:)

i woke up this morning, walked to the sink to wash my face, when i looked down into the bowl, there was a smiley face made from 3 pieces of water on the drain.  it was a really nice way to start the morning.  hello thursday!  

got rice?

(korean gayugeum)

so i've been here for almost 3 days and i've got 1 word.  RICE.  we eat rice three times a day at this prison they call orientation.  don't get me wrong, the people here are freaking off the hook, BUT orientation is extremely regimented.  our days go from 9-9pm and sadly only 1/3 of it is actually useful information.  spops definitely helped me with endurance, i've probably slept a total of 7 hours since i've been here.  i think it's partly due to the nerves and jet lag, but also because our days start at 7am.  i'd say the most educational stuff comes from my convos with people who have already taught here.  they have gotten me so freaking excited to start teaching.  our job is basically to play games with the students and make english "fun."  it's so crazy to think i'm going to be miss. johnson for 22 classes a week!  i'll be teaching secondary school in the dongbu district which is central north eastish.  it's about 20 minutes from gangnam which is considered to be the beverly hills of seoul.  i've been told it's a pretty happening spot with lots of happening spots surrounding it, so i can't wait to move in!  also, get this, the only COSTCO in seoul is 10 minutes away!!!  

yesterday, one of the coordinators told us we couldn't drink for the duration of our stay here.  they even had the convenient store downstairs put their beers away.  bullocks!  come on now, how are you going to tell 250 jet lagged people who flew 12-17 hours to get here that they can't drink?  so in protest, a group of us walked down the street to another convenient store and bought some 40's and soju.  two bottles of soju are like 2500 won, which is equivalent to $2.50!  haha, add the europeans to the picture and 20 minutes later it was utter chaos.

i feel like i'm still in the birthing canal.  this week has been a nice intro to what we're going to be doing out here, but the fact that i'm around 250 native english speakers hasn't done "being in korea" any justice.  everyone here is antsy to get out, including me!  i've been mentally preparing for the culture shock that awaits me in 4 days.

the landing

it's pretty crazy how abrupt life can be.  one minute you could be sitting at a table, having a few beers and looking across into the faces of the people who have changed your life for the better.  the next minute you could wake up to the worst kind of turbulence you've ever experienced, look out your window and see hundreds of swirly lines that caress the surface of russia! 
airplane food: bi bim bap, pickles, honey dew, seaweed soup, wine~ mmmmmMmMMMMmm

1 week ago i was so excited to come to korea, 1 day ago i thought i had made a mistake in this decision.  14 hours later in addition to a 2 hour bus drive through the wilderness of seoul my anxious heart is at peace.  i'm exactly where i want to be and there is absolutely no time or room for doubt.  to choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. -martel.  probably the hardest thing about being out here is being away from everyone else, despite that, i know that if i weren't here, i'd be wishing i was.  i've already had some pretty cool conversations with a dj, some brits, and a former uci alum.  the coolest thing, i get to start all over, meet new amazing people, and add more stories to this already blessed life i've led.  there are peeps from all over the place, from different walks of life, different ages, different experiences.  i'm super excited to hear their perspectives and stories over the next week.  my roommates: iesha is my age from philidelphia, college graduate and kindergarten teacher for a year, igana, a little younger than middle aged, from colorado, just finished her masters in education, is here to pay off her loans.  hahaha, this orientation week is going to be like spop, we're staying in dorms!  lucky for these people, i happen to know a thing or two about orientations and i'm freaking going to make everyone play whoosh!  holla!