Stacy Rae
- Stacy Rae
- Henderson, Nevada, United States
- This blog is about my journey to Korea! While I am there I will be teaching conversational English and living in two different Korean homes. This is a once in a lifetime chance to go on an adventure across the world! I am SO blessed!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Gyeongju Saturday/Sunday
My computer seems to be working just fine now! Praise GOD!
Yesterday, Saturday was a rough start. We checked out of our first hotel room- which by the way had 3 beds, one for each of us girls sharing. (they were rock hard)- Traditional Korean beds. With a glass window bathroom door. Kind of akward for us, hahaha! So we put up a towel.
We met up with the host families children at the Dobong City Hall. Once we did we started our jouney to Gyeongju (pronounced, JOHN-JEW) about 20 minutes into this 5 hour drive to Gyeongju I started to get really car sick. Most of you know how L.A. drivers are right? Well Koreans are a lot like it! A lot of stop and go. So as I began to make my way to the front of the bus I looked at the lady with a sick face and put my hand over my mouth because I was about to throw up- without saying anything she grabbed a bag for me to throw up in, I threw up probably 5 times…SO nasty! You know that feeling that you get when you throw up and you are like, “oh man I want my mom”? haha! Well I wanted my mom but had 4 Korean moms huddling over me patting my back and making sure I was okay. It was so sweet! Its funny how there is a language barrier yet with my facial expression she knew I was in need of something. That is why I love sign language!
Any ways, we got to Gyeongju just fine and had Korean meal! It was good! LOTS and I mean LOTS of food is always on the tables! It’s like a feast! I think I might come back 10lbs heavier! Haha! We got to see lots of really cool things there like tombs that look like hills. Oh and the tour guide there could speak English- she was amazing! I think one of the coolest things I learned was about the Korean flag. If you don’t know the Korean flag has the ying yang along with lines that represent heaven, earth, fire, and water. The ying yang was picked red and blue to represent men and women. Men are red because they are very hot, and women are blue because they are very cold. Well now men wear blues or greens for their clothing because they need to cool down and women wear pinks and reds to warm up. So its all about balancing out each other. It was pretty cool to learn so much! The lily pads in the ponds there were amazing! I wish we had them in Vegas! After the night we got to stay in a really nice hotel room that overlooked part of Gyeongju. We even went on a little night tour; there were tons of people out for this event! Even the spiders! I couldn’t believe how big the spiders are there! The body was the size of like a .50 piece! Yes …the body!
Sunday morning we got to go to a breakfast buffet- they had lots of American food there! I was so happy! Its funny because none of the kids really liked any of the traditional Korean food. Maybe it was because they had us “Americans” with them. All they were talking to us about was hamburgers from McDonalds and how they wish they were able to get refills! Haha! They were so funny!
Today we went on a hike up a mountain it was pouring raining outside- probably one of my favorite parts of the day was breathing in all the fresh air and being surrounded by all the green! Once we got up the mountain we got to see the Buddha temple. It was built in 716 and there were people worshiping it/praying inside. There was a big sign that said no photos, so I took out the video camera to just record it, and one of the workers (an old lady) jumped up and said NO PHOTO!!!! I felt SO bad! I was thinking maybe no photos because of the flash. I learned my lesson well! Then another temple we went there were more Buddha’s. We learned about the past, present, and future Buddha. I was in shock when I saw what I know as the Nazi symbol all over the buildings there. Come to find out it is a Chinese symbol for Buddha. I was very shocked! My favorite thing there was a Korean tradition where they stacked rocks on top of each other. The rocks are people’s wishes. So each of us made wishes and stacked rocks. I made 5
After this we went to McDonalds! It was so good and different tasting, but not in a bad way.
Once we got back to Dobong City Hall our host families picked us up. I got to meet Shin Hyang, YooJin and their father. They made a really cute welcome sign on their front door, and on my bed room door! They are SO sweet! Yoo Jin was so excited to see me! She couldn’t go to Gyeongju because she had a piano contest- which by the way she presented me with a welcome concert in my room by playing Beethoven #7. She is truly talented!
Well that’s it for today! Tomorrow is Monday and I am off to more tours!
Love you!
Yesterday, Saturday was a rough start. We checked out of our first hotel room- which by the way had 3 beds, one for each of us girls sharing. (they were rock hard)- Traditional Korean beds. With a glass window bathroom door. Kind of akward for us, hahaha! So we put up a towel.
We met up with the host families children at the Dobong City Hall. Once we did we started our jouney to Gyeongju (pronounced, JOHN-JEW) about 20 minutes into this 5 hour drive to Gyeongju I started to get really car sick. Most of you know how L.A. drivers are right? Well Koreans are a lot like it! A lot of stop and go. So as I began to make my way to the front of the bus I looked at the lady with a sick face and put my hand over my mouth because I was about to throw up- without saying anything she grabbed a bag for me to throw up in, I threw up probably 5 times…SO nasty! You know that feeling that you get when you throw up and you are like, “oh man I want my mom”? haha! Well I wanted my mom but had 4 Korean moms huddling over me patting my back and making sure I was okay. It was so sweet! Its funny how there is a language barrier yet with my facial expression she knew I was in need of something. That is why I love sign language!
Any ways, we got to Gyeongju just fine and had Korean meal! It was good! LOTS and I mean LOTS of food is always on the tables! It’s like a feast! I think I might come back 10lbs heavier! Haha! We got to see lots of really cool things there like tombs that look like hills. Oh and the tour guide there could speak English- she was amazing! I think one of the coolest things I learned was about the Korean flag. If you don’t know the Korean flag has the ying yang along with lines that represent heaven, earth, fire, and water. The ying yang was picked red and blue to represent men and women. Men are red because they are very hot, and women are blue because they are very cold. Well now men wear blues or greens for their clothing because they need to cool down and women wear pinks and reds to warm up. So its all about balancing out each other. It was pretty cool to learn so much! The lily pads in the ponds there were amazing! I wish we had them in Vegas! After the night we got to stay in a really nice hotel room that overlooked part of Gyeongju. We even went on a little night tour; there were tons of people out for this event! Even the spiders! I couldn’t believe how big the spiders are there! The body was the size of like a .50 piece! Yes …the body!
Sunday morning we got to go to a breakfast buffet- they had lots of American food there! I was so happy! Its funny because none of the kids really liked any of the traditional Korean food. Maybe it was because they had us “Americans” with them. All they were talking to us about was hamburgers from McDonalds and how they wish they were able to get refills! Haha! They were so funny!
Today we went on a hike up a mountain it was pouring raining outside- probably one of my favorite parts of the day was breathing in all the fresh air and being surrounded by all the green! Once we got up the mountain we got to see the Buddha temple. It was built in 716 and there were people worshiping it/praying inside. There was a big sign that said no photos, so I took out the video camera to just record it, and one of the workers (an old lady) jumped up and said NO PHOTO!!!! I felt SO bad! I was thinking maybe no photos because of the flash. I learned my lesson well! Then another temple we went there were more Buddha’s. We learned about the past, present, and future Buddha. I was in shock when I saw what I know as the Nazi symbol all over the buildings there. Come to find out it is a Chinese symbol for Buddha. I was very shocked! My favorite thing there was a Korean tradition where they stacked rocks on top of each other. The rocks are people’s wishes. So each of us made wishes and stacked rocks. I made 5
After this we went to McDonalds! It was so good and different tasting, but not in a bad way.
Once we got back to Dobong City Hall our host families picked us up. I got to meet Shin Hyang, YooJin and their father. They made a really cute welcome sign on their front door, and on my bed room door! They are SO sweet! Yoo Jin was so excited to see me! She couldn’t go to Gyeongju because she had a piano contest- which by the way she presented me with a welcome concert in my room by playing Beethoven #7. She is truly talented!
Well that’s it for today! Tomorrow is Monday and I am off to more tours!
Love you!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Computer Issues
Hey guys...So my computer is fine! THANK GOD! The only thing that is broken is the mouse! So as soon as I get a mouse I will upload some pictures, videos, and what not!
Today we are off to tour around Gyeongju again! Its raining outside and very cloudy!
This morning we had eggs, bacon, and cereal! :)
I will write you all about my day later tonight. Love and miss you all!
ps...Josh, I will not forget the golden rat! bahahaha!
Today we are off to tour around Gyeongju again! Its raining outside and very cloudy!
This morning we had eggs, bacon, and cereal! :)
I will write you all about my day later tonight. Love and miss you all!
ps...Josh, I will not forget the golden rat! bahahaha!
Friday, July 9, 2010
1st day in Korea
Well I survived the 11.5 plane flight to Korea and traveled in time too! Its now 10pm Saturday :)
WOW, I can't tell you how beautiful it is here! There is so much to see/do here. This morning we woke up and went exploring down in Nowon City. Then later I got to open up a bank account in Korea! It was a total shock to me because I couldn't read anything and there aren't many English speaking people here. However the ones that can are really good at it.
Oh so the food- We got to eat our first real Korean meal. If you know anything about the culture you will know that they take their shoes off and eat while sitting on the floor. They brought out SO much food...believe it or not it was actually good to me. However my body rejected it a few hours later...all of us started to get stomach aches. Tonight for dinner we had Korean BBQ it was delicious! We had SAM...I think thats how you spell it. It was Pork (cooked in front of you) with lots of veggies, and some really good sauce.
We also got to meet our host families! Turns out the twin girls...it is actually a Twin girl and her twin brother! bahahahaha!!! When they wrote me it was very confusing. They were so nice to me today and can't wait to have me in their home!
Tomorrow we are going to Gyung Ju. This is a nation museum that was rated by Times magazine as a top 6 best place to visit. And apparently people are sometimes on a waiting list for a year to get to go here! I am so stoked. Well I am off to bed! Hope you are all having a great summer!
<3 Stacy Rae
ps...I wish you were here with me!
WOW, I can't tell you how beautiful it is here! There is so much to see/do here. This morning we woke up and went exploring down in Nowon City. Then later I got to open up a bank account in Korea! It was a total shock to me because I couldn't read anything and there aren't many English speaking people here. However the ones that can are really good at it.
Oh so the food- We got to eat our first real Korean meal. If you know anything about the culture you will know that they take their shoes off and eat while sitting on the floor. They brought out SO much food...believe it or not it was actually good to me. However my body rejected it a few hours later...all of us started to get stomach aches. Tonight for dinner we had Korean BBQ it was delicious! We had SAM...I think thats how you spell it. It was Pork (cooked in front of you) with lots of veggies, and some really good sauce.
We also got to meet our host families! Turns out the twin girls...it is actually a Twin girl and her twin brother! bahahahaha!!! When they wrote me it was very confusing. They were so nice to me today and can't wait to have me in their home!
Tomorrow we are going to Gyung Ju. This is a nation museum that was rated by Times magazine as a top 6 best place to visit. And apparently people are sometimes on a waiting list for a year to get to go here! I am so stoked. Well I am off to bed! Hope you are all having a great summer!
<3 Stacy Rae
ps...I wish you were here with me!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
packing...
Well we all know how much fun packing can be! Well get this, after packing both bags my mom called the united airline and the Singapore airline to find out about the luggage.
Turns out united airlines: you have to pay:$25 for the first bag, then $35 for the second bag! both under 50lbs and up to 62" per bag.
Then for Singapore, your bags have to be under 107" lwh! So long story short I had to down size one of my bags! haha and my carry ons have to be under 45" and now more than 15 lbs. AND if you go over at all the 107" and 50lbs then it is $363.00 ...yep that's not a mistake, you read right, $363.00 PER BAG! isn't that crazy!? Its cheaper to just add a third bag for $115.00.
Well just FYI and now I know before you go out of the country check the airlines, they have changed everything! I remember checking in bags for free! I guess south west is the only one that still does that now.
So yep, I am all packed and have everything I need!I leave TOMORROW! Never thought it would come so fast. Thank you all SO SO much for helping me out for my trip! Its going to be the best adventure of my life so far! I can't wait to get there and show you all!
Big hugs and smiles to the ones I didn't get to see before I left and hopefully we can get together when I return!
<3 Stacy Rae
Turns out united airlines: you have to pay:$25 for the first bag, then $35 for the second bag! both under 50lbs and up to 62" per bag.
Then for Singapore, your bags have to be under 107" lwh! So long story short I had to down size one of my bags! haha and my carry ons have to be under 45" and now more than 15 lbs. AND if you go over at all the 107" and 50lbs then it is $363.00 ...yep that's not a mistake, you read right, $363.00 PER BAG! isn't that crazy!? Its cheaper to just add a third bag for $115.00.
Well just FYI and now I know before you go out of the country check the airlines, they have changed everything! I remember checking in bags for free! I guess south west is the only one that still does that now.
So yep, I am all packed and have everything I need!I leave TOMORROW! Never thought it would come so fast. Thank you all SO SO much for helping me out for my trip! Its going to be the best adventure of my life so far! I can't wait to get there and show you all!
Big hugs and smiles to the ones I didn't get to see before I left and hopefully we can get together when I return!
<3 Stacy Rae
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Korean Digits!
I found out that I am going to have a cell phone while I am there! HOW COOL is that!?
I am not sure about calling back home just yet...but I am totally going to have my own cell phone there! = ] They seriously are totally hooking us up! I LOVE it!
I am not sure about calling back home just yet...but I am totally going to have my own cell phone there! = ] They seriously are totally hooking us up! I LOVE it!
3 More Days!
Thursday at work everyone bought pizza and we all got to eat together for lunch! They also got be a boss lady bag full of lots of goodies. Including a: D!rty Korean(THANK YOU Melianie!) book, crossword book, fiber one bars, chop sticks, crystal light packets, chocolate, and lots more! I also got a really sweet card with some Korean words on it with a photo album too! I can't wait to fill it with lots of pictures from Korea!
Friday was fun! Thank you everyone that came over to say bye! I am gonna miss you all!
I found out today that my boy, "Hwang In Jae"- what a cool name! He is 13 yrs old :) I can't wait to see them! I went to old navy yesterday and got my host families a 4th of July T-Shirt as a gift to give them. I can't wait to give them some of the gifts I got. I really hope that they like them!
God has blessed me with enough money/supplies for my trip! I am truly grateful for having such great people in my life! Thank you all for your support!
Friday was fun! Thank you everyone that came over to say bye! I am gonna miss you all!
I found out today that my boy, "Hwang In Jae"- what a cool name! He is 13 yrs old :) I can't wait to see them! I went to old navy yesterday and got my host families a 4th of July T-Shirt as a gift to give them. I can't wait to give them some of the gifts I got. I really hope that they like them!
God has blessed me with enough money/supplies for my trip! I am truly grateful for having such great people in my life! Thank you all for your support!
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