Third Day in Korea

After waking up early I went to take a shower and there were two Korean girls already in the shower room. Now our shower room has four shower heads and glass walls dividing each side in half but you can see everyone and they can see you. At first i thought it would be scary but surprisingly I had no trouble at all. After getting ready for the day, I met up with two friends, Gabriela and Aidana to go to the opening ceremony. Once inside I sat next to my roommates and met my third and final roommate. Her name was Eungyung and I was pressured to name her as well. i gave her the name Echo because it was short, simple, unique, and cute. Then there was a presentation explaining the upcoming field trip that was scheduled for the very next day. Then all of the Global Village students introduced themselves. International students first, then Korean students. Then we took a large group photo.

After the ceremony, My roommates, Aidana, and I went to Grazie Cafe and I ordered a Vanilla Cafe Latte which was pretty good. Also, I ordered in Korean. Then we all sat around a table and talked about our siblings and hobbies and other generic questions. After finishing our drinks we headed upstairs for lunch. They provided lunch boxes for us and the food was very good.

Yummy Lunch box provided by the International Office.

After eating, Eungyung had to go to a meeting so Yewon, Hwayoung, Aidana, and I went on a walk. We met up with Blake and Luke then we all went to Kiss Road where cherry blossom trees bloom during the Spring. It was very pretty even with bare trees.

After a nice walk we met up again with everyone at the plaza. Once everyone was accounted for we got on the bus, filling it up completely, and drove to downtown Wonju where we were going to get pictures taken for our ID cards. After everyone's pictures were taken, we walked to a dollar store. here i bought make-up remover for a buck.

Daiso was the Korean dollar store.

Soon we all got back on the bus and headed back to campus. However, this time after beeping my card the bus driver ran after me and started shouting in Korean. i was confused but soon we figured out that my card had already run out of money so i had to pay to ride. I walked up to the front of the bus and the Global Village boys helped me get the right amount of money. Then I sat up in front with them and talked. It was a lot of fun and it's a funny experience every time I look back at it.

Then in the evening, we met up with everyone and went to Pig Campus to eat Samgyeopsal which was delicious!

Samgyeopsal, yummy!

After eating we went out to Karaoke and split the group into two since we were too big to fit in one room. At first I didn't sing because I didn't really know anyone and I've never really sang in front of anyone before and the guys sang a lot of American songs. Then some Korean songs came up that I knew and I sang without a microphone. The first song I sang with a microphone in my hand was Haru Haru by Big Bang because everyone heard I loved Big Bang. However, I did not know the lyrics and struggled to rap so one of the guys sang with me. Then afterwards I sang all the Bruno Mars songs that were played. I was seriously on the microphone for the whole last half of the session. It was fun and they told me I sang well but I felt bad for taking up so much time.

Karaoke or Norae Bang in Korean ^^

The bathrooms at the karaoke place were very sketchy. We needed to get a key from the front desk before walking outside and up some stairs to a unisex bathroom with two stalls, two urinals, and one sink. In my stall there was a door next to the toilet...I hoped it wouldn't open haha.

After Karaoke we all went back to campus and I fell right asleep.

Second Day in Korea

On February 24, my second day in South Korea, I woke up at 4:00 am because I was cold, so I snuggled in my blankets and went back to sleep. I woke up again at 7:57 am and rolled out of bed. After turnign off my three alarms I got ready for my day. The showers have amazing water pressure but...there is no privacy whatsoever, well I guess there is a glass wall on each side between two shower heads. However if you turn away from the wall you can pretty much see everyone else in the room. Personally, I didn't care and jumped right in without a care in the world but most of the other exchange students did not like this one bit. To this day I have not seen another exchange student in the shower when I'm in there, they probably go in at different times than most people.

After a little organization.

After organizing my room a little, I met up with the rest of the Global Village exchange students and hiked over to the computer lab. Here there was a lecture introducing the Global Village program. After everything was said and done we had a campus tour. Yonsei University Global Village in Wonju is so beautiful.

 Then after buying an ethernet cord and putting it in my room we returned to the computer lab to fill out loads of paperwork for the Alien Registration Card, Yonsei ID card, and bank account. Then we registered for classes but since I had already registered I just enjoyed wifi for a little while and messaged my family and friends. At the end, we were given free coat hangers and I grabbed a mini laundry basket. Everyone gathered in the bank downstairs and we handed in our paperwork. After all of this I went back to my room to discover that one of my roommates had moved in. Her name was 예원. She brought me to the Emart gathering area and helped me get a Transportation Card for the bus and subway. Soon a large group of exchange students was led by three Korean students to Emart. We rode the bus and filled up the entire thing. After a few minutes we arrived at Emart.

Emart in Wonju South Korea.

Emart was a three story store that reminded me of Walmart or Target since it seemed to have everything. Instead of esculators they had inclined moving sidewalks so you could take your carts up and down to different floors. I stuck close to My roommate Yewon and even used her cart to put my stuff in. Something different from America was that we had to pay 100 won to use a shopping cart. This is about ten cents but it is weird to think about paying for a cart but they were nice carts.

Emart shopping cart.

While we were exploring the food court two little kids pointed at us and shouted "American! American!" in Korean. It was so cute! Then Yewon asked the kids if they knew any English and the kids said, "Hi," and waved. They were super cute.

After everyone got what they needed, we went to check out. Yewon had to help me because I didn't speak enough Korean. And to get a paper bag, you had to pay for it. This was also a foreign concept for me but I didn't mind. As we were waiting at the door we realized Melanie and Gabriela didn't know we planned on meeting at a certain time so Yewon and Soojin went back in to look for them. It turned out that Gabriela's card wasn't working so she had to withdraw money in order to pay for her groceries. it took a while but everything got sorted out and we all headed to the bus stop.

View next to bus stop.

Once we had returned, our third roommate had moved in, her name was Hwayoung. We all talked for a while and organized our desks. Then at one point they asked me to help them decide their English names. I asked if they wanted simple names or unique names and they of course said unique. Then I asked for their favorite American letter and threw out ideas from there. Eventually Yewon got the name, Destiny, and Hwayoung received the name, Ariella. 

We worked for hours on my Internet but could not get it to work. Eventually we decided we were hungry so we ordered chicken. it was delicious! After we finished eating, our neighbor came to our room saying she needed to go to Emart so we decided to go with her and help her. 

Bus ride to Emart.

Eventually we made it back to the dorm and I was able to connect to temporary wifi and contacted all my friends and family. After that i fell right asleep, I was exhausted.

My First Day in Korea

So I have been in South Korea for a week now but it has been really busy. I will now share my experiences on the first day I arrived.

After our airplane arrived at the airport at 6:00 pm, ten minutes before we were supposed to meet the Global Village group. However we had to go through immigration, then find and wait for our luggage, and by the time we were ready it was already 6:30 pm. We ran around but could not find Gate 14 and finally someone told us the right direction and we found our group by 6:45 pm. We waited until 7:00 before boarding the bus and heading to Wonju campus.

On the bus heading to Wonju Global Village campus.

I fell asleep on the bus and was woken up when we made it to campus. After getting our bags we had to hike up hill to get to Maeji Dorm. Once we were inside we waited around for a few moments while they gathered our room keys and key cards. After throwing my stuff in my room I went back downstairs to get bedding.

All my stuff thrown on my roommate's bed (didn't know whose bed was whose until later)

I sat downstairs waiting for the bedding with Melanie and Gabriela. After a while of waiting we decided we were all starving, so we walked to the convenience store. I bought a yogurt cereal thing which was actually pretty good, even for someone like me who doesn't care much for yogurt. Then after sitting and waiting again in the dorm lobby we finally got news on the bedding. There had been some miscommunication, and the bedding had been sent to the other dorm. We had to walk over and grab our own bedding. After hiking through the dark, unknown territory, I finally had bedding. I went straight to my room and started to unpack but just kind of threw everything on my desk. After making my bed and changing into pajamas I fell asleep around 11:00 pm.

I'm in Korea!!!!

I made it to South Korea!! My plane arrived yesterday but I didn't have internet access until today. I have most of my adventures written down in my notebook so when I have time I will share them, but right now I am tired and must go to bed... Haha

Here's a picture of when we arrived at the airport in Incheon.

5 Days Left

Today I drove back up to St. Cloud University to pick up my insurance card and airplane tickets. Coincidentally I arrived at the office at the same time as one of my study abroad companions. We were able to talk about the upcoming adventure while we waited for our packets. Neither of us felt like we were actually going but the excitement was definitely growing.

I also said goodbye to some of my friends that I was able to see in between classes and my best friend/roommate made me the cutest little knit turtle! So cute!!!

Then on our way home we stopped by a few shops and picked up some things to put in my suitcase. We'll finish shopping tomorrow but half of my suitcase is full now. J

Running Man: Choi Min Soo

Running Man Hunter, Choi Min Soo, is definitely my favorite guest to ever appear on Running Man. Every single episode he is in is hilarious and terrifying at the same time. I have watched his episodes multiple times and I am always waiting for his return to the Running Man set. For those of you who have not seen Running Man, check it out because it is hilarious. And for those of you who have seen Running Man but haven't seen the episodes with Choi Min Soo, read below and click the links provided so you can laugh and shiver in terror at the same time.

Choi Min Soo made his first appearance on Running Man in episode 52 and he played the part of the Running Man Hunter. Now because I hate spoilers I will do my best not to give too much away, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

The Running Man members start off with friendly games and laughs but end up at an empty amusement park where each member is picked off one by one. Choi Min Soo is a hunter who loves to play with his food and continues to torment and scare the Running Man members in the most hilarious yet terrifying ways possible.

Then after the terrifying night the Running Members are joined the next day by the very man who had given them nightmares. Running Man episode 53 has Choi Min Soo working together with the Running Man members in teams. However near the end of the episode, Choi Min Soo is betrayed and swears to return and get his revenge...

After a few months, Choi Min Soo is able to return to Running Man in order to exact his revenge. At the beginning of the episode 69, there is a rigged quiz question at each location to eliminate members. In the end, the winner was the person who had betrayed Choi Min Soo in the 53rd episode. This remaining member is forced to find and save the other Running Man members while being consistently pursued by the hunter, Choi Min Soo.

Finally in the most recent Choi Min Soo Running Man episode, the score is settled once and for all. In episode 118, Choi Min Soo returns to the unsuspecting Running man members to once again wreak havoc. The episode starts off as a cute couple race with the lovely Park Bo Young, then at the final stage members once again start to slowly go...missing. Choi Min Soo plans the entire episode to the last detail and successfully scares and plays with his prey. Also during this episode he donned a terrifying black skull mask. You'll have to watch to find out how this horrifying series ends.

Enjoy!!!

6 More Days

The time has finally come. In six days I will be getting on a plane and flying to South Korea. I am so excited!!!

As of right now, it hasn't really hit me that I'm going to be fulfilling one of my life goals in less than a week but my schedule is getting really full and stressful with all the preparations needed. My mom is freaking out more than anyone but that's to be expected, her only daughter is leaving to go to another country on the other side of the world for the first time ever. I still need to pack and work out some small details here and there but soon I will be in South Korea.

Six more days!!!!!!!!!!!

Throw Back Thursday: Broken

The following is a dramatized story built from my memory.

Blood covered the snow, the ice, the road, and my little brother Jacob. His head had made a dull thud as it hit the ground and afterwards, silence; no crying, no screaming, nothing. I didn’t know what to think or do. All I could manage was to stand there and stare at my little brother until my vision would fade and then I had to blink before continuing my stare.

          “What happened?” asked my annoyed older brother, Sam, from the snow hill. The question hung in the air awkwardly and when neither of us answered he walked over angrily. Sledding was not the time to deal with your younger siblings’ tussle.

          He was about to chew us out, but then he saw the blood.

          “What happened?” he shouted frantically.

          Just an hour ago, fresh snow blanketed the ground after school and all the neighborhood kids went to the snow hill to sled and make forts. Snuggled up warmly in my snow gear I waddled after my older brother as he dragged the sled behind him. Jacob and I would jokingly jump on the sled and try to get rides but Sam would always stop and tell us to get off. As we walked towards the snow hill the neighborhood kids joined us and a group slowly gathered.

          The snow hill towered above us with recently snowplowed snow. Excited to start sledding, we all ran towards it like hungry little penguins quickly shuffling to catch a fish. Jacob, who was four at the time, just followed the older kids and did what they did. He loved attention, especially from the older kids, so he always did crazy stuff just to make them laugh. Jacob had his fun but my friends weren’t there and I was tired from my long day at school so I wandered away from the loud neighborhood kids. Finding a safe and comfortable spot in the snow at a safe distance from the hill, I lay down and stared up at the sky. Soon enough I was fast asleep, cozy in my snow gear and under the shining sun.

          When I awoke, I was cold. Sitting up I realized that someone had removed my hat, gloves, and scarf while I was sleeping. Confused and shivering I stood up and started to look around for my gear as I held my ears trying to keep warm. Then I heard laughter, the irritating childish cackle that distinctively came from my younger brother’s mouth. Instantly I knew that he had done it, he had taken off my warmth and thought it was funny.

          “Where did you put them?” I demanded angrily; he simply shrugged pretending not to know.

          My six years of intelligence were far more advanced than his four so I easily found my snow gear buried a few feet away from where we stood. Trying to keep calm I unburied my stuff and started to walk home without a word but Jacob wasn’t going to let me leave so easily. Still trying to catch the older kids’ attention he circled around me laughing.

Jacob has always been playful and he loves picking on people.

          “Your gloves are wet, your hat is wet,” he chanted while circling around me.

          I was mad and I didn’t want to deal with him anymore. All I wanted to do was go home, get a hot cup of hot chocolate and sit on top of the warm vent. Words wouldn’t stop him and would only egg him on so I decided to get a little physical. I didn’t mean to hurt him; I just wanted him to stop. With one simple push my little brother fell hard and hit his head on an iced gravel road. Mere seconds felt like hours as I watched him fall. Everything was stained red and Jacob sat in shock.

          Sam came over asking, “What happened?”

After he saw the damage that I had done he repeated his question but with much more concern. Before getting an answer, he grabbed Jacob and carried him down the gravel road quickly trying to get him home safe and sound. Scared and guilt ridden I quickly followed my big brother’s footsteps in the snow. One of his strides matched three of mine so a practically ran back home trying to keep up with him. As a child, the path back home felt like miles but now I could walk it in a minute or less. Sam was already inside with Jacob while I was still swimming through the snow covered sidewalk.

I found my brothers in the living room with Sam holding a rag up to Jacob’s bleeding head as he sat on the couch. As I walked in Sam instructed me to take over while he got an ice pack. Unable to refuse I went over and sat behind my little brother. As I wiped Jacob’s head the strong iron scent filled my nostrils and I got a little nauseous. Then to my utter surprise and confusion, I noticed that he was wearing a red shirt even though he didn’t own any. Then I realized that his orange shirt had just been stained red with all the blood. Pulling the rag away from his head I saw the gash, it was dark and deep.

“Sam, there’s a hole!” I shouted scared.

Jacob had been in shock the whole time but after hearing this he started to get scared. Sam rushed in and comforted us as he looked at the hole. Sam was smart and he knew what had to be done. Leaving me to hold Jacob’s broken head he quickly went to the kitchen and called Mom, who was at work. She said that she’d come as soon as possible but it was a long way from Rochester to Racine.

              

Sam was our hero who would always com to our rescue.

         As we waited Sam pulled out a board game that was ironically called, “Cranium” and we started to play. Throughout the whole game Sam sat on the same side as Jacob and held his head. I couldn’t concentrate though, all I could think was, “Mom’s gonna be so angry. She’ll be so mad. I’m in so much trouble.” Jacob’s safety didn’t concern me because from where I sat he looked just fine playing happily with Sam holding his head.

        Eventually Mom walked in the front door and Sam, with his hand pressed against the back of Jacob’s head, calmly stated, “It’s still bleeding.”

Surprisingly my mom was very calm about it. Walking into the dining room where we were playing she helped Jacob put on his shoes and then brought him to the hospital, never saying a word to me and just asking Sam for any details. Ignoring me had to mean that she was angry with me, there was no other explanation.

The whole time they were gone I kept thinking of excuses to tell Mom. Jacob started it. It was just a small push. It wasn’t my fault. Ideas ran through my head and eventually I was overwhelmed and started to freak out. Sam saw me panicking and said comforting words.

“It’s not your fault Sarah, it was an accident.”

“Mom’s gonna kill me!” I shouted back.

“No she’s not. Mom knows it was an accident so she won’t blame you for it. And Jacob seemed fine so you don’t have to worry about him either.”

Oh yeah, I forgot about Jacob. He lost a lot of blood and that couldn’t be good. Small cuts were really painful but Jacob’s cut was big so he must have been in a lot of pain. Was he crying? Did he hate me because of this? What was I going to do if he didn’t like me anymore? Now all I could think about was how Jacob was going to react to this accident. Stress never bothered me until this day, I was so stressed about what my mom thought and what Jacob thought that I was driving myself crazy.

Then, they came home. Jacob walked in with a big childish smile on his face.

“How’d it go?” asked Sam.

“Three staples, nothing too serious.” Mom explained smiling at Jacob’s excitement.

My little brother wasn’t scared or angry, he was happy. In his mind, getting staples was the coolest thing ever and he couldn’t wait to tell his friends.

I looked up at Mom, waiting for my punishment. In fact, I’m still waiting. I thought that maybe she was just going to let the incident cool down first, but not once has she ever blamed me for breaking Jacob’s head open and not once has she scolded me for it. It felt as if I was the only one who even cared about the incident; Sam just blew it off, Jacob thought it was cool, Mom saw it as a simple accident, and Dad has never said a word about it. All of my worries felt unnecessary and my whole body felt empty, nothing was as it should be. Jacob should have been scared of me while Mom should have been angry and upset with me. Everything I expected to happen didn’t happen and my whole world was flipped upside down.

As siblings Jacob and I will always be close.

Jacob could have died because of a mistake on my part. Since he didn’t get hurt that badly, everyone just forgot about it and moved on, but what if he had been hurt? What if I hurt him so much that he would have never been the same again? There is always a time when I imagine life without the current Jacob and it is horrible. I don’t think I could peacefully live without him here with me so now I worry about his safety a lot more than I used to. This worry has made me step closer to him as a protective and loving older sister so even if he has never taken a step towards me, we are still closer than we had been in the past. I sincerely care for him and want him to be safe and happy even if it’s at my own expense. He is my one and only younger brother and I love him, now and forever.

Throw Back Thursday: Train

When I was just a baby, my older brother Sam would always play with me and loved to trick me. One of his many tricks was putting food on a toy train and watching me chase it around the tracks as he controled the speed. He would even do this t our dog with dog treats. 

Sam messing with me as a baby.

Hapkido

I have signed up for Hapkido classes for the next few weeks before I leave for Korea. This isn't to say that I am scared, it is just for extra precaution and to put my Mom's mind at ease. I started last Thursday and signed up officially on Tuesday. Hapkido is a Korean martial art of practical self-defense.

Although I've only attended two classes so far I have had a lot of fun. I was able to work out while also learning some cool moves. On Tuesday I learned a side kick that made me feel BA. It was a kick you see in every martial arts movie. I was just introduced to it so I can barely do it but hopefully tonight I will be able to learn more.

Side Kick

Front Kick

I also learned some armbars and joint locks but I feel bad every time I use them on my partner. I'm always saying sorry and asking if he's okay. At this rate, I feel like I will probably end up apologizing to an attacker.

Throw Back Thursday: House Fire

In 2009, when I was fifteen, I got a call that changed my life. At the time I was in a club called Math League where club members from different schools competed against each other by doing math problems in a quiz format...I can explain! They gave us free cookies J and I really love cookies. But truthfully I enjoy Math and always have. This was a fun club with fun people that I got to hang out with after school on Mondays. It also looked good on my resume. (looking back, I've never once put this on a resume)

Back to the story. While sitting on the bus heading back to school from our Math League competition, I attempted to call my parents so I could get a ride home. However neither of my parents would answer their phones. I thought it was strange since this had never happened before but I simply continued talking with my friends while waiting for them to call back. Soon enough my phone rang and the caller ID said, “Mom”.

“Mom, why didn’t you answer? I called like three times!” I exaggerated.

“Sarah…the house burned down.” My mother responded solemnly.

Silence. The first thought that ran through my head was, “She’s joking. There’s no way…” Then I remembered who had called and knew that my mother would not joke about something like this.

My next thought, “My books!”

Looking back I laugh at this, but the truth is I have been writing books in notebooks, on pieces of paper, and on my laptop since the age of four. To me, these books are all parts of my soul.

Then after these quick thoughts I then realized the most important thing but before I could ask, my Mom answered, “No one was hurt. Sadly the firemen were unable to save Carly but everyone else is okay.”

I sighed a little after the good news.

Carly was our pet parakeet, it was sad to lose her but she lived a good long life. Our guinea pig, frog, and dog all survived as well as my father and little brother, Jacob, who were home at the time of the fire.

 My bedroom after the fire. My books!!! L 

My father’s room and all of his melted computers.

Then after listening to my mom’s instructions I hung up and all of my feelings hit me. I burst into tears and my friend Emily, who sat beside me, turned in surprise. I was not the type to cry in front of others at that time and this particular friend had never seen me cry before that day. After she heard the news, she hugged and comforted me.

My uncle picked me up at school and brought me back to his house where my family was staying temporarily until we found a place to live. Here my dad brought in donations from our neighbors after watching our house burn. Then after we all hugged and cried (mainly just my mom and me) we all got in the car and drove to my paternal Grandfather’s house where my older brother, Sam, was staying while he attended college.

Here we hugged and explained the situation. Sam sat in his room with Jacob and me, while the adults talked upstairs. To get our mind off of things, Sam showed us videos of his snowboarding adventures and told us his crazy stories.

After adult business was finished, we returned to my Uncle’s house where they had set up a place in the basement for us to sleep. I dug through the clothes our neighbors gave us to find something to sleep in. Afterwards I took a shower with my cousins’ soap and shampoo. However, I could not sleep at all. Tears, unwanted thoughts, and concerns for the future kept me awake.

The next day at school I remember arriving in the neighbor boy’s clothes and feeling awkward. As I sat with my friends in our usual spot before first hour, I somehow struggled to find the right words to explain what happened. Eventually I just said, “Last night, my house burned down.” After those words my friends either asked questions or gave me a hug.

You would be amazed by how slow word gets around when gossip is depressing. Seriously, the only people who knew about the house fire were people I directly told. Maybe because it was such a personal problem people decided to keep the information to themselves.

After the town caught wind of the accident, support flooded in. It surprises me to this day how much a community can come together to help a distraught family. We received clothes, electronics, living essentials, and food from anyone and everyone. The middle school even held a fundraising dance where all the money went towards helping our family get back on our feet. Just thinking about this still brings tears to my eyes six years later. A fellow classmate of mine named, Aaron, was the DJ for this dance and every single penny he was paid to be there he gave to us which added up to almost $200.

Soon my older brother’s girlfriend at the time had a small house that her family wasn’t using at the moment and she offered to let us rent there. Soon we moved into the two bedroom house with our family of four. It was a little cramped but it was still nice and cozy, keeping our family close together…literally.

The living room of our rented house with my old dog, Misty, in the middle. 

Luckily my father is a carpenter and my mother went to college for architectural study. Together, my parents designed and built a new house in the same place as our old house.

It took half a year or so but soon we finished and moved into our dream home.

Frontal view of our nearly completed house.

Although the whole situation could be considered a tragedy. I believe the house fire made me a better person. I now understand the insignificance of certain material goods as well as the importance of others. It also gave me a good comparison point. For example, let’s say I fell out of a go-cart and scrapped up my face the day before school pictures (true story…) this is sad but in comparison to losing everything you own in less than a day, it’s really not that bad. Actually it’s kind of funny. Now I’m able to appreciate and make fun of little misfortunes that others’ may complain about.

Throw Back Thursday: Licking The Bowl

As a kid I would always lick the bowl, spoon, and beaters after my mom baked something. Even after all these years I still lick the bowl, ignoring my Mom's warning of possible danger.

Seriously, who doesn't do this?

Big Bang on 화신

So I know this is really old but I just stumbled across this and thought it was amazing! G-Dragon and Daesung were guests on this Korean Show called Hwashin (화신). First of all the show was hilarious! Second of all, G-Dragon is perfect! Just watch how he'd act on a movie theater date here. Or watch the full episode with English Subtitles Part 1 and Part 2.

However, while I think G-Dragon would be really fun to date, Daesung would make a really good husband. :)

Throw Back Thursday: What's a Dad?

This is just a cute story from my childhood.

As a kid starting school I heard my classmates talking about their “Dad” doing this or saying that. At first I would nod and pretend I knew what they were talking about but one day I decided to get to the bottom of things. So I asked my teacher, “What’s a Dad?” She looked down at me surprised then said, “What are you talking about? Your Dad is your father. He came to parent teacher conferences.” I connected the dots and came to the realization, “Oh, you mean Papa?” My teacher then laughed and nodded.

While growing up, my brothers and I were raised calling our father, “Papa”. So in my little world I had a Papa and a Mom and I did not know what a “Dad” was. I still to this day call him Papa and find it weird to say Dad.

When I was younger, I didn't know what a "Dad" was...

Sarah Moment: Subway

Yesterday, while I was working diligently at Subway, I decided to change and clean the shakers. After cleaning the lids, I set them on the drying rack to dry. While those dried, I filled clean containers with salt, pepper, and oregano. Once these were full I grabbed the lids, brought them back to my work table, and checked to see if they were dry enough to put on the containers. However instead of touching them or looking to see if they were still wet, I held one lid up to my ear…Yes, I used my sense of hearing to determine whether or not the lids were wet. I quickly realized my mistake but not before my coworker, Aaron, noticed my blunder and laughed at my ridiculousness.

Just a normal day working with Sarah.

Got My Visa!

Today after a long wait I finally received my visa! Now I'm good to go to South Korea! I still need to sign up for classes and pack but those things shouldn't take too long. In less than two months I will finally set foot on South Korean soil. One of my Life Goals will be accomplished! 

Now for those of you who may be curious, it took me two weeks to get my visa so make sure you plan ahead of time! Also there were many requirements before I could even apply for a visa. Out of these, the hardest to obtain in a timely manner would be your passport. Another important fact is that the visa picture has a lot of requirements. If you're planning on visiting South Korea, don't waste your time on meaningless things. Get everything ready and together or else you may not be able to go at all.

Another exciting fact is that soon I'll be able to see my friends that came from South Korea to study at my college for a year. I have many people promising to bring me out to lunch! Soon I'll be able to see them again after what feels like forever.

The fun is just about to start, stay tuned!