One down 11 to go.

Hello again my little blog readers! Ready for another rambling shamabling?

Its a beautiful sunny, Saturday in Seoul. The sunshine is A-mazing after a long week of bitter cold.

I can't believe I have been here for a month already! The last couple of weeks have been full of crazy children, snow, immigration ish, friends new and old, nuclear bomb drills, exploring, and the general day-to-day excitement of navigating a new life in a foreign country.

Daily life is still an adventure. Normal things that would seem so boring to report about, going to the grocery store, walking to school, riding the subway, ordering food at a restaurant, are all so complicated and exciting.

My little monsters/students are so cute. I love them! They are constantly making me laugh. The highlight of my teacher life last week? Teaching 9-year-old Koreans how to say refrigerator. So funny! Also, students choose English names at the beginning of the term and are allowed to change them every once in a while. Welp, I now have a class of five students, and three MUST be called Zombie, Killer Jack (not just Jack, but Killer Jack) and Brionna 2. Yes, a little boy now will not answer to anything except Brionna 2. I guess I will take that as a compliment?

Next week will be my fourth week teaching. How crazy is that? I am definitely getting use to the routine and time is going by so fast! I have definitely changed my sleeping habits. I use to live by the whole "early to bed, early to rise" adage. I think that this is largely due to the fact that I grew up on a farm. But ask anyone who has known me for a while and they can attest to the fact that my family is usually in bed by 10pm and up by 7am (at the latest!). Well sorry parents, my internal clock has been reset!! I teach from 4pm - 10 pm and I usually can't shut my brain off till well after 2am, and usually find myself falling asleep around 3ish. I wake up around 11 (gasp!) Sorry mom. =)

This last week I had to go through the hassle of becoming a legal alien of Seoul. What a freakin pain. Good news! After a few trips, a few chapters in my book (which is horribly strange, My Mother She Killed Me, And My Father He Ate Me, a book of new fairy tales if you are interested) and a few hours later I am now a registered alien, woop woop! I know you are excited for me, right? Ok, but something exciting did happen during this little trip through the Korean immigration system. While sitting in the waiting room, watching numbers click by slowly, praying for them to magically skip through all 40 ahead of me, I see a kid I know from college walk in. Completely random, and the second time that has happen to me here! Small world.

A little more exciting news, not necessarily the good type of exciting, this week Seoul had emergency nuclear bombing drills. I missed most of this, but I did hear all of the sirens and alarms from my apartment. It mostly affected students and people living near the DMZ. It did make the whole threat of war set in a little more. Every time I read the news there are stories about the North and South and the increasing possibility of war. Then I walk outside and no one seems to be concerned, just another day. I have talked to many different people and they are pretty confident that we are all very safe. So mom, I love you, and I really am ok! Please no more skype wake up calls telling me I am going to die! Also my head instructor did go over an evacuation plan with me, which places me somewhere in Japan or China, if something does happen. Life is dangerous, my friends, no matter where you are, don't let it scare you, don't let it stop you.

I have gotten a decent grasp on the extensive Seoul subway system and have been doing some exploring. Although I must say, the cold did keep me inside more often than I would like to admit. I did make it out to Itaewon, the international district. It was very strange actually. I took a taxi from my area, where I rarely see another foreigner unless I am at school, to Itaewon. When I stepped out of the cab I was standing in front of a Taco Bell and everyone was speaking in English, it was very bizarre, like some weird time...or culture warp. It was a really fun night! I met up with some fellow cougs and it was nice to be around familiar faces from my past life. I have been back to the area once to go to an English bookstore. I really wanted a new book, however after walking around for well over an hour I left empty handed. bah! English books are expensive! So for now I will finish my strange, strange book of fairytales. Any suggestions on a book that is worth my hard earned teaching wons?

Hmm... a few other small victories: I can now navigate the complex Seoul subway station with only the occasional hiccup. I found some great art stores in my favorite area so far, Hongdae. I found some great markers, which makes me really, really, really happy. I have so much free time and inspiration right now, its great! Oh and I finally found postcards! I love, love, love old fashion snail mail, writing and receiving. So check you mail boxes peeps! (if you gave me your address, if not its not too late to change your mind)

Ok. Good night, or Morning for you all on the other side of the world!

Love and miss you all so much!

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."

-e.e. cummings

finding my way.

Monday morning. Drinking fake, sugary, yummy, Korean coffee. Listening to This American Life (about people who find themselves in situations far from the beaten path, where there are no guidelines and no useful precedents haha). I am a happy girl.

Thought I would take a minute to update you all with the latest in my new Korean life.

Last week was my first official week teaching. I LOVED IT! I teach the most adorable children ever! Sure some drive me crazy. And some force me to desperately try to find my serious side, when all I want to do is bust up laughing, but I have to maintain classroom management, bah! Most teachers pass out candy like there's no tomorrow, I have yet to adopt this form of classroom management. I'm not sure if it has more to do with the fact I feel guilty shoveling candy into children's mouths, or if its more because I am too cheap to buy mass amounts of candy. But I am afraid that I may have to break down and start the candy bribing routine, I don't want to become "that teacher" haha, the stingy, mean one.

Teaching is so much fun. I love when the kids can't find the English word or phrase they need they go into this huge, animated, miming explanation of what they are trying to say. It is hilarious! Very creative kids. I love that they add extra syllables, most commonly ah and ie to the end of every word. And I love that they have no filter. They will say just about anything, this isn't much different from any other child, but its still hilarious.

During some exercises the students must create sentences using a given structure. One sentence was ________ prefers_____because______. Most kids say things like I prefer ice cream because it tastes good. However, one kid stands up and yells out "My dad prefers to hit me because he likes it." And then continued to yell out how, and with what, like it was no big deal, and the rest of the class, including the teacher I was shadowing, just carried on without hesitation. Another time we were talking about hugging. I asked one boy, about 8 yrs old, who do you hug? Do you hug your parents? His answer: "Not my dad, my dad, (animated mocking of someone drinking, a lot!) then he (very, very animated imitation of puking) and then he stinks, so I don't hug my father." OK, moving on, haha.

Another thing that never seems to grow old is that fact that I have my nose pierced, or that fact that I am single and live on my own, both are shocking really! My name has also been a great topic. "Bri-onna" "Rhi-anna?" "No Bri-onna" "Vienna........Vienna Suasage!!!" "Piranha......AHHH Piranha!"haha, this never gets old.

Another highlight of this past week was a trip to Costco with my co-workers. It was interesting to be in such an american store in Korea. I only bought a box of cereal. There were somethings I thought about buying, pepperjack cheese, trail mix, and a few other hard to find items, but then I realized that the bulk size would last me a year, or go bad before I could eat half of it haha. But it was fun to go out with my co-workers, which is something that rarely happens at my branch. Hopefully this changes.

Also worth noting, I will be moving soon!! YAY! Not far, just a short distance from where I am now. My co-worker is moving home after being here for 2 years. She is leaving behind several things, and has a BED! This is very exciting, and will save me money. Now I only have two more weeks of sleeping on the floor, so happy! (and for those that have been asking hopefully I will know my address soon!)

What's the best way to end a great first week of teaching? Go out and explore seoul of course!!! I was originally suppose to go out with two of my co-workers, but was late because I lost my subway card, and meeting up without cellphones is difficult. So I talked my temporary roommate into going out with me instead. And its really funny how things seem to work out. We decided to go out to Hongdae, a very lively, energetic area. Its a university district, tons of people, bars, clubs, street vendors, and neon lights. It was so much fun. We danced our way from place to place, just soaking in the whole experience. So much fun! Towards the end we randomly decided to stop into one last bar. It was a good choice because I ran into an old friend from college!! So random but totally made my night! We stayed and met cool people and danced late into the night. I quickly learned that its very easy to lose track of time when bars don't close and you are having fun! By the time we made it into bed the sun was coming up. Apparently this is a very normal night in Seoul.

Great end to a great week! I definitely feel like I am beginning to settle in. I am slowing finding my way in this crazy part of the world and I am so very happy.

I love and miss you all very much!

"What will we make of this time? What will it make of us?"

-Gregory Maguire

2 weeks in Seoul.

Tomorrow marks two weeks living in South Korea and I feel a new post is way overdue. Summing up the last two weeks in a single post will be a challenge, but here goes........

Seoul week 1:

As I mentioned in my previous post my first week was consumed by training. Training was pretty stressful. It was full of tests and mock teaching. The material itself was not very difficult but if you failed training you were without a job, no place to stay, and no plane ticket home, which put a lot of pressure on all of us trainees. ChungDahm (the school I work for) is not like other schools in the way that train their teachers. It is very common for English teachers to just be put in a classroom with little to no direction, so I do appreciate the training. I slept little, bonded quickly with my fellow trainees over dinner and studying (aka freetime), and....PASSED!!!! Not to brag, ok brag a little, my head instructor said that my final evaluations were the best he's seen in a very long time, if ever! I was pretty happy to hear this because training wasn't the most uplifting experience.

Immediately following training they ship everyone out to their separate locations. Not gonna lie, the transition was a little rough. I met some really great people during training so it was strange to be taxied away to a little apartment that had nothing (suppose to semi-furnished) and where I knew no one. Okay, I know thats lame, but I felt really alone. So I decided to get out and explore my new neighborhood. I made it a few blocks and then...got hit by a truck haha. Well thats a little dramatic, I was backed into, but it hurt none-the-less. I quickly learned the Koreans drive where ever they please, convenient by dangerous. No worries though, this was just a bad day, the only bad day!!!

Week 2:

A friend from training has been staying with me for last few days and it has been really nice to have the company and an exploring companion. We have wondered around Eunpyeong (my new homeland) quite a bit. We went to a local bar. Korean bar snacks= seaweed, nuts and soy sauce. And have tried a few local restaurants. A few nights ago we went to a small, side-street, restaurant that was amazing. It was traditional Korean bbq, you grill your meat on a charcoal grill in the middle of your table, so good! And the staff was super friendly, and helpful. Towards the end of out meal our neighboring table, about 4 Korean men wearing the recognizable soju glow, slyly passed us some of their meal. Im still not exactly sure what it was but it appeared to be some sort of shellfish, with a little spicy salad on the side. I am a HUGE texture person, and can't stomach the thought of eating something slimy, but I also didn't want to offended anyone. I put on my best poker face, chewed and swallowed, not one but two as quickly and politely as I could. I had to fight my slime-gag reflex, but I loved the experience! And so did the drunk Korean locals, "not afraid, not afraid!" they laughed and gave us more, great, haha!

I started work on monday. My co-workers all seem really nice. They have all been here for a few years at least and the branch seems more relaxed than others I have heard about. I job shadowed for the beginning of the week and subbed weds-fri for a teacher that left. It was really great to finally get in and start teaching. The kids are so adorable, well most of them haha! It was the last week of the term so all of the classes I taught were the students last day. It was little tough to jump in to a class on the last day and keep them interested. I could totally tell that they were like "ok I only have this teacher for one day, I can do whatever I want." Also all of the students had already taken their "level up" test so they knew weather or not they were moving up a level. It was basically like getting a sub on the last day before summer vacation. It was so much fun! I cant wait to start with my own classes on Monday!

So that basically sums up my first two weeks in Seoul. I feel like I'm forgetting some major events, but thats pretty much the gist of what I have been up to.

I wrap things up with some interesting things I have learned about Korea:

1. Heated floors make it really hard to wake up in the morning (when sleeping on the floor)

2. Men buy inserts called "shoe lifts" to make them appear taller, and will sometimes lie abouthow many they have in.

3. Like I mentioned before, they drive where ever and however the please, its nuts!

4. Statistic say that over 80% of girls have had plastic surgery.

5. Heated toilet seats kinda make you feel like you peed your pants.

6. Almost all business names are in English, but nothing inside is.

7. American fast food chains are everywhere, pizza hut, baskin robbins, burger king, dunkin donuts, starbucks, mc donalds, quiznos, pappa johns, is crazy.

8. Drinking soju makes using chopsticks very difficult.

and much, much more to add later......

I love and miss you all very much. There is a lot in the media right now about the tension between the North and South and I have gotten a lot of worried messages. Please know that I am safe and happy here. It is a little unsettling but we can only hope that it will all blow over soon, if not maybe I will be seeing you all soon!

LOVE FROM KOREA!

Hola From Seoul

I am finally in Seoul. Proof: I stained my shirt with kimchi ramen at dinner last night.

So far so good. Seoul is an amazing city with beautiful people. I have really enjoyed my first two days here, although I have not had much free time to get out and explore.

I am still finding it hard to believe that I am actually here, in South Korea, whoa! My flight here was ok. The day or two before I left I went into totally pre-departure panic mode, but I think I kept it together pretty well. Before I leave for any big adventure or trip panic mode sets in and I have a mini freak out stress-fest break down. Am I crazy for leaving everything and everyone I know behind? What am I doing? Did I make the right choice? But I think this is all a fairly normal reaction to moving to a new place, let alone a completely foreign country. (Sorry family if I was crazy this last week.)

My flight left at the crack of dawn friday morn. I always seem to have really random, unlucky things happen to me, and friday morning was no exception. I woke up to find that a mosquito had bitten my eyelid during the night. So I had to begin my trip with one eye swollen and red. It looked like I had crazy intense pink eye. Perfect for meeting new people. Anyways, my whole family woke up at 4 am to drive me to the airport. And like every other flight I have ever taken, I made it with only a few minutes to spare. Just enough time to check in, say goodbye, and then awkwardly say goodbye again through the glass walls. Also, my good friend Katie got up with the sun and met me at the airport before I left, she's pretty freakin amazing. (Thank you Katie for the wonderful card and send off.)

My flight from yakima to seattle was a little rough. I was happy to make it to seattle without puking coffee up everywhere. From Seattle to San Fran was a little smoother, except for the lady behind me that kept comparing our plane to the Titanic. She was sure that our pilot had no idea what he was doing and that we were all going to die. From San Fran to Korea was.......long, very long. The food was sick, my tray table was broken and the movies were ok. I watched Salt, Cyrus and Twilight, yes you can make fun of me now haha. Then I slept and slept and slept, and 13 hours later I was in KOREA, yay!!!

Luckily I made it through immigration, retrieved my luggage, bought a bus ticket and found my bus stop really easily. While waiting for the bus I noticed a guy about my age, looking pretty lost, and reading from what appeared to be the same arrival paperwork I had. I am generally pretty outgoing, and when traveling abroad I loose all shyness. Turns out he was in my program and we soon met another girl that was also in Chung Dahm with us! It was really nice not be alone while taking the bus to the City Air Terminal and then taking a taxi from there to our hotel. And the girl, Victoria (ps she's super friendly and fun) is one of my roommates at the hotel for the week. I have two other roommates here. AND lucky for me one of them is Korean American, so she has been showing us around, translating, helping us order food and showing us how to navigate the subway system. I really feel spoiled!!!

Today was the first day of training. blaaah. We had tests, and tests and more tests. And then we had to go to the hospital here in Seoul for even more tests; blood test, urine tests (way different than in the states, gross!), hearing tests, color blind/vision test, chest xrays and blood pressure. It was a very long and stressful day. Wish me luck in passing all of the tests. Besides the endless tests, I did get to meet the other teachers that are also training this week. So far they are all very cool, its nice to be with such positive, friendly people. There is just an overall excitement about being here.

Anyways, I should be studying for training tomorrow, blah. Korea is amazing and I wish you could all be here to experience this with me.

I miss you all very much. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And please be in touch.

A Thankful Nomad

With my departure date quickly approaching, I wanted to take a moment to thank those that have helped me out the last few months.

I made the decision to leave way back in July. So by the beginning of August I found myself without an apartment and with most everything I own sold or packed away in storage, but still employed. Basically I was without a home, and became a nomad of sorts.

At first this made me a bit nervous, but I shortly realized what amazing, generous and caring people I have in my life. It seemed that every time I mentioned that I was kinda "couch surfing" that someone would offer me a place to stay with them, their family, or with some one they knew. Although there were some afternoons where I wasn't sure where I would be staying that night, overall that past few months have been so fun.

Being a nomad and bouncing around from friend's couch to friend's couch gave me the opportunity to visit and spend time with people that I don't get to see as often as I would like. Its so easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday life and not take the time to call or hang out with friends. It sometimes feels that you have to have a reason or event to take a break from the everyday and spend time with someone. Crashing on a friend's couch in the middle of the week, or living in their guest room for a month or so, gave me the opportunity to spend quality time with those I love.

So thank you so much friends for all the love and support and shelter you have given me these last few months. I am so grateful to have you all in my life.

Things I’ve learned from my brothers.

I have two brothers, David 13 and Noah 11. I love my brothers with all of my heart, but unfortunately they live in Southern California so I only get to see them a few days out of the year. And each time I see them I am so surprised by how much they have grown and so proud of the little men they are growing up to be! Last week I was able to spend a few days with them and learned some very important lessons that I thought you all might enjoy, or benefit? from:

• Breakfast of Pre-teen Champions:

A three-egg omelet stuffed with spam and pepperoni is a perfectly acceptable way to start your day. And as I later learned from Noah, if David isn’t up in time to prepare one of his famous omelet creations whatever you find, and I do mean whatever you find, in the fridge will work. Things I came downstairs to find Noah eating: ice cream straight from the carton (7am) leftovers from the night before, fettuccini alfredo, and chicken strips and fries (7:45 am).

• Axe Body Spray can solve many daily issues:

One morning David was complaining that he didn’t have anything to wear, because he hadn’t done his laundry in a while. Little did he know that the answer could be solved with a quick spray or 20 of Axe. According to Noah “I hardly ever wash my clothes, all you have to do is spray them with Axe and you’re good to go.” Noah prefers chocolate flavor or scent or whatever. And what if you don’t want to shower after practice? That’s right! Axe will do the trick.

• Cartoons can be watched, recorded, and watch over and over and over again:

Never in my life have I watched, listen to, or tried to tune out so much Family guy, South Park, Futurama, Sponge Bob and so on and on and on….. And every episode was recorded so that it could be viewed later. Why ? I have no freaking idea! And still after every line was memorized and every punch line was given away, they still found it just as hilarious and entertaining. Sad thing is I don’t think this is something boys every grow out of.

Now don’t get me wrong, my brothers are very active, do shower regularly and maintain a fairly healthy diet. They are lovely little humans. These are just a few little things they decided to let me in on this week. I am still just as, if not more so, confused by the male species.

The rest of my time in California was good. Visiting my brothers was definitely the highlight of my trip. Visiting family always seems to be too long and too short all at the same time. I don’t have the time, the space, or the words to describe my dad and family in California. I love them all endlessly but visiting them is always emotionally exhausting. At this moment I wish I could snap my fingers and solve everyone’s problems…..if only life was that simple.

Oh glorious day!

I may be the happiest girl on the planet.

Today was my first day of freedom from cafe hell. I have already wasted too much time talking about my horrible, spirit crushing, mind numbing job, so all I will say is that I feel free, finally. And quitting means that I am that much closer to leaving!

Today was a wonderful first day of unemployment. I did nothing important, and I haven't been this happy in a while. I dyed my hair, almost ruined it a few times, but none fell out. I read. I drew. I went book browsing and had coffee and a lovely life chat with a lovely friend, thank you MF.

Its fall and its beautiful. I am so very happy that I have time to soak up wonderful days like this.

"I just want my life to be true. & I just want my heart to be true. I just want my words to be true.

I want my soul to feel brand new."

-The Avett Brothers

Hello world!!

(or those of you who are bored/interested enough to read the following ramblings)

I am about to set off on a new adventure, and I have decided to keep some notes on my travels and new life.

I must give credit to Rachel for pointing out that I would be traveling behind the map, not left to right, thus creating the name of my blog. It was a very insightful moment, haha.

I leave for my new home in a little over a month. And I feel like my heart is going to explode. Too many emotions run through me everyday, but there is always the underlying emotion, the all too familiar, there at the they beginning of any trip or adventure emotion: excitement. I really can’t wait.

I feel like this has been a while in the making, too long in the making. I tend to make decisions without fully thinking them through. I jump and hope for the best. I usually don’t think of the outcome, and at the end I’m not sure why I chose to do what I did. This may be a fault, and it may not be, either way it’s the way I work.

Already this experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone. It has given me months to fully weigh my options and analyze every detail. And I know that this is what I want to do.

I have faced some resistance and negative feedback. And it’s not always easy to explain packing your life into a storage unit, selling most of what you own and buying a sleeping bag and a plane ticket. Some people believe that they have my best interest in mind when they tell me that I am making a mistake, but in the end this is my choice. I may not know exactly what I want, but I definitely know what I don’t want. I don’t believe that owning things is my key to a happy life. My happiness comes from my experiences and the relationships I have with those I love and care about.

I love my friends and family so much and will miss you all, but I need this change. More than anything I need adventure, I feel like I’m becoming a robot.

4 more days of Café Hell. 13 more days left l in Seattle. A little over a month till Seoul.