생일 축하 해요

So, yesterday was my birthday, as well as my first day of classes/placement. Needless to say, after looking at the test (all in Korean), raised my hand, ummm "Sillehamnida~~Yeah, um, I have no idea what this says," and then leave the room with a few others to go to the absolute beginner class. So, although I know the alphabet and some basic phrases, I am starting back at square one. Can't hurt, right? I am a little bored now, but it will be better in a few days, I think, when we get past the alphabet and on to phrases and such.


Anyways...I have taken too long to post this and will cut it short. sorrryyyyy.....but, ok, yay, first day of school stuff. Ok, now~~best part of the day! My birthday!!! ㅋㅋ


I went to the cell phone store, and my new " 아 버 지 " (dad) gave me a delicious cake with candles and all. Awww too cute!~ 


Then~~best part~~I got to see my chingu (which I know, I cannot ACCTUALLY use in this instance since we are not the same age, but I will anyways), JIHAE!!! <3 <3 <3


Jihae took some friends and me to 홍 대 (Hongdae--another popular area of Seoul) for some samgyupsal (Korean BBQ). We ate soooo much foood, but it was soooo good!!! Gumawoh, Jihae! ^_^ 


I will put up pics from my b-day too, again, when I can find that darn convertor to charge my camera. Sorry it was cut short, but I didn't want to keep being behind on this. Happy reading! ^^

faux pas of the day

Ok, so, while I am still working on my birthday/first day of classes post, I thought I just had to share my little ummmm lack of understanding in the cafeteria ^_~ really fast before I go to class.


So, woke up today for breakfast and Yurika (my roomie) and I go down for breakfast. Now, yes, I have had breakfast down there a couple times, but I have never actually gotten something to drink because I usually go back to my room and get my Maxim mocha instant before class. But today, I was feeling like I was dragging AND Yurika is still sick, so I wanted to take some Emergen-C to start the day off right with vitamins. 


I find where the water purifier is (they always use those jug purifiers everywhere here), and see the plastics "racks" (you know, like how they wash them in restaurants) of cups right next to the purifier, on its left. So, NATURALLY, I grab one, fill it with water and Emergen-C and enjoy breakfast while still half-asleep. THEN, when I go to return my tray and utensils, the kitchen lady tells me (in Korean, of course, so I'm not QUITE sure what she says)...but basically that I needed to go take the CUP somewhere else (all the rest of the dishes go to her, it seems, except cups). I walk over to where she's pointing at across the room with a confused look. I don't see anywhere for dirty glasses. Yurika then points out that I should put it to the left of purifier. WHAT?!?!?! I was drinking out of someone else's used, dirty cup?!!?!?!  And that ACTUALLY, you get a clean cup OUT OF THE FRIDGE AT THE END?????????  HOw in the world was I supposed to know??? HAHAHAHAHA sooooo there it goes, First FAUX PAS  of the day ^_~ Dear person who shared my cup in our effort to go green~I do so hope that you were in tip-top health and clean. Kamsahamnida~ so please now excuse me while I go brush my teeth, ok. bye.

first day's adventures~~searching out an adaptor/convertor plug

So, for my first day in Korea, after dropping off my luggage and showering, I left my room to go to the electronics store (Hi-Mart) that the emailed map showed me to buy electronics. Let me preface this by saying: I bought a convertor/adaptor at Target before I left for Korea, but after reading how it will be SOOOO easy to get one when I got to Korea and for cheap, I figured, ok, why not just wait? And so I did....and so begins the first day's adventures...

I walked outside (after it had been raining)....OOH OOOH WAITTTTT!!!! I must back track a bit...I cannot miss out on my GETTING to the university...

So, contrary to my previous post, I DID in fact take the bus. I went outside intending to get a taxi, but some guy stopped me (one of the bus drivers, i later find out) and said I could just take the bus and THEN a taxi to the school if I wanted to. It looked like a lot of other people were loading their luggage underneath the bus, so I figured, ok, why not? It will be cheaper, I'm sure. So I wind up paying 10,000 W to get to Sinchon station from the airport. At this point, it is still pouring outside. So here I am, with what is supposed to be a short 10 min walk, lost in the middle of a HUGE  intersection. Which way am I supposed to turn? Even though they say it is a 10 min walk, how do I know WHERE to walk that 10 mins??? So here I am trying to drag my luggage across the wet, rugged sidewalk, and ask a girl I run into about where it is. I start to walk in that direction, but I realize my luggage and I are not going to make it, so I ask her how to get a taxi. Ok, I get across, hail my first ever taxi, and hop in. Should be easy, right? They told me if I took a taxi instead of walk, it would be about 2-3,000 W. Ok, no biggie if it will ease my worry and complete lack of knowing what to do or where to go. No, I got even MORE stressed, as he had NO IDEA WHERE HE WAS GOING!  I showed him the paper over and over with the map, but nothing. We finally got to campus, and we drove around that place so many times. I think he asked at least 15 people on the way about where. Finally, when I feel like he got an answer that made sense to him and have a little relief, he drops me off, says "It's here" (or something to that effect) and leaves. I'm a little skeptical that it is the right building because it looks all dark. I try all the doors to no avail...and so now here I am...alone, lost, in the rain, outside a building with my luggage, and go figure, here I am in Seoul, one of the busiest/packed cities, and I look around the street and no one, I mean NO ONE is in sight! Go figure lol...so I say a little prayer~~"God, pleasE, PLEASE let someone walk down the street!" ...and BAM! A sweet university girl walks down the street, and I stop her. She is so nice to me, covers me with her umbrella and grabs my carry-on suitcase and helps me all the way into my dorm. So sweet. I will never forget you. ^^

...And then to my next unforgettable moment...

To make a long story short, I got to the dorm, showered, and went out on my adventure to explore around Seoul (well, Sinchon, really....didn't realize how many different areas are in Seoul itself) to find that darn convertor. I looked around in SOOOOO MANY different stores with NO luck at all finding one. The electronics stores, no. The cell phone stores, no. The bookstore on campus (twice), no. The convenience stores, no. Ahhhhh!!! I thought this was supposed to be easy! And so about 2-3 hours later of walking, I happen upon a tiny little cell store next door to an electronic store I went into. Probably at this point, it was no more luck than the next, but I figured, oh well, give it a shot. And oh, yes, long story is supposed to be made short here~~ so, yes, the store owner is very nice, and I show him my iPod touch and he proceeds to charge it for me, free. Ok, kamsahamnida, but I need one of those THINGS that you are USING to charge it. I got the charger (but still no convertor), and then we start talking. At this point, I have awake since before 430am, have been lost by a taxi driver, and it's sooooo humid here! annnnnd walking around for so many hours to no avail. Needless to say, it was so touching when he told me to sit down for a bit and offered me some coffee (yum yum Maxim Mocha Gold). We start talking, and from there, we become good friends. I know all about his family~his wife and two kids. I tell him how I am a student at Sogang and will then teach in Gyeongbuk. He even runs to get me "Korean water," which I have no idea what it really is, but it tasted REALLLLLLY yummmy! I definitely want to get some more. Annnyway, then he  gave me a phone. Yes, FOR FREE. I did not even ask for one or mention it~my goal was a convertor today, but look where God took me. He met my need in a friend and kindness right here. It took me probably 30 minutes to understand the concept that he was giving me a phone FOR FREE and I didn't even have to sign ANYTHING. Ahjusshi~~no id? no passport? No,...me sign anywhere? Nothing? He kept saying no no, "I love sungsaengnim!" (No, not in a creepy love-y way, but in I love teachers!). OOOOOooh, the kindness of strangers. As he said, and I agree, this, today will be "forever memory." Lol, yes, it will! I promised to visit again too. Oh, and did I mention, he wanted me to come back Monday (which, as I am writing this post on Monday...grrrr behind, I know...but jet lag has been getting me...but I did return) to give me a birthday cake with candles? I tried to say no like 15 times, but finally I gave in. It was soooo sweet! I will put up a video of it later. I will definitely come back to visit him many times before I go. We decided we would help each other out. Tee hee, and when I came back Monday to celebrate, I brought him a thank you card for all of his kindness (my attempt at writing in both English and Korean), and he hung it on his wall in his store. Awww a "forever friend" indeed. ^^

starbucks in korea

Ok, so I don't have enough time ORRRR battery left to write everything that happened yesterday on my first day exploring, but I thought I should write this little thing before leaving for lunch while I was thinking of it...


So yesterday, after dinner, a couple new friends and I were walking around in sinchon and stopped inside starbucks to sit down and so I could get my mug (I always collect mugs from starbucks of every country/state I am in...something I picked up from Mrs. Ann Lindemann ^^). So I got my mug...a travel one again like I did in China, only because it would be easier to pack and more practical use I guess. Too bad...I was really wanting a mug for my room too, but perhaps another time on my way out or something, but I WILL be living in a few places before I make it to my actual apartment, so it is better this way. Ok, so I bought this mug. Along with my receipt, I get a coupon for a free drink (at least this is what we could gather, being as though it was all written in Korean lol) Woo hoo!! Free coffee=AWESOME!!!


~~**YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN KOREA WHEN.......YOU WALK INTO A STARBUCKS AND IT IS THREE FLOORS HIGH AND PACKED WITH PEOPLE**~~


Oh, and I should also mention, before I left for Korea, I had to make sure that they actually drank coffee here or that it would be easy to get some coffee since being a coffee addict, I needed to be able to survive lol. I was told they had them all over the place. So here I am thinking they are like Walgreens in America~~"one on every corner"...meaning a lot of them all over the place. Yay! HA!! to my surprise and still complete shock, it is nothing like this. No, not that they are rare but that pretty much EVERY FEW STORES IS A COFFEE SHOP!! DAAAAAAANG!!!!


Needless to say, no worries on the coffee front, have my travel mug from Seoul, and have a free coffee drink awaiting me at my next stop by there! 


Stay tuned, though, for the best memory of the day! ^^

flight and arrival at Incheon Int'l Airport!

Annyeonghaseyo everyone! I have made it safely to Korea and am hanging out at The Coffee Bean here in the airport until I can take a bus or taxi over to Sogang University. Right now, it is 620am ( I arrived a couple hours ago). It takes about an hour to get to the uni in Seoul from here, so I have another 1.5 hours left to hang around. Thankfully, The Coffee Bean opened around 6am. I was in dire need of some  커피 (coffee). I haven't eaten much in the last couple of days probably because of nerves of getting here. Haha, in fact, one funny moment (now) was when I was waiting at the St. Louis Int'l airport. I got through security over 2 hours early, but I didn't care. I was just glad that there were no problems (except for my goal of having one bag~~yeah, I did it with room to spare, but it was TOO heavy, so I had to buy a tiny little one at the airport to fill with some of the gifts and such or else pay $200 extra~~really???!! Seems a little excessive to me, bc what is the difference if I get 2 bags free ANYWAY, but it's alright, it all worked out.) Anyways, back to the funny story...Ok, so there I was charging my Mac and sending messages to people and checking my email, etc. After all that, I was just grooving out to some sweet K-Pop. Oh dang, that reminds me, I have to listen to Dream High, just for you and me, Destiny! <3 Ok, I digress...so I decide to maybe see what books I have or anything else I could work on or something to do/organizing things again when I happen to look over at my laptop and the time reads 752!!! Ahhhh!!!! My boarding time was 650 and the flight was to leave at 733. OH MY GOSH!!! HOW??? THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!! OH MY GOSH, I JUST MISSED MY FLIGHT!!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!! With this, I am frantically throwing everything back into my carry-on (can't even find my headphones anymore) and am about to RUN to the check-in when I decide to double check my ticket, thinking THERE IS NOOOO WAY THIS COULD BE HAPPENING?!!! I pull it open so fast from my passport that I rip the stub off~~yes, my times WERE right~~what am I going to do???!! As I am zipping things up and putting my passport back, it crosses my mind to check my ipod because there is just NO WAY this could be happening! 


~~~~and then a BIG SIGH of relief, although my heart is still pounding out of my chest, when I see the time is still in the 6 o'clock hour. Oh, praise Jesus! I'm not even Catholic, and I wanted to a few hail marys. Needless to say, after that I ran up to the check-in to make sure it wouldn't be a problem that I ripped my ticket and gave them a good laugh at my freak-out (at least I hope I did~~gotta laugh at yourself and find the humor in those situations lol) then proceeded to sit RIGHT IN FRONT of the check-in (I was sort of far away because I can before the flight BEFORE me took off at that departure gate). 


Ok, so after that CUH-RAAAAZY mishap, I made it to ATL and then safely to Incheon Int'l Airport, where I am writing to you now while sipping a straight black iced coffee (I tried to get a frapp, but she couldn't understand what I meant when I asked if it was made with milk (I'm lactose-intolerant, for those who don't know). She gave me a confused look and thought I wanted an iced milk. Iced black coffee seemed the easiest to get across. And boy is it strong! Having not eaten much lately and the nerves still plaguing my stomach I assume, it is still hard to get down. I am trying to eat a protein bar with it to calm my stomach and give me energy for the day.)


Now a little blurb on my flight. KOREAN AIR definitely lived up to the hype from all my friends. The plane is sooo big and clean. You arrive on the plane to find the following on your seat cushion: a large blanket (one of the warmest and most comfortable ones~~I wanted to take it with me~~this was no ordinary airplane blanket) , bottle of water, headphones, slippers, toothbrush, and toothpaste. If that wasn't enough, each seat has it's own touch-screen TV filled with music, movies, news, travel information, etc. After everyone telling me about the delicious bibimbap you get on your Korean Air flight, I am sad to say that I slept right through it. I slept most of the way and probably only watched about 20 min. of a Korean movie before dosing off to sleep again. I will have to try it on my way back (as the saying goes, to avoid bad jetlag, "Rest when going West (and stay awake when going East)." Special thanks to my friend, Kourtney, for that one!) I DID wake up in time for some breakfast. My stomach was still uneasy (I did eat ginger bites I had with me and wore my SeaBands, but it still wasn't perfect), but I knew I hadn't eaten but a little bit of plantanos fritos and gallo pinto for lunch the day before, so I probably NEEDED to eat something. For breakfast I had the choice of an omelet, yogurt, & fruit or porridge, fruit, and pickled radish. OF COURSE I would try the latter! I have really been wanting to try this porridge that I always see in the K-Dramas. And YUM! This one was green tea porridge, and let me tell you, it was so good! I only wish I was more hungry to eat it all. I can't wait for my stomach to go down so I can go eat my first REAL Korean food! ^^


BUt first things, first. Here's my plan for the day: leave in a little over an hour for Sogang, check-in (pray I don't have to drag all this luggage up tons of flights of stairs~~elevator, please?), SHOWER, did I mention I want to SHOWER?? (One of the disadvantages I hate of flying~I never feel clean when I get off a flight), and then hit up the electronics store for a converter/adaptor plug to charge my electronics, get pillow/bedding for my dorm, then explore around Seoul. Busy day, but so excited! I am excited to meet other people in KIP and explore together. I saw a few (maybe 4 or 5) other gringos on the plane with me, and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were studying with KIP or what they were doing in Korea. It's around 72 oF (I'd better start learning how to use Celsius!) and RAINING. Too bad it's raining or else I would just leave now for Sogang. I'm debating on whether to take the airport shuttle bus, which will put me about a 10 min walk from Sogang or just take a taxi straight there. I don't have an umbrella, and I would hate to get LOST (KNOWING ME, this is the more LIKELY occurrence) and then be walking around with my suitcases, lost in the pouring rain. Orrrr, just spend a little more  money and take a taxi straight there. Here's a thing too, I'm worried I'll get the wrong taxi. For instance, in China or some of the other countries I have been to, there are different color taxis. One is the "official" color, and the others are not "registered" or something. I'm not quite sure how to explain it. Some guy, as soon as I walked out of customs, came up to me and asked me if I needed a taxi. I didn't, honestly, at that moment, but even if I did, would it have been safe/the right choice to go with that person? Anyone have any experience? Also, I know there are different kinds of taxis here in Korea, each with different prices, as some are more "luxurious." I wouldn't know the difference. Oh, but thanks for fREE WIFI (one point for Korea because I had to PAY for wifi at the USA airports)~~I will try to find this information online before I go. Looks like I will probably spend a little more and take a taxi. Ok, well, I am going to leave you here with this. I took a little video of part of the airport, but something is wrong with my batteries on my camera. I charged them fully before I left, and when I put them in, it is flashing red at me for low battery. I will have to look into this. Well, I will try to take a couple more pics on the way before my batteries die, though. Love you guys! Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to get this all out, AND I had time to kill. Off to research taxis~~~Annyeong

I'm going to miss Tito

Also, really quickly, and completely deserving of a post of his own, I am really, REALLY going to miss my baby Tito. He will be happier staying with his new brother, Eli, but I will still miss him so much TT.TT

Here's my precious baby, Tito, asleep with me on my bed.

....And his new baby brother, Eli. Awwww

Eli is jamming out to some music ;)

Korea-bound, T-minus 65 hours

Ok, so I can't write much, but I did want to add some pics and do an update. I plan to add captions and explanations for all the pics later (perhaps during my layover or waiting for the plane?)...but it's here, people. I am Korea-bound in T-minus 65 hours as I write this. I leave tomorrow morning to help with Refresh's rEVOLution Youth Camp for a couple days before driving back to Springfield Wednesday night and then driving up to St. Louis with Evelyn and  Clara on Thursday for lunch and checking in for my flight. Much to talk about these past couple weeks and Satan's attempts to break me down, but God is faithful and provides strength and perseverance to those who trust in Him.

Here are some various pictures from the last few weeks...stories to come....

Dahee and me at the park for a BBQ and Korean Burritos!

Jenn, Destiny, and I went to Gailey's for breakfast a couple weeks ago--yummy! Here's Jenn >.<

Some of our delicious food

SeIn, Destiny, and I really wanted some Dukbokki~~here are SeIn and I cooking away! 

DEliSH! Final product! :)

Visiting P. Charlie and Amy at the hospital...Say hello to Vesper, their  beautiful newborn baby girl!

EPIC!!!! SEX AND THE CITY NIGHT WITH MY LIFELONG BESTIES!!!  MADISON, MELODY, AND LAURA REUNITED ONCE AGAIN! TIME FOR A NIGHT OF SNTC, MARTINIS, AND FUN!!!!

Tee hee, Melody's cute glasses~~perfect! Lemon drops, of course!

...And the night wouldn't be complete without a spa date too :) Brings back fond memories of  freshman year. Let me see if I can find that pic---->

Haha, here we are freshman year!!! Haha, couldn't expect anything less~Love you girls!

And, of course, the night would include quoting entire youtube videos~~Best reuny!

From left: Destiny, me, Melody dancing at my going away party

More pictures and stories to come. For now, I must get some sleep (although I am so excited for camp and for Korea that I hardly feel sleepy!) so that I will be well-rested for camp tomorrow! Woo HOo!