Let's just start this off with the truth: I miss America.
I miss all my friends, my awesome family, and my adorable pets. I miss hanging out in Corvallis, I miss good tea every night, I miss honey. I miss mom's grape scented candles, and the comfortable beds. Oh I miss comfortable beds. I'll even take sleeping on the bean bag chair on Luke's floor. I miss eating Q'doba, and Cafe Yumm with my Corvallis friends. I don't know if anyone else is as homesick as I am. But, I'm fortunate enough to have the ability to talk to my family, almost constantly. Basically, I love the Westcoast, I love Oregon. I miss cheese and bread.
I got sick, just a minor cold, I'm thinking. It hit and was gone within 24 hours. I'm feeling better now. This week has been filled with late nights and early mornings. 2 hour round trip transits, getting lost in Gangnam, spending 7 hours sitting in an office with Mr. Yu, who can only speak a little Korean. So we both just sit there and say yes and no in each others languages, smile, and nod. I am hoping that my work project will get better. I fear that I have not entirely informed you all about what I am going to be doing.. however, the truth is.. I still don't entirely know. I WILL be working at Gangnam YMCA, and I will be working with children. what I will be doing, looks just like sitting in a room for 7 hours a day. I hope it isn't so.
As I said last Tuesday, I got miserably lost in Gangnam. For four hours I was wandering around by myself. I tried pulling out a map, asking the locals in their language, asking the locals in MY language, calling Mr. Kim, and walking a total of 10 miles around Gangnam. Now I find this all really funny, but I was really frustrated during this incident. I've had a hard time adjusting. I haven't experience jet lag, so I wasn't part of everyone else's struggles the first week. I just have food struggles, and cultural struggles. I recently discovered I am allergic to eggs. As most of my family and friends know, I have a lot of dietary restraints, and learning about eggs being added onto the list is really disappointing.
The other girls asked Mr. Kim for food, and he ended up making us dinner one night, which was really sweet. Mr. Kim is really nice. I feel bad for everyone asking him for so much, it makes me feel guilty when I'm lost, or in this case, sick. The girls spend a weekend eating bananas and rice, and sometimes Ramen and frosted flakes if they had bought it earlier. Everyone here is really nice, just the language barrier is so hard. It surprises me, but I don't really talk at all during the day. I had an older Korean man snap his fingers at me to translate stuff from English to Korean. He was really nice, but I felt kinda sad that I couldn't really help him all that much. Maybe I'll get better at Korean where I can say more than Thank you, I'm sorry, Hi, goodbye, I'm American, rice Please, Is there rice here?, 1, 2, My name's Rhys, yes, and no. The grammatical structure is really hard for me to understand as well. I have been practicing my french, and I feel like I'm getting better. So that's a really cool feeling. Some of my language lessons are coming back to me. Unfortunately, a guy came in to ask me some questions the other day about the location of Mr. Yu ( he wasn't in his office) and I could understand what he was asking, but I spoke french instead of speaking the minimal korean I know to him. Its frustrating, the only foreign language that comes to me is French. But it's also kinda cool at the same time. I can think in french sometimes. I wish I had gone to Cambodia, currently. I wish that I could go so that I was able to practice my french with locals that also speak french. Eh. Oh well. Maybe one day I'll go.
I've made some friends from Denmark. The quantity of Danish people here is entirely unexpected. Their humor is also extremely harsh. Vivi is my best example. She's adorable, tiny, cute, sweet, but underneath all of that are the most devilish words you've ever heard. I think that if the devil is real, it would be her. I say this out of love, and with a few chuckles. I miss people thinking I'm funny, it was such a short lived quality that I had. No one here finds me the least bit amusing. Unfortunate.
I recently found out that there's a Costco here! Also, they play a lot of songs that I recognized from home. Loud Pipes- Ratatat is played almost every day, and they always show a picture of Tobasco when they play the song. Maybe it's a tobasco commercial? I haven't figure it out. Starbucks litters every street, more so than in America, as does Mac Shack and BK. Outback Steakhouse is pretty common as well. Andy and I went out for subway, and though it was good, I keep thinking there was something missing. Later I realized it was my melted pepper jack cheese.
Hannah and I went out yesterday to go to the bank and see if we can successfully withdraw money, we can, and then went exploring in Myeongdong. We got "Twister Chips", but I like calling them tornado fries, they look like a tornado on a stick. They were good, kinda. Cheap cheese powder, and not crispy potatoes kind of made me feel sick, but that might have been because I was sick anyway. None the less, I tried it. I heard about them before I went to Korea, so that was on my bucket list of things to try.
Oh! I forgot a really amusing story of a giant cultural faux pas that I made. We went to go get ice cream waffles ( seriously, try it), and I went down to pick up our order. The girl behind the counter was trying to show me where the silverware was, but I didn't understand her, and just saw her hand out. Guess what I did.... I shook it. It wasn't until I could understand the look on her face that I with drew my hand and said I'm sorry in Korean about 5 times. Loren (UK) saw this and immediately asked what the heck I did. Luckily, everyone was laughing. But it was rather embarrassing, for me... and amusing for her.
As I said before, I got sick. there's been construction in the apartment to make my living room into an actual room. On Tuesday they made a wall separation. Today they came in and gave me my very own door! I was asleep for most of the construction. But woke up, and was able to understand them a little bit. They also gave me a key for all the doors. I'm the only one with a key, so maybe on April fool's day, I'll lock some the girls out of their rooms. I think it'd be funny. I've also been watching Robocop on Korean television today. Blade was on last weekend, as was The Birds.
A majority of my friends and family know that March is always a hard month for me, and as the calendar clock ticks closer, and I'm still homesick.. I've been listening to Tower of Power. Mostly you Oughta be Having Fun. One of my Dad's friends once told me that my Dad will continue to live on through the music he loved, I have never found that more true than currently. I'm so grateful for the loving family that I do have.
Now, I have an address for letters. This address is only for letters and small packages. Like envelope small packages: 9, Jongno 2-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-753 Republic of Korea. I'll update you all when I have information on Package address.
I'll be fine. Just currently missing my lovely home. With beautiful sunrises and sunsets. And clear night skies. And cheese and bread. Thank you to all my family and friends who have sent me messages, Skyped/facetimed, emailed, and FB messaged me. I'm so overwhelmed with the love I have for all my friends and family.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Here in S'Korea
Hi Friends and Family!
I have arrived safely in Korea. I just got my laptop charger adapter thanks to the lovely Hannah. She's the best! Thanks again, Hannah!
So I haven't posted in over 2 weeks, and a lot has happened. So for my readers benefits, I'm going to block it up.
First Week:
The flight was fine by myself, I had entire row to myself which was amazing. I got to stretch out and sleep. There were two Muslim men behind me talking to the air hostess. Poor girl didn't understand either men, and they didn't speak English or Korean, so that was a fun conversation to overhear. I met a girl named Gretchen ( I haven't seen her since) but she helped me through customs, and give me some information about Korea to help me out in the long run. I wish I had gotten her information to keep in contact with her. When I arrived, only Vivi ( from Denmark), Claire ( from France), and Andy ( also from Denmark). I was fortunate enough to not experience any jet lag. The next day, Andy, Claire, Vivi, and I went out exploring in the city. Mostly in Myeongdong and Jongno ( Jogno was were our first hotel was. We stayed there for 2 weeks. 6 girls, 1 room, 1 bathroom.. it was terrible). We also had a surprise introduction to some of the older volunteers, Shawn ( from Australia), and Kristian ( from Denmark). They also showed us around, took us out to eat, and got us our T-Money cards ( cards for travel, basically). The next day Aurelie ( from France) and Lauren ( other US girl) showed up. Aurelie first started talking to me in French because I greeted her in French. Then realized I didn't speak much when I just looked at her and smiled- the foreigners confused look. The next day the three UK girls ( Hannah, May and Loren) arrived. Then we headed off to the beach. I hate to admit it, but I have no idea where we actually went. I'm still having trouble with direction.
While at the beach, we walked along the coastline. The beach gets expanded exponentially when it's low tide, we went fishing on the coast. Of course we caught nothing. We also went to a Wind Power Plant museum to check that out. Unfortunately, it was all in Korean ( why am I saying unfortunately, silly me for thinking anything else) so I didn't understand it at all, and just played with the interactive models instead. Felt like OMSI. Afterwards, we went to a fresh fish market. The things they eat were odd, for me. Lots of things that looked like tube worms that Gok Ju ( one of the guys that works with my coordinator, Mr. Kim) says that he really enjoys eating it.. that it's his favorite sea food. After the quick fish tour we went to a town that was constructed solely of ceramic pots! Beautiful ceramic pots! ( Picture attached below). We also played a game called Yut. It's fun, I bought it at a traditional hanguk village to play with the family back home.
One of the palaces that previous volunteers, Shawn and Kristian took all of us except for Lauren and the UK girls to check out.
The Pot Town! I've never seen anything like it, before! Really cool.
Proof that I'm actually in Korea, not just posting pictures found on the internet.
Second Week:
The second week started and we started language lessons. By the end of the week I got so frustrated because everyone else seemed to be picking up the language so easily, and I was still struggling with the alphabet. We were able to explore some more in the afternoon after our daily 3.5 hour language class. We got our bank cards ( where they butchered my name), waited in line for hours to get our alien cards at the immigration office, checked out Seoul Tower and Ichaewon ( where I found Girl Scout cookies!!!!), and went to a traditional Hanguk village. Everything I've seen has been really cool. One of the old volunteers had a birthday/goodbye party which included chicken and beer, and noribang ( karaoke!). He was nice enough to take us all out and show us a good time around Seoul. Noribang was so much fun, the US volunteers absolutely KILLED it.
I've gained some great friendships here already, I feel really close to the French girls, Vivi, and Hannah. I hope to get better acquainted with Loren and May, I hope time will establish that. Andy, the only new boy volunteer, is really nice. I feel bad for him sometimes for having to deal with so many girls all the time.
We moved out of the hotel room, and into an apartment. It's really nice. I live 1 hour and 15 minutes ( by bus) away from Gangnam, where I work. The room set up is like so, We are on the third floor of an apartment complex. With a nice kitchen, a washing room ( that's washing machine was broken when we arrived, and the clothes line recently fell down from the ceiling and hit poor Aurelie), there were only 3 bedrooms when we arrived. Aurelie and Vivi are sharing a room, as are Loren and Claire. May got her own room, and I chose to sleep on the couch. Luckily, the living room ( where the couch was placed) has been made into a room ( or the beginnings of a room) while we were all away at work today. There are two bathrooms, and a storage closet that all the other girls have made into their extra closet. I take pride in the fact that I have made do with only two little drawers and a shelf for all my stuff. Ever the savvy packer. Lauren and Hannah both have host families, and Andy is downstairs with the other boy volunteers. Mr. Kim is trying to get the other girls host families, as well.
Today has actually been incredibly stressful, and I'm missing so much about America. I tried to get to work by myself today, but ended up getting lost, wandering around Gangnam by myself for over four hours. I walked around forever, and actually did break down from frustration when I couldnt get myself out of the mess I had put myself in on accident. I tried hailing a cab, getting to a new bus, walking down each street, asking for help in both English and Korean.... unfortunately, no one could understand me, and I couldn't understand anyone else. Thank god for Denise, Hannah and Kristian, who together gave me enough information to finally get where I needed to go. And thanks to Mr. Yu for giving me chocolate and sitting with me at lunch. I guess I will adapt, but right now it's hard.
I fell asleep last night listening to the music that was played at Lukes house all the time during the weekend when I'd visit. I miss my friends, I miss my family. I miss huge water cups, anything more than a tiny cup that's maybe 4 inches tall, it's driving me crazy. I also miss fresh vegetables, there are none. I like the heated floors, though. Persimmons are really common, here. I had a dried, candy persimmon yesterday that was really good. The food here is not doing me well, I've lost a lot of weight. The straight Rice, kimchi, fermented radishes, fish cake, and fish soup do not sit well with me. There is no designated breakfast, lunch, and dinner, either. Kimchi and Rice for every meal. I do, however, like the Korean BBQ and the fried chicken works well enough! The street food is really yummy, and really cheap.
Some of the girls, Lauren, Loren and Vivi in line for the squatter toilets.
My "UK mom"! Hannah has instantly been someone I've clicked with. I'm so grateful that she's here with me on this journey.
Red Bean Waffle Fish! I don't know what they are exactly, but they're the only thing I can find with a strong cinnamon-y taste. They're really yummy, and ridiculously cute, too. $1 will get you 3 of these, sometimes 6 if you find the right place.
Vivi, from Denmark. She's really nice, as long as you don't take her jokes too seriously. One thing this trip has really already done is made me take things a lot less personally, something that I appreciate.
The Three Amigos, and MR. Kim selfies. These two have been a bundle of fun as roommates, and in general. At the beginning, we all made challenges for ourselves and we made consequences for each other. Luckily all of us faulted, so no one had to pay the price. Mr. Kim selfies has become a game that Vivi and I partake in. Trying to gather as many Mr. Kim selfies as possilbe these next 6 months.
These are all the girls, Andy, and Gok Ju. Left to Right: Andy, Gok Ju, Loren, Claire, Aurelie, Vivi, Hannah, and Lauren. ( May went to the hospital for a flu).There are two Lauren/Lorens here, so I'll probably just label them with UK Loren, or US lauren to help you differentiate. It's hard to do.
traditional hanguk village, with parts of the City in the background. Really cool place to check out.
Just a portion of Seoul from the base of Seoul Tower.
Much like that famous bridge in paris, and other various locations around the world, Lovers place locks with their names written on them on this fence.
Mr. Kim Selfies, again.
Loren (UK), Hannah, and I sharing our ice cream waffle. SO good! Green Tea and Strawberry Ice Cream on top of waffles, and the first good coffee I've had since arriving in Korea.
Lauren, Vivi, Aurelie and myself
I have arrived safely in Korea. I just got my laptop charger adapter thanks to the lovely Hannah. She's the best! Thanks again, Hannah!
So I haven't posted in over 2 weeks, and a lot has happened. So for my readers benefits, I'm going to block it up.
First Week:
The flight was fine by myself, I had entire row to myself which was amazing. I got to stretch out and sleep. There were two Muslim men behind me talking to the air hostess. Poor girl didn't understand either men, and they didn't speak English or Korean, so that was a fun conversation to overhear. I met a girl named Gretchen ( I haven't seen her since) but she helped me through customs, and give me some information about Korea to help me out in the long run. I wish I had gotten her information to keep in contact with her. When I arrived, only Vivi ( from Denmark), Claire ( from France), and Andy ( also from Denmark). I was fortunate enough to not experience any jet lag. The next day, Andy, Claire, Vivi, and I went out exploring in the city. Mostly in Myeongdong and Jongno ( Jogno was were our first hotel was. We stayed there for 2 weeks. 6 girls, 1 room, 1 bathroom.. it was terrible). We also had a surprise introduction to some of the older volunteers, Shawn ( from Australia), and Kristian ( from Denmark). They also showed us around, took us out to eat, and got us our T-Money cards ( cards for travel, basically). The next day Aurelie ( from France) and Lauren ( other US girl) showed up. Aurelie first started talking to me in French because I greeted her in French. Then realized I didn't speak much when I just looked at her and smiled- the foreigners confused look. The next day the three UK girls ( Hannah, May and Loren) arrived. Then we headed off to the beach. I hate to admit it, but I have no idea where we actually went. I'm still having trouble with direction.
While at the beach, we walked along the coastline. The beach gets expanded exponentially when it's low tide, we went fishing on the coast. Of course we caught nothing. We also went to a Wind Power Plant museum to check that out. Unfortunately, it was all in Korean ( why am I saying unfortunately, silly me for thinking anything else) so I didn't understand it at all, and just played with the interactive models instead. Felt like OMSI. Afterwards, we went to a fresh fish market. The things they eat were odd, for me. Lots of things that looked like tube worms that Gok Ju ( one of the guys that works with my coordinator, Mr. Kim) says that he really enjoys eating it.. that it's his favorite sea food. After the quick fish tour we went to a town that was constructed solely of ceramic pots! Beautiful ceramic pots! ( Picture attached below). We also played a game called Yut. It's fun, I bought it at a traditional hanguk village to play with the family back home.
Second Week:
The second week started and we started language lessons. By the end of the week I got so frustrated because everyone else seemed to be picking up the language so easily, and I was still struggling with the alphabet. We were able to explore some more in the afternoon after our daily 3.5 hour language class. We got our bank cards ( where they butchered my name), waited in line for hours to get our alien cards at the immigration office, checked out Seoul Tower and Ichaewon ( where I found Girl Scout cookies!!!!), and went to a traditional Hanguk village. Everything I've seen has been really cool. One of the old volunteers had a birthday/goodbye party which included chicken and beer, and noribang ( karaoke!). He was nice enough to take us all out and show us a good time around Seoul. Noribang was so much fun, the US volunteers absolutely KILLED it.
I've gained some great friendships here already, I feel really close to the French girls, Vivi, and Hannah. I hope to get better acquainted with Loren and May, I hope time will establish that. Andy, the only new boy volunteer, is really nice. I feel bad for him sometimes for having to deal with so many girls all the time.
We moved out of the hotel room, and into an apartment. It's really nice. I live 1 hour and 15 minutes ( by bus) away from Gangnam, where I work. The room set up is like so, We are on the third floor of an apartment complex. With a nice kitchen, a washing room ( that's washing machine was broken when we arrived, and the clothes line recently fell down from the ceiling and hit poor Aurelie), there were only 3 bedrooms when we arrived. Aurelie and Vivi are sharing a room, as are Loren and Claire. May got her own room, and I chose to sleep on the couch. Luckily, the living room ( where the couch was placed) has been made into a room ( or the beginnings of a room) while we were all away at work today. There are two bathrooms, and a storage closet that all the other girls have made into their extra closet. I take pride in the fact that I have made do with only two little drawers and a shelf for all my stuff. Ever the savvy packer. Lauren and Hannah both have host families, and Andy is downstairs with the other boy volunteers. Mr. Kim is trying to get the other girls host families, as well.
Today has actually been incredibly stressful, and I'm missing so much about America. I tried to get to work by myself today, but ended up getting lost, wandering around Gangnam by myself for over four hours. I walked around forever, and actually did break down from frustration when I couldnt get myself out of the mess I had put myself in on accident. I tried hailing a cab, getting to a new bus, walking down each street, asking for help in both English and Korean.... unfortunately, no one could understand me, and I couldn't understand anyone else. Thank god for Denise, Hannah and Kristian, who together gave me enough information to finally get where I needed to go. And thanks to Mr. Yu for giving me chocolate and sitting with me at lunch. I guess I will adapt, but right now it's hard.
I fell asleep last night listening to the music that was played at Lukes house all the time during the weekend when I'd visit. I miss my friends, I miss my family. I miss huge water cups, anything more than a tiny cup that's maybe 4 inches tall, it's driving me crazy. I also miss fresh vegetables, there are none. I like the heated floors, though. Persimmons are really common, here. I had a dried, candy persimmon yesterday that was really good. The food here is not doing me well, I've lost a lot of weight. The straight Rice, kimchi, fermented radishes, fish cake, and fish soup do not sit well with me. There is no designated breakfast, lunch, and dinner, either. Kimchi and Rice for every meal. I do, however, like the Korean BBQ and the fried chicken works well enough! The street food is really yummy, and really cheap.
These are the cute kids I get to work with. This adorable girl grabbed my hand without even knowing who I was. Super cute, and friendly. Though I now have sympathy of anyone who had to deal with my fast talking.
I miss home, and I'm finding that I like to be alone more than usual. But, as usual, I'll be fine. I'll make sure anyone who wants my address gets it soon. Sorry for keeping you all waiting, and sorry for the vague post. I promise more has happened, I just don't want to bore you all with an overly long post.
I hope everyone is well. All my love being sent back home.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tick Tock Goes the Clock
Anyong! ( Friendly hello)
I am currently at six days until I fly out for South Korea. At this time next week, I will have already landed in South Korea, and will be most probably exploring the city. I am ready to be in South Korea.
I have said my goodbyes, for the most part. I don't necessarily see the point of a large goodbye. I will only be gone for 6 months, however that 6 months - I hope- will be some of the greatest in my so far short and relatively naive life. But, I digress. I have been fortunate enough to have a few friends drive a fairly long way to say goodbye to me this weekend. I appreciate all the words of support from everyone, as well as all the words of encouragement that go paired with the words "be safe". At first I wasn't entirely sure why everyone was telling me to "be safe", am I traditionally an inconsistent teenager? Of course I am, I'm a teenager coming from a family that puts a lot of emphasis into being a strong rooted individual with hefty "bootstraps" as my Baba and Mom call them. I'm proud to be a Williams, and I feel so fortunate to have all the love and support from so many individuals who have been present for an array of different time frames of my life. So, this is just one giant thank you to a large population of friends, family friends, old teachers, and family members. I would not be so excited to go without all the positive reinforcement that you all have presented to me so consistently.
I was really scared that I would have to change my flights and postpone my trip, the thought of not going was even lurking in the back of my mind. All of this was because my Visa just arrived last Thursday. But, now that I have my Visa and all my other documents safely tucked in a mini travel sized wallet thing dangingling across my shoulders, I am ready to go. Well, mostly.. Airport security is such a hassle, I wish I could skip that part of travel. But I am all packed, and my room is mostly picked up (Don't worry, Mom! I'll clean it before I leave!) and now I'm just anxiously waiting for Sunday night, where I know I will be up all night waiting for Monday morning.
For those of you wondering what I will be doing, I must confess that I do not entirely know... From the emails that I've exchanged with South Korea, and the project package that I received early on in the process, I'm either going to be working in an orphanage, teaching english at a YMCA kind of establishment, or teaching swimming lessons- which would be rather amusing because I'm not one for swimming, or water, in general. But, I will keep you all informed when I find out more. From what I gathered I will be living in a "Hostel, hotel room, dorm, apartment- like building with the other volunteers" for six months. What this actually means, who knows. I guess we will all find out! I will definitely be living in Seoul, however.
By now I'm sure some of you are even more worried or skeptical about my decision to go to South Korea where I appear to have no known plans but to spend six months in a foreign country where I know a total of 15 words. My response to these fears, you have every reason to be skeptical! But, I'm optimistic, after all I am the daughter of the woman who lost our itinerary for our South Africa trip two and a half years ago. If things go wrong, oh well! What a fantastic learning experience! If things go perfectly fine, well that's a very secure adventure! I do know two other girls who are going to be in South Korea with me, and probably living in the same place as I am. Lauren, from the East Coast, and I met in December at the orientation in New Hampshire/Boston. We hit it off instantly, and still talk nearly daily about or packing process and other worries about this journey that we have. I have also made contact with another girl named Vivi from Denmark, she seems nice, and her biggest worry is learning how to do laundry in South Korea. I guess we will all have our challenges abroad.
There is a mountain in the middle of Seoul, so I've heard. And as an Bendite, I feel bad for not being a huge rock climber, so I'm going to take on rock climbing as my weekend physical activity for the next six months! I wont be blogging much the first two weeks, but I will be keeping a journal so that when I have time away from orientation and acclimation into the society, I will be able to remember everything that has happened and keep you all updated. I will have cell phone over there, but I will be working on Wifi. So if you have Viber, Whatsapp, Skype, or Imessage feel free to ask me ( privately) for my contact information! I will gladly give it to you.
Well, here I go! I'll make sure to take lots of pictures, and I'll make sure to post my SK address on the good Ol' Facebook once I know where I will be at. I would love letters!
Komhapsumnida! ( Thank you)
Jal-ga! (Friendly goodbye)
I am currently at six days until I fly out for South Korea. At this time next week, I will have already landed in South Korea, and will be most probably exploring the city. I am ready to be in South Korea.
I have said my goodbyes, for the most part. I don't necessarily see the point of a large goodbye. I will only be gone for 6 months, however that 6 months - I hope- will be some of the greatest in my so far short and relatively naive life. But, I digress. I have been fortunate enough to have a few friends drive a fairly long way to say goodbye to me this weekend. I appreciate all the words of support from everyone, as well as all the words of encouragement that go paired with the words "be safe". At first I wasn't entirely sure why everyone was telling me to "be safe", am I traditionally an inconsistent teenager? Of course I am, I'm a teenager coming from a family that puts a lot of emphasis into being a strong rooted individual with hefty "bootstraps" as my Baba and Mom call them. I'm proud to be a Williams, and I feel so fortunate to have all the love and support from so many individuals who have been present for an array of different time frames of my life. So, this is just one giant thank you to a large population of friends, family friends, old teachers, and family members. I would not be so excited to go without all the positive reinforcement that you all have presented to me so consistently.
I was really scared that I would have to change my flights and postpone my trip, the thought of not going was even lurking in the back of my mind. All of this was because my Visa just arrived last Thursday. But, now that I have my Visa and all my other documents safely tucked in a mini travel sized wallet thing dangingling across my shoulders, I am ready to go. Well, mostly.. Airport security is such a hassle, I wish I could skip that part of travel. But I am all packed, and my room is mostly picked up (Don't worry, Mom! I'll clean it before I leave!) and now I'm just anxiously waiting for Sunday night, where I know I will be up all night waiting for Monday morning.
For those of you wondering what I will be doing, I must confess that I do not entirely know... From the emails that I've exchanged with South Korea, and the project package that I received early on in the process, I'm either going to be working in an orphanage, teaching english at a YMCA kind of establishment, or teaching swimming lessons- which would be rather amusing because I'm not one for swimming, or water, in general. But, I will keep you all informed when I find out more. From what I gathered I will be living in a "Hostel, hotel room, dorm, apartment- like building with the other volunteers" for six months. What this actually means, who knows. I guess we will all find out! I will definitely be living in Seoul, however.
By now I'm sure some of you are even more worried or skeptical about my decision to go to South Korea where I appear to have no known plans but to spend six months in a foreign country where I know a total of 15 words. My response to these fears, you have every reason to be skeptical! But, I'm optimistic, after all I am the daughter of the woman who lost our itinerary for our South Africa trip two and a half years ago. If things go wrong, oh well! What a fantastic learning experience! If things go perfectly fine, well that's a very secure adventure! I do know two other girls who are going to be in South Korea with me, and probably living in the same place as I am. Lauren, from the East Coast, and I met in December at the orientation in New Hampshire/Boston. We hit it off instantly, and still talk nearly daily about or packing process and other worries about this journey that we have. I have also made contact with another girl named Vivi from Denmark, she seems nice, and her biggest worry is learning how to do laundry in South Korea. I guess we will all have our challenges abroad.
There is a mountain in the middle of Seoul, so I've heard. And as an Bendite, I feel bad for not being a huge rock climber, so I'm going to take on rock climbing as my weekend physical activity for the next six months! I wont be blogging much the first two weeks, but I will be keeping a journal so that when I have time away from orientation and acclimation into the society, I will be able to remember everything that has happened and keep you all updated. I will have cell phone over there, but I will be working on Wifi. So if you have Viber, Whatsapp, Skype, or Imessage feel free to ask me ( privately) for my contact information! I will gladly give it to you.
Well, here I go! I'll make sure to take lots of pictures, and I'll make sure to post my SK address on the good Ol' Facebook once I know where I will be at. I would love letters!
Komhapsumnida! ( Thank you)
Jal-ga! (Friendly goodbye)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
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.
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.
Stephanie, myself, Andres, and Alia.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
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!!
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
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
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
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