New Apartment!

Apartment photos! Please note that it's super tiny and that my clothes are LITERALLY hanging on my wall. I haven't posted photos of the bathroom toilet + shower combo, but get ready for those. They will blow your mind. And make for a very cold Dayna in the morning.

Photos:

(1) Apartment building (with my head teacher), above

(2) My baby room!

(3) Yes, that's my fridge right next to the front door

(4) How artsy am I, hanging my clothes on the wall

#korealife

 

Village Exploration

Photos below:
(1) Bibimbap
(2) Dyeing scarves
(3) Making tofu
(4) Freshly made tofu

#korealife

Welcome to EPIK Orientation Spring 2012

WELL. Hello from South Korea! After not sleeping the night before my flight and packing my life into suitcases (oh yes, and leaving one behind in LA), I arrived safely for my 10 day orientation to become a fabulous Guest English Teacher. Yes, they are allowing me to mold the minds of Korea's youth - look out!
I met some great people and had even better times with them that involved being in class EIGHT HOURS A DAY, some new Korean food, exploring a village (and making FRESH, perfect tofu), noribangs (karaoke bars) and (and this last part shouldn't surprise any of you) soju + beer. Some lovely photos for you all to enjoy are below. Hoping that the states are treating you all
well! xo
Photos:
(1) MaryKate and I with our perfect teachers Harah and Haerim
(2)-(4) Bonding times
(5) Noribang-ing
EPIK Orientation - Daejeon, South Korea
#korealife

Words To Live By.

Meaningful reward requires meaningful risk.

Re-routing My Life

I didn't make it through to the oral interview round of the FSOT. The final round before the background check. Damn.


I was upset. I'm still upset. But I literally do not have any other option than to wait until early 2012 to reapply.


So until then, Spain and Korea? I'm going to stop wasting time.

Thought of the Day

What am I running away from?

4/4 To-Do List

Less than five things to really do today, and I couldn't even do the most important one. Hah.

"I can do this" is going through my head on repeat. The kind of message that, said enough times, actually comes true. Right? Right.

Ch-Ch-Changes

"Always do what you are afraid to do." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not an April Fool's joke. If I don't do this in the next week, anyone has permission to slap me.

LONDON

I finished the PNQs on March 22nd and jetted off to London for a week that very night. Now to wait 6-8 weeks to see if they still approve of me... I also applied to be an English Language Assistant in Spain. I'm hoping that I know when the oral test is before I leave the country.

London was almost perfect. I thought that I wouldn't care for it at first. I like having friends surround me, and I believed that the fast-paced, don't-give-a-shit-ism that London represents itself as was not going to be my cup of tea. But the history... okay, fine, and the Harry Potter sites. It's such a different vibe to know that these monuments have been around for centuries, whereas if something is 100 years old in the states, it's impressive.

 Not only did I get to travel with my parents for a week, but I also met up with a friend quite a few times. He definitely personalized the trip with non-tourist things, which made my days much better. I'm really grateful for that, and that he's hilarious.

London. Dover. Windsor. Bath. Lacock.
Westminster Abbey. Stonehenge. Ronnie Scott's. PUBS.

You know what's an interesting word? Idiosyncrasies.

FSOT

Congratulations! The scores you achieved on your Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) qualify you for the next step of the Foreign Service Officer selection process...

I passed :)

Six essays by March 22? BRING IT.