Current City: Philadelphia

here's to blogging more regularly

2011-02-26T17:15:00.004-05:00

Blog, sorry for neglecting you and only coming to write dramatic entries haha... perhaps I am being influenced by a certain friend from the West Coast w/ a flair for the dramatic ;)

I've been told I laugh a lot, which is true, but its genuine laughter! Well, most of the time haha. My brother has called me a weirdo for laughing and commenting while watching stuff even if no one else is in the room -_- I shall try to share the things that make me laugh/smile more on this blog!

I've also been thinking about making a tumblr.. yikes... not that I don't love blogspot, but I feel like its easier to do short updates and therefore I might update more regularly. Hm.. I'm not really sure why I'm even talking about this right now as no one probably cares haha.

Ah well. Time to go eat dinner! Byebye virtual world :)

Long Time No Update

2011-02-21T23:09:00.004-05:00

It's been too long...sorry for neglecting you blog. And sorry this is gonna be a short entry.

I feel drained. There's too much going on... Give me strength Lord.

hear my prayer, give Your ear
in Your faithfulness answer me
in Your righteousness do not judge
for no one is righteous

teach me to do Your will Lord
for you are my God
Your Spirit is good good good
lead me on level ground Lord
for You are my God
Your Spirit is good
it is good

revive me, revive me
not for me but for Your name
in Your mercy deliver me from my enemies
revive me

i rememebr days of old
Your works i meditate oh Lord
i consider all the works of Your hands
i lift up my hands to you
my soul longs

Psalm 143 (Revive Me) - Shane & Shane

Thanksgiving break is a trick!!

2010-11-30T11:10:00.003-05:00

As I sit here in the library,
missing class to do work for my next class
and wishing I could pass out on my bed,
I get sad thinking about last 3 weeks of the semester :(

Not just because my senior year will be half way over
but because sleepless nights of work await me,
and take up all my time so I can't enjoy time with others!

Everyone's all excited during the time leading up to Thanksgiving break,
for those few days to eat, sleep, and rest...
but when you come back...

BAM!!!

time to turn in final projects & papers and prepare for finals!
Those few days of relaxation
(which aren't really so relaxing since you are running around everywhere w/ family & friends)
give you a tantalizing taste of freedom
only to take it away again :(

I sound like a crazy, paranoid person :/

Stuffing & Thanks

2010-11-25T14:16:00.004-05:00

I'm waiting around for my family to come. This year they're coming over at 4 today, we seem to be eating earlier and earlier haha. Our Thanksgiving feast will include two turkeys (one from Giant and one from Whole Foods), three types of stuffing (my mom ordered some from Giant, my one cousin is bringing some from Boston Market, and my other cousin is making it), and an assortment of other American and Korean food :)

The picture above was taken a little over a year ago...man, little did I know what was in store for me for the remainder of 2009. Ah so crazy how much has happened this past year. Time is going so fast now!! I wasn't really looking forward to this school year, but I'm thankful for all the people who have put a :) on my face and given me advice/listened to me stress haha. Most importantly, "I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king” (Daniel 2:23). I am thankful to have peace and direction in this world of chaos and darkness.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Edit: There was actually only one type of stuffing at our feast :( but it was delicious, homemade stuffing!! :)

Working Through a Senior Year Crisis

2010-11-06T15:17:00.002-04:00

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight"

Proverbs 3:5

happy mini me

Ah, it felt so good to have a nice long 2+ hour brunch today...haven't had one of those for a while. Us grandma seniors and sophomores sat around talking about elementary & middle school days. Topics included: good books we read (Boxcar children!), cakes & flowers for "becoming a woman" HAHA, using rice instead of glue for our school projects, and for one person, racing not boys, not girls, but men at the track and beating them when she was in middle school hahhahaha. Such good carefree days!! I miss reading for fun, I used to read like crazy when I was younger...

We also talked about looming post-college life :( I've been mad stressed about the future and feeling indecisive, but I'm finally starting to accept that I can't plan everything out right now. I make a schedule every night for what I'm going to do the next day. I don't necessarily stick to it, but I really enjoy making schedules and knowing I have a plan haha. I also really like making lists (hence the name of the blog). I've been trying to schedule the rest of my post-college life b/c I feel like I have to plan everything out right now and know each step, even though I can't really control what's going to happen.

happy & optimistic at my sixth grade graduation

stressed out & getting yogurt pretzels from Subin at 2 am to fuel my thesis proposal writing process :(

I've realized I am way too indecisive and need to trust in God! Life after college is not the end of the world, and I know I'm probably gonna look back on this time 5 years from now and think about how foolish and unnecessarily stressed out I was haha. Until now, I thought I had a set plan for my future, but I realized I have to be flexible and open to other options. These past few weeks definitely made me see that I have a lot of growing up to do. Even though I know things will probably get crazy second semester, I will find my peace in the Lord and trust that He will guide me...

Darn You Bryn Mawr Bubble!

2010-10-27T17:15:00.003-04:00

I've watched this at least 4 times now...

I am the naive blond girl in the above video -_-

I was talking to an alum about Bryn Mawr recently, and she was saying how it doesn't prepare you for the real world. Right now, I'm all "I love sociology!" and "It's going to be so nice if I become a professor!" But i'm also going to be poor...working like a slave...having no time...or health benefits.

Ugh. I'm sucha optomistic, naive college students! Whose about to leave the Bryn Mawr bubble! Darn bubble...making me all interested in sociology and not preparing me for the real world (where people don't care about other people and being p.c.). And darn liberal arts education.

Hmm...what to do? Keep studying because I enjoy it and be poor, or just try to get a job so I can get moneyz and not be poor and a slave?

an all too familiar vicious cycle

2010-09-29T15:07:00.001-04:00

I forget where I found this, but as I sit here procrastinating and putting off starting a project that is due tomorrow, I decided it was an appropriate time to post this cartoon haha :)

Every New Semester:

After First Week:

After Second Week:

Before the Mid-Term Test:

During the Mid-Term Test:

After the Mid-Term Test:
Before the Final Exams:
Once Get to Know the Final Exam Schedule:
7 Days Before the Final Exam:
6 Days Before the Final Exam:

5 Days Before the Final Exam:
4 Days Before the Final Exam:
3 Days Before the Final Exam:
2 Days Before the Final Exam:
1 Day Before the Final Exam:
The Night Before the Final Exam:
1 Hour Before the Final Exam:
During the Final Exam:
Once Walk Out From the Examination Hall:
After the Final Exam, During the Holiday:

Many things on my mind, but haven't gotten around to sitting and blogging it out haha, but will soon! Anywho, my goal for this semester is to finish a paper before the day its due. Then, I will celebrate. Wahooooo. Okay, I should really get to work now...

but probably won't =/

hello senior year

2010-09-13T23:28:00.005-04:00

ah...i thought I had a game plan coming into this year. I was supposed to be on top of all my work, study hard for GREs, prepare for all my future stuff, and be an anti-social hermit. Unfortunately, I'm behind on my work, haven't taken a single GRE practice test, and am not meeting my goals!

post-college life is looming :(

i don't know if i'm cut out for this stuff.

ah.

must. get. this. done.

i like bulldogs

2010-09-06T17:46:00.007-04:00

I know most people don't really like bulldogs, but they're so cute! At lease the little ones haha. I decided to start blogging again and this is my first entry in almost 2 months. I will be posting exciting updates about my life as a hermit senior who is tryna stay on top of all her stuff. This entry is probably as exciting as its gonna get haha. Enjoy!

I think this last one is adorable, but some people disagree *ahem. I think this little guy expresses my feelings on getting through senior year and having to leave college :/

these are a few of my favorite things...la la la~

2010-07-12T13:20:00.000-04:00

So...

I have one week to translate a 25 page article of academic writing from Korean to English.

-_-

Life is hard.

I must also do many annotated bibs. Its the last week of my internship and my second to last week in Busan. This article has become a large dark cloud following me around. It took me a day to get through 3 pages...I am doomed.

One of the professor's daughters and a 3-week-old baby from her church.

Here's a list of stuff that makes me smile that I made a while back but never got around to posting. I shall try to be positive and focus on the things on the list to ease the suffering of translating this darn article (hm...sounds passive-aggressive haha):

good weather
sleeping in
mini things!
watching a good movie
reading a good book
blueberries
oatmeal
dark chocolate
surprises
thoughtful gestures
making someone happy
sunsets
sunrises
late night talks
finally getting to sleep after being sleep deprived
baking (and now cooking)
getting a good deal on something
free things hehe
extensions
getting caught in the rain & not minding it
good hair days
patbingsoo (i like ice)
accomplishing something
spontaneity
brunch
wandering around cities
lists
a good laugh :)
and.....babies!!

I feel like a chameleon moving from place to place, but I'm ready to settle down for senior year. I will miss Busan and the people though :( Btw I shall no longer be posting my blog updates as my facebook status so visit or subscribe for updates! I shall try to blog more regularly...we shall see what happens haha. It's a mystery! So my five (give or take) loyal readers, be alert! ;)

old but young (and Taiwan pictures)

2010-06-25T11:43:00.002-04:00

Another day older, and officially another year as well haha. Thank you for the birthday wishes everyone! :) I'm thankful for family and friends who make my birthday special, but honestly, I don't really have much interest in celebrating it anymore. One thing I do like about my birthday is that it is in the middle of the year. Along with New Year's, these are the two occasions that I really sit down and think about the past year. It's only during these times that I realize how much has happened and changed during that time.

When I say I'm (we're) getting old, even though we're still young, I mean old in regards to age and maturity (i.e., responsibilities). If I live to be 80, God willing, I'm already more than a quarter done with my life! Especially with senior year coming up, I feel the responsibilities piling up and need to prepare for the future. As my senior pastor always says, we must lead a 준비인생, a ready life. It seems like people aren't really preparing for anything, but taking life for granted, assuming that there always will be a tomorrow or next time. I sometimes wonder if people really take life seriously (this includes myself). If we live for the moment, living for the world, it will always disappoint us. Instead, we must live for that which is not of this world, the only way to true happiness and peace :)

"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'" [Ecclesiastes 12:1]

Anywho, I have been enjoying my time in Busan, but before coming here, I stopped by Taipei for 6 days and had a very good time! Taiwan has indeed touched my heart (see MV below) <3>

Here are some of my pictores from the trip :)

My hostel, eight elephants, so hard to find! The address is broken down by street, lane, and then alley! I only took one picture, but i would recommend it! Good location, clean, and friendly staff :)

Cutie cynthiar, my tour guide (and peng you). Milk tea with pearls, aka mini bubbles ^^ (honestly regular size bubbles taste better but o well haha and cyn I like Come Buy better too)

Random street near my hostel. I visited the National Palace Museum because I felt like I should. The visit served to confirm the fact that I do not enjoy going to museums haha.

Students performing at Ximen (cynthia described it as the trendy area where all the teenyboppers hang out). Din Tai Fung for its famous xiao long bao, which was indeed very yummy. The staff (along with most Taiwanese ppl) was really friendly too!

Pandas on our heads :) Second pic is from the Shida night market. I love night markets! The cheap yummy food, gajillion stores, people watching...its mad crowded though as you can see from the picture.

Chillin by Bitan bridge at night and Danshui on a drizzly day <3

On a random note, when I started this blog, I meant to update pretty regularly (every few days) with short fun updates about my travels and my life, and maybe a 2-3 pictures per post. I did not not want to have looong entries that were more analytical (some may call this "boring") and took time to scroll through, since I'm usually too lazy to look at those kind entries myself haha. But...thats what my blog has become. Ah well! Hope y'all enjoy it anyway :)

Florence-Chianti-Rome

2010-05-25T17:25:00.002-04:00

Ciao! I feel refreshed after a wonderful 12 days at home, family, friends, and food! Too much eating out -_- It was good to catch up with people though. I feel like the people themselves didn't change, but circumstances did, if that makes sense. We're all getting older! Everyone's starting to finish college, start working, crazy! :O It was nice hanging out, strolling around Philly, graduations, busy busy!

For now, I'm back in London, jet lagged and putting off studying for my last final tomorrow (I guess not everything has changed haha). But once I'm done, I'm freeee! Then I shall fly off to Taiwan on Friday to join Cynthia and her mosquito friends and try to stay cool in the hot hot heat while eating yummy cheap food :P Then off to Busan to research with a professor and live with his family! Wahoo!!

Now...here are some very late Italy pictures haha. They're from the second half of April, just a little late...I shall try to keep this blog better updated in the summer. I wonder if I will keep blogging when my travels stop...we'll see!

Florence (Firenze):

Owls! As I was walking through the market, Vendor: You need something? Bag? Jacket? Boyfriend? Italian lover? Another vendor reading my shirt that said "work hard love hard": "work hard f*** hard?"Ah yes...harassment all over the world. Isn't it sad that its kinda expected now just walking down a street?

Near one of the famous bridges in Florence. Mozzarella and tomato sandwich!

This picture cracks me up haha the way our heads stick out :) Random neighborhood in Florence

Eunice the photographer. One of our dishes at a nice restaurant we ate at. I like how they don't rush you out after you eat, Italians are so chill!

The Korean hostel I stayed at. The ahjooma woke us up at 7 am and made sure we all ate breakfast -_- It was a lot cleaner than regular hostels, and I met interesting people including an unni from Busan who was gonna go to London soon, so we exchanged tips :) The Duomo (i always pronounced the name wrong -_-)...the spot everyone meets in Florence.

Chianti (region in Tuscany):

Little did we know what awaited us that day...

We went on a 2.5 hour hike all over these hills. The scenery was nice but the group was strugglin haha. Oh we were with a bunch of ppl btw, but we kept lagging behind and taking pictures hehe

It rained the day before and our shoes got crazy muddy! You can't really see from the pictures, but those shoes were spotted brown like a cow after haha

The Italian villa (from the 1600s) we ate at for lunch! It was really nice, except it was mad cold and there was a big crazy dog that attacked a smaller one, as in literally attacked, it was biting its neck and outta control! :(

Tuscan bread has no salt (read mad bland) but the meat (salami, prosciutto, etc.) is saltier to balance it. Pesto pasta.

Rome (Roma):

I was tired and wanted an espresso, but was also craving gelato. Then I found this!! It's like a gourmet gelati, layered whip cream and frozen espresso (as in strong espresso, not just flavored). Perfect! And the second picture is a random lil band playing music at a piazza hehe

Cannolis! Mini ones! Eunice cooked us a yummy pasta dinner at her apartment :P

I walked around in circles looking for this bakery to buy get this famous pistachio cookie I read about in some guide books, only to realize I had passed it multiple times an hour ago -_- O well...the cookie was good haha but mad expensive! The second picture is the top of the pantheon, which has a big ol' hole. You can't really tell how huge it is, but I guess you can see the sunlight at least haha.

The Colosseum is smack dab in the middle of a street haha so random! Espressos...tiny but dangerous.

Being classy at a cute restaurant in Trastevere (those are breaded olives she's holding btw). Trastevere neighborhoods at night.

I didn't do much in Italy in terms of siteseeing, just walked around and people watched mostly haha. But I enjoyed my time, it was relaxing. I know most people think I wasted my time by not going to all the historic/famous spots and they want to go see it, but if you're going for the sake of going or to have said you've gone, is it really worth it?

Okie dokies must get some much needed sleep and get this sucker (final) over with. Then pack and ahhh blur blur. Life is a blur. Okie dokes...Ciao for now!

catch me if you can...

2010-04-28T12:28:00.001-04:00

My year thus far and beyond:

01/01 - 01/08: Home
01/09 - 04/05: London
04/06 - 04/10: Paris
04/11 - 04/14: London
04/15 - 04/18: Florence
04/18 - 04/22: Rome
04/22 - 05/18: London
05/18 - 05/25: Home :)
05/25 - 05/31: London
06/01 - 06/04: Taiwan to see Cynthiar!
06/05 - 07/??: Busan ^^
? - 08/09(ish): Seoul
08/16 - 08/20: KPCHV retreat
08/30: And senior year begins...

Man this year has been and will continue to be a whirlwind. I'm tired thinking about it already haha. Working is hard. And so is playing.

Btw does anyone else have the problem of "aeroplane" ears? I definitely get it when the plane is landing. I am not looking forward to all this flying :(

Korean Studies

2010-04-23T14:15:00.008-04:00

Growing up Korean in America has been both enlightening and frustrating at times. I was born and raised in the U.S. and speak English fluently, but my "Americaness" has always been questioned. I wasn't sure how to feel about this when I was younger, but have come to better understand it through my studies (and more importantly through faith). While I identified as Korean growing up, it wasn't until senior year of high school that I started getting interested in Korean society (via kpop and kdramas haha). Especially after taking classes on East Asia and Asian American studies, I became interested in more important aspects of Korean culture. As part of the Korean diaspora, I wanted to better understand Korean culture so as to understand "Korean American" culture. While Korean Americans may feel that they don't fully "belong" to Korean or American culture, I am thankful for the somewhat objective or outsider perspective I am able to have on both cultures.

One of my main areas of interest is the Korean diaspora and Korean society. There's definitely a lot of stuff I love about Korea, but there are also many things that make me worried, sad, and disgusted at times. These are some of the Korea related topics I want to explore more in the future:

gender inequality
class disparity
hierarchy (sunbae-hoobae system) & the abuse of it
suicide (highest rates in the OECD)
education & schools (high costs and crazy competition)
regionalism
the role of military in shaping culture
sex (industry, affairs, etc.) --> 1 in 10 men in the world have purchased a prostitute, 1 in 5 Korean men pay for sex more than 4 times a month (see more stats on prostitution)
intense working culture (Korean men work the longest hours in the world)
superficiality (plastic surgery anyone?) & body image
consumerism

I've been meaning to use this blog to write more things on my mind (and in my moleskin) and not just post pictures. Okay must go write some papers now :( I shall update with Italy pictures soon and still need to do a food post!

Btw heads up! I shall be coming home May 18-25! Honestly, I was starting to forget home, but am definitely looking forward to going back :) See y'all soon!

Adieu Paris, Merci Pour The Memories

2010-04-11T22:55:00.035-04:00

Bonjour mes amis! I have returned from Paris and had a wonderful time! Before Paris, I went to an Easter retreat with the church I attend here. It was very cold, spring has not yet fully sprung on this side of the Atlantic :( The picture above is from the retreat center. The retreat got me thinking about many things, but I felt very frustrated at times because I couldn't express myself fully in Korean (its a Korean church)...

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." [1 John 5:11]

What is Easter to you? Eggs, chocolate, spring, fasting...? Like it says in Ecclesiastes, "Meaningless! Meaningless!...Everything is meaningless!" Unless you have faith that is. I hope that God will bless us all with the wisdom to have faith and to know the true meaning of life. Happy belated Easter everyone!

Subway entrance. By the Seine River. I love all the historical feeling of the city and all the green everywhere!

Lunch at a crêperie. In front of the giant Notre Dame Cathedral.

Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Guide books at the Louvre. Locks on a bridge by the Seine.

Next to the RER station by my friends house in the suburbs. The Eiffel Tower at night.

A beautiful day at Versailles. Inside the palace.

The beautiful garden behind the palace. "Unni jump!" This picture cracked us up for a while :)

Unni taking up all the room in our picture ;) Enjoying the b-e-a-uuuutiful weather.

Dinner at a brasserie. My sirloin steak. We ate...so...much...food! With my friend and her cutie parents.

At Montmartre. The view towards the top.

Macaroons from my friend's mom! At Champs-Élysées while the sun set behind the Arc de Triomphe.

My flatmate and her parents were so accommodating during out stay! I had low expectations going in, but I enjoyed Paris much more than I thought I would. Bits and pieces of the 6 years of French I took in junior high and high school started coming back to me, but only un peu haha. The weather was sunny and beautiful, which I think made a huge difference.

I shall be hopping off to Florence and Rome in a few days. I'm already getting tired from traveling and will have a whole lotta essay writing to do when I get back ㅠ.ㅠ Its weird that I consider my flat home now, I just wanted to pass out in my bed in London while I was going around. I know a lot of people think its exciting traveling and what not, but if I didn't have people to see in these places, I would be okay with not going. I think its the people that makes somewhere worth being, so enjoy your time with the ones your with! Au Revoir my friends! :)

Life in My London Flat

2010-03-28T14:59:00.017-04:00

Ah...school work has finally caught up to me :( Because I only have 2 essays for two of my classes and 1 essay & 1 exam for the other two, I've been taking it easy peezy for the past two months. Now, all the deadlines are coming up and I'm trying to remember how to write an essay :(

Chinese New Year Celebration in Trafalgar Square

My month long (hehe) Easter break started this week, and I shall be traveling to Paris and Italy! I really wanted to go to Prague, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I'm actually only going to Paris and Italy cuz I know people there...otherwise I don't know if I'd really want to go. I think the rest of my time here is going to go by really fast...

Anyway, this entry is going to be about my flatmates because I think they're very interesting haha. It's probably because I'm interested in race & ethnicity, ethnic identity formation, globalization, cultural studies, etc. Since I live in the international student dorm, there's actually very few British students. There's a mix of people from all over the place doing undergrad, master's programs, and English preparation courses for MAs.

Random dried roses in my friend's kitchen
Eating cake on ripped up pieces of the box it came in...living the student life :)

Flatmate in B1: She's my only British flatmate, and she's an "authentic" English person (most Londoners are very different from the rest of the people in the UK). Her family has a farm in the countryside. She's only 19, but she's traveled all over the world (multiple countries in Africa, South America...basically everywhere but Asia). The rest of my flatmates and I have never actually seen her cook, but she drinks looots of tea and eats biscuits or crackers with some sort of spread or topping. She actually moved out last week to go live a house with no electricity or running water. She comes back to shower randomly haha.

Celebrating my cell (small group) leader's bday at church

Flatmate in B2: She is half Belgium and half Maltese (from the island Malta near Italy), but grew up in Paris. I shall be staying with her during break! :) She is verrry interested in Asian culture and is a Chinese major. She's currently learning Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and thinks Chinese is the easiest and Korean is the hardest! :O People say Korean grammar is difficult to learn...

The only thing I took a picture of at the British Museum during my first & only visit there (even though its literally right next to my campus and free -_-)
Tea! You dunk the top dish w/ the loose tea into the water.

Flatmate in B3: He's half Japanese and half Chinese, and went to high school in Beijing and is attending college in Japan. He loves meat (esp. lamb) and beer. We like to exchange cooking & grocery shopping tips with each other. His girlfriend is from Luxembourg (I definitely didn't know where that was at first) and they speak English and Japanese to each other.

A path that I use along one of the routes to school. Its my favorite way to go but sketchy at night :/

Flatmate in B4: She's Swedish and naturally blond & blue eyed but dyes her hair dark brown (I didn't realize this until a few weeks ago). She's engaged to a refugee...from Tibet...who she met on a bus...in India. I'm always in the kitchen at the same time as her and flatemate B3, we all like to cook a lot haha :) Thankfully they're both very chill so its good having random convos with them.

The soccer field next to the path above. I love passing by on sunny days and seeing people running around playing sports :) There's also a day care on the other side, so sometimes there's toddlers playing on the playground :D (I sound creepy)

Flatmate B6*: He's doing an English preparatory course thing and is always hanging out with his Chinese girlfriend and friends. Sometimes we have very short awkward conversations in English, although once I attempted to share my limited Chinese with him (name and age). Apparently he never cooks in the kitchen anymore because his cupboard is basically empty and the only thing he keeps in the fridge is ketchup and gochujang.

*I'm flatmate B5...so I skipped myself.

Typical street around the area I live

So...that was a long entry. And I hope my flatmates don't think its creepy that I wrote about them haha. I've met a lot of interesting people in my classes, but I don't really have time to get to know them since I'll be leaving after this term, and classes are already over :( I think I would've approached this experience differently if I was here for all of undergrad instead of just visiting for a semester...

Okay, now I must go work on the two essays that were due last Friday. Until next time...

Some Belated February Stuff

2010-03-03T21:56:00.022-05:00

Liberty department store

I know Valentine's day was a while ago, but I was thinking about it last week. Well, not Valentine's day specifically, but the sisters appreciation events that a lot of guys in Christian groups put together during the Valentine's season. Usually, the evening consists of the boys providing the girls with some sort of food and entertainment. Everyone dresses up and the girls relax while being catered to by the guys.

English Breakfast tea & a salmon sandwich

Btw, the pictures from this entry don't really relate to the text. The photos are from an afternoon tea at the Liberty department store hosted by the Seven College Conference of London for jya students (junior year abroad) from the Seven Sisters schools. There was also one boy there because Radcliff, a former all women's and Seven Sisters college, merged w/ Harvard, so Harvard was also invited. The tea was nice, but honestly, I think we all expected more haha the scones were good though!

scone w/ clotted cream & jam; pouring the tea

Anyway, I've been to a sisters appreciation event before, and I've seen lots of pictures and heard stories about them. Although I enjoyed the event and can appreciate the effort put into them, did you ever think about how this reinforces gender roles? (I know, I know, I'm a sociology major that analyzes everything blah blah)

Why is it usually the boys doing stuff for the girls? Because girls are more into all that lovey dovey stuff and guys aren't? (related - VDay: An Opportunity to Remind Us That We Are Opposite Sexes)
If we are going to adhere to socialized gender roles & behavior, why would fellow brothers in Christ be fulfilling the desire of females for romantic stuff?
If you think about it, its kind of a like a mass date...the boys are showing the girls their potential as future boyfriends --> *cough*senior scramble*cough*
Why doesn't everyone do an activity together instead of the guys just putting on a show and serving the girls all night? Aren't there activities that involve everyone? Or, is there a need for a special event to show appreciation, or can it simply be shown through how we treat each other everyday?

a lot of stuff was already gone by the time I took a picture of the tower

Most importantly, what does this have to do with faith? Isn't Valentine's day a secular, constructed holiday? It doesn't celebrate the love of God, which is not about feelings and hearts. What's the need for these events? Because we might feel too lonely on Valentines day otherwise? God is good all the time, including Valentines day. By clinging to God and living by faith, we can truly know what value is and show appreciation for our fellow brothers and sisters.

Bryn Mawr representin'; shot of the tea room

Perhaps I am over analyzing this. I'm not saying the guys are secretly trying to seduce the girls or have a hidden agenda. I just felt like something was weird about these sisters appreciation events and was thinking about what their purpose is (or the social function they perform a la Gans & poverty). Honestly, I think for most girls, they use events like this as an excuse to get dressed up haha ;)

Mandu Madness

2010-02-25T14:16:00.022-05:00

My sleeping patterns have been very messed up since reading week :( I stay up for no reason, missed and have been extra late for class, ay yi yi! I've been way too relaxed about work this semester and feel like I have a lot of catch up to do :/ My classes are interesting so I don't mind the reading, I've just been lazy. Time is going by so fast...I'm planning for Easter break right now, and then classes end, I have exams, and its over!

Things on my mind:

construction of tradition & romanticized notion of history
normalization of gendered speech and acting (did you know German has a female, male, and neutral nouns?)
being "cultured" and class discrimination

As I previously mentioned, I've been doing a lot of cooking here. Thanks to Aeri's Kitchen and Maangchi, I've been making a lot of Korean food =P And I just found this blog Closet Cooking that makes me want to be more experimental and try new things. My flatmate Pauline took a Chinese cooking class and made beef dumplings for us one night (see above pictures). After that, I was inspired to try! So I used Aeri's kimchi mandu recipe.

Preparing the mandu fillings. Ingredients: veggies, noodles, beef, and, of course, kimchi :)

I ran out of the store bought wrappers and made my own. Mad tedious -_-

Yay my creations! The whitish ones are the store bought wrappers and the rest are made from scratch.

Mandu fail.

You're supposed to freeze them all separately, and then can store them together in a bag. I threw them all in a bag. And now have a giant lump of mandu.

I still had mandu filling left so I made more and this time froze them separately. I also made 2 mini mandus because I can. And they're adorable. :)

Hmm...where to go for break? Sweden? Brussels? Sleep for days? What to do what to do...

Excursions: Bristol & Bath

2010-02-21T18:02:00.007-05:00

The Royal Crescent. Bath, England.

Hello friends! This past week was reading week for me, basically a holiday (vacation). I finally got out of London and visited Bristol and Bath. Yeah yeah! Bristol was realllly nice, not too small town, not too big city, lots to see and do, friendly people. Bath was too touristy, and not enough to do, unless you wanted to spend money. It was nice to get out for a few days!

Oh, and btw. You! Yes, you reading this! I would appreciate if you left a comment. Thank you :) And prepare to scroll...there are lotsa pictures :)

First stop: Bristol

My first time making kimbap! We prepared some for the journey :D

We took the megabus! I still have to run to make it to the megabus on time, even in London haha :( It was cold and rainy/snowy when we arrived.

So, we settled into a nice cafe to collect ourselves and make a plan for exploring.

I think that was actually one of the University of Bristol buildings.
Are you curious where this path leads? Well, I can't tell you haha all I just took a picture of it :)

Friends.

View from the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Rainy like always. Castle-like building!

Look at the itty bitty cars. Mini :)

Windy.
Hello!

Haha this picture cracks me up. Can you tell it was very cold and wet?

Lots of small, cute and expensive boutiques. The last word is the most important:(

Sorry for the blurryness but gigantic modern shopping mall/center! The entrances are open to the streets, hard to describe but very cool :)

All the different condiments they offered at the restaurant we ate dinner at.

On the way to the hostel we slept at, we turn on the street to find a bunch of drunk guys. Some are peeing on the wall. Then we pass a pole & table dancing restaurant. Our hostel is right next door. There are two shady men smoking in front o.0 Thankfully, the place itself was clean and nice.

Second day was sunny and beautiful! The weather really affects your mood.

Can you find me?
It looks like this street is really long, but the first pic was on the way up, and the second, down haha.

Full English breakfast: beans, poached eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, and toast.
I liked the way the graffiti looked in the front of the church...

Second (and last) Day: Bath

The Royal Crescent.

Too big to fit in one shot.

Afternoon tea break. Very tired.

Chai tea that looks pretty but tasted eh.

Man playing a violin. Standing on a rope in the air o.0
Bath Abbey.

Steak pie. Finally, good pub food!

Inside or rather under the crust. I think normally the meat is inside a regular pie crust.

Good bye!

Please Recieve Many Blessings this [Lunar] New Year

2010-02-17T12:41:00.026-05:00

Happy belated Lunar New Year! 새해 복 많이 받으세요 :) We had a lil get together to ring in the lunar new year. Good stuff. I made dumplings with my friend. Yes, made as in made from scratch!! I will do a post on mandu soon, i've been making mad mandu these past few weeks...

I hope everyone's been enjoying the snow! And staying safe and warm :) I'm not gonna lie, i'm happy I missed the snow haha but it is cold and rainy here :( Weather.com said there was a 20% chance of rain the other day, and I come back to my flat soaked from head to toe. Today, there was a 60% chance of rain/snow. It was sunny & spring-like, I've never seen this many people outside enjoying the weather. Anyway, its my reading week so I had no class this week! Hopefully, tomorrow and Friday, I will be exploring Bristol and Bath.

Lunar New Years :)

Flat-cooked food :)

A very happy hostess with flowers from her namj in the states.
Amy making her family's spring roll recipe for the first time.

The pork dumplings we made! They taste better than they look :)

"I used to step in high school..." Show us! Show us!
Who will be the selfish person* that takes the last piece?

*I was that selfish person haha but i took one for the team! It was just sitting there while we all kept saying we didn't want it.

Very yummy candy from Taiwan :)

I finally got to fulfill my dim sum craving today. Its ironic, I basically came to London to cook Korean food and go to chinatown a lot haha. I have yet to eat fish and chips, but will very soon! I don't think I can go very long w/o eating Asian food though, I get tired of Western food...

Dim Sum at Leong's Legend

Taiwan mini kebab with pork.
Wontons in spicy sauce.

Pork xiao long bao.

Because xiao long bao has broth inside, you're supposed to pierce it with your chopstick and drain it first. I learned the correct method to eat it...after I put one in my mouth whole and burned myself with the hot soup :(
I love char sio bau (roast pork bun).

What's inside?

Sticky rice w/ chicken!

p.s. - Happy hell week to my Bryn Mawr ladies! I'm really sad I'm missing it, but I hope the freshman are having fun, especially my grand hellees!

Being a Good Tourist

2010-02-11T18:50:00.030-05:00

Today was a good day :) Classes were good, the sun was out and I took a stroll around central London. I ended the day with biscuits (aka cookies) and tea w/ good company and conversation. Or at least, I thought I had ended the day. I come back to a full and lively kitchen that distracts me from my reading. Cooking and potlucks/dinner parties have definitely been a big and very enjoyable part of my experience here. My flatmate (whose half Maltese & half Belgium but is from France) made lamb dumplings and french chocolate cake from scratch. The cake was for our friend whose white but is from Hong Kong and also lived in the US, Canada, Korea, and probably other places i don't remember. One of her three boyfriends was also there, and he's part Egyptian, American, and French (?) and speaks English, French, Italian, and Greek. The people from my school speak mad languages, have lived all over the place, and have done so many things! More than the city itself, its the people I've been meeting that have really been making this an eye opening experience...

Anyway, I did some sight seeing last weekend, so here are pictures! Sorry that some of them are really dark, the weather is very finicky, one moment its sunny and nice, the next, typical gloomy London.

We started off at Trafalgar Square:

Off to the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben:

We passed some horse guards on the way. I was scared when the horse looked at me. It seemed a lot closer from my perspective :(

Following the hoards of tourists to Big Ben.

There it is. We spent all of...30 seconds looking at it and then moved on haha.

The eye of London. Maybe one day I shall ride it.

To Buckingham Palace we go!

An explorer. The path to the palace.

It's closed! Let us in! All we could do is look at the palace through the gate. Not too exciting...

After hitting up the tourist attractions, we ended the day with some hot overpriced milk tea and hot pork buns in Chinatown. Amy and I felt it was a good day of doing touristy stuff :)

I hope everyone's enjoying their snow days! We had flurries for about 10 minutes but thats it haha. It is very cold though :( Stay safe and warm!

Trying to Make My Blog More Posh

2010-02-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

Hi hi. I'm tryna make things look more professional :) I finally figured out how to get rid of those borders around images! Next...I will make the spaces in between the pictures disappear! And center the posts! o.0 Anywho, these are pictures from last weekend when I went to Camden Market. I preferred Portobello Market, Camden was a lil too touristy for me. It was realllly cold that day though, so that might have affected my enjoyment level haha.

I also went to New Malden, which is the Korean (ish) area outside of London. I paid about £10 for transportation (tube & train) and £16 for dinner. In dollars, thats about $44 -_- Life is hard when the exchange rate is not in your favor. I didn't know it would cost that much! I haven't been much of a big spender over here other than that dinner and my 5 ring. I'm living a thrifty student life! I've been cooking a lot of Korean food on my own so I shall do a food post soon.

I wandered around central London for 4.5 hours with my friend the other day looking for a cafe. London only has pubs! And Starbucks. We settled for overpriced bubble tea but were happy to be in Chinatown :) I have been making good use of the guidebook my BM (and Nova) girls got me. I will do more touristy stuff soon! And explore! And eat fish and chips! But for now...I sleep. I miss you home family and friends! Byebye :)

"A Continuous Exercise in Self-Defnition"

2010-01-31T18:56:00.016-05:00

"Who am I, who are we--is that not the chorus of the moment? Perhaps postmodernism can be defined, after all, as a continuous exercise in self-definition" (Ihab Hassan)

In my Contemporary Trends in the Study of Society class (exciting way to start off the week Mondays at 9 am...), we've been talking about globalization in the context of modern and post-modern, with global being the next stage (or are these all different words for the same thing?). What a long intro sentence. Anyway, although most of the stuff goes over my head, some of the theories have really got me thinking...

we can't keep up with the speed of the global movement, so we try to hang on to identity (ie, national)
irony: in post-modernity and globalization, as things come together, they become more fragmented

I've been thinking a lot about this in relation to my "identity" as a Korean American (don't I always?). 250 years ago, an American (US) identity didn't even exist, let alone a Korean American identity. However, the growth of the Korean diaspora has led to the creation of a Korean American identity. For me, the points listed above reinforce the idea that identity is socially constructed and does not have a real basis. However, although identities may be socially constructed, this does not mean that they do not have real and direct impacts.

"As a culture we call ourselves Spanish when referring to ourselves as a linguistic group and when copping out. It is then we forget our predominant Indian genes. We are 70-80 percent Indian. We call ourselves Hispanic or Spanish-American or Latin American or Latin when linking ourselves to other Spanish-speaking peoples of the Western hemisphere and when copping out. We call ourselves Mexican-Americans to signify that we are neither Mexican nor American, but more the noun "American" than the adjective "Mexican" (and when copping out)." (Borderlands, Gloria Anzaldua)

Beyond the politics of a Korean American identity in America, coming to London has made me think about things on an international scale. It's interesting how I feel at home at a Korean restaurant in London but at the same time insecure about my Korean when speaking to the waiter. Meanwhile, the people I met here are often surprised to hear my American accent. Language, food, etiquette, etc...is this culture? Appearance? Blood? History? Geography? Can we choose the cultures that we are a part of? I've met a non-Koreans who are learning korean, watch dramas, and love bibimbap, but can interest in a culture make you a part of it? Or, for Korean Americans, is it more the interactions with non-Koreans and native Koreans that define the Korean American experience? I know I've posed a lot of questions (and can keep going), but what I'm trying to point out is how globalization may have increased the exchange of cultures and ideas, but this exchange has also revealed the instability of these cultures....and I ramble...

In conclusion, "Anyone who isn't confused today, simply isn't thinking straight" (Simone Weil), but if you "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:26).

This Way to Portobello Market

2010-01-25T18:44:00.028-05:00

I finally got a chance to explore London a little and went to the Portobello Market on Saturday :)

The masks freaked me out a little
We found a stamp stand and they had a book of old stamps from Korea!
Tiny elephant :)
Tiny elephant's friends :)

Antique jewelry
Silver chains I wanted but was too po' for :(
The ring I picked up for 5 pounds :)

They had a lot of random antiques
Cutlery (what they call utensils) used to be very fancy shamancy
Bread stuffs

Got me some banana chips and assorted gummies...picking up the essentials :)
This way to lunch!
Maybe not the best burrito I've ever had, but still yummy

The glamorous life of a fashion blogger!
Shini from Park & Cube
Answers to your questions/comments: Thank you for complimenting her hat; She got it from South Korea; Yes, those are paws that are attached (All the store owners loved her hat and asked these questions. She even wrote down the website she got it from for a Starbucks worker haha)

Things Looks Better in Black and White

2010-01-19T18:09:00.011-05:00

I feel like an insomniac. Maybe its jetlag but I can't fall asleep at night but still have to wake up early, so have been sleep deprived :( I finally rode the tube on Sunday and took a picture to commemorate the experience :)

The SOAS library.

What would you like to study?

These aren't black & white. The more I learn about SOAS, the more I think I chose the right school for me. I think the people who come here and their interests are very different from others. I haven't done much touristy stuff yet, but I did buy overpriced postcards! :)

Gendered TV Advertisements

2010-01-17T22:24:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the really boring title. This isn't about London, but the guy talking has a British accent!

Now, I want you to write a 2-3 page response paper on the social construction of gender roles in this clip that.....just kidding :) I saw on another blog I read, the Grand Narrative, and wanted to share it with others. Hopefully you found it funny too...and are also thinking about what exactly is funny about it and what it says about gender roles. Put your sociological imaginations to work! :)

London Drivers are Crazy!

2010-01-15T16:00:00.010-05:00

Hello everyone! How is sunny America? I realized that I don't think I've seen the sun the whole time I've been here, and the forecast is basically rain for the next 10 days :( The weather hasn't really been affecting me though haha, I think Philly prepared me well for it :) It gets dark so fast! The pictures below were taken before 5, but its already pretty dark by then.

Anyway, London drivers are crazy! I'm used to Philly's grid layout, but even the major roads here change and curve all over the place, so even if you're going straight, you might end up on a different road if you're not paying attention. The street signs are located on the buildings, like the Acton Street sign, but they don't even have them on every corner! And see the striped pole with the yellow sphere on top? The drivers have to stop for pedestrians at those, but I swear, some come within a foot of me before stopping :/ If not for the "look right -->" and "<-- look left" signs (see below), I think i'd get crushed by a car....which almost happened the other day to me and my friend by a big ol' truck. I wish they would use their turn signals -_-

Things I've noticed/learned about London:

About 80% of the population smokes -_-
It's always pub time.
They keep their eggs on the shelf, not the refrigerator
The British are very lax. People just won't show up for work if the weather is bad! (2 cm of snow is crazy for them)
The alarms (fire alarm, police siren) are unbearably loud!
The city really reminds me of New York, everyone's always in a rush to get somewhere.
South Asians are called Asians here, and East Asians are called Orientals.

I must go have some tea and biscuits now! Just kidding, but I am eating biscuits and do have tea in my cupboard. I'm finally starting to settle down and am looking forward to cooking for myself! I have other random things to share but I shall save them for later posts. Update me on life in phillydelphia via comments, emails, messages, whatever! Ahnyoung my friends :)

2010-01-11T19:21:00.020-05:00

I finally have internet again! I got here Saturday morning (its Monday night now) and was deprived until this afternoon of both the internet and a phone, or mobile as the British call it. Also, I finalllllly got to settle into my room today, well not settle just move in, its a mess right now -_-

Most of the British people I've come in contact with have been very friendly. A girl at Heathrow helped me buy a train ticket that was half the price of the express train I was going to buy. The cab driver man kinda looks scary there but he was nice. His daughter went to Cambridge and sings jazz, and when he visited Florida, he noticed there were a fat people. When I got that Splenda packet, i was very confused about how small it felt, and then it turns out the Splenda comes in a little pill o.O

I had lunch with Pablo today, lamb and chicken doners at Best Kabobs. He's lived all over the US and in London, and is doing a lot of interesting stuff with art history and cultural preservation/restoration in Korea this summer! He also gave me tips on what to do if mugged or attacked. Amy and I enjoyed wonderful £1 frozen dinners haha. We're trying to figure out how to deal with cooking for ourselves :/

Mansize tissues? What is this nonsense? And on the right is the result of my pitiful first food shopping trip -_- I think I looked a lil crazy carrying a duvet, pillow, this food, and a 9 pack of toilet paper. Oh well!

Jacob and his friend! (I forget her name, I have not been good with names). They are both from Milan and both ate a pizza each with extra cheese on top. Italians know how to eat and enjoy their food! It was really interesting hearing their view of Americans and other Europeans. It's nice to meet people from all over the world, and who are interested in a lot of the same things as I am.

Okay I hope you enjoyed this long, random update. I will probably be taking lots of pictures of food and anything i find interesting, weird, or cute. Hopefully I will learn my way around the city and explore soon. I don't feel like the city is that different from say New York, but there are a lot of different, interesting folks. I'm excited for whats to come! I start classes tomorrow so must sleep now. Byebye for now :)

Flying Off to the Land of Tea and Biscuits

2010-01-08T14:49:00.004-05:00

This past semester has been a lil cray cray. First appendicitis, then a car accident, then visa problems, and now there's apparently a snow storm that's supposed to hit London. No matter! I blast off to London tonight!!

I will be back in 5 months! I really appreciate all the goodbye stuff everyone did for me :) I shall update this blog frequently and keep you up to date on my life abroad! I shall post again when I am settled down in Londontown. Ahnyoung! Bye bye!

Learning to Be Insecure About Our Bodies

2010-01-03T23:39:00.006-05:00

I will be flying off till London in 4 days! I shall update this blog with pictures and more light posts haha but until then...

Here are some excerpts from a jezebel.com entry about the above magazine cover:

Fashion for Every Figure: Size 0 to Size 20 — but only just this issue, then they'll go back to focusing on size zero.

Real Women Have Curves: Beyoncé at Her Best — If real women have curves, what are the women who usually model for Vogue? Fake?

NIP/TUCK: Designing a Perfect Body — Meaning there's something wrong with yours if you don't have plastic surgery?

WORK IT! Longer Legs, Leaner Lines, Sexier Silhouette — Can legs be made longer without bone surgery?

THE RIGHT SWIMSUIT FOR YOUR BODY TYPE — Instead of emphasizing fit, it's all about "right" and the implied "wrong," and your "type," meaning your body must fit into a predetermined box.

WEIGHT OBSESSION: One Woman Conquers Her Diet Demons — Sounds healthy.

"As for Beyoncé, the feature story in Vogue mentions her weight gain for Cadillac Records and describes her as "comfortably curvy," though writer Jonathan Van Meter also reminds us that she is working very hard to be a Vogue-worthy size. He writes that, on the day of their interview, Beyoncé "got up at the crack of dawn" and "ate a tiny portion of Honey Nut Cheerios, ran six miles, and then worked out with her trainer, who had her in every imaginable kind of squat to get her ready to fit into her no doubt skintight Thierry Mugler-designed tour costumes." Next? A dance rehearsal, after which she barely had time to "scarf down several bites of a salad with jalapeños and avocado ('so that it tastes like something that's bad for you')" and then dance rehearsal again. Van Meter also makes sure to point out that gaining weight to play Etta James in Cadillac Records was "fun." Beyoncé says: "I ate a lot of butter-pecan ice cream. But it's easy for me to gain weight. I'm not a naturally stick-thin girl. I'm not heavy, but I'm not skinny, either." It's almost as though she has to apologize; and Vogue has to stress that while eating may be fun and enjoyable, one should never let it distract from being totally dedicated to making sure you (literally) fit into the mold its editors prescribe."

Doesn't the fact that she has to work so hard to maintain a certain body size show something?! I'm not saying she should eat ice cream and unhealthy food all the time, but she shouldn't have to be working so hard to attain some sort of "ideal" body. There's always all this mumbo jumbo about how we should love our bodies, but it is often in conjunction with advice on how to improve them. Contradictory? I think so. We're encouraged to embrace our bodies, but not our natural bodies. Instead, we should work out, stay away from "bad" foods, and try to cover up our flaws so we meet standards of beauty. Who set these standards anyway?

I'm not saying anything new, these issues have been discussed since way before my time. However, most of the girls I know continue to complain about how they need to lose weight and hate their (fill in the body part). The few that are generally comfortable with their bodies would be considered skinny for the most part. Come middle age though when their metabolism slows down, we'll see if they're still satisified with bodies. These insecurities are applicable to all people, not just females, and it sucks because it has real consequences on people's self-esteem. I think people will read this and agree with what I'm saying, but that won't stop them from feeling insecure and disatisfied with their appearance. Or maybe I'm being overdramatic? I would rather that be the case...

going crazy...in canaday...

2009-12-18T02:30:00.001-05:00

It is 2:30.
I have 10 hours to do this 8-12 page paper.
I must outline.
There are many cracked out people in the library.
Ginger Jesus ran by me before and his hair was flowing in the wind.
I am cracked out.
K8 Lee printed out a picture of Wang Lee Hom and put it in the display thingie.
I saw her rubbing the picture against her cheek.
o.0
Erain gave us Japanese snacks!
Someone left the door open earlier and the alarm went off.
A girl started dancing to it.
It's the last night of finals week.
I very confused when I saw Jenny Kim earlier.
Obesity is socially constructed!
My paper is on obesity.

I go write now.
Bye.

"I once held a live hummingbird in my hand. I once married a Bryn Mawr girl. To a large extent they are twin experiences." E.B. White

2009-12-09T15:18:00.019-05:00

The last week of classes is upon us. I feel pretty lax right now but I know I'll be scrambling to try to finish all my papers next week and cracked out from no sleep. Only nine more days left in the semester before we all peace out.

Here's a list of things that shaped my experience at Bryn Mawr and really made me appreciate my time here:

my friends, who actually want to discuss issues of race, gender, class, etc. with me :)
3 hour brunches (and dinners) at Haffner
professors who really want to get to know you and teach you to think critically
sunsets or sunrises that make you appreciate the beauty of the campus
Hell Week... flower day :)
May Day, lantern night, Halloween, garden parties and all the other traditions
ASA culture show 08 - CelebrASIAN of Asian American Women: "I Will NOT Love you Long Time"
ASA board 2009
the trust and responsibility given to the students
the student run activities that show how motivated and passionate my peers are
when i overhear conversations, students are debating theories, discussing what they learned in class, talking about current events, etc.
the accomplishments of my peers (working in the poorest slums in India, going to Africa to make a documentary on AIDS, etc...aka "saving the world")
hearing the perspectives of women from all over the country and world
special meals that spruce up your week (candlelight holiday dinner, outdoor picnics w/ live entertainment, etc.)
when we were in a car accident, a Bryn Mawr girl who happened to be passing by with her boyfriend recognized us from campus and gave us a ride even though we didn't really know each other
random dance parties
H-Mart & crazy nights at Rodeo during freshman year
Sushiland and Jae ahjushi
Rhoads 164 & ramyun parties
paninis, waffle fries, and blended green tea from uncommon grounds
Ha Long Bae...despite the bad service
parties at Guild till the wEE hours of the morning
spending over 24 hours in Rhoads during the snowstorm last year
YouTube sessions
learning how to make milk tea
free laundry!
the sense of community

These are just some my own personal experiences, I know I can't speak for everyone. I'm also not trying to say Bryn Mawr is the best school and that everyone should go here. I'm ready to go abroad next semester and will be ready to leave after senior year, but I realize more and more how I'm glad I came here. I'm gonna really miss the seniors and I wish I had more time to get to know people. I am going to really take advantage of everything Bryn Mawr offers before I leave. As my dad always says "Time goes so fast."

Healthy Suspicion

2009-12-02T23:44:00.007-05:00

Sometimes, I feel like my mind is buzzing with thoughts. This semester, I finally got me a moleskin notebook, "the legendary notebook" of Hemingway, to furiously scribble down ideas when I'm having one of those moments. I always thought advertising moleskins as legendary was funny. The company tries to lure you in with this idealized vision of writers and artists in the olden days, but in reality its just an overpriced notebook...however, I must admit that I really like the soft cover :)

We often accept what we know to be facts and don't consider their origins, implications, or consequences. My one sociology professor was telling our class how he hopes we will develop a "healthy suspicion" towards the world around us. I think I have been plenty suspicious for a while haha, but I'm not cynical, I'm just bein realisitc :) Anyway, here's a list of some of the random things I've been thinking about that we take for granted:

Referring to the United States as America - There is no single America, only the continents of North and South America; however, we often assume the U.S. = America.
Asian - Who is exactly does this refer to? People usually think of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people, but Indians, Filipinos, _, and many more groups fall under the Asian label. So what exactly do you mean when you say something is so Asian?
APIA History Month - Woohoo! Let's celebrate our Asian heritage...for one month only. What if I want to embrace it all year long?
Describing objects as nude, flesh tone, or skin colored - I often see clothes, shoes, nail polish, etc. described in these terms. Um, everyone's skin is not the same color, just look at one of those diversity posters with hands that are all different shades. So what skin tone are those "flesh colored" bandages referring to?

My goal for the rest of this semester is to not have any more life threatening events. Then, I shall hop off to London in January wahoo!

I need to rest....

2009-11-24T12:28:00.004-05:00

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalms 73:26

When I Got My Appendix Removed

2009-11-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here is an account of my appendicitis experience. I've included some technical pictures* to better explain what happened.

7:00 PM - My stomach feels funny but I figure I just ate too much.
10:00 PM - I take ibuprofen but it still hurts :(
2:30 AM - I change into my jamas and figure I can sleep it off.
3:00 AM - My stomach hurts like WOAH, cramps except much much worse =***(
6:00 AM - I go out and get peptobismo from the gas station.
6:15 AM - I take the pepto bismol. It does not help. I call the health center but am told no one will be there till 8, 8:30. 7:00 AM - I throw up the pepto bismol and continue to suffer.
8:30 AM - The nurse finally calls and I go to the health center.
9:00 AM - Public Safety takes me to the ER. I try to suppress my pain in the emergency room while I'm surrounded by people w/ the flu in face masks.
10:30 AM - I'm put into a hospital room and finally get pain killers**.
1:00 PM - I get an ultrasound hehe.
5:00 PM - I get a cat scan, which I had to drink disgusting chemical stuff for before.
6:00 PM - I am told I have appendicitis! =O Here is a picture of what was going on inside of me:

8:00 PM - I go into surgery to remove the big bad appendicitis.
9:00 PM - I wake up in my hospital bed not remembering anything but feeling good cuz there are massager thingies on my legs :)

So this is what I look like now (I'm the one on the far left):

*Diagrams courtesy of my "two daughters"
**They gave me morphine, which I was surprised by cuz I always associate with soldiers and war movies.

blog 1

2009-11-09T14:28:00.001-05:00

Hello!

This is the first entry to my first blog.

Here are a few fun facts about me:

I no longer have an appendix, which is why I'm at home starting this blog
I am a Christian
I was recently described as "down to earth but weird" (they made sure to emphasize the weird part)
I like miniature or giant versions of things
I like to bake :)
I love babies!
I'm beginning to think driving is more and more dangerous o.0
I am going to study abroad in London next semester!
I am a sociology major
I am a list oriented person...hence the name of this blog and this list you are currently reading
I am Korean...and here is a picture of a burger with a South Korean flag in it