xoxo

so i'm now 22 years old in korea o-o
new years was great and though it was horribly freezing and i was dead tired at the time, seeing the first sunrise of 2011 at haeundae was awesome! the dramatic theme music, combined with release of new year goals and wishes attached to thousands of yellow balloons as the sun was about to peak its head was pretty cool. so since jeju... ooh! secret santa christmas dinner in seoul! & TaLK farewell reunion last week... so i have less than two weeks left i korea now :( though i miss family&friends back home & i cant wait to see them, i'm sad to be leaving korea.. today [well technically yesterday in korea] was my last day of teaching and i'm definitely going to miss my kids :( especially my 3rd graders, who were dragging me out of the class so they could take me home with them [awwww].

i will miss the convenience of public transportation, the delicious food, freedom, and most of all, the friends that i've made. this experience has been amazing, with many firsts and great memories, with people i will never forget. as one of my kids was telling me today, "teacher, go america, me [points to head], ok?" and i definitely will remember her and others. i cannot believer it has already been six months and though i came to realize that this is just temporary and my true life is back in california, it has been a great experience. if i could go back, i wouldn't change a thing. ok jk, i may change tiny things here and there but still.. i know i still have 10 days in korea, but it's already so busy that i may not see all the people i want to see before leaving :(

this experience has helped me learn more about korea, especially about its culture&people. i definitely feel more like a Korean American now, two cultures combined. from time to time, i was homesick or sad, but the good times outweigh the bad times by like a thousand. i can't wait to drive again & go eat in-n-out [then hit fuji's, olive garden, eat ribs, chili cheese fries, nachos, & mom's cooking] and it will be nice not having to use the sink-shower or take busses&subway for hour and half to get to work. but i will miss the 50% off ice creams [specially my new fav ice cream, 'wild body,' thankyou soowan sunbae&sam], cute make up products [tony moly ftw] with free samples [and boy, there so many makeup stores everywhereee], restaurants with free desserts, online shopping&super quick delivery system [taekbae], having the convenience to travel from one side of the country to another in just matter of hours [thankyou ktx], and coffee milk&sweet potato latte.

it's almost 2am here but i'm not sleepy since i took a nap today [first time in months].. i am getting hungry though so i probably should sleep [i can't gain any more kgs T-T].. anyways, i hope i've made a positive impression on people i've met and hope they [you?] have good memories with me. it's time to get back to reality, but this has been amazing. TaLK isn't for everyone, especially for people looking at just the benefits instead the whole package itself, but i'm glad that i have been part of TaLK [exchange]. i have been dreading and pretending not to notice the amount of time i have left, but it's time to face what's here now.. even if i don't get to see you before i leave korea, definitely keep in touch; if you're waiting for me back home, definitely meet up and let's catch up :)

xoxo agnes