Right Place, Right Time.

  Hey Everyone!
       As most of you know, I went off to Boston ( Which ended up being New Hampshire) for a pre departure training with United Planet. This was my first time ever flying solo, so Mom was naturally pretty scared. She asked me to send her a picture of the people I was with just incase I went missing and she needed to use photo evidence to find me. To her annoyance, and my amusement, I sent her a 10 second snapchat of a blurry photo of Emily, the Canadian accountant with United Planet. The photo was useless. I had an amazing time, and really realized that I am exactly where I need to be, what a great feeling.
          You could ask me where in New Hampshire we were staying, and all I would be able to tell you is that it was snowy, by a lake and close-ish to Boston. I loved it though, the location reminded me a lot of Bend, OR. The journey to this location actually really sucked. I had a 4 hour layover at 6 in the morning in Atlanta, but was so hopped up on caffeine that I was making friends left and right. Of course most of the people I befriended were men between 50-70. I found all these well traveled and intelligent men to talk to about why I was going to Boston. I get so excited when I meet new people. I'm like a puppy.
           I arrive in Boston, and find the rest of the volunteers. Slowly we all start talking, saying where we are from, our names, where we are going. It's always hard to start talking to a bunch of strangers, at first. Luckily- and the same time unluckily- whenever I get nervous, I ramble. On our way to our location, Stephanie ( currently living in CA and going to the UK), Anna ( From N. Carolina, headed as well to the UK), Andres ( From Florida, headed to Sweden?) and myself spent an hourish talking about ourselves as the rest of the group fell asleep on the bus. We arrive at a little church camp on a lake and unpack. Spending the rest of the night playing Hide and Seek, Ping Pong, and Foosball. By the end of the night we were all aware of each others names, and personalities- I personally liked every single one of them.
          We spent most of the day discussing cultural differences, and playing games to portray such differences. One that stood out to me was we each were given a slip of paper with directions of some behavior to do while we were talking to different people- except we couldn't tell anyone what we were supposed to do. Mine was snapping my fingers over my head every time I started talking. One of the boys had to get really close to everyone he was talking to, and another girl was supposed to stay an arms length away from everyone, so when those two paired up it was pretty humorous. Our conversations were pretty helpful, I feel like I was always pretty prepared for this since I had a German exchange student, and have traveled to some unique places. I expect culture shock, which I believe will help me out in the long run.
        I have to kick myself, however. I lucked out that UP actually is a good organization. I walked blindly into this organization, not knowing a thing about it until I had already put thousands of dollars into being able to go on this journey. I didn't know anything about Skorea before I applied for that location, I did all of my informative research later. My whole goal in this was to push myself completely out of my comfort zone, and go to some place that I have never known. The culture is so different, that I'm actually a little scared of the culture shock that I WILL be experiencing. I have grown up in a very matriarchal family, my opinion ( as long as it had back up and made some sense) was always listened to by the men of the family. We have shared the work in the house, and I was expected to have a job. In Skorea, I will be the bottom rung of the latter. I had comparing South Korean women to house help and maids, but from what I have heard and researched.... that;s what they are. And that scares me. Also makes me glad that I'm only going to be gone for 6 months. I will likely have a curfew and won't be allowed out at night if I'm living with a host family. At this point I'm praying that I actually DO get put into a dormitory/hostel. A month of a host family, when I've learned more of the language will be doable, but otherwise I'm not sure how I will do. And that's a major fear of mine.
Also, apparently the coffee sucks.
       But I have made some amazing friends this weekend, friends that I hope to keep for a while. I'm so excited to have bonded so well with the other girl going to South Korea. 54 days until the date that I hope to fly out on.

 Just a view on our way down to the lake.

 Thin Ice! The lake was awesome, Andres and I both threw rocks into the water. His broke the ice and fell to the bottom... mine hit the ice, made a hole and then ended up sitting on the iced over lake.

 Some of the United Planet volunteers, Myself, Jessica, Leah, Elise ( who is also from Central Oregon) and Lauren ( who will be joining me in SKorea).

 Instant homies, Lauren, Andres and myself.

 A late night pyramid with Alia, Anna and Lauren

 United Planet '14! For some of the volunteers this was their first time in their double digit lifetime that they have seen snow.

 Elise, Noah, Leah, and Anna on our way back to the airport.

Stephanie, myself, Andres, and Alia. 

Learning About Korea

   I really should have consulted my dear friend Molly before even jumping into the idea of Korea. That girl knows more about asian culture than I ever will.
   

      That aside, I am currently reading up on the culture, and really... I love it.  My coordinator sent me a 24 page " book" about South Korea. I'm reading it on my iphone as I type on my Mac. Wow, how Apple of me. Anyway, here's a tidbit that I read about some of the culture that I really enjoyed, hopefully whatever readers I have will also enjoy this:

1. Jerye:
     Which is all about ancestry. I'm going to super summarize this. Basically, in Korean beliefs, when people die their spirits don't automatically go away. Instead of the spirit dying with the body, the spirit, and the relationship, stay around for a few generations. There are two holidays in which these relationships with ancestors are reaffirmed, as well as the date that the said relative passed away. Having lost a father, this idea seems really cool, and I kind of hope to bring this into my own life. Hopefully I get to experience this with whatever family I'm lucky enough to be placed with.

Oh, I'm giddy.

2. Oriental Medicine:
       They believe in balancing out the whole body instead of just one aspect to rid off diseases. I get to partake in acupuncture, and herbal medicines.
For those of you who know, I wish to go into nursing school once I'm done with this venture, and then become an acupuncturist, so this is really exciting for me to be in a place that puts so much emphasis on what one of my own personal passions is.

I also had better get used to Kimchi, apparently it is ALL that I am going to be eating. Luckily, they use spoons for soups and noodles, otherwise I'm going to have to relearn how to use chopsticks.. which will really be a pain.. I was never good with chopsticks.

I'm going to explain the currency, now.

Koreans use Won as their currency. 1 USD= 1,180 Won.

Currency has been explained.

Holidays, they do celebrate Christmas, and I'm a lil bummed that I won;t get to celebrate a South Korean Christmas, what an interesting experience that would be!

However, as I'm reading.. I might actually end up living in a dorm... Looks like I might not have gotten away with that as I had hoped. Oh well!!

182.5 Days

182.5 Days. That's not the countdown, folks.. That's the time that I will spend in South Korea.

     As some of you may have read, I was only acccepted to go to South Korea for half of a year. I had the option to go to another place for a full year, or even split up my time between two different locations. However, the money and the idea of switching from South Korea leaves an unsavory taste in my heart... well in my mouth, you get me.
     I just got off the phone with my coordinator, who was very apologetic. She explained to me that no one was accepted for a full year in South Korea, however they are very excited to have me there. So, that's encouraging. I'm excited to be finally having a final move. I am currently working on more paperwork- I'm feeling like an adult- to finally figure out where I will be staying.
      More information coming as soon as I know.
Cheers!

Almost to my goal

    I have realized lately how expensive life really is. Man, everything costs money, especially when you're trying to save money. I've had some help from some lovely people. I have earned $5,000 dollars just on my own this summer from working. Boy, was it worth it. Unfortunately, I thought I had a job in place when I moved over to Salem, but it fell through. The story is constant, I'm not in Salem long enough for anyone to want to hire me. I promise, future employers, I'm a hard worker!
    I have been calculating how much it will cost to just be able to go to South Korea. Im almost at my goal to where it will be comfortable, and I'll be able to travel to be able to be in Korea. Unfortunately, I didn't take in account for how much travel expenses and visas cost. Especially since I have to drive/ fly up to Seattle to get my visa, and go to Boston for my orientation. I'm starting to feel as if I'm leaving in just a few months. But really, I am leaving in just a few months. How odd to think about that. I can't wait to go. The longer I'm here in Salem, the more I'd like to get out. I don't like Salem. It's not the place I see myself longer than necessary. Bend is so much more lively. I miss all of you lovely Bend people.
    While I've had lots of changes going on recently, the changes just make me that much more excited to leap from this nest in rainy Salem, into parts of an unknown world. I'm looking forward to the structure of an 8-5 day that I will have for eleven months ( not including weekends). One of my buddies ( Nicholas Schneider) is in Seminary School just half an hour away from me, and has been visiting me constantly for dinner. He just informed me last night that one of the Fathers is willing to teach me Korean (he's from Korea). I guess moving does have its perks!
     I'm sure some of you know that there was a minor fluke in my ability to go to Korea, but I think that's all sorted out now; I'm crossing my fingers that it is. I'm still waiting to hear back from Korea if I'm able to go. The wait is killing me, there's so much I have to do to be able to go to South Korea. Starting November, I'm going to be busy just with stuff for South Korea.
     I have been spending time with family this last week. I went on a mini road trip to Moses Lake WA to visit my grandparents with my brother, what a lovely trip. I have spent a weekend with my Aunt Linda, and a day with my Aunt Tammy. The best part about being in this crummy capitol, is that I'm close to my family.
     Thank you so much to those of you who have donated. I will attach my donation site again, seriously, anything you can give is huge. It's tax deductible, and I suggest doing it through the site. I hate asking for money, but this will be the biggest gift I will ever receive.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rhyswilliams/rhyswilliamssfundraisingpage

The Beginning Preparations!

   Hi everyone! So I'm currently prepping for my trip to South Korea to volunteer at an orphanage. Oh boy. A lot of changes are happening pretty quickly. I'm working full time as well as trying to fund raise. No complaints, though. It's actually quite a lot of fun. I'm enjoying working this hard, knowing that I will have the satisfaction of knowing that a large amount of the money that I needed for going to South Korea came out of my own time and effort, and paycheck.
     I've been making cupcakes as part of my fund raising attempts, and thus far they have been pretty successful. Plus, my friends and coworkers always enjoy when I have extra cupcakes that aren't "pretty enough" to sell.
     I am going to be going to South Korea through a non profit organization called United Planet. United Planet does anything from letting people volunteer, or internship, over seas for as short as 2 weeks, and as long as a year. I chose a year in South Korea. I'm not entirely sure where I will be headed, yet. Unfortunately I probably wont find out for a few more months.
     I chose South Korea, mostly because I don't know much about South Korea. I've heard it is beautiful, and I've always been one to love adventures. So, with that in the mix, I chose to head off to what some would imagine to be the most unlikely area of chose, almost ever.
    I don't know much about the area, or culture, so if any of you readers DO have any idea, I would love to hear it! After all, one is always better off when prepared!

   Until I have further news, I will continue baking cupcakes, and working full time. But, if you'd like to drop off a donation, of even $10.00, that would be a huge help!

Thanks for your time, and here's my donation site!
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/rhyswilliams/rhyswilliamssfundraisingpage/nonprofit