Slush City

I find myself having to explain my Koreaness every day. I not only have to talk about where I'm from and why I look Korean, but I also have to deal with the social aspects of being Korean. Every time I tell people that I'm living with my boyfriend it is either followed by an awkward silence or a gasp. Korean girls here DO NOT live with their boyfriends before marriage. I've talked to several people who thought of the idea but wouldn't dream of going against their parent's wishes. Also, at my age, women are hustling to find themselves a husband so that they can settle down and quit their jobs. The fact that I don't have any plans to get married (after 8 years of dating my boyfriend) is baffling. I mean, it's not a race! It will happen when it happens.

On a lighter note, yesterday, Kalan and I were on the radio. We got to go the TBS building and sit in a recording booth and everything. We competed against each other on a quiz show and I won. I get a prize but I'm not sure what it is yet. Hopefully it's a million dollars.

It's been really rainy and snowy lately. Seoul looks like a giant dirty 7-up slushy. Yummy.

Imo just brought some sliced oranges and apples. She reminds me of my mommy :)

Sylvia

Plans for this week

I have several things on my agenda this week besides work and school. Most importantly, I'm going to go to the 노래방 / karaoke practice room with Kalan. We haven't driven a car since August and we realized that the car is where we do 95% of our singing. I'm out of practice so we are going to go have some fun and sing our little hearts out. Maybe I'll sing a little Celine, Whitney and Mariah ... I hope Kalan is prepared, hehe.



Also, Kalan saw an interesting cafe in Myong Dong so we are gonna check that out, too. It's a cat cafe, which is weird because not many people here like cats. I, on the other hand, love cats.

I'm taking better care of myself by exercising, eating better and going to the dermatologist. My skin has improved tenfold and I feel like I'm in control of my acne. What the doctor did was give me a weeks worth of antibiotic pills and then had me go through a torturous extraction parade/facial. It was the worst drawn-out pain I've ever had to endure BUT my acne is gone.

I've been doing little exercises in my bedroom like lunges, sit ups and lifting light weights and I realized just how much of a Korean girl I've become. Not only is my tan almost completely gone but my muscles are gone, too.

I can't do a push up... :/

I will get stronger though so watch out.

xoxo
Sylvia

Simplicity is Bliss

Yep, life is simple nowadays. Especially because I have more free time on my hand. Although I currently have a cold, I find that I have lots of time to simply think. I think about what's important to me, what I want, what I need, etc.

Ever since I got my bachelor's degree, well ever since high school for that matter, things have just been happening to me. I never PLAN things. I've attempted to keep planners in school but... nope... they always end up in the back of my closet. Some people are good at planning things like their weeks or their lives. Well, I'm not the planner type of person. Things just happen to me and that's fine. After college graduation, because I'm not good at planning my future, you can imagine how things became overwhelming.

I never even had a dream growing up. People wanted to be singers, doctors, actors. And me... I just like to dabble. I'm the type of person who has many interests and can't commit to one thing, except well Kalan. I know I have the ability to commit to something... just what?! I'm currently still in love with fashion. I'm not sure where it will lead me but I hope its someplace aesthetically pleasing.

I've embraced my whateverness. For as long as I can remember, I've considered myself as a laid back person. When I was little my favorite Disney character was Pocahantas because well she was pretty and because she just went wherever the wind blew her. Some may call it waif-like but I think it's admirable. People like that have less fear than most when doing something. It also reminds me to not do something that doesn't feel right even though society thinks its the right way.

Okay what's my point? I have no point. All I know is that this afternoon I was walking through Seoul Station today alone listening to my ipod and I realized that I was a whole ocean away from home. When I emerged from the subway I walked up the hill to my house and I saw Seoul Tower peering down at me from a clear sky. I smelled smells that, frankly, did not smell anything like home. I heard sounds that were loud and foreign and interesting. And I saw people. Lots of people with different life experiences and different perpectives.

I'm a whole world away from home. Lots of people don't even look past their backyard. That makes me blessed and all I can do is learn from it and make the most of it.

The Snow is Almost Gone

How have I changed since I've moved to Korea? Two words. Acne. Weight.

I'm 17 pounds heavier since I've moved to Korea. It's crazy. I'm not complaining. I stopped obsessing over it about a month ago. I consider it seasonal weight gain and I have no regrets. Yes, it was so cold here that I actually didn't mind gaining a couple pounds to keep me warmer. Winter isn't quite over yet but I've decided that it's time to take control. So I can sit here and type out HOW I'm going to lose the weight, but I figure you don't care and I don't care to type it out. Just know that I'm going to do it slowly and safely.

What's life like nowadays. AJ's mom is playing cards with her friends loudly in the living room, Kalan's playing guitar in the spare room, and I'm here with tissue in my nose typing a blog. Life's good hehe.

Nothing else is really new except I randomly partied with Green Day until 4 in the morning ... :) Hopefully, there will be more random and exciting things that will happen soon.

<333

Sylvia

P.S. I lost my camera at the Green Day concert :/ but my phone still works!

Me in our old apartment.

Moving days. Our lives fit in 8 bags

Funny sweater

Max on bath day

Max in his sweater

Busy day in Seoul

I can't eat no mo...

WE MOVED! AJ's(one of our best friends) parents, The Jones', have a lovely house that is comfortable, spacious, and full of all the scrumptious Korean AND American food one can eat. They also have two huge flat-screen TVs, one on which I watched Canada's Next Top Model hehe guilty, and a dog who immediately lowers stress levels when looking at him.

And after a week of horrible commute experiences, which include freezing while waiting for buses, drunk guy harassing me, falling down the stairs, and being late for work, I decided to cut my time at Direct English even shorter and have this next week be the last. This means after next week there will be no more waking up at 5:40 a.m., no more sleeping the day away, and no more eating dinners at 9:30 p.m. I started my part time transcribing job last Monday. I'm not 100 percent sure on what the company does exactly but my job is to listen to news broadcasts from BBC and NBC and type them out. So far so good.

Tomorrow I am officially a student again, studying Korean intensely, 4 hours a day 5 days a week, at Sookmyung Women's University. I'm excited because 1. I don't care about the grade and 2. I'm going to learn as much Korean as I can. Intensely. I may even make some more fwends. Great investment while I'm here, I'll say.

Now, what next? I can't stop thinking about Thailand ... And I've also been thinking about picking up photography. We'll see..... I've been thinking about a lot of things.

:P

Sylvia

New Found Motivation

Christmas vacation is officially over. Kalan and I just spent two weeks in California (which includes two days in Vegas) and I don't know how to express how much I really needed the break. First off, to see my friends and family was so amazing and fun. The roomies from 8 Merrimac (minus Lowam (next time girl)) were great and took us out for my birthday. We also spent a drunken jacuzzi night in La Verne with Jamie and her roommate Sayaka. We had FOUR Christmases and did tons more and through all the conversations I had with everyone I have a new outlook on my time here in Korea.

Things were getting really frustrating for me before I visited home (aside from my trip to Tokyo and hanging out with friends). Mostly my job hours were waring on me and I was lashing it out on food and Kalan. I wasn't motivated to model. It seemed like the cold was just freezing everything in my life.

But now, things are in motion again and I have a few things to look forward to. First off, January will be my last month at my job. No more split shift and waking up at 5:40am!! I start my new part-time job next week. I'll be transcribing NPR-type radio stories for six hours a week and make my rent plus more. On top of that, I'll be tutoring during my free time.

Also, I'm enrolling in a Korean language program at Sukmyung Women's University. The university is really close to where I'll be moving. We are moving in with our best friends parents who have an extra room, a lovely house, a cute dog AND A DRYER! I'm so excited! Rent is miniscule to what we pay now, we wont have to pay utilities and groceries are included.

Things are definitely in motion and I'm really looking forward to it all. With all my free time I can network and look for jobs in the fashion industry. 2010 will be starting off well and it's exciting to see what the rest of the year will bring. Hopefully, Kalan and I can start careers of some kind lol.

Well that's my update. I'll write again soon.

Love,

Sylvia

Tokyo

Some pics from my trip

Tokyo came and went by way too quickly. Christina and I started off the trip fortunate enough to take a taxi for the same fare as the bus. We got to the airport, checked in, got on our plane, and flew to Narita airport without complication. It was when we got into the first subway/train in Japan when things started to get confusing. Kalan put it best when he told me the subway map looks like a giant bowl of rainbow spaghetti. Yes, the subway was impossible, impractical, and unrealistic but we managed to get to Tokyo station and meet our friend Bill right on time.

Bill is a great guy. He let us stay at his house for two nights while he slept on the floor. It was kind of like a long slumber party because we had conversations about the meaning of life, girls, boys, progrock and other random things. On our first night we went out to eat authentic Japanese ramen and then to a Japanese bar called Damo Damo.

The next day we went to Akihabara which is like this crazy epicenter for video gamers and anime lovers. Also there are these "Costplay" stores with sexy costumes and hobby stores with crazy naked figurines. So to speak, this place was pretty different. But interesting.

Asakusa was our next destination. This area is a little more traditional and touristy (kinda like insadong in Seoul). We hung out for a while and did some sight seeing and then decided to go to a grocery store and eat the free samples at a department store in Shinjuku. Shinjuku is where we met up with some of Bill's friends and visited some local pubs. This area is like Shinchon/Hongik in Korea except more Japanese and more male escorts with fabulous hair.

The next morning we had a late start and a late ramen breakfast before we headed to Ginza where Christina did some shopping and I looked around in awe of all the gigantic beautiful beautiful department stores.

Well, that was pretty much my trip. Short huh? I might go back again in the near future depending on money and a lot of other stuff.

Sylvia