Beware of the Dong-chim!

Korean students are like any other students and enjoy playing jokes on one another.  During my time here, I've become accustomed to the students' rough-housing.  They put each other in headlocks, wrestle one another to the ground and will physically hurt their friends; but they're just playing.  It really shocked me at first, but after I noticed that none of the Korean teachers take any notice to this, I began to get used to it.

Well, there's a special move that Korean kids (boys and girls both) like to use when joking around with friends.  It's called the dong-chim.  Luckily, I have not experienced the dong-chim yet, and nor do I want to.  It literally translates as "poop needle".  The dreaded dong-chim is when Korean kids clasp their hands together into the shape of a gun, run up to an unsuspecting victim and poke his/her butt-hole, and yell "Dong-chim!".  Yes, you heard that right...  Kids stick their gun-shaped fingers into the crack of the victim.  They think it's absolutely hilarious!  (Which it is, as long as you're NOT the one getting fingers to your butt).

You might assume that adults are immune to this childish act because kids would never do that to their teacher, parent, etc, right??  NOT TRUE!  Young or old, boy or girl,  you can fall victim to the dong-chim.  You constantly have to watch your back (I mean ass..) because you are a target if you are not paying attention and you happen to bend over or turn your back.  I have witnessed the dong-chim on a few occasions, and it looks as unpleasant as it sounds.  I'm trying to avoid it at all costs.      

The Dong-chim stance

A comic of the dong-chim being performed

Thanksgiving in Korea

Thanksgiving was different this year.  This was the first year I wasn't home for Thanksgiving.  I've never missed a family holiday before, so this was new for me.

This year, I had to work on Thanksgiving.  It was just a regular day here in Korea.  I was at school, teaching lessons as usual.  There was no Black Friday shopping.  There was no turkey.  There was no decorations around my city or school.  While my mom was talking about Thanksgiving preparations and the family's plans, I had to remind myself that I wasn't going to be there.  It was a little sad, but I reminded myself of how lucky I am to be experiencing this life in Korea.

Since I have other American friends here in Jecheon, all of which were in my same situation, we decided to throw our own Thanksgiving dinner.  Most traditional Thanksgiving food/ingredients we were able to find easily at a local supermarket.  Other things were impossible  to get.  For one, turkey is near impossible to get here; it can be found in big cities like Seoul or Busan, but if you can find it, you better be prepared to pay a hefty price for it.  Therefore, turkey was nixed from our Thanksgiving list.  Instead, we had roasted chicken, which wasn't a bad substitute at all.  Other items we were able to make for our Thanksgiving meal (with no problem) were: mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, rolls, corn, fried chicken, salad, banana cream pie, apple crisp, sangria (wine) and pumpkin soup.

The substitute turkey: roasted chicken!

Things which took a lot of effort and/or outside help to get/make:

• green beans (my friend had a can of these which she saved up for months)
• corn bread (my friend had a packet of mix which she also was saving for this occasion)
• stuffing (had to be legit homemade, no boxes of stuffing here)
• macaroni and cheese (had to be homemade / cheese had to be bought in Seoul at the foreign food market)
• gravy (had to be homemade, no canned gravy here...Koreans have no idea what gravy even is...)
• **pumpkin pie puree cannot be found here, so unfortunately we had no pumpkin pie

Even though it was a lot of work, we successfully pulled off a real Thanksgiving dinner in Korea.  We were working with limited space (a studio apartment) and a small oven (no huge American ovens here).  We all stuffed ourselves, and had tons of leftovers, so the next day we heated everything up and finished it off.  It was amazing!!  I was soooo proud of all of us!  It seemed impossible to do, but we made it happen.  

My friend's apartment and the space we had to work with.  Limited counter space and the oven is the white square on top of the refrigerator.

My plate, filled to the max!

The finished product!

We did it!!!

After our Thanksgiving, I went back to my apartment to Skype my family.  Even though I couldn't be there physically, I was there through Skype (on both occasions...for the Souders' Thanksgiving and the Holland Thanksgiving).  I got to "see" and talk with all my family and it was the next best thing besides being there in person!!  During family holidays, my mom goes picture crazy, and we always get a family picture.  This year was no exception....we still managed to get one! Check it out below!

Annual family Thanksgiving photo! Love you guys!

Korean Basketball League

Like in most countries, sports play a big role in Korea.  Sports are a source of entertainment and people go watch live games just like in the U.S.  The biggest sports in Korea are soccer, baseball, and basketball.  I'm a big sports fan myself, so I've been really wanting to go to a game.  Well today, I got to experience my first professional sports game in Korea!  A few friends and I went to see a professional basketball game.  The Korean Basketball League, or KBL, is the equivalent to the U.S. NBA.  The KBL consists of 10 Korean teams.  They play a regular season and have a championship at the end of the season, just like the NBA.

To get to the game, we took a bus to Wonju, a city about 45 minutes away from where we live.  Wonju is home to the Dongbu Promy's professional basketball team.  Tickets were extremely cheap! Courtside seats were around $28!!!  Courtside seats were sold out when we bought tickets, but we still got really, really good seats for $12.50!  Our seats were 4 rows from the court, and we were right behind the opposing team's bench!

There were tents set up outside the arena with street food, so we grabbed a bite to eat before the game.  I got a popcorn chicken and coke combo; it comes in one cup.  The soda is in the bottom of the cup, and a plastic dish sits on top of the cup for the chicken.  It was a really clever concoction!  Concessions inside the arena were super cheap as well.  They had cotton candy, soda, popcorn, candy, etc.  In the U.S, it would be normal for soda to be like $5-6, but luckily Korean concession prices aren't inflated. :)

       Chicken and Coke combo in one convenient cup!  

Wonju Arena: Home of the Dongbu Promy

The announcer introducing the players!

The tipoff!

Once inside the stadium, we found our seats and watched both teams warm-up (shooting around, doing layups, etc.)  On our seats were complimentary signs for the game that said something like, "Go Dongbu".  Both teams had 2-3 foreign players; all of the foreign players were American, except one (we looked up the roster).  Our favorite foreign player was Chris Moss.  He was one of the better players on Dongbu's team and was a crowd favorite.  After a player scores, the crowd chants their name a few times.  Chris Moss scored a lot, so the crowd would chant "Moss-uh", "Moss-uh". (Koreans tend to add the "uh" sound to some words...it's just a part of their Korean/English accent.)  There were some chants we were able to join in on throughout the game.  For example, the crowd would yell, "Defense" and "Goal in".  We also noticed that each team had a translator.  During time-outs, the translator would translate what the coach was saying to the foreign players.  

Our complimentary "Go Dongbu" signs!

The game consisted of 4, 10-minute quarters.  The teams were not as good as in the U.S, but they were decent.  The atmosphere was amazing though.  It was funny to hear the Korean fans yelling and cheering.  We were even lucky enough to see a few dunks!  There were also cheerleaders who would dance and cheer during time-outs.  During different parts of the game, the cheerleaders would pass out food to the fans who cheered the loudest.  They passed out Pizza Hut pizzas, Outback Steakhouse takeout, and threw basketballs into the stands.  The girls sitting by us were given one of the pizzas and they were kind enough to share with us. :)  During half-time, there was a half-court shooting contest and a head-banging contest (random, I know...but so entertaining!).  We also got to see the Kiss-Cam!  No game is complete without the Kiss-Cam.  Half-time was extra special because we witnessed a Korean proposal!!!  A guy came to the center of the court and professed his love to his girlfriend, who came down to the court from where she was sitting, and accepted his proposal!  It was really cool to see!

Game Time

During a timeout.

The game went into overtime, but Dongbu ended up losing.  After the game, you can wait for the players to come out of the locker room to get autographs.  We waited, but only one player came out; my friend grabbed his autograph though.  I already can't wait to go see another game! 

     

K-Pop: The Biggest Thing in Music the U.S. Doesn't Know About

K-Pop.  It's short for Korean Pop Music.  It's also the biggest sensation in the world (yes, the WORLD) that America doesn't know about yet.  I had no idea what K-Pop was before I came to Korea, but I quickly found out.  

In the United States, we have Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus taking up the majority of the time on the pop radio stations.  We also have a wide variety of music that people like: pop, rock, oldies, country, etc.  Well, in Korea, they have K-Pop music and K-Pop bands: Big Bang, G-Dragon, Crayon Pop, Girl's Generation, JYJ, etc.  It's all that the younger generations listen to. Pop music is literally all that I have heard since being here.  It's HUGELY popular.  At school, I constantly hear student's singing K-Pop music; the band Crayon Pop and G-Dragon seem to be the most popular among them right now.  While I can't understand what the songs are saying, a lot of the K-Pop music I've heard has a really catchy beat.  Many songs also contain a few phrases of English! 

Some U.S. artists are popular in Korea as well.  For example, Justin Bieber's tour came to S. Korea recently.  But, from what I've noticed, Korea doesn't need any help from the American music industry, because K-Pop seems to be doing just fine.  It's even gaining popularity worldwide, but hasn't quite reached U.S. mainstream audiences just yet.  To introduce you to some K-Pop music, I've put a couple links below, so have a listen!

 

Crayon Pop.  They're biggest hit is "Bar Bar Bar".  It has a catchy dance to it and even some English phrases you'll be able to sing along to! Here's a link to it:

http://youtu.be/2eZHdYWhd-E 

 G-Dragon

Geeks

One of my favorite K-Pop songs I've heard since being here is "Officially Missing You" by the Geeks.  You can check it out here:

http://youtu.be/0TPCc-sTL_4

Paragliding in Danyang

A couple weekends ago, I traveled to Danyang, a city about 35 minutes away from Jecheon, with my friend Megan.  I have visited Seoul numerous times now, so Megan decided to make the trip to Jecheon to see my life outside of Seoul.  Megan and I decided to go paragliding because I had a group of friends go recently and it sounded amazing.  If you know me well, you won't be surprised that I wanted to do this because I'm always up for anything that involves a thrill (roller coasters, skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, etc).

What we thought was going to be a nice, relaxing day turned into quite the ordeal...

Once we took a bus to Danyang, I had to go to an ATM because the paragliding was cash-only.  Well, the ATM wouldn't allow me to take cash out because I entered the wrong pin number too many times.  Luckily, Megan was nice enough to pay for me (thanks, girl!).  We then had to take a taxi to the bottom of the paragliding mountain, and then we were picked up by the company van which took us to the top.  At the top of the mountain was a shack covered with plexi-glass and a huge blue tarp.  My first reaction was, "What the hell is this?", because this cannot be the paragliding place.  I definitely thought it would look a bit more professional, but it wasn't...(picture is below)

To make up for the appearance of the shack was the beautiful view from the top of the mountain.  We went when the leaves were still beautiful shades of orange, yellow, red and green.  Along with the river that runs through Danyang, it was a very picturesque sight!

After paying, we had to suit up for our big flight.  We each had a paragliding professional with us that suited up us with shin guards, a helmet, gloves, and a backpack thing that pops into a seat once you're in flight.  Once we were suited up, it started to rain.  Go figure.  The one day we picked to go because the forecast predicted clear, warm(ish) weather, it rains.  We didn't have anything better to do than to go sit in the shack and hang out with the paragliding staff (which consisted of a few men in their 50s and a couple other random people).  This unexpected lull in our plans turned into a karaoke party!  Koreans love karaoke and have businesses called "Norae-bongs" that you can rent rooms and just sing karaoke.  So while it was raining outside, all of us in the paragliding shack were singing karaoke.  Megan was given the microphone and she asked my advice on what song to sing.  The only song I knew that I knew would definitely be a hit with everyone was "Dancing Queen" by Abba.  So here we were hanging out at the top of a mountain, in a shack, with a bunch of Koreans, singing karoake... It was so random, but so much fun!

45 minutes later...

It eventually quit raining, and we were again cleared to take the leap.  Once again, we put on all of the necessary equipment and then had to wait about 10 minutes for the wind to blow the right direction.  In order to take off, you have to sprint down the cliff (with the professional attached to you, of course!) until the parachute catches enough wind to lift you up.  Some people that went before us had to take off 2 or 3 times because their initial sprint wasn't good enough.  I must've been good enough, because I ran down the cliff with no hesitations and was soon seated into my make-shift seat/backpack enjoying the ride.  It was simply amazing!! The professional steers the parachute, but at one point he left me grab the reigns and steer.  He also did some tricks like tipping us sideways and such.  I figured I could trust him because he said he had been paragliding for 17 years (with only 1 accident on his track record..).  We were in flight for about 12 minutes or so.  The landing was surprisingly smooth.  I had to put my legs directly straight out in front of me and land on my butt.  It really was an amazing time and I already want to do it again!  (There's a video of the landing below)

The sketchy shack that is the home of the paragliding business.

View from the top of the cliff

Just after we landed!  We started at the top of the mountain in the background.

The Landing

Seoul Adventures and the DMZ

November 18th will mark my 3-month mark in  South Korea.  Time has been flying by!  My job has obviously been keeping me busy, but I've also been busy on the weekends traveling to Seoul, exploring Jecheon, hiking mountains, or doing other various activities.  Korea has so much to see and do that I don't want to waste any time!  

Seoul: 

I have been to Seoul quite a few times since I've been here.  It's extremely easy to get to Seoul from Jecheon by train or bus, and really cheap as well (like $18-25 roundtrip!).  Getting to Seoul takes a little under two hours from Jecheon, and the route there is quite scenic so it makes for a relaxing ride.  It also helps that I have a friend who lives and teaches English in Seoul that lets me crash at her apartment whenever I need to!  Her name is Megan, she's from Ohio, and we happened to be roommates during orientation.  

My first trip to Seoul was during Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving.  I had a 5-day holiday, and Megan and I spent it doing all the typical touristy things in Seoul.  Some of the sites we saw included: 

• Seoul/Namsan Tower (it resembles the Seattle Space Needle), 
• Insadong (the most traditional Korean street market in Seoul), 
• a trick-eye and ice museum, 
• Seoul Land (an amusement park, and those that know me well know that I never say no to a roller coaster!), 
• Banpo Bridge (it has fountain and lights show each night), 
• tandem bike riding along the Han River

Insadong: man making rice cakes

Banpo Bridge light/fountain show

tandem bike riding along the Han River

Seoul Land amusement park

Seoul/Namsan Tower

At the top of Seoul Tower looking out towards Missouri! 

It was a holiday packed full of exploring Seoul, Korea's largest city and home to 10 million people. 

DMZ:

One weekend in October, I went with three friends to tour the Koream DMZ, or demilitarized zone.  This is better known as the border of North and South Korea, and is the most heavily armed border in the world.  Both Korean and American troops guard the border of S. Korea.  Before you freak out (or you might've already..), if it wasn't safe to tour, then the military would obviously not be giving tours in the first place.  To get to the border, we had to take an hour long bus ride from Seoul to Camp Barnafas military base.  Once on the base, we were shown a short powerpoint and video regarding the long and uneasy history between North Korea and South Korea.  Then, our tour group was escorted by a soldier to the building where North and South Korea meet to discuss relations.  Technically, one half of the building is N. Korean territory and one half is S. Korean territory.  There are always two guards inside the building that do not move (they reminded me of the Buckingham Palace guards).  Outside of the that building, the group was heavily monitored and we were told that we could not make any sudden movements, such as raising our hands, because it could be seen as propaganda towards N. Korea.  Directly in front of us was a N. Korean building with a N. Korean guard that kept looking at us through his binoculars.  

We then took a bus ride to another point of the DMZ to walk through one the tunnels that N. Korea had dug to surprise attack S. Korea in the 1970s.  The tunnel was very narrow and short, and I had to duck my head several times while walking through it.  After the tunnel, we were again escorted to a look-out point where we could see into N. Korea.  When looking over into N. Korea, one the first things you notice is that all the mountains are completely bare.  No trees, bushes, or grass in sight.  I was also able to get a glimpse of Propaganda Village.  Propaganda Village is a town built by N. Korea in the 1950s to lure/trick S. Koreans into defecting into N. Korea.  It is made up of schools, apartment buildings, restaurants and other buildings common to a regular town; but, Propaganda Village has never been inhabited, instead, the buildings sit empty.  It was used to make S. Koreans believe that they could have a good life in N. Korea.

Also on the DMZ tour, my group went to Dorasan Station.  Dorasan Station was set up as a railway system to connect South Korea with North Korea.  Dorasan Station was built at a time when both countries were getting along, but before the station could officially open and start running, the countries fell back into their tension-filled relationship.  Dorasan Station sits empty, except for the tours that come through.  

The room where North and South Korean officials meet to discuss affairs.  The left side is the S. Korean side.

The gray building directly in front is N. Korean territory, and a N. Korean soldier was watching our group  from his binoculars.  The blue building on the left is the outside of the meeting room.

Dorasan Station

The best view of N. Korea that I was able to get.  Picture-taking was really restricted.   The buildings in the distance make up Propaganda Village.

Annyeounghaseyo: Learning Korean

When I began telling people that I was moving to Korea, I was always asked whether or not I knew Korean....and the answer was a big, fat NO.  I didn't even know how to say a simple "hello" when I arrived here.  I know it wasn't the smartest decision I ever made, and I really should have taken a little time to learn a few phrases before I got here, but I didn't.  Some people would be terrified to go to a foreign country where they don't speak the native language, but I can tell you from personal experience that it isn't as difficult to get around as it may seem.  Being able to speak English is something we all take for granted everyday, but we're actually extremely lucky to be able to call English our first language.  Native English speakers can go ANYWHERE in the world and 99.9% of the time can expect to find someone who knows at least a little bit of English.  People whose native language is not English usually choose to study English as a foreign language.  For example, in the U.S. if a person chooses to study a foreign language, it's most likely going to be Spanish, because of our close proximity to Mexico; well, if you live anywhere else in the world (Europe, Asia, Middle East...) and you choose to study a foreign language, it's most likely going to be English, because it is quickly becoming the gateway language of the world.  On the other hand, if you grew up in Germany (speaking German, of course!), and you want to travel to South Korea (or any non-German speaking country for that matter), you would have a terrible time finding someone that speaks German to help you out.  So let's all take a moment to be thankful that we speak a language that allows us so many opportunities, especially when going abroad.

So back to me not knowing any Korean....

For the past few weeks, I have been taking Korean language lessons with about 8 other native English teachers that also live in my city.  We are taught by a fellow English teacher who happens to be Korean-Canadian (she was born in Korea and then moved to Canada in elementary school, so she is bilingual----something I aspire to be one day!).  The Korean language is not easy to learn, for obvious reasons.  For one, the Korean alphabet, known as Hangeul, uses symbols instead of western-style letters found in languages like English and Spanish.  So no A, B, C, or D.  Hangeul contains 14 consonants and 10 vowels.  Each consonant and vowel has its own sound, and words are spelled exactly how they sound (which can't be said for English).  So after 3 weeks of Korean lessons, I can already read and write Korean because I've memorized each symbol and its sound.  While it may sound impressive that I can already read and write within a few weeks of learning, don't be fooled; I can read and write, but that doesn't mean I know the meaning of the words I'm reading...  But, I have learned a few phrases/words that I am able to speak without hesitation.  These include: Hello, My name is Kylee, I am American, I am foreign, Yes, No, Teacher, dog, downtown, I like..., I don't like...

And, the list can only grow from here!

The Korean alphabet known as Hangeul

Kylee (in Korean), pronounced Kah-eel-lee because there is no "I" sound in Hangeul

Some words are the same in English and Korean, too.  Here's a few words that are the same in both languages: bus, game, radio, banana, pineapple, television, piano, Canada, air conditioner, medical clinic, menu, supermarket, camera, and ice cream (and if you know me well, you know that this is an important one for me to know!!)  Also, my students love to say "Oh my god!"because they hear it in movies and songs, and the phrase has pretty much been adopted into the Korean language now.

There is also Konglish.  Konglish is English words that have been adopted into Korean culture but have a different meaning/definition than what we would think.
Konglish examples (the Korean meaning is in parenthesis, and you should know the English meaning):
> glamour (a woman's bust)
>cider (Sprite)
>jelly (gummy bears/worms)
>Burberry (a trenchcoat)
>one room (a studio apartment)
>cunning (cheating)

Some signs I saw in Seoul that were in English but made no sense!!!  It is actually quite common for Korean advertisements, clothing, etc. to have English writing on it, but many times it is just a bunch of English words put together that don't make sense when combined!  

This is just a little insight into the Korean language that I've learned thus far.  My goal is to learn enough Korean to be able to have a basic conversation with my fellow teachers at my school...wish me luck!  I guess you have to start somewhere..  

  

Korean Heating

Today is the first day since being in South Korea (still can't believe I'm really here!) that I have had to turn on the heat in my apartment.  I guess you could say winter is quickly approaching.  So you might be wondering why I'm writing a blog post about the heat, right?  Well, it just so happens that the Korean heating system comes through the floor.  It was the strangest feeling tonight when I walked on the floor and there was instant warmth on my feet!  Guess what that means???  No stepping on cold hardwood floors this winter!  I think maybe the U.S. should take a hint from Korea on how to do heating the right way...

(Don't worry, my floor is clean because you're not allowed to wear shoes inside the apartment.  All shoes must be left at the door.)

Up until now, I've not been able to say anything that I will truly miss about Korea when I decide to leave, but this heated floors phenomenon just broke that trend because this is definitely something I will be begging for once I'm back stateside!

The Beginning...

About time I started this blog, right?  Well, as I always say, better late than never!

For starters, here are a few quick facts about my journey and life so far:

The beginning of my adventure began in March 2013, when I started filling out the EPIK (English Program in Korea) application.....it was a slow (but worthwhile!) process..

I left St. Louis Lambert airport on Aug.17 at 7am, and after a connecting flight in Chicago, IL, I arrived in Incheon/Seoul airport at 4pm on Aug. 18.  It was approximately a 21-hour journey (now who wants to come visit me?) .

I have officially been an "alien" of the Republic of South Korea for 45 days and counting..

I live in Jecheon-si City, which resides in Chungcheongbuk-do province, the only landlocked province in South Korea.  Jecheon has a population of around 140,000 people.  It is nicknamed the "Healing City".

Jecheon has a beautiful lake on the outskirts of the city, called Urimji Lake.

Many people have told me that Jecheon is the coldest city in South Korea.  I do not have factual evidence of this, but it's a good thing that cold weather is my favorite nonetheless.

There are around 35 other foreign English teachers in Jecheon.  They hail from all parts of the world, including Ireland, the UK, United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa!

I teach at Jungang Elementary School, which serves K-6th grades.  I also teach all grades, K-6th.  

My school is a 1/2 mile from my apartment and I walk there everyday.  My working hours are 9am-6pm.

I never EVER thought that I would one-day be a teacher; after all, my degree is in International Business with an English minor.  But, there is no denying that ecstatic feeling I get when my students say "Hello Kylee Teacher" and "See you later".  Don't get me wrong though, I will NEVER teach in the U.S.

I have 2 co-teachers at my school: So-Seong, 26, and Rora, 44.  Rora is my main co-teacher, which means we work together to plan lessons and we co-teach in the classroom.  She speaks great English, which I am so very thankful for!

On the other hand, I do not speak Korean, but I am picking up some useful phrases here and there which are making life a little easier.  I am taking Korean language lessons every Wednesday though.  For everything else, there's Google translate on the iPhone.

My biggest complaint so far?  Korean food.  There are a few things I like, but most things I just don't like.  You have to give me props for trying everything though! The main problem is that a lot of Korean food is spicy, and I just can't handle spicy.

I often try foods here that I have no idea what I'm putting into my mouth; which is why I recently found out I've been eating anchovies for lunch (surprisingly, they're not too bad..)

Koreans do know how to make some delicious fried chicken though.

On the other hand, I am finding that I like foods that I would never eat in the U.S.  For example, I hate bananas.  I can't even remember the last time I tried a banana in the U.S.  In Korea, I LOVE bananas!  My hypothesis for this sudden change in tastebuds is that I eat anything that is familiar, therefore it tastes good.

My city does have some familiar restaurants, including Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Quizno's and Baskin-Robbins.

Korean age is different than American age.  In the U.S., I am 22 years old.  In Korea, I am 24 years old.  Koreans determine age like this: 1) the day you were born, you were 1 year old, 2) the following new year, you were 2 years old, 3) you turn one year older on every birthday after that.  For example, I was born on Dec. 2, making me 1 year old the day I was born.  One month later, on Jan. 2, I was 2 years old because of the new year.  Crazy, huh???

North Korea is a threat to South Korea, but to tell you the truth, South Koreans don't give a shit about  North Korea's menacing antics.  They have been hearing about them for 50+ years and simply don't care anymore.


Despite what some people believe, Korea IS NOT a third-world country, and my city has everything I could possibly want or need (except maybe a dryer..)

Thus far, this country and its people have been nothing but welcoming to me and I love it.

Only 46 more weeks to go!


I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure thus far...look out for the next installment (coming much sooner than this one did!)