Snow!

I didn't really have an opinion on snow while in New York.  Mostly because in the city, it quickly became a gross, slushy-like mess.  But today, I walked out my little "villa" building looking down at my phone but as soon as I lifted my head as the automatic sliding door swished open, gasped in surprise.  There were, and still are as I write this, lovely large snowflakes gently drifting from the heavens in a truly Kdrama romantic scene kind of way.  It was all just so pretty that I kind of understood why the Ks are so boy/girlfriend crazy when it snows.  It's kind of the thing to do when it's snowing, meeting up with your lover.  I walked into my office and said, "It's snowing!"  My coteacher informed me he started hating the snow ever since his required military stint (ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ).  Well I guess it's just the young, non-disillusioned Ks who want to meet up with their lovers in the midst of falling snow XD

View from my window <3

Le Sigh...

Yes, little sister, it has been quite a while.  I can't even remember the last time I posted...  Something to do with horoscope readings I'm sure.

Today is a Monday, the beginning of a new week and MAN was this quite easily THE MOST HECTIC/WORST Monday I've ever had the misfortune of experiencing.  Probably.  It all began Saturday evening when my aunt called and asked me where I was since I was supposed to be going to her house for dinner that evening and then together with her family go to my grandparent's house for my grandmother's birthday.  I slowly ambled my way to 원주 (Wonju) - about a 2 hour distance from my home - and was swept away by the crazy that is my 3rd aunt.  She's not a bad crazy, she's a government-conspiracy kind of crazy and unfortunately for me very absentminded.  Anyways, the next morning we make our way to 경기도 (Gyeonggi-do) where my grandparents have returned from their train/boat trip of looking at four different islands (I had no idea Korea had this many...) where apparently my grandmother narrowly avoided death by seasickness.  My grandmother being the crazy that she is (the bad kind), was absolutely to the core convinced she was going on a cruise trip when my aunt clearly told her she'd be getting on a boat to look at different islands because she said she wanted to sometime earlier.  Anyways, lunch and cake was eaten, I was given food to take back home and my aunt+ and I finally made our way back to Wonju.  When we got there, she asked me if I'd like to go watch a movie with my cousin since the last bus would be at 8PM and there was time.  I said sure (rue the day!!!) and watched 초능력자 (friggin AWESOME movie! 엄마, you'd definitely love it) with 강동원+ (the others hardly matter).  We ended at 7:45PM and if my aunt had been there to take me straight to the bus terminal, I would've caught the last bus.  But being the absentminded crazy that she is, of course she wasn't there. And of course I missed the last bus/train/sanity.  I ended up having to take the first bus at 6:45AM the next morning.  So I decided to drown my worries with some 2NE1 TV (박봄 is adorable and I love her. CL is extremely fab. She was in California for less than a week and by that time she already found her own gay, the designer Jeremy Scott, to go shopping with in the trendy part of Beverley Hills) and fried chicken.  Woke up the next morning and almost missed the bus (this time cause of my uncle, also crazy. Basically everyone on this side of the family is nuts), hopped on and due to the snow/general traffic ended up missing my entire 1st period.  I called the teachers ahead of time to let them know and they didn't mind but still...  I'm over it now but seriously, this is not the first time I've been screwed over by this aunt's absent-mindedness and I'll be DAMNED before I let this happen again.

On a brighter note, things that are keeping me happy:
1.  All 6th grade classes except 2 were cancelled this week <3
2.  Next week is my last week for extra classes <3 <3 <3
3.  I finally have a tea kettle (ordered it from Gmarket) since I donated the one I inherited to our English teachers' office.
4.  It's going to be December soon, which is always a plus for the following reasons:
     a.  Christmas
     b. My birthday
     c. JYP concert
     d. That tarot card reader said my love-life will pick up in this month ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ....
5.  I have a ridiculous coat on...
6.  Next week is the final exams and it's nice giving/grading the exams, not taking them <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Alrighty then, till next time!

Oh yeah, and...

I forgot to mention one more thing, which is something that should probably not be mentioned to certain people but... it was just too funny not to blog about.  I finally did it.  No, not sex.  I finally had my love life read via tarot cards.  It was CREEPY.  They're everywhere in Korea.  These little booths set up where people can sit down and get one thing read for less than $3.  So I dragged the same friend (hey, I got you a picture with a Kbreak-dancer!) and asked the ahjusshi to read my love life.  The conclusion: I am a timid, uncompromising woman who thinks too much before entering into a potentially commitment filled relationship.  Princi, if you're reading this, how crazy accurate is that?!  He said I had plenty of opportunities but I let them all slip by because I'm too timid and I think way too much about all the options.  For sure when I sat down I thought I would be told something along the lines of, "You need to lose weight and you'll find a boyfriend."  But no, instead he attacked my character.  I can see why people keep coming back to these things...  Anyways, apparently my love horoscope for this month is fail but next month and a few others are good.  I giggle a little every time I think about these experiences.  Oh, and here are some pictures from that Friday trip with the other teachers.

Hating life but posing for the camera...

It felt like I was the only one sweating ㅠ_ㅠ

Mini Update

Very quickly some things that have happened but am too lazy to write out into a real post...
1.  Attended 2 different weddings within 2 days.  I feel like a real Korean kk~  For neither of them did I actually know the couple getting hitched.  For neither of them did I actually sit in for the ceremony.  Instead I ate a lot.  Which is what Koreans do at weddings they were invited to only for the sake of the money envelope.
2.  Went on a teachers outing (회식) where right after the kids went home on Friday we went to a mini mountain and hiked it.  I was one of the few people who climbed to the top (after much huffing and puffing) <3  Afterwards the principal treated everyone out to a nice dinner where I was expected to pour a drink for him.  It was nerve racking... and we had to one-shot it.  He was impressed by my one-shot skills ;]
3.  A friend and I stumbled upon a group of tall, young guys break dancing in the middle of the downtown circular area.  After they were finished, I dragged my friend, who loves men who can break dance, over to one of the guys and asked if she could take a picture with him, she being from America and all.

Something always seem to come up on the weekend, leaving me no time whatsoever to go to the dentist... or so I keep telling myself XD  Anyways, these were all very interesting stories but I don't really feel like writing it all out...  So little sister, you will just have to be satisfied with these blurbs <3

Many, Many Things

On Friday, October 22nd, my cold had finally reached a point where I no longer had the strength to turn down my coteachers when they suggested I go to the hospital and get it taken care of at once.  So off I went.  Yes, I went to the hospital for a COLD.  Tis the norm here in Korea because it's dirt cheap (overall including my prescription meds everything came out to around $10) and it took less than 10 minutes.  The entire process.  See America?  See how awesome our health care could be??  Anyways, I was first taken to the doctor (who I was with for less than 5 min) and he either sprayed or sucked (not sure which) something into my nose and throat (yes yes, that's what she said, har har har).  He then sent me with a nurse to get a shot.  I was wondering why they asked me to sit on the bed and pulled the curtains around me when another nurse walked in and informed me I'd be taking the shot in my butt (more like right above it to be accurate).  I paled and asked if it was really necessary I take this shot, if I could just leave and pretend I took it.  She gave me a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?" and instead told me, "Even children take this shot, why are you so scared?"  She spun me around and before I knew what was happening, it was over.  It didn't hurt at all!  Korean medicine is magic, basically.

Later on that day (cause I'm a busy woman) I proceeded to meet up with friends in Seoul.  Being the poor (well at least I am) recent college grads with too many school loans to pay off (for me at least), we decided to spend the 2 nights in 찜질방s (public bathhouse with co-ed areas where people are dressed and eat and just chill).  Originally we were thinking LOVE MOTELs since there were several of us and we could split it but they were more expensive than we thought they'd be and the ones that were reasonably priced were REALLY shady.  EXTREMELY.  The first night was fine though it was very small and was basically just a hostel with public baths.  The second one, though bigger and nicer (with 만화첵s ㅋㅋ), was very crowded.  I woke up in the middle of the night to discover a sleeping pad (kind of like yoga mats) right next to mine... with an 아저시 (middle-aged Kman) on it ㅠ_ㅠ  I scooted over as much as I could without getting overly close with the 아저시 on the other side of me who, luckily (but still grossing me out) was busy cuddling with his girlfriend.  Then I woke up again because the first 아저시 had rolled over RIGHT NEXT TO ME.  Innocent?  PSH YEAH RIGHT these are 아저시s we're talking about!  So I got up.  Even in the midst of my not-fully-awake-ness I was livid.  Wtf?!  Either I was leaving and finding a hotel room by myself, ditching my friends, or something but I was not gonna take this!  Then I found a sleeping pad in a little corner all by itself so I just moved there and fell back asleep.  Heh heh.  But inbetween my two violations of personal bubble space, we were all woken up around 5AM by a group of 아저시s that walked in drunk and two of them started fighting (blows and kicks included) over a blanket.  At the time I was pretty scared (and annoyed at being woken yet again) but now that I have the comfort of looking back at it, it was actually kind of funny.  Moral of this story is, NEVER TRUST A STRANGE 아저시.  And JUST GET A FRIGGIN ROOM WHEN TRAVELLING.  It's worth it to not be surrounded by strangers.

Anyways, the point of this trip was to go to the G20 concert at Jamsil Olympic Stadium for the Asian Music Festival or something that was also a charity for UNICEF.  The tickets were free and the performers were famous singers from all over Asia that included: Rain, BoA, AKB48, 4Minute, Michael Wong, B2ST, Jane Zhang, 2AM, Joe Cheng, Bie the Star, Lee Seung-Chul and KARA.  Bought quite a few glow sticks and basically fangirled out to my heart's content.  The best part actually was the fan clubs who got there really early to hang up huuuuge banners to express their obsessive love for their respective groups.  I am now tempted to join one of these (they apparently come with lots of benefits at the small price of your sanity and 20,000 won).  Some pictures!

The stage

Bought a bit too many knick knacks in my excitement at my first non-Christian concert. 

Note the binoculars ㅋㅋ

My 2NE1 glow stick, though you can't see it. Kglowsticks are amazing.

Aka battery run XD

Hmm....  Other noteworthy things that happened on this trip...  I was sweet-talked into buying a sweater that looks good on the mannequin but not real people at 동대문 =__=  Darn you 아줌마s!!!!!!!!!  Wtf was I thinking?!?!?!  Ok, rant and post END.

Anna & Buses

Got sick this last weekend.  It's been going around to everyone what with the sudden temperature changes and heaters being turned on.  Needless to say I was feeling very sorry for myself and generally miserable all around but, being the (Korean age) 24-year-old that I am, I did not allow myself to wallow.  I had to call in sick on Friday since it'd be hard to teach English without a voice and instead I rested and ran errands.  Went to the bank to get things squared away, went to the pharmacy and got medicine (I refuse to go to the hospital for a cold as my coteachers were trying to get me to do) and, since you can't take medicine on an empty stomach, I even went to the grocery store and bought food.  I haven't really done that since getting to Korea since I'm always gone during the weekends and my aunt stocked my fridge once already.  I felt deliriously proud of myself. Delirious mostly because the world was spinning as I was doing all of this.  Not to mention I was on my bike.  Luckily I did not crash and die (obviously).  Though when I got home, I passed out (not literally mom, don't worry).  But the next day I continued my productive streak and washed the blankets and scrubbed down everywhere else.  It was a good weekend.  I haven't stayed in for a weekend probably since my first one since I'm constantly going to friends or family.  I'm actually being more social here in a foreign country than when I'm at home or New York.  It's extremely tiring.

Unfortunately being a productive citizen can only keep one entertained for so long.  Not long afterwards I convinced a friend to take a cab down here to spend the night <3  We spent the night listening to Kpop, etc.  Thanks to her, I now have 700+ Kpop songs, which I am listening to as I type.  And am thoroughly enjoying it.

The next day I went to Cheongju with her to run further errands (and epically failed in finding a 짜장면 place...).  Usually I end up taking a cab back to my place, which has a flat rate of roughly $10 but that day I was determined to once again risk the public transportation system.  Now, it's not Kworld.  It's me.  Subways I can do, no problem.  But buses...  Even in New York I only rode the city bus once in the entire 4 years I was there.  I only started taking the NYU shuttle bus by force when my dorm junior year was a bit far.  Normally in the city I rode the subway, took a cab or walked.  I somehow always screw up with buses (but not the long-distance buses like the KGreyhound which takes you from point A to point B straight through).  I like to think of it as an under-appreciated skill.  Anyways, the last time I ventured onto a bus, it took me to the wrong area of Ochang.  It was frightening.  I literally got off in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farmland, in the dark.  Luckily a bus going back the way I came from drove up soon after and I had to go through a few more transfers and a lot of walking (plus a slightly hysterical call to a coteacher) before I got home.  So this time, understandably, I was very adamant on only getting on a bus that my coteacher specified would drop me off in my neighborhood.  I walked out of my way and waited patiently.  I was soon rewarded with seeing my bus with the magic numbers on it roll up.  I climbed aboard, naively.  Twenty minutes later I reached the end if the line, still in Cheonju.  The bus driver looked at me through his rear view mirror with raised eyebrows.  I tentatively asked whether this bus would be going to Ochang.  To which he replied, handing me my death blow, that I had gotten on at the opposite side of the street.  I've done this once before (also in Korea) in the 6th grade and solemnly vowed never to make that mistake again.  FML.  Luckily he told me that there would be another bus, same number, that would start its route in the opposite direction in ten minutes.  I can forgive myself for the first mistake, perhaps the second.  But if I screw up again when it comes to buses, I give up.  I no longer deserve to be a college graduate.

In other news, I'm actually having a lot more fun teaching than I thought I would.  So much so that I sometimes catch myself thinking, dang full-time teachers are so lucky.  I'm actually envious of the 담임 (homeroom/main) teachers because in Korea they get to know their students on such a personal level.  They exchange cell numbers!  Being a subject teacher (English, science, music, etc.), I don't get as close with the kids (especially since I as the only foreign teacher teach so many grades and classes).  But since I have two extra classes, I'm more familiar with them since I see them three times a week for an hour each.  It's tiring but it's really fun getting to know them.  At this point I've given up pretending not to understand them (particularly with the younger ones who can't speak English at all) and nod or shake my head when they ask questions in Korean.  I don't answer in Korea, only English, so I think it's ok...

Anyways, this is a longer post than I originally thought it'd be...  There, little sister.  Hope you're satisfied.

Oh Kmen...

My 6th graders are learning how to compare things with something else so today as their game I had them do a competition.  Things such as "longest hair" or "oldest person" was placed in a can and a kid would draw something random.  Each table would send their best representative in that field and from there the kids would compete with one another.  So, the comparison is, who is strongest?  Two girls (yes!) and three boys step forward to represent their tables.  The girls are acting "girly" and saying things like, "There's no way we could beat a boy! Go easy on us~"  Anyways, skipping to the last 2 left, the boy with the cockiest attitude I've ever seen (which was still kind of adorable cause remember, these are just 6th graders) is left to arm wrestle the surviving girl.  She is laying it on thick with the "Oh no~" and "I can't win~" so the boy sits down and sticks out 2 fingers.  Yes, that's right, Mr. Cocky says in his silent way that he will arm wrestle her with just 2 fingers to "even the playing field."  He lost.  That girl was amazing!  As soon as the wrestling started, all pretenses fell away and she put her all into it and won.  Everyone was laughing hysterically.

Also, saw a foreigner last night for the first time in 오창 (Ochang).  I couldn't stop staring as I was walking back to my place.  He was probably annoyed...

Apparently there is a 바바리코트 변테 (pervert who wears nothing but his birthday suit under a large trench coat) lurking within the shadows here around our school.  Some 4th grade girls, being the world-wise kchildren that they are, wrote down 1 of the 3 perverts' license plate and handed it in to the police.  Two down, three to go.  One of my male co-teachers was telling me how he and other male teachers were saying they should be careful of looking suspicious when on school grounds, kkkkk~  These perverts' hang out spot happens to be at a park around midnight.  Anyone wanna join me in a little late-night excursion?

I need a break from the break...

So unfortunately 추석 (Chuseok), or what I like to call a 3-day version of Kthanksgiving, was definitely not a very relaxing time for me.  Went to the grandparents and since they keep disgustingly early hours (wakes up every morning at six), they expected me to do so as well.  Sleeping in till 9AM won me the following comments from my understanding (cough) grandmother: How can you be so lazy?!  If you keep these late hours you're going to miss work one day.  You need to wake up at normal times!  So you can go out to exercise.  Cause you're fat.  Look at the size of your butt!  And those hips!  You'll never get married.  Who will take you?  You're uglier than most girls so you'll have a hard time finding a husband.  When someone said you take after me, I was very insulted.  I was beautiful when I was your age!  Blah blah blah.  This is what I heard in a long, continuous, never-ending stream for a good several days until one of my aunts, who is in an even worse predicament than me, finally came and took the nagging from my shoulders.  Thank the Lord.

On a happier note, today was our school picnic day!  The 6th graders are currently on their 수학여행(?), which is 3-days and 2-nights so today the rest of the school went on a one day trip.  Aka no classes :D  I tagged along with the 5th graders (each grade went to a different place. There are 6 classes in each grade and grades 1-5 went. Meaning there were a LOT of buses transporting children) to Seoul Land, an amusement park/zoo.

One of my co-teachers.

Baobab tree. These people are seriously obsessed with the Little Prince...

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ...

My Kname <3 It was the monkey area... It must have an alternate meaning. Something to do with monkeys apparently...

BABY MONKEYS!! So cute~

Some of my students <3

FLOOD of 5th graders...

Seoul Land.

What I'm still kind of impressed by is the fact that all the parents (mothers) of the class president of each class sacked lunchboxes for the teachers to eat.  Apparently your kid being voted the class president is not always a good thing cause there's no way I would've done this for my kid's teacher willingly.

The Love Bus

Current location: 경기도
Reason: to see the grandparents for 추석
Mood: wtf/fml-mode

I was able to get on the bus from 청주 (Chungju) to 동서울 (Seoul) without a hitch (on a VERY nice bus I might add -- felt like a first class seat on a plane), but it was from Seoul to Gyeonggi-do when things took a more entertaining turn of events.  I lolligagged around for about an hour before my bus took off and I was one of the first people to settle in.  Literally everyone who walked onto the bus, minus 3 people (I counted), were in pairs.  Couples.  I felt like I was on Noah's ark, or in this case, bus.  The love bus.  The bus has 4 seats in each row, separated by an aisle right down the middle so it's 2 seats on each side.  Basically I was the only one up until the last minute when the bus took off sitting all by her lonesome.  It was fantastic.  I was giggling internally non-stop.  Then a guy sat down next to me and I cursed my single-ness.  Ah well, it could've been worse.  It could've been an 아저시.

Once I arrived, my grandmother lost no time in feeding me the minute I walked in through the door.  That and the ever-present lecture of the necessity for me to lose weight <3  Afterwards, I looked through old photo albums and discovered that there actually was once a time when my own father was a child.  I took pictures (they're fabulous) and will be posting them as soon as I can, mwahahahahaha...

The Apartment

So this door-to-door sales아저시 went around my apartment building to try and sell those automatic locks where you just put in a code to open the door as opposed to the old-fashioned key-and-lock system.  He stuck his body inside when I opened the door, alarming me, and then proceeded to tell me how the guy downstairs was robbed and showed me a picture on his phone of his broken lock.  He then assured me that I am completely unsafe with my current lock and that I will be robbed.  I finally managed (somehow) to get him out my door, after he shoved his card to me, and almost hyperventilated, semi-sure that someone would break in within the next hour (probably his accomplice to prove his point).  But then I realized, wait a minute, I don't think there is a guy who lives below me.  This is a new building and the only other people I saw move in (I was its first tenant) is the family 2 floors below me.  I was almost duped!  I didn't know salespeople even existed in this country!!

Anyways, here are some pictures.

View when you enter.

Angle from inside.

Very small bathroom.

The rest of the room.

My ukulele is never far ㅋㅋ...

All in all, it's pretty small but brand new (I'm its first occupant), which was lucky for me.  I've heard some horror stories regarding the filth of their apartments inherited from the previous teacher.  The one before me used to have to commute from 청주 (Chungju), which is about 40 min away on a good day so the school decided to find somewhere closer for me.  I'm literally 10 seconds from the school.  But the best part of living in a small, one-room apartment, is that it's cozy and just the right size.  Last time I was staying in Korea by myself for 3 months, I couldn't sleep with the lights off cause the large empty spaces freaked me out...  I'm still convinced there was a 귀신 (ghost) living there with me...

Kadorable..

Today, one of my little 3rd grade boys came up to me before class started and asked, very seriously, "How is the weather today?"  To which I replied, equally seriously (because a serious question warrants a serious answer), "The weather is very nice today."  He solemnly nodded and returned to his seat.  Five minutes later he returned to ask me another question.  It got halfway out, then he seemed to give up and went back to his seat before I could have a chance to answer.  Afterwards, as the class and I were going over Lesson 9: I have two pencils, he once again calmly asked, "How is the weather today?"  The other kids groaned and muttered.  Apparently this is the only phrase he knows in English.

There is a little girl in another one of my 3rd grade classes who looks EXACTLY like those old Asian paintings of women (only the child version).

Only without the crazy hair and kimono.  Whenever I look at her, I just have to smile <3

There is yet another 3rd grade boy that causes me to laugh on the inside every time I look at him.  He looks like the elementary version of Kpop boy-bands.

One of his ears is pierced, he has a faux-hawk dyed brown and is tres trendy.  And he's on the basketball team.  Future heartbreaker.

There are other students who makes me laugh just to look at them.  Kadorable <3  Hopefully there will come a time when I could be bothered to take pictures of my students...

비봉초등학교

Office for me and the 3 other English teachers.

My Desk.  Note the ukulele ㅋㅋ..

First English Class

Second English Class

Front of the school

Back of the school

These English phrases are on every other step...

The Worst Tourist/Korean

I arrived to Seoul, Republic of Korea on a hot, humid day.  August 19th, 2010 to be exact.  And I am only just now finally getting around to starting a blog to log my adventures in an organized manner before I forget everything.  Unfortunately, I must be the worst tourist/Korean ever because I have not taken a single photo during orientation (which was a blast) or my new living arrangements (though I will get to that eventually... I hope...).  The sad thing is, I bought a brand new camera just for this purpose and I have yet to use it.  Fail.

Anyways, orientation was held at... some place near the Seoul University hospital.  There was a dorm (it was nice) and classrooms (not so nice) usually used for foreign students.  I always forget what it's called...  In any case, I met some really cool people there, was sufficiently bored during the lectures and extremely entertained by some things the EPIK staff organized for us (like teaching us that Korean folk dance that only reminded me of 황진이 ㅋㅋ).  But I was looking forward to it ending so I could finally move into my apartment and unpack my oversized bags.

I was placed in Choongchungbuk-do (충청북도) in a very country-town called Ochang (오창).  I teach at the elementary school here, Bibong Elementary (비봉초) and everyone is pretty nice here, which was a huge relief.  I've been hearing stories about co-teaching...  I have 3 co-teachers (they're kind of supposed to be like the disciplinary force while I'm teaching since the kids don't know I can speak Korean. Most foreign teachers can't) and they're the main English teachers of their grades while I'm just kind of there for my pronunciation.  Which is fine.  Co-teachers also function as kind of like the native teacher's babysitter since usually they can't speak the language and need help settling in.  I teach grade 3-6 so that's usually 5 classes a day, 40 minutes each.  The kids seem pretty well-behaved and entertaining.  My CTs assured me that since in this area most of the mothers stay home instead of working, their children are well-disciplined and clean (kkkkkk).  The school itself is only about 5 years old so everything's pretty new.

My apartment is a small one-room, but it's cozy and perfect-sized for me.  Since the apartment is brand new, it's clean, which was a relief since I've been hearing horror stories of the filth left behind by previous native teachers.  So that's a plus but the minus is that it has that new house smell.  It's not like the nice new car smell.  It's this weird, sour wood smell, though I suppose it might have been aggravated by the humidity.  Ugh, the humidity!  For those of you who know me (as you should, else why would you be reading this?), I rarely sweat.  But let me tell you, I am sweating here!  Though today for the first time since I got here there was a very nice, I'd even say chilly, breeze blowing through town.  Do I smell the end of this sticky summer?

Yesterday I just came back from Wonju (원주) where my aunt and her family lives.  It was suh-weet seeing them as my aunt is super liberal/passionate and whenever I see her she's always talking about some new conspiracy theory or another.  My baby cousin, who's 5 now (last time I saw her was 2 years ago) has grown into quite the little smart-alek, which in baby world equates to adorable.

In summary, to bring this blog to a close (finally), I am having an enjoyable time so far.  It still throws me off sometimes, the thought that I'm going to be here for a year.  But I mean yes, it's a foreign country, but how different can it be from my time in NY?  Which, in its own right is practically a foreign country to a Californian.  And I even have the added bonus of speaking the language and having family here to help me out.  I'll be fine. ...

Maybe I'll get a cat...  Jumpstart my career as a crazy cat lady.