Never a dull moment

Let me tell you about the adventure I had to get here- Hotel ON in Uiwang, South Korea.

First- Dad and I miss calculated how much time we need to get to the airport. So I got to the Orlando airport 45 mins before my flight left. Security was OUTRAGOUS. I thought I was screwed. But being a pilot’s kid has some perks- like using the employee line at security. So we skipped the huge line and when we walked up to the gate we started boarding. PTL- I made it. Saying goodbye to my dad was hard, and I think at that moment I had saved all my tears from all the goodbyes I had to say over the past weeks- so that was not so pretty. It was the moment where it finally hit that I would be gone for a whole year. I had a 3hr flight to Chicago to think about that.

After walking a thousand miles (with a 40lb backpack) all over the Chicago airport I got to the international terminal. I meet about 20 kids my age that were all going over to teach English before getting on the plane- and I sat next to 2 of them. Awesome. It was so fun chatting with them and we were all getting excited about teaching. The flight from Chicago to Seoul was 14hrs but it went by rather fast.

After arriving and passing through customs I was told someone would meet me and take me to a bus. After a lot of confusion I got on a bus. After the bus started pulling away I pulled out my papers to check where I had to get off. A Korean man sitting next to me asked me where I was going and he told me that I was on the WRONG BUS- awesome. So he called the director of my program and arranged for a driver to meet me at the station where the bus was going- thank you Jesus for that man- seriously- there are some VERY kind people in this country.

I meet my driver at the bus station and she took me to my hotel- which is a whole blog post in it’s self- so I’ll save that for later =) That night 2 American teachers from my school meet me at the hotel and showed me around the school and neighborhood. I’ll take pictures this weekend and post them. The city I am in is smaller- but VERY urban and very asian- it’s hard to describe- look out for pictures.

Needless to say I PASSED out once I got home. I had not really slept in about 30hrs, so sleep felt good.

This morning I went out to find my breakfast- that ended up being a doughnut-ish thing from 7-11. I found a little park and ate there. This city has mountains on all sides- and there are some awesome views. I REALLY love mountains- so I am very happy.

I was at school from 11:30- 7:30 today observing teachers. It made me really excited to teach. Everyone is really nice and the kids are so funny. I won’t start teaching for another week- I’ll just train and observe this next week.

I’m off to go pick up Jamie from the metro station- she lives about 25 mins away. I’m REALLY excited to see her. She is going to stay with me at my swanky hotel this weekend and I’m sure we will find fun things to do.

Peace Out USA

Today was my last day in America for the next 365 days- crazy and I did not even know it till I woke up this morning… let me tell you a little about my past week.

Monday- bought my plane ticket- cha ching

Tuesday night- Find out I will be working at a different school

Wednesday- Find out they want to change my plane ticket to fly out 2 days later on 8/19

Friday- Still waiting to hear about the news about my new ticket

Sunday/Monday- said all my Orlando “see ya laters”

Tuesday (THIS) morning 8:30am- Found and email from the director in Korea- I leave tomorrow (8/17) at 6:53am- HOLY.COW.

Realization after reading – I have less than 24 hrs left in America…

Needless to say I jumped out of bed and have not stopped moving until now. I was thinking that they really were going to change my ticket to Friday and I had all the time in the world. Just kidding. I had things to put in my parents storage unit, the oil in my car needed to be changed, laundry needed to be done, I wanted to make sure I had all my travel info together.

Then I look over the last email from Korea

“ps. Please don't forget to bring a set of your degrees(1 original Degree and 1 Apostillized copy of it). That's necessary for your another registration in Korea.”

Umm excuse me? What is this?

So- a month or so ago I drove to Tallahassee (5 hrs each way) to get my diploma apostilled by the state (it’s basically a super important notary). I mailed that to Korean immigration so I could get a visa.

Today at 1pm I find out that I need another diploma apostilled for the Ministry of Education. Yeah- not gonna happen

I have awesome parents who are going to mail my diploma to tally and then to me in Korea- what would I do with out them

I will be up in less than 5 hours to leave for the airport- don’t think ill sleep much tonight. I fly to Chicago then I leave at noon central time for Seoul. 14 hours later I’ll arrive- and the REAL adventure will start.

It’s not really hitting me yet- I think it probably will somewhere over the pacific.

One last think I want to tell you about- I had the BEST dinner tonight-

Drink: Pomegranate Margarita

Appetizer: Shrimp and Lobster dip

Entre: Steak and shrimp with a loaded baked potato

I like leaving the country- gives you an excuse to forget anything you ever learned about dieting for a night ;)

Anyways- I best go zip up my bags and try to sleep a little- haha- yeah right

Change of Plans

Steps to become a teacher in Korea

1. Interview with a recruiter in the US

2. Interview with schools in Korea

3. Accept the job you want

4. Get fingerprinted and send it to the FBI

5. Drive to your state capital to get an apostille (that was 9 hrs of driving for me)

6. Pay way too much to FedEx a bunch of paperwork to immigration in Korea

7. Get approved by immigration in Korea

8. Apply for a visa and mail docs to the nearest consulate

9. Get your passport back with the visa inside!

10. Pack your life into 100 lbs worth of luggage- ugh

11. Buy a ticket!

12. Get on the plane!

So I’ve been doing really well and I got all my stuff done. I’ve had my visa for a few weeks. I bought my ticket. I’m totally packed. I could leave now if I needed to.

BUT last night my recruiter called- at 10pm. Strange. He told me that the school I was going to be working at had to cut back the number of teachers in the fall…and I was the one they would cut =/ I was bummed… really bummed.

This school that I was originally working at is the same school my friend Tommy works at- and my friend Jamie lives near by in the same city. One of the big reasons why I was going was because I would be near my friends.

My recruiter offered me another job at the next city north of Suwon (where my original school is) called Anyang City right away. I can be in Suwon in 25 mins via metro…not so bad I guess. I’ve decided there has to be a good reason behind this. I don’t really understand why yet, but I trust that it will be good. I am really close to Seoul (only like 20mins via metro) and I can still hangout with my friends.

AND I’m not teaching middle school anymore- I’ll be teaching elementary- which was my preference originally =) so I’m excited.

I knew this was going to be an adventure, and adventures never go exactly as planned, or they aren’t really adventures- so the adventure starts NOW! I’m excited!

The "A" is the city where I'll be living now- halfway between Seoul and Suwon

Downtown

Anyang City

my new home

PS- the city has mountains on all 4 sides- I'm ok with that =)

August 16th is fast approaching my life is going to be changing in so many ways

1. I will be moving to the other side of the earth- literally

2. I will be a teacher- crazy- I’ve never taught a day in my life

3. I will be living alone- for the first time ever- no more roommates- no more parents

4. I will look completely different from all the people around me

5. I will be living in a country with a completely different alphabet- nothing will make sense at first

That being said I’m really excited. I know that Suwon Korea is where I’m meant to be for the next year. I have to friends from UCF (Jamie and Tommy) that are there now- definitely going to make this experience so much better =)

I’m 22 years old and I will have lived on 3 continents- how awesome is that???

My whole life I wanted to be a teacher- never thought I’d actually do it though.

My whole life I wanted to travel the world- and I have been given the opportunities to do so. I'm so thankful.

I have 3 weeks left- I’m eating cheese like it’s going out of style. I’ve been told that there is no cheese in Korea- not sure how I am going to cope yet =/ I’m stocked up on $150 worth of deodorant, face wash, and toothpaste. I’ve been told those products are very different over there so I’m bringing a year’s supply- sorry but this is one aspect of travel where I don’t agree with the saying “when in Rome”. I’m also stocked up on spices so I can cook some meals at home.

Now the trick is putting all of this into 2- 50lbs bags…probably one of the biggest challenges I have ever faced. Korea has a climate very close to that of NYC- so I'm packing 4 seasons worth of cloths. A 3rd bag costs $100, which I have no problem paying- except I don’t want to be THAT American. What to do What to do....Pray for me as I pack my bags.

I will be gone a whole year- which is starting to sink in- I’m going to miss a Christmas, a Thanksgiving, a birthday, an Easter, a 4th of July- one of each. But I’m excited. It will be so worth it.

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” – Leon J. Suenes

Beautiful Things- India

India

So I had this dream about a year ago

All I remember is a veiled woman with big brown eyes coming up to me and telling me- “don’t forget about India”

I woke up and told myself I would go to India the next summer

I forgot about that dream- and started planning a mission trip to Ireland- I was really excited- mainly to travel with my friends to a country I love.

Then the time came to buy the tickets and I felt this uneasiness inside me- then I remembered my dream.

5 minutes later I changed my trip and I was put on the India team.

Two days after graduating from college I got on at plane (well 3 actually 3 planes) to India.

The adventure really began at JFK- where we found out our fight to Paris was delayed by 7hr and that would cause us to miss our flight to India- awesome- well actually

Air France was amazing and they got us on British Airways to London- then on to India

We got up graded on the flight to London

And the Flight to India was empty- we all stretched out across 3 seats.

Proof that Jesus loves us =)

30hrs after leaving Orlando we arrived in India at 4:30am and the sun was rising on our first day.

I’m gonna do my best to make this concise- So much happened and there is so much to describe- let’s get coffee and talk more

Describing India

Sent-

- Urine

- Jasmine

- Incense

- India food (ended up being the hardest part of the trip)

- Farm animals (cows are holy and just roam the streets of the city)

Sights-

- Huts and building made of tin

- Huts made of trash

- Trash everywhere

- The craziest driving I think I will ever experience

- People who don’t look like me at all (I realize that I have never been in an environment where I stick out so much)

Sounds

- Car horns (constantly- when you are going to pass someone you honk)

- Muslim calls to prayer

Touch

- HOT

- Dust in my eyes

Taste

- So it’s really hard for me to find food that I don’t like- and I don’t want to sound ungrateful or like a princess but the food might have been the hardest part

- You eat everything with you hands- not as hard as I thought it would be

- BOY- can those kids put away some rice- they all get heaping plates full and HAVE to finish it. The 5 year olds we out-eating me- this has never happened before

- I usually love rice- but after a few meals the spice was too much and my love began to fade

- On the more positive note- MAZZA- so good- a drink made by coke in India- Mango juice- soooo good

Most important- the kids

The children’s home that we stayed at is home to 48 kids. One amazing woman answers to “Mom” for all these kids. They are some of the kindest, most joyful people I have ever been around. These kids LOVE life despite their past. Some of these kids watched their father kill their mother, were abused physically and sexually, lived in huts, ate garbage to survive, lost parents or siblings to HIV/AIDS- yet they have JOY. Real authentic joy. They don’t live in the past- they live in freedom. They have been chosen and saved. They have grateful hearts. They LOVE Jesus. They pray knowing that the Lord hears them and they listen for his voice- not just for themselves- but also for others. They truly care about people and they are changing India and the world.

And still they are kids- they whine, they bicker, they get their feelings hurt, they have struggles- but still they are very different.

These kids who were once orphans go and serve at another “children’s home”. I put it in quotes because after seeing the children’s home that the 48 kids live in- it is not comparable. The children are not well cared for. When we arrived kids had pee and poop on them because no one would change them. They did not have diapers on any of them. There were 4 handicap children that were left lying on the porch covered in flies. They dance, and play with these kids and share their hope and joys with them. I spent time sitting and scratching the backs of the handicap kids. One of the boys would laugh and giggle every time I rubbed his back. It was a blessing to be in his presence.

I became really close with the little girls. I loved their giggles and smiles. I loved hearing “akka akka akka come play with me” (akka is tamel for big sister). They are so funny. And amazing card players =) They are FULL of life and so sweet.

We threw them a princess party. They wore their most beautiful dresses we did their hair and makeup. We served them at a tea party and did a photo shoot. They LOVED it and were SO thankful.

They will forever have a place in my heart. I told them not to get too big before I can come back. I know I will be back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR7VOKQ0xJY

better late than never

So I feel like a blogging failure. My last two months of my studying abroad adventure were jam packed and left me no time to blog. But I did post most of the bazillions of pictures I took to FB- and you know how the saying goes- a picture’s worth a thousand words- so here is the spark notes version of what my life looked like

Spring break – 2 weeks Rome, Florence, Venice, then a cruise to Greece, Turkey, & Croatia

Rome- The history there is amazing. Walking through the streets thinking about how the people who shaped history walked the same streets I was walking. We walked SOOOO much. Stayed at the probably the worst hostel of the trip (it was basically an apartment turned hostel, funny bunkmates, cold tiny showers, ect) hey but we saved lots of money =) We celebrated Megan’s 21^st on our last night. Had a great dinner at a restaurant that was basically out of a movie, popped a bottle of champagne and drank it at a little fountain and experienced the Roman nightlife, which was almost all American students. My sweet Swedish friend Anna got here phone stolen on the Metro, realized it right after it happened saw her phone in some lady’s purse and took it back- she is a bad a$$. =) Oh yeah and most importantly we had the best GELATTO ever. You order a small and you can have 3 different flavors and it is the size of your face. I don’t think we went a day in Italy with out gelato. I have spent the whole summer trying to get rid of the damage =/ it was worth ever bite =)

Florence- FELL IN LOVE right away. I could live here forever I think. A beautiful small city surrounded by vineyards, snowcapped mountains, and full of amazing food, architecture and beautiful friendly people. We had an amazing hostel with a six bunk room to ourselves, computer in our room, French toast for breakfast, cute little courtyard right out side of our room. We took a wine tour in Chianti. The bus ride was so beautiful. Tuscany is to die for. The wine was probably my favorite to top it all off. We visited a little village at the end of the day and bought some local cheese, bread, sausage, and wine that we shared riverside that night.

Venice- So unique. There are really no streets or cars. You walk or take a boat. Navigating is impossible. Forget the map and just give yourself extra time. Pay attention too. The sidewalk sometimes just suddenly ends and drops off into a canal. We took a water taxi to the near by island of Murano which is famous for glass making. A lot less crowded than Venice and simply a very enjoyable place

The Cruise- We took a 7-day Royal Caribbean cruise to finish off our spring break trip. Yeah- it was awesome. We got to eat amazing food breakfast lunch and dinner, we were constantly entertained by the staff, and we did not have to worry about catching trains or plans, finding hostels, forking out our life savings every time we wanted to eat a good meal. Also this was when the volcano was erupting in Iceland. The day or ship left was the day they closed almost every airport in Europe, so needless to say- we were on a ship that was only half full. I am so thankful we decided to travel in Italy the week before and therefore were not affected. The ship had mostly American passengers. We made friends with some many moms and dads that were really worried about us because we were traveling with out parents. It was nice to talk to adults again.

Greece- first we stopped in Corfu. It was not the Greece I had pictured- but it was the real Greece. Everywhere you could tell the economy is struggling. We walked through the residential part of town to get to the touristy city center. The Greeks always greeted us with smiles. We got to sample different types of baklava- SO good =) The next day we arrived at the island of SANTORINI- this place is out of a story book. When the ship was getting closer to the island I kept on saying how I was so surprised that there was snow at the top of the island- yeah it’s not snow- it’s the white buildings =).We took DONKEYS to the top where the village is. BEST 5 euro I spent during my travels. I don’t think I have ever smiled so much for 20 mins straight. It was so fun- yes- just like the sisterhood of the traveling pants. The rest of our day in santorini was spent exploring. We walked around most of the village, it was very quiet so that was nice. Views were amazing no matter where you looked. It felt like a dream. We stopped and had drinks and some taziki at a little bar with the most amazing view. We had this hobby when we were traveling called “have drinks with the most amazing view”. It was always worth the hunt and whatever ridiculous price we paid. Greece was a dream. I am so thankful that I got to experience this paradise.

Turkey- Honestly, it was not at the top of my places to see, but the cruise took us there- so I was excited, but had no idea what to expect. I took a tour of Ephesus and got to see the famous theater where Paul preached and also where Mary spent her final days. I’m really glad I got to take the tour and see these amazing places, but I was kind of scared the whole time. The locals hassled you to buy whatever they were selling, I have learned to expect this, but for some reason it freaked me out this time. The men would look you up and down and you never saw a Turkish woman. Later in the day when we were walking in the market near the port we got called ever name you could think of by the store keepers (Charlie’s angles, jlo, blondie,ect) Men were even asking us American girls to marry them and take them to America- hahaha- you will be happy to know we all said NO =)

Croatia- our last cruise stop. Dubrovnik is in the most southern part of the country and my first thought was “ Is this a movie set? “ It was so beautiful! We wandered around the old city and took lots of pictures. The old city is right on the water and we found a fun looking cliffy area and explored (it was safer that I make it sound). I hope to go back to Croatia and spend more time.

We spent the day in Venice before Flaying back to Paris. I meet up with some friends in Paris the next day- then it was back to school- for a week =) then 2 more weeks of traveling =)

May Trip- so technically these were our “study weeks” but who the heck needs 2 weeks to study?!?! So we planned a really great trip instead =) don’t worry I still got at 3.5 for the semester. Kim from UCF, Charlotte from Hong Kong, and I traveled to England, Ireland, and Spain during 2 weeks.

England- we had 4 rainy, but great days in London. I was so nice to not have a language barrier for the first time in 4 months. The first thing I noticed was how darn expensive London is. We saw all the sights, some crazy protests, visited the markets, and ate amazing Chinese food with the girls from Hong Kong.

Ireland- we flew into Dublin. Right away we noticed the people were so friendly- everyone wanted to help us find our way. Enjoyed the heavy Irish food- bangers and mash, pies, black pudding ect- and of course Guinness. Took a tour to Kilkenny (the medieval capital), the Wicklow Mountains, and Glendalough- all of which were beautiful. We drove through a lot of places where they filmed PS I love you and Braveheart- btw this tour was free through our AWESOME hostel. We took bus to Galway the next day. Galway was a lot smaller but really nice. We did tours both days we were there. One day to the Cliffs of Moher and the other to Connemara- probably the two most beautiful places I visited during my 5 month trip. I had dreamed of going to Ireland for the longest time, I have a lot of Irish in me and it was just really cool to see where I came from.

Spain- our time in Barcelona got cut short a little bit by the DUMB volcano. We had 1 extra day in Ireland and one less in Barcelona- but it all worked out. We had a hostel right on the Ramblas (the main street in Barcelona where all the action is.) We thought we were going to starve- my friends had told me to order tapas at dinner- and soon we learned that tapas are snacks NOT meals. We went to the market every morning and ate crazy good fruit. We toured all around the city and saw the Olympic park, the cathedrals, and my fave the BEACH! The beach was a very European beach- we all tried not to laugh too hard- but lets face it, we are immature Americans =)

That’s it for my 2 big backpacking trips- After that we had our tests- I moved out of my dorm in Angers and went to the south of France near Aix-en-Provance for 2 weeks- then Paris for 4 days – then back to the USA! I’ll blog about that later- Thanks for reading my novel- lol

Amsterdam and Brussels

I Amsterdam

Last month I went to Amsterdam and Brussels with 5 of the girls from UCF. I was really excited for this trip, but I really did not know what to expect.

We had to catch the 6am bus to get to the train station to catch our 6:45 train to Paris. After an hour and a half train ride to Paris we had to get off the train and get on the metro (during rush hour) to get the other train station to meet our train to Amsterdam. One of the girls going with us over slept- and missed both trains. She was lucky enough to be able to get on a train that arrived in Amsterdam 45 mins after ours, but I think we all learned a valuable lesson, don’t over sleep! And set a few alarms =)

We got to Amsterdam at 1pm. It is so easy to sleep on trains, so we made up for our lack of sleep on the trains. Once we all got together at the train station in Amsterdam we ventured into the city to find out hotel. The streets were packed with people, and BIKES.

The amount of Bikes in Amsterdam is CRAZY. EVERYONE rides a bike. We saw parents with 2 and 3 kids on their bikes with them. There would be a baby seat behind the handlebars or behind the seat. Some bikes had large boxes in the front where the children were placed. Also the rack on the back of the bike is used as a seat for a friend, or a place for a child to stand. I LOVE how everyone rides bikes in Amsterdam. I think it’s probably one of the best ideas ever. Not once did I see traffic in the city. I don’t think I saw an over weight Dutch person either. What a great idea, now being back in angers I am riding my bike more and more.

So back to Amsterdam. It’s BEAUTIFUL! I heard it is called the Venice of the north and now I see why. There are streets and cars, but there are canals all throughout the city. Everywhere we looked I felt like I was looking at something out of a book.

We found the big I AMSTERDAM sign, which also serves as a playground. Of course we took loads of pictures. We made our way to the Heineken brewery. I thought 15 Euro was a steep price, but we soon learned it was well worth it. We learned about how it is made and the history behind it. There was a little “ride” here they take you through the whole brewing and bottling process. We learned how to drink a Heineken and had a small sample. Then we went to the bar at the brewery where we got 2 drink included with our tour. We meet some other American students studying in Europe and hung out and talked for a while.

That’s another thing I really liked. EVERYONE spoke English. All the Dutch people spoke perfect English, which was good for me; I don’t know a WORD of Dutch. Also I have not meet that many Americans since I have been here in Europe. I felt like the only tourists in Amsterdam were Americans or English.

Nice.

We visited the red light district- that was interesting….I can’t believe it really existed, I feel like most people find it rather amusing, I did not find it very funny- rather disgusting and sad… I’m not going to sit here and preach, that would just take too long, but yeah- I just can’t believe that it is legal and that it really exists.

On our train home we learned a valuable lesson about watching your bags on trains. We all fell asleep and while we were sleeping one of the girls’ backpack was stolen =/ luckily she had her passport, money, iPod, camera ect in her purse on her, but still she lost her clothes and some other stuff. So now I know- don’t take your eyes off your bags on the trains.

On our way home we stopped in Brussels for about 6 hours in-between trains. It is such a beautiful city; everyone was so nice there. Of course we bought loads of chocolate and had some waffles =)

I am really behind on blogging- I know it took me nearly a month to put this one up… check back soon to hear about my 2 week trip to Italy and my cruse to Greece Croatia and turkey =)