On Being Home

Of all the western luxuries to look forward to at home, easy access to peanut butter M&Ms have been at the top of the list.

I first discovered these most delicious treats when I was flying home last summer from Shanghai and Kelly bought a bag in the Toronto airport. We devoured the whole bag in the first half hour of the 2 hour flight. It's been a serious addiction ever since. After the first terrible week of school in September, my parents had a bag in the mail with a card. Then, some for Christmas, my birthday, a middle-of-March present (well, that is, I demanded that they send me a bag and they politely agreed for fear of me not coming home in the summer), and then a surprise late-April package. Not to mention the bag that Kyle's parents sent to me in his care package... um... right.

So tonight, after I finally found them at the pharmacy by my house (grocery stores don't seem to stock them), I wasn't being polite about stocking up. I picked up 2 of the large "convenience" size packages to take back to Seoul with me and then went on a hunt for a small bag for evening snacking. When I couldn't find any, I went back for two more large size bags.

When I arrived at the check-out, the guy behind the counter looked at me for a few minutes before he was able to ask if I had the pharmacy's discount card. I told him no, I didn't have the card, and then added a huge smile as an attempt to show that there was obviously a very sane reason for buying four HUGE bags of M&Ms and haha! Isn't it funny?! The check-out guy rang in my total, bagged my items and then focused his attention on the blond college-aged-girls standing behind me who were buying mix for drinks. I collected my bags and ran out to the car, figuring it was better to wait until I was alone to rip open one of the four bags.

Just another night back home.