Final Day(s)

I passed my test and did really well! All of my hard work paid off, and my diploma looks really cool! I've spent the last few days going to Noraebang and different places with friends to enjoy my most favorite places in Korea before I leave. It really is depressing. I find myself saying that I'll just go back later if it's too expensive and then I realize that there really isn't a later...These feelings were made even worse by our graduation ceremony/talent show today at Sinchon. The beginning of the day was at the YES building at 9:30 am where we filled in a survey and talked about how we can readjust and not be too depressed once I get back home. It said to keep a busy schedule and be sure to see friends and have a good time. (It also said our parents should get us a really cool Iphone 4, right mom? ;p) Later we took a loooong walk to the building where our graduation was. We learned our grades and got our certificates in front of our host families and our teachers. People made speeches and Tai's was especially good. It was funny, and completely in Korean. Everyone was extremely impressed. My host family even got me flowers which was too nice of them! (and I had to carry them around when I was out with friends afterwards, so people thought I had done something special then too!) We all changed for the talent show, and even though it was kind of lame, it was still fun all the same! Our group (Gwen, Tai, and I) did a traditional Insa sort of dance which is a greeting dance. We all had fans and Gwen and I had beautiful flowing skirts. It was very slow-paced, but people said they liked it which is all that matters! After saying goodbye and crying with Aram, we all decided to go to Noraebang one final time and it was really fun. I'm sure going to miss going there! Afterwards I spent some time with Dean and we just talked. I am REALLY going to miss him =[ Tomorrow is my final day in Korea. I'll be spending it packing and with my host family. At 9:00 pm I head to the youth hostel where we'll all spend our final (probably sleepless) night together before I may never see these people again. We get up at 5:30am in the morning and are ready to fly. I really wish I didn't have to leave...

Dress cafe and Final test!

A lot has been happening these past few days, but nothing particularly noteworthy to make it a separate post. Monday, I went shopping in Insadong (foreigner central) and got all of my souvenirs in one swoop! I think I have everything I need including a new carry on as well. I spent a lot of money in these past few days...but you're only in Korea once, right? (probably not for me ;p) Tuesday I went to Ewha for some last minute clothes purchases and for the coolest thing ever: a Dress Cafe! We learned about it from our Resident Director and we HAD to go. Basically it was an adorable shop covered head-to-toe in pink and adorable-ness. They had fancy chairs, special lighting, stuffed animals, accessories..you name it! You go in, pay 6 dollars and they bring you a specialty drink (we got oreo milkshakes) and you have use of any and all accessories there. From there, you rent the sort of dress you want to wear. They are anywhere from 5,000-30,000 won to rent for a half-hour use. We all chose beautiful 5,000 won ($5) wedding dresses and used the professional lighting. We got out some really beautiful pictures that i'll post here later. It was 11,000 won well spent! Our final test was Wednesday and I spent 2 hours studying with Dean at Ewha, 1 hour once I got home, and 2 hours in the morning before the test. It was a pretty difficult exam and it took 4 hours to take. I hope I passed! The most points I'll miss will be spelling for sure. I stink at spelling in Korea because many of the vowels sound the same! Oh well, I tried my best and I'll hope that it's good enough!

Traditional Village and a Water Park!

The morning after Lotte World, my host parents took me to a traditional village to spend the night. It took about 2 hours to get there, and a bit longer to get home, so I was late to school the next day :p Anyway, on the way to the village we stopped at an ancient Buddhist temple in the mountains. They had some really nice things to look at and 500 year-old walnut trees. I was told that most Buddhist temples were in the mountains so that they could hide from the king's suppression of them. The kings felt that Buddhism was becoming too powerful amongst the people and that it rivaled their own power. Because of this, they tried to suppress the influence of Buddhism, causing the temples to relocate. I got to see the different temples, interesting sand art that took an Indian man 3 months to make, and my host siblings and I bowed at the temple. There was also a cool tradition in which people painted roofing tiles with their hopes and dreams, and also the things that were holding them back. They were meant to heal them once the temple repaired their roofs with them. After the temple, we went to the traditional village to settle in. As expected, there wasn't much there, but it was a cool experience anyway. We had an open 3-bedroom sort of hut that was for the lower class (as distinguished by the roof). Surrounding were other huts of different classes, farmland, and lotus plants. We left the village for some fun at a water park/jimjilbang nearby. We went to the waterpark first, and nobody informed me that NO ONE wore bikinis. Also, Koreans make tieing your hair up mandatory in swimming pools because they don't want peoples' hair everywhere. It makes sense, but then no one can look good ;p I played with my host siblings, and our whole family went down the waterslides (mom got stuck ;p). I was also the only foreigner there...and the lifeguards noticed me A LOT. My mom and I were rating their hottness...and she's a really good wingman. If I said a guy was cute, she would instantly take me up to talk to him! The workers in the cafeteria both were staring at me, so she took me up to talk to them. They gave me free food and a beer because they thought I was older. Right before I left, they asked me which was cuter and for me to guess their ages (Koreans ALWAYS ask these questions it seems). Later, all of the lifeguards called everyone out of the pool, and once I got out, they crowded around me and wanted hugs :p One guy gave me his phone number and I texted him for a bit :p After all that fun we went to dinner...and it was the first meal I really didn't like. (okay the second...) It was icky in the first place, but waaaaaaay too spicy to even take more bites out of hunger. My host dad ordered me a bowl of rice instead...but when you're REALLY hungry, it just doesn't cut it. The night in the traditional village was pretty boring, but worth going to. My siblings helped me with my homework, my host sister texted the cute lifeguard for me, and I read some Harry Potter =] It was a productive day!

Lotte World!

I have missed so many days of blogging because I haven't been near a computer and have been studying so hard for my final exam buuuuuuuuuut...now I have a computer and will try to fill you all in =] On Saturday I went to Lotte World for the first time ever! It is a relatively small indoor and outdoor amusement park that is sort of a knockoff of Disneyworld. It is really cute though because they have giant cheap bows that everyone buys and wear around. The cutest thing is when you see people in couple shirts with matching bows! (you can see many people in couple shirts outside of Lotte World though) Anyway, I got the tickets online with my host mom's credit card and they were only 10,000 won ($10). Everyone else bought them there for 33,000 won ($33). You have to go through a giant Lotte merchandise-filled subway station in order to get to the entrance. Once there, you go into the giant indoor part of Lotte world where there are rollar coasters, and hot air balloon rides, an ice rink, tons of food and souvenirs, and other rides as well. It is so impressive! The hard part is finding out how to get outside. I used my amazing Korean skills (not!) to struggle through a few sentences to get myself and my friends outside. The outdoor park had less exciting rides, but all of them were still fun! My favorite ride was probably Atlantis, or this new one where you journey in a bumpy car through an ancient tomb. My least favorite was definitely French Revolution because it hurt your head and neck so badly! At the end of the night there was a spectacular drum show where they had "snow" come from the ceiling. It was everywhere! Great for how hot of a day it was ;p There isn't much more to say other than it was an amazingly well-themed park that I will always remember :p I'm glad I was one of few that got to!

My 6 weeks in Korea

   Before any big test, I always study so that I know exactly what to expect. Korea definitely was no different in this respect. I saw it as the largest test in my life in which I would have to survive in a foreign country and try to actually belong here rather than remain a tourist. I researched for countless hours about traditional Korean families, table manners, city life, key phrases, courtesies, and anything under the sun. What I soon found out once I reached Korea, was that just about everything I had read and expected was wrong, and everything I thought I wouldn't have to worry about, I did. Culture shock isn't necessarily the right word for what I felt during these new experiences...the phrase is more like culture perplexed.  A book could never have told me that I'd get horribly lost in Myeongdong, have near-death experiences in cars, make a trip to the hospital, get caned by an old man for wearing a tank top, get mauled in a crowded subway, or be washed by old women in a jimjilbang. While these weren't necessarily pleasant, a book also couldn't have told me about the greatest moments of my life either. Just a few were a trip to Lotte World with an unexpected bunch, a date with a Sogang student, many hugs from every lifeguard at a local pool, my first jimjilbang, living for a night in a traditional village, and experiencing Namsan tower by putting a lock on it with my host family. As you can see, I had some low moments, but for every one of these, I had an even greater bunch of pleasurable moments. While both will remain with me, I will always see Korea as the sort of country I would love to spend my life in, and in many ways, America can learn from them. I love how respectful Korean people are of one another. While it makes feeling friendly a bit difficult, I love the honorifics put onto words to show respect. I also love how hospitable families are to guests. Some of my favorite dinners were spent at my host grandmothers who stuffed me until I was full and had me leave with goodies. The Korea I've seen in these short 6 weeks is extremely efficient, time conscious, studious, in-shape, and hard-working. While I've been here, it motivates me to become an even better student in school knowing that these sort of people will be my future competition in the job market. My time in Korea has definitley not scared me out majoring in international affairs, rather, it has strengthened my drive to do so because I now see all of the possibilities and adventures that lie before me. I'm embarrassed to say so, but myself and some other students were discussing how we would survive in Korea, and we all agreed that we're foreigners, so they would probably forgive us if we mess up. This was definitely true, but toward the middle of my trip, I realized that I didn't really want to be forgiven. I wanted to be treated like a Korean because I ultimately wanted to belong. I've gotten to experience things on my own that no mere tourist could see. By walking down creepy roads, I've found the best places and shops like a true local. By exploring and stepping off the paths described in travel books...I had the best times in my life. I no longer want to settle with merely surviving in Korea, but I want to eventually get to a point where I belong. Shopkeepers who speak to me in English love when I answer back in Korean (however broken it may be) and I love proving to them that I can be more than the average tourist. When I leave Korea on Sunday, I definitely don't think that it will be the last time I step foot in Korea. There are too many special memories and great friends that I'm leaving behind here. These short 6 weeks have left me wanting more, and 6 weeks just aren't enough. I met two internet celebrities that have been living here for 3 years, and they said they are never truly done learning, and never really felt like they weren't tourists until their 2nd year living in Korea. Whether it be through another program, studying abroad, or working here once I graduate; I will definitely be back. I didn't have a real W curve while I've been here, but my biggest low will be the moment I take off. I know I will cry and miss all the special moments I've shared with my new Korean and also my American friends here. Nothing in my life so far could top the amount I've learned so shortly, and the great times I've had. I thank NSLI-Y so much for giving me this opportunity and I sincerely wish that I had signed up for longer.

Final Week =[

I haven't been doing too many exciting things lately. Meeting with Korean friends most nights and just talking and going out to dinner. There is one week left of being in Korea and I have so much to do! I need to shop, get souvenirs, buy a new carry on, we have to send a 2 page paper to YES International in 3 days about our experience, I need to prepare for our final exam, and my supporter group also has to have a presentation in Korean for our final day in Korea. Our group is planning on playing the song Arirang on the traditional drums and dancing with fans. It will probably be lame, but they didn't give us much notice! I'm really going to miss Korea. I'll be going from having so much freedom back into highschool where you can't even sneeze without someone yelling at you for doing something wrong. I just want to go to college! I'll probably get burnt out a lot more than the other kids too because I've been studying all summer while they relax...It is also depressing to think that as soon as I get home I need to finish summer homework (with kayla's help!) and start applying to colleges. I hope I'll get to hang out with people before they head off to college. I'll miss you guys! Today I'll probably go to Myeongdong to shop for kpop stuff and souvenirs. I hope things aren't too expensive =/

Hanbok!

Monday we went to the traditional village and it was really cool! Probably some of the best pictures I've gotten this trip! We walked around and saw a bunch of really cool traditional games being played with arrows, whips, and balls that were fun to play as well. The first thing we did was try on Hanbok which are traditional Korean outfits that they now only really wear on New Years. I picked out this beautiful burple and red-flower one and Tai picked out the emperor's robes (cool, right?) They both came with pretty silly hats too. His was straight up, barely stayed on, and looked sort of like a retro cop's hat. Mine looked like a larger version of a lampshade :p After a Hanbok photo-shoot, we played traditional Korean drums (and I can't remember the name but it started with a G) the instructor said that we were so good that we were true Koreans ;p We even got a huge crowd outside of the house we were playing in. They videotaped us and took pictures which was rather embarrassing! Fast forward to yesterday and it was when we went out ice skating in the morning! It's just the same as ice skating in America except you have to wear gloves to get in, and they set off a spot in the middle where all the amazing little girls can practice like pro's. We went to Hyundai department store for lunch and it...wasn't good at all. haha. The line was so large and our supporter had us share food. We got one bowl of bbimbap, some small bowls of soup, and 2 kimchi rolls for 4 of us. G ate the majority of the bbimbap and the kimbap had something in it that was making me sick...so I didn't really get to eat anything =[ I was very cranky at school to say the least :p Nothing too eventful happened after school, just went out with some Korean friends and had fun :p

Simon and Martina!

I met Simon and Martina and they were so cool! Martina was beautiful as always and Simon looked exactly the same (which is a good thing!) I took the taxi alone because my friends were too slow and walked into Cafe Lua. They were in the back at a small table and were talking to 3 of my friends already (I wanted to be first!) We ordered some ridiculously expensive drinks and just talked which was cool. They let me film some of their long-winded stories too which was nice of them. They are EXACTLY like they are on youtube in real life. I love when people don't change! They were so impressed that around 14 of us showed up in the end. They didn't think they were THAT popular, but they are! They put up with a photoshoot and an autograph signing session (where most of us didn't have paper, so we had them sign a 1,000 won bill :p ) We also learned what the music Monday would be before they did it that night. We all said goodbye to them (and I got to hug them both!) and I went off to meet my Bucheon friends for dinner and Noraebang! Inhyop and Yechan are so good at singing it's unbelievable. (We probably made them look 10x better though because our group was just terrible). The next day, I went out with Ellen to Ewha/Idae and we went shopping. This was the best trip yet! I got 3 shirts for 5 bucks each and a dress for 10 that is absolutely beautiful. I don't have any souvenirs for people yet because i'm clueless what to get. Traditional Korean souvenirs are kind of lame. Just traditional bags you can keep makeup or pens in, or like cell phone charms (which american phones don't have). I've also never found a shirt with korean on it yet and it's really disappointing! I'll find you guys souvenirs sometime though! (No chocolate mirror yet for Jen =[ ) After I went out with Ellen, she and I met up with some Korean friends and went bowling and then out to dinner. Then Junyeong took me to Namsan tower at night and it was especially beautiful because it was foggy. I had a great night and it made me never want to leave Korea! Today I go to a traditional village and will probably get to try on Hanbok!

Official Mosquito Bite Count: 27

So I've still been getting eaten alive by mosquitos, but it seems like I'm the only one haha. My family has been Mosquito-spraying my room every night...but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. Yesterday I went with 준영 to guanhamoon (sp?) and it was really fun but sweltering hot. I saw statues of General Lee and his boat (and was explained the whole story behind him and why he's famous). He basically was a genius when it came to predicting weather and forming strategy. He made his boats to look like turtles after he saw one crawling past one day. It had a completely covered top, the top had spikes to prevent being boarded, they were made strong enough to fight off cannon fire, and the front of the boat had a dragon head to spit fire on the Japanese enemy. He won and became famous for his genius. I then saw a statue of King Sejong (sp?) who created Hangul and was a great ruler. There were also some astrology statues as well. We then went to the gates of a sort of fortress. The gates were guarded by traditional-looking guards and the fortress was backed by mountains. The Koreans believed that this was the best way to protect a city. Funny fact though: this fortress/wall was burned down three years ago by a man protesting against the government. I couldn't even tell though, because it was so beautiful. We got to go inside and see a demonstration of a sort of changing of the guards I suppose. It was really cool and the weaponry they had was like nothing I'd seen before. I was really tired from such a long and hot morning, but school was actually the best class I've had in Korea yet. The language is now starting to click. We're onto our third different teacher and this one is definitely the best. She knows a bit of English, so I can ask questions. She also knows Japanese...so when I mix up Korean and Japanese words, she knows what I was trying to say and corrects me :p I just went home yesterday and had dinner with my host grandparents at a restaurant. I had black bean noodles for the 4th time in Korea and supposedly that's pretty often because my host mom laughs at me every time I have them. Supposedly they're old-people food? I love their grandparents though because they always smile at me and feed me yummy things. They treat me the most like an adult than anyone here. They give me coffee (which is a real "adult" drink here) and just offer me adult food which is actually kind of icky but also flattering to be offered. Anyway, today I'm meeting Diane and people in Ewha and then headed out to Bucheon! I meet Simon and Martina at three and then Bucheon friends afterward! I'm excited and hope they bring Spudgy! <3

Record Breaking Weather!

Yesterday I had a test and school as usual. The test was really hard and took me a while because it was memorization of dialogues we did in class and I don't memorize them because I just memorize how to use the words differently. I also have trouble spelling in korean and always mix up the ㅓand ㅗ sounds in words =[ After school I came straight home and I'm glad I did! It started POURING and no one had umbrellas. I had to call my host mom to pick me up from the subway station! We went to this really hip Asian fusion restaurant and had tons of different things that were chinese, vietnamese, japanese, and korean. I even ate buffalo chicken wings with chopsticks (which is so difficult!) Today we had another test in school that went better. Class started late too because the teachers' former classes ended late. It was nice starting a half an hour later! The lesson really confused me, so I called up 준영 to help tutor me. We went to a nice chinese restaurant, and to get coffee and ice cream and he paid for it all! I think he likes me because he's doing all of this for free and he also gives me hand massages to keep me paying attention haha.

The main news though is about all of this rain! It is horrible and feels like you're taking a swim in the Han River! My host mom said that it is the most and hardest rainfall she has ever seen in her lifetime (44 years). The Han River overflowed and is completely flooding Subway Stations. The streets are like rivers in some places, and in most others there are impassable puddles. It is crazy how much water can come from the sky! Supposedly 6 died in a landslide and so far 13 are reported dead. It's also the first time I've seen lightening and thunder in Korea. Usually it just rains. At least this is another first I get to experience in Korea! Tomorrow our supporter meetings were cancelled because it's so dangerous. I'm sort of hoping school will be too because I need a break! 6 hours of studying today! And I want to learn a traditional Korean game that I saw my family playing!

Great things can happen in a subway!

Today I was just minding my own business on the subway and an old "blind" begger came up to me and kept tapping me for money. This Korean boy came up and helped to get him away and was really sweet. He told me that he'd studied in Iowa for a year and had studied English a lot and very dilligently. His English was perfect...no accent...and he even used slang! It was so cool. We talked more and I ended up even missing my stop because we were talking on and off in Korean and English (and maybe a little because he was cute...) He asked for my number to maybe meet up later and I gave it too him because he seemed like a great guy. He texted me later and asked me to dinner. I wanted to feel safer and more comfortable so I had him bring a friend and I brought Caroline and we double dated. They took us to this awesome Korean steak place in Ewha and then out for smoothies. They paid for dinner and we paid for the smoothies. We talked a lot about Korea and its culture, and the differences, and some language things. I really did learn a lot. He took me to my station and we got a quick ice cream before parting. He was real sweet and offered to tutor me any day for free or take me anywhere I wanted to go. They offered to get us into a military camp or into the UNICEF headquarters. It was really nice  =]

Korean games hurt!

I can't believe I haven't gone over this yet. One of these times I'll just devote a post to things different between america and Korea, but for now, just games. There are all sorts of games, and i'll just mention them briefly, but all of them end with some sort of pain haha. There is Kai Bai Bo that is just like rock paper scissors...but the punishment is more than just losing. From what I've seen, they will either flick your forehead (which is painful!), slap your wrist with two fingers, or slap your hand as hard as they can. They also will Indian Bap....which is hitting you on the back basically :p The point is to keep playing until it is too painful to go on. Other games are like a sort of thumb game. One person calls out a number of thumbs up and if there are that many thumbs up, they get to smack the others. Another game is sort of like Hot Hands that we play in America. You keep slapping each others' hand until it is so red and painful you give in. I haven't seen ddibiddibidip played in Korea yet which makes me sad, but i'm sure there would be pain as well :p That's about it for games. I'm sure there are way more and more pain methods, but that's what i've seen here :p

Bucheon Camp!

Over the weekend from Saturday to Sunday we traveled to Bucheon for a camp. (Surprisingly on the same street as Cafe Lua where we'll meet simon and martina next week). We all got on a bus at 8:20 in the morning and traveled to a hostel. My room was intermixed with Korean girls and was the only one without beds. We slept on mats on the floor, but I really didn't mind because I'd always wanted that Korean kind of experience. We went to a big room and learned who our intermixed groups would be. We all got bandanas and mine was blue. My group was actually really sweet (and had cute guys!) We had a bonding game to learn each others' names, and also one where we had to think of a creative way for us all to have our feet off of the ground. We made a human hamburger :p We all had lunch in our groups (just some bbimbap) and went on a mission. The first step was to make a team cheer. We used the song fire and adapted it to our team four...and we also said urichechalaga (sp?) translating to we are the best :p We were the first ones to pass that step and went on for our mission at a museaum. Lucky for us, there was a comic book/anime convention happening at the time and many people were dressed up (which was sooo cool). There were lots of exhibits that we saw, but the main one we were to see was a brain exhibit. It was a big inflatable room that was a "brain" and it was the brain of an airhead. (get it? haha)  It had airplanes and lots of other daydreams and was fun to bounce off of. Our next part of the mission was to make our own brains. We made a head on a piece of paper and passed our heads around and wrote one first impression about everybody in their respective brains. When mine was done it was really sweet. People said that I was a good dancer, "have big eye", that I was beautiful, and that I was "so beautiful I thought you was movie star". It made me happy. We had presentations back with everybody and ours was sort of a fail. We didn't really know we had to do one, so we just made it up :p The prizes were pretty good though! They gave out neckrests and shower/makeup kits. We snuck out and went to noraebang with our group and it was awesome bonding time. The guys were great at singing! That night we all stayed up and bonded until 2 in the morning. There was truth or dare, and after I hung out with Caroline and Dean talking to inhyop, yechan, and a few others. They were so sweet :p We had talent show practice for the talent show the next day. It was full of cool people singing, dancing and lip synching and lots more. It was cool. No one was amazingly talented which made everyone feel better. Caroline and I did a dance to a mix (it was weird not dancing with Kayla =[ ) The highlights were a large group that did a dance to Roly Poly, a Taekwando group, and Tom who shaved his beard on stage :p We went for a final meal together at a Chinese restaurant and I ate a quail egg! I was also given a fork -_-"  But it was cool because they had a room for the korean students and a room for the american ones...but we just ignored it and bonded with the Koreans. I think i'll be meeting with some of the girls I met next weekend! Leaving was really sad because I won't see most of them ever again =[. And even after all of this I went on a date with Dean :p  We went to see Harry Potter, and went to Pizza Hut. We did this because we got foreigner cards and at certain places the cards give you a major discount! It was a sweet night and made me very happy =]

Hottest Days Ever!

So I haven't blogged in a while because I've been really busy with school studying, family, and supporter sorts of things. On Tuesday we all went to a palace and it was really beautiful except for how sweltering hot it was outside! There was supposedly a warning that people shouldn't be out more than a half an hour without shade or there would be a risk for skin cancer...whoops...lol. The palace was great, but they wouldn't let anyone go inside. They could just look from the outside, and every building was essentially the same in color, size, and architecture. We had homemade kimbap there and headed off to school. It's hard to remember 5 days ago actually! I can't remember doing anything extremely interesting for a few days except a bit of shopping with the family. Once again, it is really depressing to be a normal sized american in Korea because nothing fits! What's worse is the fact that most stores don't let you try things on before you buy them. I bought a romper the other day and I really don't think it suits me at all and am definitley regretting it! I also went out another day to Namdaemoon to shop. I got cute 7 dollar sneakers, a 10 dollar dress and cardigan set, and some basic tee-shirts and a skirt. I'm making out pretty well! I had to withdraw money for the first time and it really killed me inside. I had to use 20 of it for T-money as well because the initial 35,000 won was definitely not enough. (T-money is put onto a card that can be used in subways, convenience stores, and taxis). More and more school happened. (I can now use my new grammar rules to form sentences!) And yesterday we went to the Dragon Jimjilbang and it was amazing! Supposedly the nicest one in Seoul. We went out with a group of the guys, young-min, me, ellen, gwen, and nhi. It wasn't nearly as awkward this time! We went out afterward and I also had my first taxi experience! It only cost 5,000 won (5 bucks) to be taken home from Hongdae in a nice taxi! I can get used to it here :p Today we had our mid-evaluation and it made me really sad. We only talked about the funny things that happened to us in korea, but it's sad that in just 3 weeks it'll all be over. I want to come back desperately. Many times I wish I had chosen to do the semester or the year program. It would be really difficult, but I feel like I've only just gotten started here and there are so many more things to go do and see! It asked us to reflect on ourselves and I actually did. I think I've grown more mature and independent. I feel like a college kid with real freedom, and it will be so depressing to go home to a high school that knows everything that's going on and is just waiting to get people in trouble. Let me stay longer, mom and dad!

Park and Outback!

Well, we ended up doing something! We rode bikes to the park (where I cut up my leg :p ) played badmitton, ate some kimbap and had a nice family time. After we went to Myeongdong and got steak at Outback Steakhouse! I'm disappointed in all the American food I've been consuming lately -_-" But i'm pretty proud of the foot tall ice cream I ate in Myeongdong! Another day of school tomorrow and I'm probably meeting Dean to hang out in the morning!

Music Core, Bowling, and Harry Potter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuaIycGUBXg&feature=player_embedded#at=175Yesterday morning we picked up Nhi and Caroline for Music Core at MBC. All 6 of us piled into their small car and drove off completely excited! Once we got there, there was a HUUUUUGE line of fangirls with signs and everything and we were worried we'd be behind all of them. But since we got the hookup, we had special tickets that got us ahead of many of them! In the waiting area there were little shops, and a cool little museaum that showed the history of Korean Dramas. It was real cool. We also noticed that there were signs with names of bands on them and certain people were lining up behind them and kept getting to go in and come back out. We later learned that the TV show is pre-recorded in most parts because of special effects, and therefore they let the SUPER fans into the pre-recordings to get closer to the stars. It was finally our time to go in and we were pumped. There was it-girl on the stage finishing their pre-recording and we tried to film but got instantly ninja-ed and told to put it away. Everyone else that was caught with cameras was thrown out (that's why I have no pictures from it =[ ) Bands we didn't know were gonna be there showed up like b1a4, block b, and MBLAQ! We could also see the announcers and two were Tech and Nickun (sp?) from 2PM and they were sooo cute! Our favorite performances were by b1a4 and 2PM. b1a4 was really cute and in OK instead of doing the "i love you ou ou ou ou" finger thing, they made hearts and wiggled their butts lol. And 2PM were just generally adorable. They had to film them coming out of the audience 3 times and each time it got better! We were close enough to touch them! I was really disappointed by Hyuna and 2NE1 though. Hyuna only half-danced for half of bubble pop because it was pre-recorded. I was looking forward to her too! and 2NE1 didn't even show up at all! Grr. But THE BEST part was when we were on TV. We were the only foreigners there and we were dancing the whole time. Our friends at home said that throughout the entire show they saw close-ups of us on TV. Mostly during 2PM's put your hands up. The camera men actually told us to stand up and dance at the camera at the end of the song and everyone around us was jealous :p That night I went out with my host siblings and father and we went bowling. It was fun and I got third each time (but there were no bumpers!) and my host dad made dinner (take that real dad! haha). Today we went real early in the morning to see Harry Potter. I'm so sad it is all over now. I cried like 3 times during the movie and all the Korean people around me totally didn't get why I was so sad lol. We got burgers afterwards (and i'm not happy with Korean fast food. You can't ask for anything different on or off of the sandwich. I hate tomato, lettuce, and cheese, but everything comes with it on it and it is rude to take it off). I also will never really get used to how it is okay to shove people out of the way here haha. On subways, anywhere, if someone is in your way you just sort of shove them. An old grandma almost took me down in the subway! Oh well, I'm just chilling at home right now and i'm not really sure what we're going to do all day. Maybe I'll study more Korean.

School, Shopping, and Excitement!

Yesterday we had a normal day of school. It rained (as usual) and we learned numbers again. I'm getting a bit quicker and was able to speak about how much something cost with street vendors yesterday. It really is cool when the things that you learn are useful! After school, Caroline, Nhi, and I went shopping in Myeongdong to find cute clothes for the concert today. Nhi and I actually ended up getting the same shirt, and I suspect that she's wearing it today too. Oh well :p I'm really pumped for this concert and am antsy just waiting! I'm listening to all the new songs again so I can freak out and know all of the words :p

On a side note: food here confuses me. I mean, some things are to be shared equally by everybody and its kept in the middle of the table. But sometimes my host mom make things just for me, and when I don't finish it (thinking that other will want some too) she looks sad. I don't know how to tell which are just for me, or which things we all share! It is difficult!

Samkyesang

I think I spelled the title wrong! But Samkyesang is a Korean holiday that happened yesterday where they serve entire chickens in a rice soup sort of thing with ginseng. It is a holiday to celebrate the ending of the rainy season and make your body stronger for the upcoming hot season (darn it!). It was actually delicious and I needed to get stronger because I had gotten really sick that day. I almost went to the hospital (it isn't so serious sounding here) but luckily I got better by this morning! In the morning yesterday we went with our supporter and a few other groups to make Korean fans! Despite being completely unartistic, I was able to make a decently pretty butterfly one! We took so long that we didn't really have time for lunch, so Gwen and I hurried to the same Mandu place I went yesterday. I'm not sure if I got sick because of them, or because I had to take a cold shower for the past two days. My host mom thinks it was the cold shower. Anyways, we hurried to school and I loved the lesson yesterday even though it was difficult. We finally learned the Chinese number system along with the Korean. I can now (slowly) say just about any number I would need. In one day, I'm able to say the date, the time, how much something costs, my birthday, everything! Everyone went after school to see Harry Potter too with Kyungnam, but I couldn't because I wasn't feeling well. (But i'm still telling people I saw it to make my American friends jealous that it came out here first :p) Once I was home, my host mom fussed over me for a while because both Jay and I were sick, and then told me the best news ever! My host aunt got us tickets to MBC's TV show for Saturday and I can bring Nhi and Caroline!!! At the show, there will be: [2011년 7월 9일 토요일] 2PM . 2ne1 . 현아 . f(x) . Secret . T-ARA . 장우혁 . 천상지희-다나&선데이 . 민경훈 . 레인보우 . ZE:A . 마이티마우스(feat.SOYA) . 8eight . Girl“s day . Rania . 4men . Boyfriend . 백청강 . N-train. So many great bands! I've woken up today feeling completely better and ready to go shopping for a cute outfit after school ;p

Taekwando!

Today, I got up bright and early to leave by 8:30 for Taekwando. It was the most complicated subway trip i've made yet and it was successful! When we got to Taekwando, we all got matching uniforms to wear and white belts. (Except Dean and Tatiana who were already Black belts from before) we did stretches, warmed up, learned basic punches and kicks, sparred, learned self defense, and broke a board. The board breaking was cool because they had us write our hopes and dreams and then break it (we were confused too why we were breaking our hopes and dreams :p ) I had a really thick board though, so my first time, my hand just bounced off! I managed to get it afterwards though! It was a great experience and I especially loved yelling at every move. Our feet and hands got filthy though from being barefoot on the ground. We went out to eat after that and I got Mandu from a street vendor for only 2000 won.. I really loved it and think i'll be going back often! We passed a convenience store and I found a miracle in Korea: Deodorant! It was all dusty and untouched, but it still exists somewhere! Wow! (If you didn't know, most Koreans don't use deodorant because they don't need it) We had class (which was boring) and afterwards I went with Tai, G, and Nhi to meet Arram. We got to go to a "traditional meets modern" sort of showcase and it was amazing! It had traditional instruments and traditional dancers in old-fashioned outfits, but it also had a DJ and breakdancers! It was fabulous (and Nhi and I especially liked when the breakdancers danced shirtless ;p ) I'm home now and feeling pretty tired and hungry. Tomorrow we meet with Arram to make traditional fans!

Family Games are fun!

Yesterday it rained sooo hard once again. Went to school like usual, learned numbers, was super frustrated, and came home. School sometimes is so frustrating because our Korean teacher doesn't speak English. It really seems like all she's doing is *korean korean korean (flaps arms) korean korean (stares at you).* It can be really frustrating! After school I went to dinner with my host siblings at their grandmother's house. Their grandparents don't speak a lick of English, and from the minute I walked in the door, they kept feeding me! (it seems like a trend in Korea :p) She brought out sooo much rice for me and a million side dishes. There were sardines with eyes still and I tried my best to avoid them...(to no avail). There was also a sort of clam soup, and i've never eaten clams before. She was watching me eat and kept pointing to the clams to eat them. I've never taken out the insides of clams before, but taking them out with chopsticks only was quite the ordeal. My dad would be glad to know that I officially like clams...or were they oysters.... I kept saying that I was full in Korean, but she would just smilea and point for me to eat something else. Finally I somehow was able to leave the table! Within a minute she had a tray full of goodies for me. (too bad I was stuffed) I kept saying in Korean that I was too full to eat, but she ended up feeding me, so I kept eating haha. It wasn't bad, but a different experience haha. After everyone got home we played the game of live for HOURS. The kids kept cheating, but it was really cute :p It was a fun bonding experience, especially with Nae-young. Today I hung out with my supporter in Hongdae and studied and shopped. We had another placement test today and I feel like I did really well. We went to the Co-ex mall after school which was about an hour and 15 minutes away. We ate hamburgers (typical americans, right?) and had ice cream and shopped. It was fun! Tomorrow we have Taekwando and I hope I don't get lost getting to Mapo!

Seoul Tower!

First of all, drivers here scare the crap out of me! Oh my god. I can't place whether or not they're good drivers, or bad drivers that are good at not crashing. There are sooo many dangerous situations every day that they make out to be nothing! And people just randomly park on the sidewalk?  But the other day I actually saw a delivery man get run over by a car! It was really scary! Today we did laundry and went to Seoul tower. It was so romantic to see all of the locks put there by lovers! It was really beautiful, and you could have a view of all of seoul from it! Jay and I went up to the top and it supposedly has the fastest moving elevator in the world! Each window was marked with which country/countries it was facing and had facts. It was so cool. We met up with my host mom's mother and younger brother there and they brought their son. He is the youngest kid in the family (2 years old) and he is absolutely the cutest thing! I hope I get to see him more! We all went out to a cool restaurant where you sit on the floor, and then went shopping around Insadong. Things were too expensive to buy though. Probably because it is the biggest foreigner/tourist city =/

Jimjilbang

Today we all woke up bright and early to leave for the Jimjilbang, but in character, mom was running late :p After an awesome breakfast we left at 11:30 for Garden 5 Jimjilbang about an hour away in Seoul. I was pretty nervous to be completely naked and a foreigner, but it was something I had to try. It was weird because my own family hasn't seen me naked since I was little, but after only a week, my host family has! It was interesting. We got shampoo and stuff, went to our lockers, and just stripped. Everyone acted as if it were nothing. I did get many stares though because I was the ONLY foreigner. But you basically just walked around these series of rooms naked, showered off, got in a huge hot tub, then a cold tub, then a massager tub, then maybe the hot tub again. After we were all bathed we got to put on clothes! They were generic clothes that everyone wore at this jimjilbang and mine was brown and so was mom's. So we all went out to the sauna sort of place. It was a big common area in air conditioning where people slept, read, talked, ate, whatever. It had a cafe, a nail place, a free movie theater (with super comfy recliners) massage places, and everything. They had sauna ovens in the wall that about 2 people could crawl in and just sweat out all the bad toxins. They also had bigger themed rooms where you could sweat at different temperatures. It was really rather cool! It was an awkward experience at first, but I would definitely do it again! After, we met with my host dad and went out to dinner. It was a famous place that was very humble looking. You sat on the floor and had a little sort of stovetop on coals in front of you and cooked yourself. I had my first taste of soda since I left Pittsburgh there too! It was delicious and definitely felt traditional. We tried to go to Seoul tower after dinner, but they kept asking for my passport (which i don't keep on me). So we just left. Great day! Tomorrow we go to Insadong!

I aced my first test!

So we had school again and had our first test. I actually studied real hard because the material was a bit hard. It wasn't hard to remember, just hard to spell in Hangul. Anyway, I'm 99% positive that I aced it! School has been going better and has been MUCH less boring. We're learning useful phrases for everyday life now. For example, we learned you're handsome yesterday ;p haha. Anyway, before school Dean, Caroline and I wandered around campus exploring and it was actually a lot of fun. After school we chilled and talked in the common area. I came home for dinner, and mom decided to take me to Jay's school. It was really old and creepy and they were all scared being in there :p Two classes were actually staying overnight at the school and were playing games. One was a sort of charades game and I could guess most of them in Korean. It was kinda creepy that we were just allowed to stand there though! We met with the principal afterwards and talked a lot with him. He made me coffee (which is a really "adult" initiation sort of thing here) and he gave me his business card. I felt like he really liked me haha. He kept calling me pretty and taking pictures >.< After we went to their grandparents and I met their grandpa for the first time. Both of their grandparents were sooooooo cute! They got me ice cream, and all sorts of goodies and drinks! Korean families make me feel so special! We watched Korean dancing with the stars while there and theirs is waaaay more legit than America's dancing with the stars. We went home because we were all tired after that. I'm always tired real early at night it seems...haha

Don't leave fans on overnight!

So yesterday's class was just as bad as before lol. Almost unbearable actually :p After I went to school, Nhi and I went to Ewha to go shopping but most things were too expensive. My family and I ate at a really cool Chinese/Korean restaurant and my mom shared her seafood dish with me. I went to pick up some shrimp, and unfortunately found it staring at me. I have never had shrimp that still had the legs, feelers, and eyes before. I yelped a little and my host mom quickly took it away. haha. My family also took me to a real classy Noraebang with a really cool floor/couch/table thing to sit at, moraccas, tambourines, cool lights, and free ice cream! It was so cool! We went shopping and I bought my first dress (hopefully first of many). I'm going to wear it tomorrow because it rained too much today =[ But that night it was REALLY hot so I put the fan on and left it on like I would in the united states. I woke up feeling sick and my host mom said that it was the fact that I left the fan on. I didn't believe her, but actually it is true that it can make you sick in Korea. And there is also a huge Korean superstition about it and a monster or something, but i'm not sure. Today I met up with people at the university because it was too rainy to go out. We had class (which was much better than the past 2 days) and then Tai, Gwen, Arram, Young-min, Dean, and I went out to Dongdaemoon for dinner and shopping. We wanted to do sticker photos but it was closed =[ And the clothes we saw were definitely NOT cheap =[ Anyway, i'm back home and haven't seen mom. She went straight to her room. I hope she's feeling okay. I have a test tomorrow, and i'm being eaten alive by mosquitos and can't find any mosquito spray =[

Second Day of School

In the morning I went out with Arram to Ewha Women's University to study and eat some Kimbap with Tai and G. That was really nice, but we lost G for a bit :p Then we took a bus to Sogang and were just barely on time. Sooo, they put me in the beginner class, but it is waaaaaaaaay too easy, so I think I'll ask to switch. Our class was four hours of learning the korean vowels and like 6 consonants. We're doing this all week and I already know how to write, so it is absolutely mind numbing. I hated the class soooo much...I hope it is better today. (It will probably be about the same thing though) Afterwards, my family is meeting me in Hoejong (sp?) to Noraebang and have a light dinner! One of these days i'm going to jimshilbang with Caroline, I just don't know when yet. (Jimshilbang is a public naked bath). I was really excited because after school, Nhi and I went shopping and actually found Hoddeok in the summer. I was craving it since I came to Korea, but my host mom said I couldn't find it in the summer. YAY! I need to leave soon to go work out and get to school. I feel like i'm going to gain so much weight from all my host mother feeds me! (and she says I don't eat enough). Bye ~

My First Day of School!

My host mom and siblings left early this morning for work and school so I had the house to myself. I decided to go meet Dean and other people early and explore the area around Sogang. I ended up getting to the subway alright, but once there I got on the #2 going the wrong way! So I just got off and tried again and got to Sinchon pretty quickly. But as soon as I got to Sinchon I didn't know which exit to take (was supposed to be 6) so I just chose one and started walking and looking for Sogang signs. I found one and started walking the way the arrow pointed (but apparently the arrow was wrong!-_-" ) I ended up walking 13 blocks the wrong way and eating something that looked like hoddeok, but most certainly was not haha. I asked in broken Korean but didn't end up getting anywhere so I called Dean and he saved me! We met up with others to get lunch (it was only 3,000 won for a huuuge meal!) and ice cream. We went to the classroom at 2 for our placement tests. I didn't do so well because the only questions they asked me were answered with numbers...and I don't know them yet! My written part went decently though! We went out exploring after that and ended up taking the subway to Ewha Women's University (where I will go at 10 tomorrow to meet my supporter) and shopped for hair straighteners. I hope it works well! We went to Noraebang after that too and there were like 10 of us. The lady brought us drinks and gave us extra time too! I went home around 630 so that I could be sure to be home by 730 for dinner. I got lost again ^^ My host brother came to find me though! haha. We had a lovely kimbap dinner at a restaurant and then went to costco. My host father and mother gave me a korean lesson, we bonded, and now i'm about to go to bed. I like it here =]

I found out the meaning of Monsoon Season!

Last night, I stayed in with my host siblings and watched SM town live in France from midnight until 2 in the morning and i'm exhausted! I woke up at 8:30 and we had a nice breakfast of cereal and a sort of tomato smoothie. The kids showed me how to get to Sogang (but I can't remember anymore...uh oh!) We then went to meet up with their cousin who was leaving for Turkey and needed to go shopping. We shopped (but it was all too expensive!) and went to a traditional restaurant for noodles. Then it started POURING. It looked like a river! I got so wet running to the car, and in a few minutes, the water was up past the tires in some places on the road! It was crazy! We went shopping at a different place and I got a pretty headband and shorts. I'm so fascinated by the dresses though! It seems like the predominant style in Korea is casual Lolita. Everything is adorable and frilly! I liked all the dresses, but the majority were too short/couldn't fit my chest. The ones that did, though, were 68000 won! (Maybe mom should wire me more money ;P) I will find cheap ones hopefully! We're watching ice skating now and having a late dinner. One of my biggest fears was that I would be hungry all trip. That is definitely not a problem! My family eats constantly! haha. I'm not getting very far with my Korean yet unfortunately...it is used constantly around me, so it is hard to pick out words and their meanings... I'm getting better at just listening and interpreting what the whole thing means though! I'm a little tired by it all though. I'm not sure if it's the jet lag catching up to me, but i've been ready for bed since 5 haha. Tomorrow is my first day of class, and I think the whole family will be out of the house when I wake up. I've only seen my host father for about 3 hours in all since I got here haha. Hopefully I don't get lost trying to find Sogang. We have class at 2 and will be taking a placement exam..so wish me luck!

First Few Days!

I've been in Korea for three days now and have just gotten the chance to write! The first day, we all got into Japan around 9 and we got into Korea at 10:30 and stayed in a hostel for the night. The few hours I had in Japan were really cool too! We spoke to a few people in Japanese, went shopping, and went to an oxygen bar! The hostel in Korea was really nice too. 10 bunk beds in a room and a bathroom for that room. The girls still all fought over the mirrors though! We stayed up late every night talking and bonding, and i'm really starting to like everyone. There are 52 of us now when we all thought there would be 40. Anyway, the next day we all got up, had some bread for breakfast, and had an orientation. We met our supporters and I have a really nice one! We got to explore the city with her (Arram) and Young-min. Our "mission" was to go to a lake across from Lotte World and take an excercising picture! It was hard because my supporter doesn't speak English well. Luckily I had Gwen and Tai to help translate! I learned that I hold chopsticks wrong and they spent an hour in a famous noodle shop trying to show me...it didn't work. haha. So the next day we had a huge orientation for 5 hours and it was extremely tiring. On a break we got ice cream, saw the palace, and I had a random Korean woman ask to shower in my dorm. It was weird! haha. That night we went to noraebang which is like Karaoke and the man kept refilling our minutes for free because he liked our singing! We shopped a little, got lost, and had a short experience seeing SHINee! It was a good night! This morning my host family picked me up and we spent the day together. We went to their grandparents, and went grocery shopping at Times Square. They are such sweet people and I feel so at home..Now I just have to master Korean so I can speak to them!

My First Vlog! 24 hours before departure!

My Packing List

• Energy converter/adaptor
• Ipod
• Ipod charger
• Camera
• Camera charger
• Sd cards
• Flash drive
• Hair straightener
• Hair brush
• Bathing suits
• shorts
• tshirts
• shoes
• Towel
• Notebook
• Pens/pencils
• Folder
• Printout stuff
• Deodorant
• Shampoo
• Facewash
• Body soap
• Razor
• Makeup
• Rain jacket
• Host family gifts
• Tampons/pads
• Birth control
• Umbrella
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Debit card
• Money Tracker packet
• Money
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Passport
• Drivers license
• Copies of them
• Tennis shoes
• Workout clothes
• Sandals
• Hoodies
• Dresses
• Semi-formal clothing
• Heels
• Black belt
• Phone
• Phone charger
• Makeup remover
• Bandaids
• Stationary
• Bras
• Underwear
• Socks
• Perfume
• Chapstick
• Medicine
• Clips
• Bobby pins
• Hairties
• Purse
• Little purse
• Books
• Hand sanitizer
• Face lotion
• Nail file
• Pajamas
• Gum
• Washrag/bubble thing
• Shaving cream
• Jeans
• Belts
• Camis
• Stain remover
• Extra homework
• Phrase book
• Leggings
• Quart sized bags
• Mom debit card
• More wallet photos of me
• Insurance card copies
• Birth certificate copies
• Drivers license copies
• Passport copies
• Itinerary
• Flight info
• Map of seoul
• Korea book
• French toast recipe (use vanilla)
• Speakers

I'm finished Packing!

I finally finished packing! 46 pounds! 4 pounds to spare actually, i'm surprised! I sure hope that I can carry it all through the airport! I just finished filming my first vlog, but I don't think it went so well >.< Oh well! Time to edit!

Packing is hard!

Packing is really difficult! There are so many things that I could forget. My room is DESTROYED with clothing. It is frustrating, but when it is all over, it will be so rewarding and I'll be off to Korea. Gotta keep trying! Fighting!~

My newspaper article made by the Beaver County Times!

Moon Area student to study in South Korea

Sally Maxson

Summer in South Korea

Moon High School student, Valerie Snaman,17 will be spending the better part of the summer in South Korea. She received a scholarship from the National Security Language Initiative for Youth. Valerie will be writing a blog while in Korea: http://valerieinkorea.blogspot.com/

Posted: Sunday, June 19, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 4:20 pm, Sun Jun 19, 2011.

Moon Area student to study in South Korea By Kaitlin Edwards For The Times Timesonline.com | 1 comment

MOON TWP. — While most high school students are working summer jobs, one Moon Area High School student will be spending her vacation studying in South Korea.
Valerie Snaman, 17, received a scholarship from the National Security Language Initiative for Youth and the International Education and Resource Network to study in South Korea for several weeks.
The NSLI-Y and IEARN programs work toward encouraging youth to learn foreign languages and to use technology to become connected to what is occuring around the world.
“This type of program was perfect for me because it involves a lot of the different areas I am interested in,” Snaman said. “This will give me an opportunity to see different cultures and learn more languages. I am very excited to be a part of this.”
Snaman will participate in a six-week, summer session, during which time she will be studying the South Korean culture and language at Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea.
“Knowing different languages is essential to the world today. No matter what job a person has, knowing a few languages can be a very valuable skill,” she said. “Studying in South Korea will give me more opportunities and will help me in my future career.”
The program offers 550 full scholarships to U.S. high school students ages 15-18 to study abroad.
Through this program, scholarship recipients will be able to travel to counties that speak the languages of Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian or Turkish.
Snaman will be in South Korea from June 28 until Aug. 14 and will be living with a host family. She is hoping to be able to gain more than basic Korean-language skills while participating in the program.
“I am hoping to be more confident when I come back,” Snaman said. “I want that life-changing type of experience that will change how I view the world, and I think by stepping out of my comfort zone I will be able to accomplish that.”




Thank you, Beaver County Times, for writing this about me!
http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/moon-area-student-to-study-in-south-korea/article_fb0bbca1-4d8a-54e5-b120-f9fbff2fe716.html#user-comment-area

Mark Mustio

Today I received a congratulations from Mr. Mark Mustio! It was so sweet! He wrote me a little letter and laminated the newspaper article that they made about me! He even remembered that I won his "It ought to be a law contest" in 5th grade. It made me really happy that he would take his time to do that. Thank you!

NSLI-Y Poster

This was made by one of the girls on our Korea trip named Christina Huang. She is talented!

Harry Potter in Korea!

I'm so excited! One of the things that I was upset about missing this summer was the premier of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. My friends would all taunt me about how they were all going to the midnight premier and I couldn't...well......THE DATE FOR THE RELEASE HAS BEEN MOVED UP IN KOREA TO JULY 14TH~ Oh yeah! I really hope that my host family/korean friends will take me out to see it XD The original date was in December, but Korea decided to get up-to-date and even more awesome...so all of us can now go see it. This just made me 10x happier to leave in 3 days =D

Host Family Gifts!

Now that I have my host family, I need to start thinking about gifts! I've done some research on what we have here that is unavailable in Korea. I have also thought of some things that are unique to the United States and also unique to Pittsburgh that I can give them. I think I've finally succeeded in finding the perfect gifts to give my future Korean family, the Kwaks! Thinking of a gift for the father, Young-ku, was probably the hardest. Every site that I went on said to get the father alcohol of some sort; more specifically whiskey. This obviously isn't possible >.< so I had to brainstorm! I think that I will be presenting my host father with a calendar of American architecture and also a 3D puzzle of a famous American building (still have to choose which). I chose these gifts for him because he is an architect and I wanted to get him something he could enjoy. For my host mother, Min-ha, I am presenting her with some perfumes and possibly a knick knack (still to be decided). This is because the internet said that these were the most common gifts, and I don't want to be too crazy and out-of-the ordinary for my first days with them! My most exciting gift to her will be Pittsburgh-made maple syrup. I heard that syrup is EXTREMELY expensive in Korea, so I hope to make them French toast for a taste of what I normally eat for breakfast! For my 9-year-old host sister, Nae-young, I will be getting her a Pittsburgh snowglobe, and some Hershey's chocolate. For my host brother, Jae-hyeon, I will also give him some Hershey's chocolate, and either a Pittsburgh Pirates t-shirt, or a Heinz Ward shirt. Heinz Ward plays for the Steelers and is Korean. I heard he visits Korea often and is well-known there, so I hope that my host brother will appreciate it!

I FINALLY got my host family!

Curtis just emailed about my host family! I will be living in Dangsan-dong, Youngdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Korea. I don't know where that is yet, but I know it is about 30 minutes from the university! I have an architect father, a housewife mother, a 12 year old brother, and a 9 year old sister. I was a little disappointed at first because I won't have a teenager in my home, but I feel like maybe I can adapt better with little children in the house. Instead of being away all the time, I think i'll be at home more often bonding with my family because there are kids. I hope they help me! My host family members speak English as a second language except for the mother. She speaks Japanese as a second language! I hope I can use some of my Japanese with her! I'll be living in their apartment with no pets, and my own room. They only expect me to pick up my own things and keep it organized, and also be home at 10PM. It says they have shared internet...so I believe that means I can vlog and blog from their home if they allow! I am so excited and learning this information made it even more real that I'm actually going to KOREA! Wish me luck!

Host Family Frustrations

We have a large group on facebook of the 40 of us going to Korea. We talk every day and in these last few days, the group is BLOWING UP with posts. The most popular ones are about our host families! ....We haven't gotten them yet! There are 5 days and we all will need to scramble to find host family gifts in time. We all realize that Curtis (the coordinator) is busy with the Morocco and India kids, but he told us that we'd have them Saturday, and then changed it to Monday...but still nothing. We are extremely impatient to say that least >.< I'm jealous of some of the other kids though because their host families mailed/emailed/friended them on facebook already. They all have a clue about where they'll be living and the people they'll be living with. I have nada :p  The most surprising thing I noticed when people were describing their families was that many of them didn't have fathers. They were just living with a mother and a sibling. That is something hard for me to wrap my head around because I was always under the impression that Korea has a low divorce rate. Any family would be exciting, but personally I really hope for a mother, father, and at least one host sibling my age that can take me out and sight-see!

The picture was made by a boy going with us whose name is Brett :p

Yesterday I made Hoddeok!

Yesterday I made Honey Hoddeok with Kayla! They're a sort of Cinnamon/Honey filled Korean pancake. I first had one at this Church's Korean Food Festival in Southside. They didn't come out quite the same, but they were still delicious and VERY messy! Tonight I'll be going with friends to the Korean Restaurant, Dasonii, and I hope they'll have some there! ...Or at least some delicious Mandu!

Seven Days!

Oh my goodness...seven days until I leave for Korea. It is just hitting me how surreal this whole thing is. It also feels weird that I have to have a timeline of when I can hang out with all of my friends. I'm having a huge get-together with a large group at a Korean restaurant tomorrow, and that will be the last time that I see many of them until school! It is really difficult managing who I'm going to see when because I have many good friends asking to see me as well as family members. I still have so much to do and buy to be prepared, and time management is key in these last few days. (Too bad I have very little!) I'm starting my packing list today so that I can make sure I have everything I need for when I put it all into my suitcases. They seem so small in comparison to everything I want to bring! I'm packing everything that is absolutely essential and then filling in with things I would really like to bring. I may post my packing list on here to help others! I'm also planning on video-logging while packing for my trip!

Thank you to the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh!

I would like to thank everyone at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh for providing me with the gateway that I needed to apply to and be accepted by NSLI-Y to study in South Korea at Sogang University this summer! I have to give especial thanks to Miss Unger who is in charge of youth programs within the Council. She has implemented a multitude of programs to reach out and get students in our area involved and informed about the world around them. I have participated in many programs offered by the World Affairs Council which yielded me the things that I needed to make an impressive application. These sorts of things were the G20 Student Summit, the Cyber-bullying seminar, a seminar on globalization, summer seminars, and much more! While these opportunities were important, the most important thing that the World Affairs Council did was to make me aware of this opportunity to study in Korea amongst a few other countries! I had an apprenticeship with the Council this past school year and learned a lot about the world around me. In the final days of the Apprenticeship, we were sent the NSLI-Y site saying that these sort of world-wide opportunities existed. I applied to the program thinking that it was a long shot, but my dream will acutally be coming true. Thank you so much, Christina Unger, and the rest of those of the World Affairs Council for everything that you do with the youth of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. Your work has offered me the opportunity of a lifetime and I will be eternally grateful to all of you. In the few days before I depart (June 26) and for the entirety of my trip, I will be blogging and vlogging to show what I'm experiencing in Korea~! Please support the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and all that they do! http://www.worldpittsburgh.org/index.jsp

NSLI-Y is sending me to Korea!

I'll be traveling to Korea through NSLI-Y. Which stands for National Security Language Initiative for Youth. Here is there website to sign up for future programs just like these! http://www.nsliforyouth.org/nslicms-1.1/

Basically they work with the state department and iEarn in order to send us to Korea/wherever everyone else is going for absolutely free. The main purpose of the program I'll be attending is to promote the study of little-known languages that will be of great importance in the near future. Many months ago I had to spend over 6 hours filling out an online application in hopes of winning the scholarship. There were many great and worthy people that applied, but I was chosen to become a part of the semi-final group. From there, I had to get a physical and sign many more papers. Eventually I got word that I got and I was jumping up and down in excitement. I was actually at a Japanese Culture Convention when I heard news and had just gotten off stage from winning a talent show. It was a great day to say the least! I am so thankful for this opportunity awarded by them and it will be the experience of a lifetime! Myself and the 39 other participants in the Korean program will greatly enjoy this opportunity and will be using it to its full capabilities. As of now, I leave in 17 days and will be working really hard learning Korean up until then. Fighting!