New Poll! Choosing Gifts

Please check out the poll on the right! Choose up to 3 gifts that you think are the best representatives of New England and/or America. Things to keep in mind:

--Space: I only have two suitcases for all my clothes, shoes, and belongings
--Recipients: I'll be gifting to (a) my host family, (b) my boss, and (c) my co-workers, so the age range is huge. So, for example, pick one gift that would be good for the host family, one that would be good for the boss, and one that would be easily shared in the teacher's room.


If you have another idea or a comment on the poll options, leave a comment on this post. Cross my heart and hope to die, I will be gifting the things that come out on top, so make it good.

Brief Statement of Purpose

Just to clear up some questions, here is what will be going down in the ROK. After a 6 week orientation, I will be :

1. Teaching English to Korean middle/high school students
2. Living with a host family
3. Reconnecting with my Korean years
4. Acting as a "cultural ambassador"


Points one and two are pretty clear, although I'm nervous about them. Point three just involves traveling around the country and reconnecting with all the places with which I have a history: the places I lived and visited as a child, the bases where my father worked, the grounds where my grandfather fought in the war).

It's point four where things get vague for me. I've decided that, being a "cultural ambassador", I should do some form of community service. With that in mind, I've started looking into orphanage volunteer work at because a lot of people I know have adopted Korean children. ...Also, if you know me at all, you know I love small children. Especially Asian ones. What? I'm not racist, they just tend to be the cutest. Minus mixed babies. ohhh mixed babies are cute.

If you have any other ideas of how I can make America look good, let me know because my ideas end with "Asian babies asian babies asian babies".

Visas, Flights, and PreparatOH MY GANDHI

A few weeks ago, I wanted to start working on my visa. I wasn't sure where to get an application, so I decided to call the Korean Consulate in Boston. Maybe I'm a freak, but I practice conversations in my head before I have them. So I was going over what I would say (Hi, I'm Lindsay SDLFKS. I'm going to Korea in July and I need an A-3 visa...) when I realized, hey, I know how to have the majority of this conversation in Korean! I decided to practice it in Korean too, just for kicks.

I pick up the phone, dial the number, and a voice answers on the other end. In Korean. Very fast Korean. Although she only really said "Hello, this is the Korean Consulate in Boston" I panicked and hung up on her.

I could have had that conversation! My first real experience using the YEAR of Korean I've studied! But I wimped out and panicked.

This does not bode well.


Fast forward to a few days ago.

I went to the movies Sunday with my girlfriends. The previews started up and, oh goodness, there was a trailer for the new Harry Potter movie! Right when I was about to say "Wow, I really want to see that!" the premiere date came up on the screen. July 14th. Gotta go see that with the girls back home in New Hampsh--

And then it hit me. I won't be in New Hampshire then. I'll be in Korea.

I know, it's dumb, but I never really realized how different things will be. I'm sitting at my desk right now. There's a bottle of water, Benadryl, laundry detergent, a flash light, and posters--amongst a bunch of other things--in my immediate field of vision. Everything is printed in English. It probably won't be in two months.

I thought it was ridiculous that it took a movie premiere for me to realize how crazy things are about to get in less than two months.

Fast forward to today.

I finally confirmed my flights. I'm officially leaving July 3rd from Boston at 7:30pm. Over the next two days, I'll be on various flights before finally touching down in Incheon on July 5th at 4am. Guess I'll be watching the sunrise on my first day in KoreaHOW SYMBOLIC.

Maybe I'll write again in another two weeks after some more of nothing has happened. Oh, I know, I can't wait either.

P.S.--If you were wondering, the Korean premiere date is July 15th. Oh, time zones.

True Story #2