wreaths that Amy made out of repurposed magazines.

Ben's contract is up in December.  We can't wait.