Thursday, June 23, 2011
i guess you could call me
My first major accident occured the summer after 6th or 7th grade. I got one of my two front teeth knocked completely out by a softball. I sprained my ankle by tripping on a curb during a younglife scavenger hunt. (with all the popular girls of course) I chipped my other front tooth a couple years later by tripping on my pants running to catch the phone. Impressive stories I know. I fell in the hallway in highschool trying not to be tardy to math. I fell down stairs in the art building at UNT. I popped right back up and then proceeded to faint and fall head first into a plant on the advisors desk. On the second day of living in the villa in Dubai, I fell up the marble stairs and broke a brand new coffee mug. That's just to name a few of my incidents. Many more stories involve ice, cars, and falling. They're all relatively the same.
Well as you can imagine why I might be bringing this all up to you, today I added a story to my list of mishaps. I have never been so graceful and I have never been too coordinated. I don't dance. I don't play sports. Working out has never been something that I enjoyed. However I am forcing myself to work out. And as I have mentioned have even been running a bit. I have always been leery of the treadmill...and lets just say for good reason. All I can say is- I got distracted, lost my footing, and the next thing I knew I was hanging on for dear life as my body went flat and went straight off the conveyor belt of bad luck. But just like most of my other clumsy moments I confirmed my state of being OK to the many people standing by and got back on the damn thing. Sorry.
I have this voice in my head lately that keeps saying "If at first you don't succeed- Try Try Again" Welp. This is my life.
Monday, June 20, 2011
we are in seoul now
well we are on the unlucky 13th floor. we have an uh-mazing view. we look directly at the mountains. there is a little bit of city between us and the mountains, but not much. i have a feeling those mountains that are outside our window are the mountains that are separating us from north korea. we are close...but no worries people.
well. we got here on saturday, and i proceeded to hit the town. duh. i walked my confident self outside the doors of my safe little hotel room down to the front desk and asked how to get to the subway. right left- i could do that. so i did. met up with some people i had never met before, and had a slightly obscure connection with. it all worked out. they met me exactly where they said they would, and i was only 20 minutes late. not too shabby. we ate korean food. it was pretty good. basically you cook the meat at your table over this little gas grill and then you just enjoy the fresh meat wrapped up in lettuce with rice or whatever else you want to add to it. there are all types of ammeninties to add that they put out on the table. not your typical american burger and fries. but much more fun and communal. well i am going to go to church with these people next week. they went out to a bar after dinner, but like a good little girl i scurried on home so as not to worry my cousin's husband. i was home by 10:30 and i made it too and from in a completely foreign country where i speak not a word of the language all on my own. the subway is about as extensive as NYC, but much less complicated and very well marked- in English of course. I couldn't have survived any other way.
that was my first venture out into this big city by myself, and it went pretty well. hopefully i can continue to have successful excursions. gini and i did venture out with rachel in tow as well today. we went out in our little neighborhood to see what is around us. there are all kinds of exciting stores that i will have to linger in for hours and hours and hours sometime soon. i will let you know.
photos on their way
Monday, June 13, 2011
just a little something
I don't want to make anyone jealous. I just want to share my experiences. I wish you all could have taken in the ambience as I ran on the track last night at 930. Here on Camp Walker we are surrounded by mountains. Jake and Gini's house is at the top of one of the big hills, and down at the bottom is a flat valley with a golf course and nice track/stadium. I went down there reluctantly last night because it was so late, and I had lost my motivation. But once I got there and realized how cool it was, and that there was a nice breeze, and the fact that I was sandwiched between views of the big city and the fog hidden mountains- it was well worth it. I might just do it again tonight.
The first few days I was here it was pretty hot just like Texas except more humidity. Now the temperatures have dropped a bit and it is a bit overcast so the sun isn't so intense. But more importantly, the tan I was working on is fading way too fast.
June 19, 2011
I have celebrated birthdays all over the US and now the world. Having a summer birthday always allows for celebrations in various locations. I have been at camp numerous times, as well as Argentina, NYC, Dubai, and now Seoul. I have alot to live up to in the next 28 years. But the thing is I love my dad. And I really wish we could be together on our special celebration day. This has really happened I think one other time---hopefully it won't be our last. cough cough.
So whether you are celebrating Juneteenth or Father's Day or both or just my birthday this Sunday I do hope that this Sunday is truly a joyous occasion whereever you are.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
not much to update
there isn't much else to update you on. i have been working on my jet lag. and thats about it. i haven't really been off base much yet. there are three primary characters that will play a large role in my time here. there is Gini- my dear cousin who is with child. Rachel- her pretty cute two year old daughter. and Jake- gini's husband who is a major in the USarmy. Jake picked me up from the airport in seoul and we took the fast train down to daegu. my travels started on saturday at noon, and i arrived in daegu at 10pm on sunday (8am CST). you know i don't do well with math, but i think its safe to say thats about 18 hours of travel- not so bad considering i had a direct flight from dallas to seoul.
rachel has taken to me quite easily. which has been a relief and joy. we have been to the pool and the park and been working on our letters. we have also been working on getting gini organized in preparation for two little ones. i am excited about a summer of cooking delicious healthy meals, and of course i have been getting in to my work out routine.
i know this is a completely jumbled mess of meaningless details, but its all i have thus far in this venture. oh the good news is that the most important accomplishment that has taken place in the last four days is the reunion of ease that comes with this sweet cousin of mine. we have been trying to accomplish way more than has been achieved because all we really want to do is sit around and solve the worlds problems. we have been talking for hours on in over three meals a day, and of course more than that. i don't see us slowing down any time soon.