Culture Shock

It's been roughly two weeks so far, and I think I have adjusted to this culture quite well. Dont worry, I am NOT a fob nor do I plan on being one. I have discovered new things that people did not bother telling me about when I came here. For those of you who plan on coming to Korea, I will warn you.

1. People in Korea do not believe in napkins or paper towels. They use toilet paper for EVERYTHING. do they NOT realize that toilet paper literally melts on your skin when you try to use it to dry your hands?
2. People do not use paper cups to drink water when getting water out of a water cooler. they use these "cups" that are pretty much paper envelopes. I will take a picture of it next time. It truly is strange. I first saw this at the bank and I thought it was an envelope you put your debit card in. I was so confused.
3. Instead of normal dressing such as ranch, thousand island, italian & honey mustard, People eat blueberry, pineapple & yoghurt dressing. SERIOUSLY? i need my ranch people!
4. The normal size for paper here is A4 not 8x11. the sheets of paper are so frikin long!
5. All the women wear high heels ALLL THE TIME. no lie. they wear heels EVERYWHERE. i feel like a bum here but i am NOT about to wear high heels 24/7 just because everyone else does. i like to be comfortable thank you very much.
6. Men carrry BAGS. like legit bags. remember in the episode of friends where Joey carries a murse? At least his bag looked a tad like a briefcase. the guys here carry around bags that women would carry around... like Louis Vuitton. And on top of that, they dont even just have it in their hangs, they carry it ON THEIR SHOULDER. these bags are pretty enough that most girls would wear them. I swear im telling the truth.
7. The American names that these Koreans give themselves are HILARIOUS. here are some of the names that I have heard so far and it take EVERYTHING in my power to not bust out laughing.
     a. Maxim: to be fair, he did named himself Maxim because he liked Maxim coffee so much. If only he knew what the name Maxim is associated with in the US.
     b. mmmGood: no explanation necessary. exactly 3 m's.
     c. dopeHEADz: an actual name of a student in my class. When I saw my roster, my mouth dropped. i dont even know where to begin on the level of awesomness that name is.
     d. Bread: my friends have heard that name in their class TWICE already
     e. ADFF: i dont even know what that is suppose to be. or what is suppose to stand for. oh dear....

There are more names that made me bite my tongue from laughing but I can't think of anymore. Oh the joys of living in Korea for two months. <3

PS. I saw my 2nd celebrity sighting last week. I do not know his name but hes a gagman supposedly. Can someone please help me name this guy? THANKS =]

One Week Later

Its been a week since I've been to Korea, and let me say.... wow. could i NOT love a city more? Ever since I got here, I have been out with friends every evening exploring the city. For those of you who know all the places around Seoul, im staying at Hoegi -dong (I would type in Korean but im using my friends computer and she doesnt have Korean). I wanted to blog every night after I got back and tell you about the different places I went to, but i didnt bring my laptop (I know... not my smartest moment) AND by the time we all get back, were so exhausted, I just get ready for bed.... but I made sure today I would write before I went out. :)

In this week alone, I have experienced so much. I met some incredible people that I can now call my friends. The program I am teaching under is with my church institute. They trains us new teachers for two weeks before we get split off into different locations, and I think I can honestly say that I will be upset when June 30th comes around. I have met people from all walks of life and all over the world. Looking back now, I realized how much I was itching to get out of Georgia. Its not that I don't love the people there, its just.... I needed to get away. Seoul and this program has been really good for me. I just feel so much happier and excited. I now understand why people love the motherland so much (ahem you Diana).

I promise Ill try posting pictures. Its just so hard to find the time. I've been to Seoul City Hall, Dongdaemun, Jong-gak, Itawon and I can't think of the other names. I must do some more exploring! hahah. anywaz I love it here. I do miss you all very much. I wish I can bring you guys to experience all of this with me. I'm like a little kid thats giddy all the time. hahah. anywaz heres a bit of my amateur photography. Its all raw photos because I dont have my iphoto. *sigh*. enjoy the randomness!

seoul city hall by day....

seoul city hall by night.... thats how I watched my game. be jealous. =]

Welcome to Seoul

Random things that I have learned and experienced ever since I stepped on the plane in ATL.

1. How to train a dragon is now one of my top 5 favorite movies. Is it weird that most of my top 5 favorite movies are children's movies? (enchanted, little princess. i seriously am NOT normal)
2. Korean Airline flight attendants are all twigs. NOT even kidding. its really scary at how skinny they ALL are.
3. I had an opportunity to watch avatar on the plane but I passed it up. Im beginning to think that I really just do not care to see it at all. I am probably the only person in the world who hasnt seen it. I DONT CARE.
3. 14 hour flights are NOT fun. thank goodness I got to sit next to the emergency seats.
4. I sat next to 2 Chinese men that smelled funky. When I got off the flight I was so paranoid I smelt like them. I kept smelling myself... I really hope I didnt.....
5. I was a walking zombie all day yesterday (korean time). As soon as I got back to my apt, I PASSSED out. I shot out of bed in the middle of the night thinking it was 8 and I needed to get ready.... it was 2am. my roomies heard me freak out & got up too.... oops.
6. Seoul is NOTHING like I imagined it to be. You would think that after watching all sorts of dramas I would get a clue. I must be really slow. Its so packed everywhere.
7. I have been losing appetite ever since I've been here. I mean, IM HUNGRY, but as soon as I eat... im just not in the mood to eat. I'm blaming this on jet-lag.
8. I cant wait to watch the S. Korea v. Argentina game here tonight. cant wait to be surrounded by the crazies!
I9.  think I'm gonna have a REAL good time here in Korea. I'm so excited. <3

I miss you all very much. next time I will post up pictures. wish you guys were here with me. <3

hellllllloooo summer

courtesy of wikipedia

I can't believe the crazies will FINALLY start this week.

This is my schedule as of now:
1. Korea --- June 15 - August 26
2. Boston --- August 30 - forever

I'm not gonna lie... I highly doubted that I would be able to go to Korea this summer to teach English.
First off, I thought my parents would never say yes. After much persuading and pleading, I finally got the okay. Its so weird how now they're excited that I'm going to Korea. They've pretty much announced to all my relatives in the motherland that I am coming. In addition, my mom repeats to me OVER and OVER never to be out in Seoul at night. Oh, mother....

Second, this semester was so busy that I was never able to really devote much of my time to turn in forms I needed to teach in Korea. So of course, everything was done last minute. Never again will I push things back like this. I have never been so nervous and doubtful that everything would go according to plan. I mean, who gets their plane ticket 4 days before they have to leave? ME.

All in all, I'm happy and relieved to say I'm finally leaving. After MANY summers of planning to go to the motherland only to not work out, it IS actually happening. I think I will have to pinch my cheeks when I step off the plane to remind myself this isnt a dream. Sometimes it seems so silly for me to be this excited when plenty of my friends have gone to Korea many times.
Man, I really need to get out more....

oh whatever! I'm excited! I can't wait for the culture shock to begin <3

MHJPP # 2

So I wanted a theme for this week's pictures that made my heart pitter patter, but I couldn't think of anything. oh wells... to be honest, I did not see that many pictures this week that I was GASPING about but there were many pictures that came close. :)

I did stalk Kate Bosworth a bit this week. This woman is so flawless, I don't understand. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous but she has an amazing wardrobe. To top that off, she has a stud-muffin as her boyfriend. Alexander Skarsgard is a tall, beautiful man. He most definitely is yummy in the tummy. <3

I love her first outfit. She wore it at Coachella. TOO cute. and the second outfit... I know I have that denim jacket marked in a wish list somewhere. me LOVES it <3

 

BFF series: the first one is anniieemal. aren't the different colored shorts adorable? <3

As for the second picture, can you imagine being a super hott model and your bff is one too?? seriously. way to be exclusive guys! Amanda Norgaard & Hannah Holman... NOT cool.

 

the mulberry alexa modeled courtesy of alix. this girl has a wardrobe worthy of envy. especially this bag.... Whats a girl gotta do to get her hands on one of these? pray tell.

Now lastly, one of my FAVORITE blogs, {a glamorous little side project} always has swoon-worthy pictures... I'm sure you will agree in looking at this next collection of pictures.

i don't know who made these shoes, but i MUST have them.

Sofia Coppola feature in Paris Vogue February 2009. I love this shot.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm so excited about mine. I can't wait. Happy birthday wifey <3

My Heart Just Pitter Pattered

I know. Yesterday's post was a bit emo. To counter-act yesterdays post, I decided every Friday I want to post up pictures that I have seen on the internet that week that make my heart skip a beat or should I say "pitter patter".

Since this is the first "My Heart Just Pitter Pattered", I want to put up some pictures that I have accumulated that have made me squeal and gasp. Most of the pictures I save are usually outfits, fashion shows, and editorials that I absolutely adored. I have a lot more on my macbook but since Im on my mom's computer and I'm lazy to change computers, I will show you the small collection that I have on this computer.

Dree Hemingway in Valentino Spring 2010 Couture. This dress is SO gorgeous. Actually, the whole collection is to DIE for. This dress Hemingway is wearing is from the same collection as the dress SJP wore at the world premiere of SATC2 (which was equally fabulous). If you ever have a chance, check the whole collection out. LOVELOVELOVE

Russh Magazine's Issue 34's Editorial. How on earth did he capture that??? Its so visually stunning. I can't stop staring at the picture.

 

Gary Pepper Vintage courtesy of Studded Hearts: I wanted those JC shoes! it has come to haunt me again *sigh*. My gosh, I want that entire outfit ESPECIALLY the hat.

An outfit I'd totally rock courtesy of altamira. This is Joseph UK's Global PR Director Alex Eagle.

Arent the heart pasties on her knees too cute? AND the adorable over-ruffled dress. <3

 

As much as I hate this girl's personality, I do love the way she dresses. Her talent for mixing different patterns and styles amazes me. Ugh, I hate her that much more.

 i love lazy summer days. I want to go to the beach. Photography by Antonella Arismend.

Ruby Aldridge @ Paris Fashion Week. I love all the layering going on. AND the bag. I've seen the bag somewhere. I forgot who designed it. This is gonna bug me......

 

 I love this outfit so much. I am going to choose to believe this is fake fur. Models look good in anything. I hate it.

Anywaz, I had fun reliving these pictures again. Hope your heart pitter-pattered. <3

A Chapter Closed

As I was packing my things from my apartment in Athens and took a good look at what this meant, reality slowly hit: I am forever DONE with undergrad.

You would think that this would hit me when...
I turned in my last final.
I bought my tassles.
I tried on my cap&gown.
I walked in the sanford stadium with all the other graduates.
I turned my tassle.
I took my graduation pictures.

I mean, it did hit me, but no where was the impact THIS severe. It was strange seeing my room empty. It was a huge slap on the face telling me to MOVE ON. But... I don't want to. Its so sad how badly I want to stay in undergrad. Its so sad how every little thing becomes sentimental. I hate that I'm like this.

I have exciting things in store for me this summer & fall. I'm going to love being in Korea this summer and heading up to Boston this fall. I've been wanting to do both of these things for a long time and trust me I'm so thrilled I get this oppotunity.

But right now, I just want to stay. When will this feeling pass away? I can't help but be depressed.