Not useful.

When you're not fluent in a language, you often come off as pretty blunt when trying to express your opinions. A funny example of this was this week when one of the kids had to describe a grandfather without actually saying the word "grandfather". So he said "This is not useful." Awww. Sorry, grandparents out there. Sure, our older fellow human beings are useful. Just tonight one closed the big window that was open for no reason at the restaurant we ate at. See, right there. Don't fear your kids having kids, you'll still be able to close windows.

If you're thinking of moving to a small Korean city and are white be prepared for some serious attention. It's something I'm getting used to. The majority of attention has been positive by far. But if you go shopping, you'll get long, lingering looks (I've gotten used to it). People will want to try to speak with you because they're eager to use their English (fine with me). Some friends will push their friends up to you to talk because they're too shy to speak (cute). Sure, you'll see people that you know are talking about you simply because of the color of your skin. I have to remind myself; it's pretty rare for people here to see foreigners. Kids are naturally curious. And if they've been studying English for hours and hours like tons of the children here, seeing a native English speaker is worth commenting on.

When I return home, I'm betting I'll miss the attention. Don't get me wrong, many people don't give you a second thought. But I appreciate the new perspective being the minority is giving me.