I'm Living in Jinju, South Korea!

crooked pic of a temple ceiling

It's official, I live here now! Wow wow wow wow wow wow.

I was placed in Jinju, in the Gyeongnam province, which everyone told me was really rural but is actually more populous that my state's capital. I think my definition of rural and Korean's definition of rural is very, very different. Of course, this place is tiny compared to Seoul, but ANY PLACE will lose in that comparison. I think Jinju is the perfect size for me. A good public transport system, fairly bike friendly, and once you get to your intended side of town (there are 4 distinct parts of the city, from what I've gathered so far) it's easily walkable.

I arrived here on Tuesday and start work tomorrow (!!!!!!) but will be living in a weird foreigner limbo for the next 3 weeks. I can't really do ANYTHING (get a functional bank account, buy a phone plan, etc.) until I get my Alien Registration Card (ARC) so I'm basically boopin' around town on my bike with no money and no data. Thankfully Jinju is pretty easy to navigate. As long as I can find the river that runs through town then I can find my way home.

"home for 3 months" playlist

I like to make playlists for each period of my life, usually defined by a location or an extended event.  I created a new playlist for each semester of college and the summers in between academic years. I shared a Glasgow playlist, inspired by my semester there. I have new playlists for each trip: one named "europe // 2017", another "europe // 2018", and have already made one titled "S. K O R E A", ready to be filled with what's yet to come.

For the past 3 months, I've been in a strange in-between period, (graduated from college, post-Europe trip, working part-time in my hometown, jumping through so many hoops so I can actually LIVE abroad and not just slum it in hostels), so I needed a playlist to reflect that.

Also, it's taking me too long to figure out how to embed a nice looking playlist (I need to PACK for KOREA, OKAY?), so I'm just going to post a link and just list the songs. We make do.

mercury in retrospect

happier / marshmello & bastille

make it sweet / old dominion

bad at love / old dominion (cover...better than the original, imo)

joan of arc / little mix

going going gome / maddie poppe

born to love you / lanco

burning man / dierks bentley & brothers osborne

thank u, next / ariana grande

be my mistake / the 1975

forget you not / little mix

because the night / patti smith

the cure (stripped) / little mix

money / cardi b

sad bitch / dillatante

boys / lizzo

baby / bishop briggs

weekend / death team

high hopes / panic! at the disco

hope is a dangerous thing for a girl like me to have / lana del rey

back to life (80s remix) / hailee steinfeld & aris archontis

let's go / matt and kim

wasabi / little mix

here you come again / dolly parton

drip / cardi b & migos

almost (sweet music) / hozier

golden wings / gabriel garzon-montano

moderation / florence + the machine

modern art / summy

bloodline / ariana grande 

Wow, this really is a good playlist. I have great taste. 

Technically, I'm Moving to Korea

Technically, I'm moving to South Korea next week. I have my fancy E2 visa in my passport (allowing me to work legally hell yeah), my contract is signed, and my bags are 30% packed.

But emotionally and mentally, I'm not going anywhere.

Applying to teach English in Korea is a LONG process with a lot of waiting and maybes, so for the entire three months I've been home I prepared myself to be disappointed. With so many hoops to jump through and so many variables, I knew I should prepare myself for Plan B. I put off learning the Korean language past the alphabet, knowing that it would hurt to put in hours of study only to be told that I wouldn't end up needing it after all. I told all my friends and family "maybe" and "hopefully".

"You're going to Korea next month, right?" I'd hear at least 10 times a week.

"Hopefully!" I replied with a big smile. "If all of the paperwork works out!"

And because I didn't want to deal with the crushing blow of rejection, I wouldn't allow myself to feel excited.

But now the tickets are bought and last minute preparations are being made and I'm actually leaving. I'm flying to San Francisco on Thursday (Valentine's Day!) to visit my college roommate for a few days then flying directly to Seoul on the 17th. This is it, I'm going!

Yet for some reason, it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving. I'm still half expecting the carpet to be pulled out from under me any moment now. I won't believe it, believe the fact that I'm actually moving to the other side of the world for a whole year, until I'm on that flight to Seoul.

Nope, No Travel Plans for You

October, London, sunset

I love reading everyone's travel plans and goals for 2019, and usually, I'd want to share my own.

But the truth of the matter is that I'm frickin frackin terrified.

I've applied to a teaching English program in an Asian country (will give all the specifics when/if everything works out) and I've been accepted, but I haven't had an update since.

The program made a post saying that they're a little slower releasing placements this year and to be patient, but I am still! so! scared!

The facebook group is filled with people excitedly posting their placements and connecting with others in their region. A poster on Reddit said that their recruiter told them not to send in their documents for this term because all of the applications currently in their office are more than enough for this intake.

My application is one of the many sitting in that office. Will it be one of the lucky that get processed in time, or will I receive an email in a few days saying, "Sorry, all our spots are filled, try again in the fall"?

Will I be booking a flight to leave in mid-February, or will I have to tell everyone I know about a "change of plans" and be stressed about what the hell I'm supposed to do next?

What the hell am I supposed to do next?

I know there's no point, in worrying, but man am I worried.

Every Book I Read in 2018: Part 2

Let's finish this list! It's already 2019, baby! Here are the rest of the books I read in 2018. I read SEVENTY (70!) in total, which is the most I've ever read in a year. Make sure you follow me on Goodreads to see what I read this year!

36. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Read in Sarande, Albania. Had this on my Kindle for years but was saving it for when I ran out of physical books to read which was easy to do since ALL of the books on hostel shelves were in German. The writing is nothing to write home about (lol) and it could've easily been shorter. I'm sure the movie is better.

37. The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Read in Greece. This is the third Atwood book I've tried to read but the only one I've actually succeeded in reading. It was alright.

38. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The only book in English at the last hostel on my last stop in Greece. Finished on the plane going home. Read it once in high school but also enjoyed it this time!

39. Upstream by Mary Oliver
Read in my bedroom. My first book back on American soil! It's been on my to-read list for a while so I was excited to read it. There are some really good passages but Oliver might be too smart for me.

40. The Witch Elm by Tana French
I gasped when I saw this on the shelf at the library. French is one of my favorite authors and this is her first standalone book. Compared to her other books it wasn't her best, but not-her-best is still better than most people's greatest.

41. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Read at my aunt's beach house. Read for bookclub. I probably wouldn't have finished this book if it wasn't a bookclub pick. It just...wasn't good. Would be more bearable as an audiobook.

42. Buffering by Hannah Hart
Also read at my aunt's beach house (I had nothing to do there but read). I'm not big into YouTube but I enjoy memoirs and this one blew my socks off. Hannah has been through A LOT and discusses the complexity of love and family.

43. Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown [AUDIOBOOK]
Listened to in my car. Not good. Hard pass.

44. The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Read on my couch. I loved Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe but this was a big disappointment compared to that one.

45. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Read on my couch. Definitely wasn't what I thought it would be but I still loved it. I LOVE self-absorbed, unreliable female narrators.

46. Lethal White by J. K. Rowling
Read at my grandma's house. This is the fourth book in her Cormoran Strike series and wasn't the best. I'm looking forward to the next one since I have a feeling it will be better.

47. The Power by Naomi Alderman
Read half on my friend's couch in the Scottish highlands, finished it at home. Loved this book and would be a great one for kids to read in high school.

48. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham [AUDIOBOOK]
Listened to in my car. Covers a bit of Gilmore Girls and a bit of the rest of her life. Listening to this feels like a big sister giving life advice. Some bits could've been cut out but I mostly enjoyed it.

49. Paper Girls vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Read at my aunt's. I've never read a comic before and I think I need to read a few before my brain gets adjusted to the rhythm of them, but this was good!

50. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Read on my aunt's front porch. Very disappointing. I really wanted to like it but the writing has no pizzazz.

51. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

Read in my room. It was alright! Not as good as Divergent but one of the better YA books I've read. I've heard the sequel is better so I'll read that.

52. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
Read in my childhood bedroom. I read this in one day, it's that good (and that short). No one can write like Ephron. She is so smart and so funny and I'm so sad she's gone.

53. Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown
This is about a lesbian pastor daughter's in Georgia and I was so excited to read it and yet I was so disappointed! The writing was bland and it just felt like a lot of wish-fulfillment and didn't really reflect evangelical Christian culture at all.

54. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
A breath of fresh air after a lackluster book. There are no quotation marks which annoys me when Cormac McCarthy does it but is smart when done by Rooney. This book is weird and a little fucked up and none of the characters are perfect and I LOVED it. Can't wait to read more by Rooney.

55. The Diviners by Libba Bray [AUDIOBOOK]
My first loan using the Libby app, which I highly recommend! Your library probably has it, or something similar! The narrator, January LaVoy, is very talented and can do lots of different voices. Can't wait to listen to the other books in this series.

56. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Mackenzi Lee
Gay and fun and cute! Definitely want to read the sequel in 2019.

57. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
I wish I loved this as much as everyone else does.

58. I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara [AUDIOBOOK]
Brilliant and chilling to listen to. Usually, I would never want to re-listen to an audiobook but this one was so good.

59. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Probably would've like this more if I read it in high school. Decent and quick.

60. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett [AUDIOBOOK]
I loved Commonwealth by Patchett and she narrates this one. It was alright! And probably very therapeutic for her to write.

61. Just Kids by Patti Smith
I love this and her! M Train is next on my list. She sings a song called "Because the Night" written by Bruce Springsteen and it's an honest to goodness bop.

62. By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham [AUDIOBOOK]
Read by Hugh Dancy who does a HORRIBLE Virginian accent but I loved every second of this book. Over the top introspective which is right up my alley.

63. How to Be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky
Alright! Better to read slowly over time. Or just read Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed.

64. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
During all the hype of this book and no ONE EVER BOTHERED TO MENTION THAT IT'S SET IN GLASGOW!!! Loved this book so much and will definitely read again in the future. It's just so soft and kind and honestly a great guide on how to be an adult???

65. The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
Beautiful and creepy and artsy and probably even better in the original French! Must learn French!

66. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie [AUDIOBOOK]
Always been meaning to read this. A great starter to feminism and something that every gender should read (would be a great high school or middle school read).

67. Women & Money by Suze Orman [AUDIOBOOK]
Trying to up my financial literacy. This book was alright. It's definitely aimed at a middle-aged woman freshly out of a divorce who doesn't even know the passwords to her bank accounts. Suze is brutally honest and I respect her for that.

68. Gmorning, Gnight! by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cute and quick and definitely want to buy for my nightstand so I can annotate it/read it whenever I need a pick me up.

69. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder [AUDIOBOOK]
Not as much fearmongering as I thought there would be. This reads like a to-do list to be a good citizen. Take this book with a grain of salt and a pinch of optimism.

70. Talking to Women by Nell Dunn
Started reading in Sweden when I borrowed Poppy's copy and was able to buy my own when I was unexpectedly stranded in London for a few days, so yay, silver lining! It's a transcript of Dunn's conversations with her friends in 60's London and it's mindboggling how so much and so little has changed about women's lives since.

My goal for 2019 is to read at least 50 books! Let's do this!