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do not move to an east asian country so that you can fulfill your disgusting fantasy of indulging in a twisted and westernized version of what you perceive that country’s culture to be like. do not move there for the sole reason of having a better chance to see a celebrity that you like. do not get a job in education as an excuse for your move. don’t.

east asian countries do not exist for your enjoyment. they are real countries, with real people, and real problems. east asian countries are not your “dream land” of what you think that they are. they are not ~cool places to eat cool foods in while enjoying cool culture~. they are countries that actively face major societal issues and regional issues. they are more than the popular media/entertainment exported from them. and if you cannot understand that, you should not set foot there. 

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2.5 weeks to go

My American summer is wrapping up. My last day at work was yesterday, if was weird because I had been working there for 10 months. Since I worked at a Korean restaurant I'll be able to see a bunch of my coworkers again because they go to Korea often. My boss wants me to teach English to her niece in Seoul haha. I've started going through stuff and deciding what to pack. I went dorm shopping with my mom and it's difficult deciding what to buy here and take with me on the plane and what to just wait and buy in korea. I have to lug a bunch of winter clothing with me too like jackets that take up more room because unlike last time I'll be there for the winter too and Korea actually has cold winters. I've been studying Korean using several different textbooks and workbooks. I didn't think I was making that much progress but my Korean friend visited who doesn't speak any English and I was actually able to communicate with him really well that made me feel good. I also signed up for my first MT hosted by student council I believe the second weekend I'm there. I hope I don't die. I hope I meet a ton of good people though ^^

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Plane Tickets

I had a weird dream last night where my flights to Korea got all complicated so I woke up this morning and decided to just get my plane tickets already I use an app called "hopper" and it's very useful in telling you when is the best time to book and get low prices for airline tickets. I'm leaving a little late because it was the best deal, so I'm gonna get to Korea august 24th (hopefully I won't miss orientation ㅠㅠㅠ)) I bought a one way ticket on Korean air which was relatively cheap. I'm flying from Portland to Seattle to Incheon. I heard that Korean air is really good so I'm excited! I even picked out my seat today and got a window seat muahaha. I think I'm on the same plane as my coworker who is also going to Korea which is ironic lol.

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Super Excited to attend Underwood International College in Yonsei University! Feel free to also DM me questions about applying and such--- this might turn into a nsliy blog and a uic blog!

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Underwood international college 17.5

I just got accepted! Please message me if you are also going!

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천문학 - Astronomy

밤하늘 - Night sky

우주 - Universe

태양계 - Solar system

공간 - Space

은하 - Galaxy

행성 - Planet

지구 - Earth

태양 - Sun

달 - Moon

보름달 - Full moon

반달 - Half moon

월식 - Lunar eclipse

별 - Star

유성 - Shooting star

별자리 - Constellation

혜성 - Comet

분위기 - Atmosphere

A&R

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The second weekend we were there I went on a hike on Gwanaksan with one of my classmates! It was very hot and we were dying in the heat and humidity. I suck at endurance so he ended up carrying my pack halfway up the mountain, and we reached a lot of cool viewpoints of Seoul! Also we ran into a few temples on our way around the mountain! I wanna do the hike again and actually go to the very top of the mountain because there's another temple there and apparently they have free food (a sure way to attract me anywhere). There were monks playing a wooden instrument that they tapped and it was very calming. We also ran into a few other Americans while hiking who happened to be from the same places me and my classmate were from in the us!! It was an amazing coincidence that just reminds me how small the world is. We also ran into some uncles who showed us around the mountain. It was a struggle to communicate because we both didn't have good Korean at the time but it was still fun! I picked a few rocks out of a stream by the temple that I still have. I fell and skinned my knee but luckily the uncles had a first aid kit. We took a nice break and they made some instant coffee for us, then when we made it down the mountain they took us out to eat- really showing Korean hospitality. I ended up being so sick from hiking so hardcore (we ended up hiking around 8 miles in the heat) that I didn't finish the meal they bought for me and I felt bad but also I was really out of it. They kept asking why my classmate and I were not dating and we tried to explain that in America we live very far away from each other. I was so tired when I finally came home but it was very much worth it. Looking back, this was one of the best memories I have from my NSLIY experience and it has a very special place in my heart. I highly recommend hiking on your nsliy experience!

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My friends and I during support group activities :)

the ultimate supporter group squad @ k-style hub 

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Here is a picture of my class at Sookmyung Women’s University!

[NSLIY SEOUL KOREA SUMMER 2016] Lake Class (Advanced Beginner) - Sookmyung Woman’s University

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(I’m the one doing rabbit ears on myself to the right)

Arrival in Korea @ Incheon International Airport - NSLIY8 Seoul, Korea (Summer 2016) 

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Day and Night

(Taken from the roof of Seoul Youth Hostel July 1st and 2nd, 2016)

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Our Pre-Departure Orientation was boring but necessary. We went over rules until they were ingrained in our souls. We survived the information overload somehow. The good part was the time we all spent getting to know each other. We played Avalon, which was a bonding experience to say the least. We all hung out the night before we left the country and all chilled and talked to alumni about our fears and excitement into the late hours of the night.  

We were off to the airport at dawn, regretting our choices to stay up late in order to sleep on the plane.  the  I enjoyed my last meal in America, which was a poorly made and overly expensive airport sandwitch. I sat between Maris and Jane in the middle aisle of the plane, and bonded with them over korean face masks and movies from the in-flight entertainment. Joy sat in front of us, creeping us out with her tiny hand things.. Anyone who did sleep well on the flight was envied. I personally kept myself going by watching zootopia, 127 hours, portlandia, the 33, and silicon valley. 13 hours later we were landing, and it all felt too real. I have to admit that I was tearing up when I saw the misty Korean mountains out the window. I had never left North America before, and I was in a place that I never thought I would get to go to so soon. A bus took us on an 1.5 hour ride to Seoul that only felt like 20 minutes.

The Seoul Youth Hostel was on Namsan with a rad view of Seoul Tower lit up in the night and a beautiful rooftop garden with a pavilion and a spectacular view of Seoul’s skyline. The city never ended, it just kept going.. And going.. And going… Of course, being in Korea brought on a whole new onslaught of orientations. Our shenanigans in the hostel made the place so memorable. Finally, the next day, they let us loose into the city with college students to complete a scavenger hunt. We had to learn how to use the Subway system and order street food. It was pouring rain that day, so my group sought shelter at Seoulbing, where I had my first taste of Bingsu, the legendary Korean shaved ice dessert. We even made our way to the “you are here” cafe in Hongdae. Our group was comprised of Maris, Arjun, Jane, Amanda, and I. There might have been someone else but I have no photo evidence… oops.

The next day we met our host families. I was one of the first students to get picked up. My family was comprised of my host mom and dad, a host sister that was slightly younger than I, as well as a younger host brother. My host family’s home was beautiful. It was a one-floor condo on the fifth story of a small complex. The house was very well organised and had big windows and beautiful bookcases. The view from my bedroom window showed Gwanaksan, a beautiful mountain that I would hike on later in my program.

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Some Photos from PDO~ Basically when everyone met each other. We ate breakfast together and survived hours or orientation :)

Pre-Departure Orientation took place in Seattle, Washington this year at UW. We stayed in the dorms there and played lots of Avalon... The first night was awkward but by the second night everyone was hanging out and lots of shenanigans were going on...

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I'm back and I need to start updating!

The summer flew by and I didn't have a whole lot of time to blog or be on tumblr. I took a billion pictures and now that I am back I will be able to start posting everything :) I'm sitting on a plane right now coming back from visiting family...And school starts in 5 days.... Ahh

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PPLP and OPI

I haven't talked much about other things I'm doing to prepare. I am currently on my last week of the PPLP (Pre program language preparation). The beginner's group assignments are too easy for me but the advanced ones are too hard ;_; since school for me went until June 16th, I decided not to push myself too hard and go for review. Gotta keep that GPA haha. I completed my OPI (oral proficiency interview) ages ago. I didn't practice enough beforehand. I did bad, but eh, it's the one after the program that really matters I guess. We only talked for 10 minutes or so, and the guy just asked me questions mostly. I wish I could have talked more, I heard from other people the specific interviewer I had was a funny guy and liked EXO. The day of my OPI was also kind of crazy, there were protests and walk outs at my school. Which is all good :) Anyways--- I met up with my Korean friend from kendo yesterday to study Korean. It was fun, we just hung at Starbucks and he helped me translate stuff I waned to stay and we discussed verbs and stuff. I feel slightly more prepared now haha! 8 days left :00000

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The first contact :0

Today, my Host Sister emailed me. Official host family info has not come out yet though. She sent me a huge chunk of Korean text, and being a beginner I was scared haha. I didn't want to use google translate because that's cheating haha. I gotta practice, so I translated each line individually on my own then looked up words I didn't know online. It was fun. I gave her my kakao ID, and later in the day we started talking there, which is much faster than email. We talked about EXO and what we wanted to do, family members and such. I'm glad I got to talk, because now I have an idea of where I'm going to live and what I can get my host family for gifts. I noticed that just talking to her and practicing translating is helping my Korean a lot, and my Korean spelling ((note: I'm hella bad at spelling)). Only a few other NSLI-Y people's host families have contacted them so far, I feel lucky that my sister contacted me before official info came out. She seems so nice and excited!! I also have a younger brother. I have three older brothers so it's going to be my first time with a sister or younger siblings. Overall, today I am even more excited and pumped to go to Seoul!!