on adjusting

Over the last few weeks, my knowledge of Korean culture has expanded by about 5000%, and I know I have barely covered the basics. Being here, living here, has been about adaptation on every possible level.

Things are different here.

I don't think I can emphasize just how much of an alternate universe experience this place is to what I've known. Thankfully within what surely would have been chaos and despair, I was given warm and welcoming people to help guide me in this country. And YouTube, thank GOODNESS for YouTube!

Lemme try to sum it up in point form:

The apartment:

I already mentioned I have to walk up five flights of stairs to get there, but did I mention that all of the appliances we own are in Korean? I know, I probably should have expected that! There's nothing like laundry day and trying to decide what button to push for the wash cycle to prove I'm not in Newfoundland anymore. 

The job:

It's been quite the learning curve adjusting to my job life since I've been here. Familiarizing myself with the curriculum and getting to know the kids have been the most interesting challenges. Playing with children and teaching them aren't one and the same, believe it or not. I've been learning to simplify my words, speak more slowly and repeat myself a lot. I get surprised by something different almost every day but funny enough, kids are kids no matter where they are from.

The location:
Yeosu has a beautiful, rugged coastline and many hiking trails made for outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. I think that's where the familiarity between here and home ends. I'm used to the quiet of my small populated town where people wave hello even if they don't know you and I have to drive ten minutes to get to a store. Buildings don't reach higher than a story or two. Here however, the streets are kept pretty busy, cars don't always stop at red lights or for pedestrians, and you will see tons of illuminated signs of mismatched businesses that reach to the sky.

These are not necessarily negatives, mind you! Just different. I practically step outside my apartment and within a few blocks I have most everything I need. Emphasis on need. If you need a coffee shop, mini-mart, bakery, or a grocer for basic veggies? Great! There are plenty of those. If you want a decently priced/familiar clothing shop, or something fancy like coconut oil, you'll have to go a little farther. Or, order online! 

The food:

Koreans have a style and tradition of their own when it comes to their food culture. There are special social cues and formalities for the way you present food or drink to each other. Then there's other visible aspects: I've of course enjoyed many meals seated on the floor in my living room or bedroom at home but never before have I had meals while sitting on the floor of a restaurant. I was pretty excited for it! I have to say it was fairly comfortable and cozy with the heated floors and pillows! If you don't mind a few inevitable 'pins and needles', I recommend. 

You also have to turn your heat tolerance up a notch or seven to be able to enjoy many of the dishes. I taste test the kimchi every time I see it on the table but I aways make sure there's plenty of water close by. 

The language:
I knew I didn't mind being around conversations that didn't involve English from all my time on the ship. I was used to picking up a word here or there to get a satisfying general gist of what my Mexican or Brazilian friends were discussing next to me. Of course, they weren't ever trying to be rude, it's just natural to revert to your native tongue when you are with people who know it too. All those years studying French taught me that!

Here I don't understand beyond "annyong-haseyo" aka "hello". 

Guys, the biggest struggle of all is not having the ability to ask for help or directions from a local. Sure, you can manage to express a question through some artistic pointing and miming, but unless they are willing to point and mime back, their answer is just a bunch of strange sounds no matter how kind it is for them to try. 

Thankfully all of my solo moments of communicating at stores or at coffee shops have been fine so far, with their kind attempts at meeting me half way. For example, a nice lady at Emart pointed out that I could get 20% off my shampoo and conditioner if I bought them together (even busting out a calculator to show the price difference). And the only English word involved was "shampoo!"

Despite these 'minor' differences, I am really enjoying my time here. Learning about the differences and truly experiencing them was part of the reason why I wanted to come here in the first place. If I wanted a lifestyle change, I've defs got it.

*Above photos taken at the Yeosu Expo 2012 site // hanging with Yeosu's adorable mascots.

december in rambles

It seems I have disappeared for a bit too long. I have lost interest in blogging for awhile and only a few events stand out to write about. This past month my time spending has mainly consisted of going to work and sleeping. When I wasn't doing either of those things, starting the Harry Potter series, watching seasons of shows borrowed from a friend (Glee and Roswell), going on friend dates (which were too few in my opinion), and occasionally picking up my drawing book filled in the rest of the hours of my days. I have been pretty wiped out the last couple of weeks with doing mostly night shifts, plus not sleeping properly due to my princess & the pea syndrome + noise outside keeping me from dream land. These two things made me not feel overly productive or motivated.

Some good news in my slump of a few weeks was that I finally went and picked out a camera as my graduation gift. It's the Canon Rebel T2i. I haven't had many opportunities to use it yet, but I hope to put it to good use soon. I have been wanting one for several years, and it was worth the wait to have the version with HD video capabilities. I like options. I am excited!

Other news is that I won a blog giveaway! I got a free spot in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class on shimelle.com. Pretty neat to actually win, since I'm such a sucker for signing my name to anything to see if I will!  (Thanks to http://heyjenrenee.blogspot.com/ for hosting the giveaway). I bought a bunch of sparkly things to use in the potential album, but I have yet to actually put something together. It's hard when I have no physical pictures to inspire me. Trips to Walmart are random and unexpected (no buses!) so I forget to bring a cd of pics to print off. Anyway, it felt good to win something, and I do intend to put some pages together soon. Including some of these gems:

Going to the SASF Christmas banquet, getting to eat a festive dinner from Swiss Chalet and take pictures with friends all while lookin snazzy was a highlight. Making a people photo-flip-book, whipping hair back and forth, introducing the awkward leg and getting a gift card for Booster Juice in the longest-ever chinese christmas gift exchange wasn't too bad either. (Above pictures are Robyn's!)

Having some brunch with Sarah made one of my Saturdays significantly better, and seeing at least one of my immediate family members at some point in each of the last five days has made me happier. Walking around shopping and talking with my mom felt good last night. (I am hoping that one of my bestest friends is feeling a bit better now that she is at home with hers in CB.)

Finally, I am looking forward to spending Christmas at home. I am looking forward to pestering my sisters every day and to my double bed waiting for me every night! I have Christmas Eve off so I'll get a full three days away from work. And on the 28th, I'll be picking Chandler up from the airport in the wee hours of the morning to welcome him to windy & wet ol' Newfoundland once again. (I'm hoping I'm not scheduled for work too much, or too inconveniently for that week.)

Well, this has been a very unorganized update on my life. At least I decided to go back and add pictures. When I start liking the Internet again, I'm sure I'll post something more thoughtful! xo

One more thing. Here is something that Robz put together after we hung out one night about a month ago. Quite random, but the more I watch it the more I love it, and the more I want/need fun random nights like this in my life. 

wish list

the guts to have red hair. i might do a red tint on the next hair trip coming up soon, we'll see. i can't make up my mind as to whether or not i want to chop my hair or keep it growing out. (source)

a cute date. i want attention. (source)

more video chats with friends and family back home. i miss you guys. :(

cute clothes. well, just cuteness in general.

 camp life: having friends around and constant busy-ness, minus the exhaustion.

all grown up and graduated

I have been pretty MIA the last little while for the following reasons:
a) Chandler has been here visiting.
b) My laptop is in the shop getting fixed.
c) I've been somewhat busy because of Reason A.

But cool news is that I had my convocation ceremony today, walked across the stage and got my hood. Kind of surreal. A moment that took 4+ years to accomplish and was over in a blink. I was just happy I didn't trip, as I'm sure everyone else was too.

I'll be off the North Carolina on Thursday. I'm sure I'll have more break time to waste with updates and blogging. Can't wait to get my laptop back.

Good night folks.

waiting

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with Robyn (actually, we've spent the last three days together! So glad she's back from the Brook!). She signed up for an online art journal class which will no doubt be very inspirational. I came along and worked on my own little art journal type project. It's similar to scrapbooking and can be as random as you want it. I find scrapbooking a little overwhelming. I end up obsessing about the pages a little too much and it's almost agonizing to get a page to work just the way I want it.

Yesterday was one of those days where I was in an 'anything goes' kind of mood. Seems that's the best kind of mood for this craft because I was inspired and satisfied with what I came up with without too much anxiety!

Clarity in crafting, perhaps?

Here's what I came up with:

 

 (Images from Toast magazine)

I think it's my new favourite thing and I wanna do more soon. I like how they capture exactly how I've felt the last few days, in a pretty way.

Moving on.

This morning was real good. As I went downstairs to get some breakfast I saw a little package on the step with my name on it. Brought it to my room and found that inside was a little box full of goodies and a note from Janessa. The sweetheart. I laughed and cried from happiness. Small gestures mean so much to me, and just how good is it to have thoughtful friends who take the time to let you unload your heart and fill it up again with their love. (You know who you are! Thank you!)

We had been texting the night before about maybe hanging, but it was late by the time she was heading out and I wasn't feeling up to it. (I've turned into an old lady wanting to be getting ready for bed by 11. I love the feeling of waking up and popping out of bed instead of being Emily Sloth, so it's worth it!) I didn't expect her come by and leave this on my porch!

I decided to dedicate my afternoon to the making of butternut squash soup:

I found it was a bit of a chore to do, but it was worth it in the end. Robz had a taste and gave 'er a thumbs up. ha. I enjoyed some Swiss Chalet with Nan for supper, and then spent the evening at the newest (video) Bible study series that Elim is putting off. It's called Extraordinary by John Bevere and his excitement is contagious, even if he asks for an 'Amen' a little too often. I can deal, ha.



Listening to Moth's Wings by Passion Pit

cheers to domesticity + talented friends

As I've said, I'm trying to be a little more domestic and making different kinds of foods that I've never attempted before, to bring me closer to that settled me. Such as bread & toutons early last week.

I got up and headed over to my nan's somewhere between 9:30 and 10, had breakfast and got to work. She supervised and instructed me as I put together the ingredients for the whole wheat bread and yeast mixtures; showed me how to properly knead the dough, adding sufficient amounts of flour as I worked away. The dough rose successfully and I kneaded it once more, and now I'm waiting for it to rise again to which it will be molded into perfect round balls, and placed in the oven. I think it's going to turn out well! (Photo added after, of the finished product!)

My great grandmother crocheted and sewed the apron I'm wearing. Bright green, adorable, and super special. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar at Anthropologie if it had a strip of some floral fabric and a few buttons on there somewhere. I wish so badly I had the patience to make something so intricate. And who wouldn't go looking for excuses to make things just to wear it? 

Today I made "Simple Broccoli Soup". Turned out really tasty too, so even though it wasn't exactly what I would call "simple" to make, it was worth the effort. The texture is a lot like Butternut Squash soup which could be my next adventure in soup making.

One last thing: Last night Robyn had her 4th year recital and let me tell you, she was a knock out. She was a total babe when she walked out on that stage, the little gunmetal coloured grecian. She totally gave me goosebumps during some of the songs, it was so great. Robert Clarke sat next to me and after every song he was like, "that was amazing" with eye brows raised.

And you are amazing, hun!

You blew them away, girl! I feel lucky to have such a talented friend!

opera rocks

My friend, Erin Milley can sure sing. I saw her perform tonight for her Fourth Year Recital and it was absolutely amazing. She looked beautiful too.

"mine, mine, mine, mine"

These are no ordinary seagulls, I tell you.

They play a game with each other, a sort of King of the Fence Post if you will.

As Chandler, Jarrod and I took a walk along the Battery in Charleston, we watched as a bird from the back flew off its post to the one before it, kicking off the gull on said post. It had a domino effect as each bird repeated this action from the back to the front. There were more than enough posts to go around, but they simply preferred to steal from each other.

It was an amusing little quirk of our Saturday adventure.

he will not permit you to fall.

Chandler invited Caroline, Christina and Sandy over for supper tonight at the Pentagon.

Christan and Matt cooked up some excellent food and we all ate and relaxed until it was time to go to house church. When we got there, we reflected individually on God and ourselves through some topics read aloud. Its nice to take the time to sit in the quiet amongst a group of like-minded people.

After that, we split up into two groups, guys and girls, and discussed where we were in our lives, spiritually or otherwise. The conclusion that always seems to be drawn is that no matter what stage of life you are in, God is watching over you, taking you through it step by step. The process goes a little easier when we acknowledge that we’re not alone, and that there is a purpose.

I’ve been slowly meeting some awesome people during my stay. I’m going to miss it here that much more because of this. Friends do come and go in life, but I’ve had the realization that I need to invest more into the friendships that are around me now.

DJ, blow my speakers UPPP

So glad that Taylor has been here the last few days. Having her around helped add some estrogen to the excessive amounts of testosterone that have filled up the Pentagon this weekend

Chander, Kat, and Matt had their combined 21st birthday party Friday night, so a bunch of out of town friends came in to celebrate. Party got busted early because the cops came to shut it down. We weren't unruly, just loud. Two 4x10 bass cabinets and surround sound kind of loud.

You could definitely hear us down the street.

The boys got off with a warning and framed the noise violation by the front door. History was made at the Pentagon. It was a proud moment.

Taylor and I got up the next day and made crepes for about 10 house guests.

After everyone left on Sunday, Taylor, Christan, Chandler and I went to watch Leap Year and Chandler was feeling the travelling itch to go back to Ireland again. I would personally like to go for the first time. I also got my size 6 gauges that I've been waiting for. Fun times.

This is what Christan wrote on our weekend party adventure:

what I learned…
This past Friday I had my very first experience with a college party. No there was no underage drinking or anything technically illegal and we were pretty responsible despite the fact there was approximately 48+ bottles of beer in the house when there are usually 6. So maybe 2 4x10’s with a 500 watt amp was a little much. Luckily I have a boss that has always told me to go big or go home. Well that is all well and fun until the cops show up and you get a warning that claims that playing a piccolo too loudly is offensive as well as music being too loud.
Rundown of what i learned:
1. always start the party after 11
2. only one 4x10
3. Stereo is not always important
4. Strobe lights make a party
5. 1 out of 6 engineers will have fun
6. 5 out of 6 engineers will sit in the corner and drink way too much
7. and most importantly, don’t let the dumbest guy at the party bring his 17 year old girlfriend and her 5, >17 year old friends.
I hope you all enjoy and can take from my experience.

2009

Maybe its typical to say, but I really think that 2009 has been one of the best years of my life thus far.

It’s been a year of growth and closure. It’s true, friends have come and gone, and there are some that I miss greatly, but I love the new friendships that have formed and grown stronger throughout this year and what they’ve taught me about life.

Watching my younger sisters growing into wonderful, independent women makes my heart happy and finally making time to get my driver’s license got me some more freedom (Yea, about time.)

Finishing my degree and potentially saying goodbye to university life (whatever my next step may be) brings on a new season as well. It’s been a big year.

Looking back on these last nine years and seeing how much I’ve changed in some areas, and stayed the same in others is somewhat relieving. It’s been a decade of firsts, a lot of painful experiences with growing up, but I’ve seen a lot of strength through that. Part of me is petrified to let go, the other is ready to embrace the uncertain. Every year is the gift of something new, but this new decade is going to bring some big changes. Funny that these changes are ones that I had not expected even a year ago, but am excited for. I like the person that I’m becoming and I’m looking forward to what God has in store.

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

Merry Christmas from Newfoundland!

(ps. sorry for the lag in the audio. i don’t know what happened)

hello

Hi, I'm Emily. 

I like taking too many pictures and writing everything down. It's more of a need, really, to immortalize the details of life's journey because that's what the mind forgets. 

I wanted a place to keep the events of my life in order. A place beyond facebook albums with short captions, and the mere reblogs of tumblr.

The next year of my life has the potential to be the most chaotic of my entire 22 years on this earth and thus this blog is born to help me enjoy the journey.