_life_

.::LIFE::.

its been over a year since my last post and i'm in the same place...
life is drifting by so quickly...

i don't know if anyone xangas anymore... or what the heck i'm doing here...
trying to escape my applications probably... :P

reading over my old xangas, i realize that i used to be a lot funnier...
or maybe my life was just more fun back then?

maybe it's not such a bad thing to keep a record of things...
or maybe i'm just setting myself up for another xanga addiction?

in any case...

i'm back. ^^

 __________________

aunt karen

__________________

welcome to the world baby~

dawn (da-eun) choi jang

birthday:: september 18th, 2006 6:03am
weight:: 7 lbs 8 oz

i'm an aunt...

hello world~!

with daddy...

with mommy...

with auntie...

making poopy???

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~~~

peekabooooooo~~

beloved daughter
cherished granddaughter
precious niece
...
wellesley woman class of 2028

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 7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
       my heart is steadfast;
       I will sing and make music.

 8 Awake, my soul!
       Awake, harp and lyre!
       I will awaken the dawn.

 9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
       I will sing of you among the peoples.

 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
       your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
       let your glory be over all the earth.

psalm 57:7-11

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goodbye

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goodbye korea...

i'm leaving in a couple hours...

it was good while it lasted but its time to go HOME.

as cheesy as it sounds, this year was full of self discovery...

my job description was "teacher" but i really learned more about myself than anything...

this whole identity thing is complicated...

who am i?

and more importantly, what am i doing with my life?

lessons learned.

1. i'm not korean. i'm not american... but i'm more american than i am korean. woah... deep.

2. no matter HOW HARD you try, you can't get all 1600 high schoolers to like you...

3. try everything at least once... at least then you have a legitimate excuse to gripe about things...

4. take some time to travel alone... hop on a bus and go somewhere... as long as you have your fully charged cell phone and a wad of money, you'll be fine. wandering is NOT the same as getting lost.

5. starting relationships is important... but ending them maturely and responsibly is even more important.

6. be responsible and reliable. or it'll come back to bite you in the ASS.

7. optimism is a virtue but take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt.

8. people are generally good... even though life's circumstances may require them to play the villain...

9. korean guys are skeevy. american guys are skeevy. all guys are skeevy.

10. ALWAYS have a plan B. and C... and sometimes even D.

people keep asking me...

 so, how was your year in korea?

it was different from anything i expected... it was challenging and stressful but that much more rewarding.

did you have a good time?

yeahhhhhh baby~!

are you glad you decided to do the fulbright?

YES. i can't say that i have no regrets, but i definitely do NOT regret coming.

how was your experience?

good... living and working in korea is a LOT different from studying abroad and playing in korea...

how do you feel now that you're leaving? Aren't you kinda sad?

hmm...

to this, i say...

I'M FINE THANK YOU AND YOU?

and so another chapter of my life ends.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS. see you in america.

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the end

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it's all over.

i'm done teaching.

and in 8 days, i'll be flying back to CALIFORNIA.

hopefully i 'm coming out of this as a more mature and responsible ADULT.

...

or not.

hahaha~

i didn't think i would, but i cried on the last day...
as much as i complained about my students, they were WONDERFUL.

they were really sweet when i left...

one kid ran after me and gave me a hug while i was walking out the front door...

i also had my last class w/ the north koreans~ my favorite kid, gwangsuk walked us to the bus and started crying... ahhhh....

I HATE GOODBYES.

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it's summer vacation which means its time for all the KAs to visit the motherland...

it's NUREE!

and EDDIE!

www.cyworld.com/yellowdumpling

for more pictures

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to do

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so, this is what i do when i'm bored...

i make lists of what i'm going to do once i land at lax on july 24th...

so here goes...

to eat:

chipotle

in-n-out

taco bell (yes, taco bell)

a whole costco watermelon (holla~!)

bagel & strawberry cream cheese

hummus

jamba juice

artichoke dip & pita chips

chili

smoked almonds

sourdough bread

a salad WITHOUT mayo

a pizza WITHOUT potato and corn

rubio's shrimp burrito

red robbins fries & speckled lemonade

juicy (jewish? hahaha) oranges and big fuji apples

and once i get to boston...

annas

soft serve frozen yogurt @ truly yogurt

dunkin donuts coffee (just not the same here...)

lemon thai (for old times sake... patty, you in?? hahaha)

ihop (at 2 am of course)

sunset grill for some pita chips and artichoke dip... mmmm

chinatown baby~! yay spicy salty squid and msg and indigestion!!

rani (grace parkkkkk~~ lets go go go!!)

scorpion bowl??????

au bon pain croissants & wraps

and although these have now been thrust into the pit of extinction by wellesley college, a schneider special and a schneider brownie... with a flat diet 7up to wash it all down.

to watch:

both seasons of LOST

seasons 2-5 of 24

both seasons of grey's anatomy

seasons 5-7 of the west wing

project runway

america's next top model (so i can keep it real like tyra)

american idol (taylor hicks is HOT stuff. ... ...)

and...

any suggestions?

so, according to my list, i'll be eating and watching TV all day... aka getting FAT.

-_-

i feel so out of the loop... what's going on in AMERICA these days??

its gonna take me months to re-assimilate myself...

i'm a fob (but not as much as bora. HAHAHA... who would have thought?)

so, looks like i'll be heading over to boston mid august and making a trip down to NYC sometime after that... LETS PLAY!!!!!!

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i had one student tear up today and say *i will forever remember you* when i told her that i'm not coming back

and

one student clap enthusiastically and cheer when i told him that i'm not coming back

truly bittersweet.