The Korea Diaries: Prepping for Korea Part 2

Finals are finally finished! Now is the time for me to start focusing solely on all the things I must do in the next 6 days... Including packing. It's very difficult to decide what I want to take with me that I can't live without for 2 months... And I need to be mobile because we won't be sitting still very much. So I decided to try to cram my life into one suitcase and my backpack. Whatever doesn't fit... I guess I will get there.
There are some things that I don't think I will be able to get there. You may have noticed... Asians don't really have hair like mine. So... naturally, they won't have the stuff to take care of hair like mine. Which adds a bunch of weight and hassle but it's totally necessary. I have adopted a no-stress policy. We shall see how well that works out. :)
Also on my agenda. Speak Korean. I haven't really spoken much Korean since my oral final... LAST FRIDAY. What? That's... over a week! So it's a goal... Speak as much as I can every day. Remember everything that was just flushed out of your brain... Because that happens every semester after finals. My brain takes all of the information it has been holding onto for the past four months, and it dumps it all. Sometimes quite useful... Other times not so much.
There are so many people in my life that I want to say goodbye to that I'm a little bit afraid I'm just not going to get around to... It makes me very sad. This is one of those things that I regret the most... And I hope that you will forgive me. Because I'm sorry. So sorry. Time has simply flown and I have had to let go of a lot of things I wanted to do and so many people I wanted to see. Just know that you are in my thoughts and I love you a lot!

Down to a bit more serious matter. People keep asking if I'm going, what with the scary stuff that is happening over there. Yes. Yes I am still going. Security even contacted the US Embassy there to make sure that it was okay. And all is well. South Korea isn't bothered a bit by what is going on to the north. No, the only people who seem to be making a fuss are us. Which, according to my director, is just what North Korea wants... to boost morale within their borders. So the media is turning it into a big deal and they are getting their reaction. Don't worry; it's all gonna be fine. :)
Another question on your mind: Am I nervous?
Well... I wasn't. For quite a while. And maybe that's just because it hasn't seemed very real since I was still focusing on school. But after our last group meeting, I did get a bit nervous... Mostly because I really don't know much of the language. I know enough to get by... barely. I mean, this is why I am going, to learn the language... But I think that the first week or so is going to be quite interesting. But I won't be alone. And I'm not worried. So don't you worry either. Not that you were.
It's going to be an adventure. I'm lucky enough to have my dear friend Mindy coming along with me so I shall never be lonely. We have plans... Just you wait and see. I will spill the beams on one thing though. We managed to get tickets to see CNBlue in concert in Seoul!!!! Okay, this won't mean much to you, but it sure means A LOT to us. It's pretty epic. More details to come no doubt. So many that I will probably bore you.

This is really all I can think of for now... If you have any packing suggestions, or things I should definitely bring along/not forget... Or any travel advice at all, post it below, I would love to hear your thoughts. :)

The Korea Diaries: Prepping for Korea Part 1

These days, whenever people ask how I'm doing or what I'm up to, I kind of forget that I'm in school and working... my mind immediately flies to the trip that I'm about to take in approximately 50 days!!!! Most minutes, I'm thinking, "life can't get more exciting than this". Not too long after that, reality kicks in and I recognize that I have to deal with things here before I can go anywhere... Yeah.
Prep classes have started. It took a while to solidify everything-- to be honest, things still don't seem terribly solid, but we're for sure going (my bank account can attest to that) and that is really all that matters to me at this point in time. There are approximately 14 of us going, including Dr. Peterson, the head of this brigade. Apparently he is a master of all things Korea (excepting pop culture, of which he knows... very little). My Korean friends tell me that his Korean is flawless, so that makes me excited to spend some time learning from him, hoping I will pick up some of that awesomeness.
Our schedule is pretty tentative. 5 days in Seoul, then to Andong where we will be staying in a Hanok (translation: traditional housing-- most likely rebuilt or renovated, so we will get the whole sleeping on the floors with the sliding doors and everything!), fourish weeks in Inchae (a town way south, not too far from Busan), and then back to Seoul for the last few days. Somewhere in all of that we will also be going to Thebeck and Gangnam to name a few. (If you start singing Gangnam Style now, I will disown you as a friend-- okay, not really, but seriously don't)
We were given the option of what we wanted to focus on for our studies while we are there. Some of the RMs who have good language skills, will focus more on cultural aspect, or some other kind of research. One kid jokingly suggested doing a research paper on 노래방s ('noraebangs' are karaoke rooms)... that probably won't happen. I am determined to spend the majority of my time on language. That's my biggest reason for going so that is what I will be doing.
Our days are supposed to go somewhat like this:
9 am: "Open the Day" (Dr. Peterson's words-- assuming, breakfast, song, prayer, etc)
9-11: culture class
11: language
12: lunch
1: language again
Sounds exciting, right? Actually, this is like a dream come true. I get to spend every day for two whole months doing nothing but studying language and culture! I have thoughts about learning how to play the gayageum (a Korean stringed instrument) but we will see if that's a possibility. :)
Some warnings from our student facilitator and the missionaries who have already been:
-They have different electrical outlets so we should bring converters... or transformers... Whatever they are called. I plan on bringing Bumblebee. Wouldn't a yellow Camaro that can drive itself and protect me from all the crazies be a perfect thing to take on this trip? Okay. Bad joke.
-Bring your own deodorant, toothpaste and sunscreen. Koreans don't stink or sweat so deodorant isn't sold everywhere and they add sugar to their toothpaste which tastes like chalk... Yum. Sunscreen isn't a necessary item when you aren't white and just waiting to look like a lobster the moment your skin makes contact with the sun's rays. So unfair. I want to be reincarnated with dark skin. Lucky ducks.
-Bring a set of sheets and a pillow... Yeah, that's all there is to say about that.
-Ladies: Buy your pants before you go. Koreans have no shape. If you have big feet (9 and up) you will have a hard time finding shoes there. Lucky my feet are small. :)
Things on the generic packing list:
3-5 pants
6-8 shirts
1-2 casual skirts
1 nice dress
Pajamas
Toiletries
1-2 comfortable shoes
1 dress shoes

Laundry bag
Towel
Batteries
Alarm clock
Umbrella
Small flashlight

With all of that in mind, I have started making lists of things I think I will need. I began the hunt last week with a search for comfortable but cute walking shoes. I ended up with a pair of adorable brown Taos that cost more than I have ever paid for a pair of shoes, but they are really comfortable and should last for a long time. For all your sturdy, walking, nice shoe needs, please visit Modern Shoe on center street in Provo. That is totally the place to go. They are really nice and knowledgeable.
Knowing myself, I want to pack light on the way out so that I will have plenty of room for the way back. Seriously, my sisters are asking me to bring back ramen pans... I can buy shirts and things there. But I'm definitely buying my pants here. Stupid Korean girls that have no shape. Ugh.
The time can't go fast enough. But the more I learn in my language classes, the more I realize how much I don't know. And that makes me nervous. But I'm trying to stay positive and look at what I HAVE learned. And how much I will learn when I get there. So long as I am willing to open my mouth and try. Yeah, I'm totally prepared to sound like an idiot. All the time. It's inevitable.

If you have ever gone out of the country and have any packing/traveling/anything tips for me, please leave a comment and let me know. I'm happy for any and all feedback. :)

To Be that Person I was always Meant to Be

So let's be honest. In this life, there are haters. It's a sad truth; one would hope that everyone and their dog would be happy and kind and the whole world would be able to dance around in one gigantic circle, holding hands (my apologies to the ones who end up in the northern ocean area...) and that peace would reign and it would be butterflies and rainbows. It sounds amazing, right? It sounds like a little peace of heaven to this culture-studying, people-loving geography major.
But the world isn't like that. And people are angry and hateful. Sometimes it turns into exploding bombs and death, and sometimes it's a little bit closer to home.
I have recently been discovering this subtle kind. It's not so much "hate" as it is putting people down and feeding doubt. It's terrible. And I have been a victim of it as I think everyone has. It's easy to give up when someone tells you rather authoritatively that "that's not possible" or "you can't do that". But let me say something right now. One of my goals of 2013 is to make all the things I thought "not possible" into possible. I'm taking my dreams and turning them into realities. Because:

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!!

It's easy to hear, I know, but not so easy to actually do. But I think we've all heard all of our lives that nothing that is easy is truly going to be worth it. And how absolutely true that is. Sure it's easy to gorge yourself on delightful foods at Christmas time but it's so hard to get those pounds off afterwards. But if it's something that you really want, you find a way to make it happen. If you are a Pinterester, I have an entire board dedicated to inspirational thoughts that, if you are having a terrible day, week, month or year, should give you a little boost if you have need of some boosting. I know I've had that time and still have those kind of days every now and again.

I cannot stress how important it is to me that people fight for their dreams. Maybe because I've given up on so many of mine thinking that it isn't possible, it's not something I can do. And yeah, usually it's because someone told me so. It's so simple giving into doubt and fear because that's our automatic. Give up. It's too hard. But our inner strength comes from fighting. We become our best selves by doing those hard things. And it feels terrible while you're going through it. But one day, all of that pain and anguish will make sense because you've walked through the fiery furnace and come out a shimmering, sparkling, worth-billions, diamond. 

This is our purpose. We aren't meant to simply float along in this life. We are meant to do something incredible. Look at the people around you. You can do something each of them can't. And they each can do something you can't. It was meant to be this way and we were meant to learn from it. 

It's okay to have hard days, to cry and hate life. What's not okay is if you allow every day to be like that, if you give up, if you lay down and say, "I can't do this anymore." You can do it. You're never alone. Anything good you desire, you can obtain if only you try.