surprises!

Over the weekend I went out to have dinner with some friends, and I was surprised with a going away dinner party with my closest friends! Love you guys and very much appreciate that you guys did that for me! Thank you AJ and MD for planning! It was shabu shabu of course. My favorite :) then we went out for our version of drinks haha... Tea!

One of my friends also gave me a beautiful hand-made sketchbook to document my design thoughts and ideas during my travels. Thanks so much LT, best gift a designer could get!

I also bought my first dslr!!! Thanks for helping me on that, Mom :) Canon T2i. I am aware that this model is an oldie, but it is also a goodie. A few friends have it, I asked some photographer friends for confirmation, and I looked at the T2i groups on flickr. I was impressed. Flickr also has this camera finder feature...it's SO cool. I cannot express how much these Flickr features help compare cameras. Should be used alongside snapsort.com. Flickr Group Pools : Flickr Camera Finder / Canon / EOS REBEL T2i, Canon EOS 550D / Rebel T2i, Canon_550d, Canon T2i Users. Also Canon is having a sale (jump on that) so I got a great deal.

This all really made me realize that this is real, it's actually happening. I'm going to Korea for TWO MONTHS!!!!!

I also have been offered a design-related networking opportunity while in S Korea, and can bring some friends along with. Hopefully that pans out; it seems like an amazing idea for our professional lives and portfolios. I know, I know, pretty evasive with my lack of details on this, and now for an even more mysterious:

To be continued...

finished finals (Am I Alive?) and t - minus 1 month

I JUST FINISHED FINALS

It sucked, with a few all nighters and too many hours logged in the design building. I think I'm ok now though. Give me another day or two. I've been sleeping in until noon -_-

Rewinding a little bit, I went to the study abroad trip meeting, and yes, I met a TON of people that all seemed genuine and fun and awesome! :)

I am so excited to go, and am beginning my preparations, from my first ever DSLR to the very tough marker and paper selections. I may or may not be that artsy one who holds up the group because she's lying in the flowers to get a good shot, or who stays up late practicing her marker rendering. Wouldn't have it any other way.

I also brought out the binder and flashcards from my Korean Class last semester and am reviewing it all. Can't be the one who knows the least!

I'm also excited for my classes. I have taught and given tours to all kinds of people before, but I've never taught college students as my own students... it should be interesting at the least. I'm stationed at the campus that's renowned for its awesome students. Hopefully they're really cool!

One month until I'm there! :)

bad news followed immediately by good news :)

So I know it's been a few months, but I have been too busy for a blog!

Long story short, I was turned down for the South Korea scholarship! Yes, such a bummer! I'm not really that sad about this, though, I'm actually very excited for the few people that were chosen. They will have a great time and learn a whole lot of Korean! In truth, It seems like a large number(~100?) of people applied to beginning Korean, and it looked as though there were only about 5-10 spots. Super competitive.

After being turned down, a fire was lit under my butt, and I immediately searched for more options! Gotta learn Korean! I then took a Korean class at a local Korean Church and worked on some basic phrases and vocab. It was economically priced, my teacher was very kind and helpful, and overall, I highly recommend attending classes there. It's called Bethel Korean Church in Irvine, California! After finals are over, I am going to review and study all of the things in my Big Giant Binder from the class!

I did have a backup plan of applying to a program through my University, however, and was accepted into that! The first month, I got a scholarship to teach English, and the second month, I learn Korean! Part of the scholarship pays for my flight, and then room and board and breakfast and lunch are included. I am so thankful I got it, it definitely made the trip possible. Already using Google Map Engine Lite to organize all of the cool places I have to go. I wish I could hop over to neighboring countries to visit, too, but this way I will really get to know SK :)

The place I stay the first month to teach English is called the English Village. It is very cute and looks like a blast. I don't know the age of students I'll be teaching, but I would be happy with any class from little kids to college students to grandmas and grandpas. I love learning languages and helping people, so this is a perfect job for me!

The second month, I'm going to be learning Beginning Korean through direct exchange at a local university. I feel like a large portion of the class will just be review, since I already have had some practice reading and writing Hangul/Korean with my other class. I need to brush up on my phrases though. I can only remember it's nice to meet you when people ask me if I know anything :| Pangapsimnida. ne...

This Wednesday, we're having a little mixer so all of the participants can meet each other before we leave. This is pretty exciting for me, because I love meeting new people (ya whatevs, I'm a people person, don't be jealous) Also excited because these specific people will be my fellow adventurers for the next few months. Can't wait :) I hope I find some amigos that want to catch a flight early to explore and adjust before the program starts.

That's about it for now! Plenty of "updations" to come :)

앨리드림