As always hello my wonderful readers! I hope that life has been treating you with kindness. I've got two days left here in Arizona, and I am so sad about leaving. I just know saying goodbye to my family and friends here is going to make me cry. I leave Saturday morning, and I am just wishing I had a few more days to spend with all the people I love here.

When I was coming back I didn't realize I would love being home so much. I felt like I had outgrown my life here, but coming back made me appreciate what I have here, who I have here. My family and my friends here have been by my side through so much, and this year away is going to be a lot harder than the first one. I'm still going, but my once light heart is now heavy when I think about another year before I get to see them, hug them, share my life with them. *Sigh* I just really don't want to end up crying at the airport on Saturday but I feel like I will. This place, these people are my home. They've always been, and it took leaving them behind to come back again. I know this year will be even sweeter because I know I won't stay longer in Korea. After this year I will return to my home, to my family, to my friends, and start new chapters in my story.

I'm excited for my future. For this second year of growth in Korea, the memories I will have, the friends I will enjoy, and for all the years of discovery that come after these Seoul chapters end. Everyone here has talked about how happy I look, and it is true. I am happy. Not just because I went abroad for a year. I am happy with the young woman I am right now. This 23 year old me amazes me with the strength and will power she has to overcome, to discover, to try. I'm so happy and proud of myself. There truly is beauty, happiness, and freedom in being yourself and letting yourself discover, explore, and create who you are. To know that only you can define that, and only you can change that. Only you can be the author of your life.

Sometimes I catch myself in the mirror and the smile on my face amazes me. This is what living is. This is what being alive feels like. Sincere, honest, and genuine effort. That is how I try to live my life. 2010 was my year to grow, and now 2011 is my year to bloom, and already my rainbow of colors is stretching across this world. I'm looking forward to more adventures, challenges, and discoveries this year. When I first came to Korea it was to get away for a bit and become my own person. To be the only voice guiding me along this journey of life. To figure out who I am and who I want to be. I know who I am and I know who I want to be, where I want to be, and what I want in my future.

This peace and clarity inside of me about this second year, and all the chapters to follow fills me up with joy. When I came home I prayed for answers to what my future would look like, and I got enough to start forming an image of what lays ahead for me. I'm excited to work towards that bright and happy future. I'm excited to make my dreams come true. I'm excited to learn, to grow, to try, to live my life with enthusiasm and a lot of heart. 

I'm so thankful for the people in my life who have all had a hand in getting me this far, and I know they will be at my side as I go even farther into my journey of life. I really am blessed with an amazing family, and friends who are family to me. I'm thankful to all the people who've made the past three weeks wonderful. All the memories, laughter, stories, love, and time they've given me will be saved inside of me for those moments when I really miss them. I have a feeling the first month back is going to be rough. I'm going to be very homesick, and to make matters sadder, I'll have to say goodbye to friends who are heading back home, or continuing their journey somewhere else. Instead of saying goodbye, I will just say "see you later!" I'm going to miss them, but I know the times we shared won't disappear because they'll be the memories we carry with us everywhere we go.

I'm very thankful for all the love, blessings, and amazing moments I've had these past three weeks. I'm going to make the most out of my last 2 days here, and when I do leave I'll do my best to smile and not cry. It feels like Seoul was a dream I dreamed long ago. I realize now that home is here, it always has been. I left in order to come back and realize that all along this was where I belonged. I know this year is going to be amazing. It's going to be a year of triumph, laughter, and lots of fun. I'm going to make it that way. I'm going to keep living my life and forging my future with each present day.

Be blessed,
~Lola O.~

As always hello everyone! I hope that life has been very kind to you so far in the New Year! I'm back in Phoenix, Arizona:)! I got back Friday night, and the jet lag is still messing with me.

Okay, so I ended up packing at the last minute, because I fell asleep on Thursday night. I woke up Friday around 4AM and just got all the packing, cleaning, and last minute errands done. So I ended up having to bring 2 luggages, a carry-on, and my backpack because all the souvenirs and things I wanted to bring back for good wouldn't fit into one. Oh, the consequences of being a shopaholic! All my friends who lived by me were working so I had no help to the bus stop to take the airport bus. I took a purse strap tied the carry-on to one luggage and rolled everything to the bus stop by myself. People kept staring at me, it would have been great if they offered me some help! I got to the airport around 4 PM and found out my flight would be leaving at 6 PM instead of 6:20, great news for me! The earlier I leave the better.


I went through security with no problems, boarded the plane, and that is when things started to go wrong and weird. I requested an aisle seat. They put me in a middle seat. I always need to sit in the aisle. I hate flying, too many people in a small space. It makes me extremely anxious to be stuck between people, especially if I don't know them. Well I sat down, and the guy who was in the window seat started talking to me a mile a minute, and asking weird questions. He gave me bad vibes, so I asked the attendant if an aisle seat became available could I change my seat? She told me the flight was full, so it was unlikely. I just said to her, if one does become available please give it to me. Not to mention my row was by the bathrooms which just made it even less appealing. Middle seat, creepy guy, and bathrooms. No, No, and NO!

The guy who had the aisle seat came and sat down. I noticed an empty seat in front of me in the exit row, it was a window but with plenty of leg space so I was going to sit there. He asked me what was up, because he saw me looking so anxious and I told him I hate sitting in the middle. Aisle guy was really nice, and said he'd trade seats with me. The guy was like 6'3 so I felt bad and asked him if he was sure. He said no problem. Great! Then the creepy window guy said he'd take the exit row seat. Even better. So aisle guy became window guy, and  I got my aisle seat, with no one in the middle. Perfect! The only problem for the next 10 hours was creepy guy. He stared at me so often it made me really uncomfortable. He would keep turning around to glance at me, and then get up to get something out of the overhead bin above me over and over. He just made me really freaked out.

I will probably never fly again without using Korean Air or Asiana. It is worth the money for a more comfortable journey. This flight had no individual screens to choose what you want to watch, and so I was dying of boredom the whole time. For some reason I thought it would be the same as when I first traveled to SK, so I hadn't prepared anything. I got to San Fransisco in one piece. I went through immigration and then I went to get my luggage to go through customs. I was trying to pull my luggage but there were too many luggages under mine and I cut my pinky finger. At first it seemed to not be a big deal, but then so much blood started coming out. I had nothing but wet wipes so I wrapped my finger, got my other luggage, and went to customs. The security guy could tell something was wrong. I'm pretty sure I looked like I was going to cry, because that is how I felt. He took me to another security guy who bandaged me up, the cut was pretty deep and painful. He also let me take a shortcut out.

After, I rechecked my luggage, went through security again, and made it to my gate almost two hours later. Seriously, you have to have a layover coming into the US. Immigration and customs takes so much time. I had about two hours before my next flight so I just watched Grey's Anatomy and skyped my family. The second flight I got my aisle seat, and the only bad thing was the crazy turbulence we went through. I arrived in Phoenix the same time I left Seoul. Time differences are such a mind trip. I got to baggage claim, and all of a sudden my brother was behind me. I was so happy to see him. I kept hugging him over and over. It felt and still feels like I am awake in a dream right now. Somethings are different, and somethings are the same. It feels a bit alien to me because I've been out of the loop.

My brother and I got my luggage and headed to my mom waiting in the car. Wow! My mom was looking so beautiful. I couldn't stop staring at her. I was so happy to see her. It was a great moment. Phoenix is so hot right now. I packed all the wrong stuff. You can even wear shorts if you wanted to. As we drove on the highway  to my mom's house I had that feeling of returning to home. I think no matter where I go AZ will always be where home is. It's so beautiful here. The sky is beyond lovely. The air is fresh and clean. The roads open and not filled with people or cars. There is room to breathe, to be, to think. I've missed home. I've missed these open spaces. I've missed my family and friends. It feels good to be home. Although the time is short, even being here for one moment, is a moment that counts.

There are a lot of people I need to see, and places I need to go to while I'm here. I want to make the most out of my days. I cannot wait to drive my car. Hopefully tomorrow. The only thing I miss is the stillness and solitude of having my own space. Right now everyone is sleeping so I have a moment to catch my breathe, and put my thoughts down. I feel different. I have to ask myself, is this for real? Am I really here? It's as if my vision is blurry and my head is filled with clouds. I'm kind of floating around in this waking dream.

I'm happy to be back. To be here. To eat my grandma's cooking. See my mom's gorgeous smile. Look at my little brother living on his own. Just seeing them in their element, living their lives it makes my heart feel happy, feel peace. It just feels good to see all the people who mean so much to me, who have been there with me through everything, who continue to be my reasons for making my life something wonderful. This is home to me. Not a state, not a city, not a house. Home is people I love. It will always be found in them no matter where I go or they go. When I'm with them, I am at home. It feels great to be home!!!

Be blessed,
~Lola O.~

Hello lovely readers:).

I hope your Monday morning (Sunday night) is humming along nicely. Today is my first day back to the land of children, and I have no classes. I woke up this morning with 15 minutes to get ready for school, I was the last person to enter the building. It was weird because I didn't see any kids as I walked to school and it was such an eerie feeling. I guess they all came early since it's the first day of school. I'm really happy that I have no classes because I am super tired from the last three weeks. I will upload pictures and stories of my travels when I get back into the groove of things. Hong Kong and Jeju were wonderful; the people were warm, the weather was hot, I lost/got my camera stolen in Jeju, went horse-back riding for the 1st time, did some shopping, and overall just enjoyed myself. So my first solo adventure was a success thanks to the people and experiences that made my three weeks special.

I got back on Thursday afternoon, and holed myself up in my apartment watching tv shows and movies, reading articles and stories, and just being a lazy person trying to enjoy my last few moments of bliss before school begins. Seriously, it is hard to come back after a vacation filled with no schedule, alarms, or have to do's. I'm looking forward to my birthday and Tokyo for Chuseok, so that is keeping me from getting antsy being back. Saturday I emerged from my apartment and went to Itaewon with some friends. We went to Budha's Belly, it was my first time and I will be going back. Very delicious food and the atmosphere is good. We had some drinks at Bricks (also nice), and ended the night/early morning at Luv. Itaewon has been growing on me lately, and Saturday was a great night out.

Sunday, I went to the Incheon Wave Concert, it was interesting. I didn't like most of the acts, since I was only really there for Taeyang and Se7en, but 2PM and BOA were also good. Honestly, I felt kind of old with all the teenie boppers around me. On a hilarious note, once KARA performed a lot of boys got up and left. I had asked some of the guys next to me who they liked and they said KARA, those girls didn't perform till near the end but they stayed like troopers looking so bored until KARA came on. They pulled out their binoculars and their faces lit up, and all I thought was that will be me when Taeyang comes on stage. Overall it was a good time, I liked that everyone behaved themselves, except for the girls drinking below us who seemed to only be in highschool. I went to bed around 1 AM and barely woke up for school.

It's nice to be back, okay its not really nice to be back, I would love to do nothing but whatever I want everyday of my life. Haha, but this girl has to work, and this job isn't so bad. I'll be teaching 4th grade this semester, so I told them no more 1st graders. Everyone4 says they love 4th grade, so I'm hoping they will be a good buch of kids. My VP came to visit me to tell me he's sorry I didn't get to see my family since I've been here, so I told him about the awesomeness of Skype, and then he thanked me for summer camp. It was nice, but whenever I get an unexpected visit from the P/VP I freak out inside a little wondering what's up. I have not missed the hilly walk to school, or the lack of A/C, or the mutant bees/wasps. I hope this semester goes well. My co-teacher wrote me a letter about giving me more responsibilities in terms of preparing for lessons, tests, and open-class so yay to more work, not really, but I've got to pull my own weight. I'm crossing my fingers the kids haven't turned into monsters in the last month, and I am looking forward to seeing my 5th graders since they are my favorites.

I think this time of the year is exciting and the months fly by with holidays, birthdays, and fall weather. I have a niece on the way in the next few days, and I cannot wait to see her and my other niece when I get back. So many babies to see, and there will be at least one wedding when I get back home. I haven't decided yet whether I will stay for another year. I want to stay, but my family (mostly my mom) factors into my decision. I miss them a lot, but I know being here is a good place for me right now. I'm not ready to go back to school, or get a "real" job, or give up traveling. I'm leaving those thoughts in the back of my head and will pcik through them when I have to.

Have a great week, and welcome back my fellow teachers. I hope you all had a lovely vacation.

Be Blessed,
Lola O.

OMG....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

That is pretty much what I've been doing for the past few minutes. I decided to finally bucke down and figure out my vacation plans. Who knew that travel planning could/would be such a nerve wracking headache inducing process. Maybe...most likely I am just naive about these things since I've never traveled by myself before coming to Seoul. I know, I'm such a baby, but I am trying to grow up and create my own adventures. It's just turning out to be more difficult than I wanted or expected.

So here is the deal. I have July 30th to August 3rd, and August 11/12-August 29th as my vaction time. Plenty of opportunities to travel, but the problem is choosing where to go, when to go, where to stay, what to see...blah blah blah. I've been on my computer since around 9 this morning researching different places to stay, different cities/countries to visit, and I can't make up my mind. I don't want to buy a plane ticket without having a place to stay, but I kind of need to decide where to go before I can find a place to stay and book it. IDK should I just book my flight and figure out the details after?

Too be honest the biggest holdback is that I don't particularly want to travel by myself. I've never traveled by myself without having a family member meeting me at my destination. I think it would be better to travel with someone first for safety reason, and more importantly because it would be more fun exploring with someone else. Or am I wrong? I'm trying to be "brave" or whatever and just go by myself rather than not go at all, or waiting on someone to make up their mind. I don't want to the kind of person that is dependent on someone else to have fun or travel around the world. I mean we/I are not always going to have another person or safety net to rely on. You see why my head hurts so many thought in my head are swimming around.

Okay, so I for sure want to go to Jeju Island. I'm not sure if I should stay in Jeju City or Seogwipo. As I started researching it I was wondering whether I should I rent a car or not, which would mean getting my international driver's license and I have no clue about the process or how long it takes to get one. Or maybe I should just use the bus system and taxi to get around. I'm not fond of the driving in Seoul, and am worried about driving in another country. Some sites said you have to be at least 21 while others said 22...I'm 22 so can I or can't I get one? I was thinking of just getting it in case I change my mind, because it seems like a good thing to have. I was thinking of going in my  end of July break but that seems to still be peak season and I don't want a crowded vacation. So now I'm thinking that I should go August 22-August 26, which it towards the end of my vacation and a nice way to end the summer before school starts back up. Giving me 3-ish days to get myself back in school mode and relax around Seoul.

I had planned on going to Tokyo in the summer but decided it will be better to go during Chuseok for my birthday, and some friends might also join me in the trip. Either way I'm definitely going to Tokyo in September for my 23rd b-day. I am thinking of going to Busan August 20-21 if that pans out then I

I still have the July 30th-August 3rd available, and August 11/12-August 19th to go somewhere. Deciding on where to go is my biggest problem. Originally I planned on going to Okinawa, but that is the rainy season and the cost doesn't seem worth it. So some other places I'm looking into are Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Phillipines, and other parts of Japan. I can't decide on where to go. I'm kind of leaning into either Hong Kong or Shanghai, but I'm wondering if as an American I need a visa to go to these two places. I'm wondering if I should go to one place or trying to go to both. When I looked into the visa for going to multiple places it was confusing with the whole Mainland China stuff that kept popping up.

I know I'm letting myself get overwhelmed and should just stop thinking about all the details and jump into it, but deep down I'm a planner and just booking a flight and seeing what happens is daunting to me. I look at my friends here who are doing just that, and I wish I could be that free but I'm still not. I like details, and not just the big picture. Honestly, I envy people who can just pick up and leave without worrying about what happens next. I have a friend who is a few years older than me, and I really feel inspired by her. She's traveled to alot of places on her own, and she just does her own thing, period. She reminds me  of my older sister a lot. I want to be like that. I want to stop holding myself back from seeing what is out there because I'm scared or worried about the details. I don't want to miss out an amazing experiences because I'm  worried about being on my own. I'm 22 years old, how long am I going to expect to be taken care of? I have to take care of myself? Trust myself?

I don't think this is neccessarily about being brave. I mean I already left the life I knew for this new one, if that isn't being brave then I don't know what I should do. I guess if I could do that then why is traveling on my own so terrifying to me? Coming here is all about moments like this, where I have to overcome a fear, try something new, and challenge myself to do the things I am afraid to do. I don't want to waste my time here worrying about this or that. Coming here was a lot about growing up; I wanted to let go of my family's hand and do things on my own, figure out my own way of living, and just growing into my own person. I feel like I have so much growing up to do in a lot of ways. Whether it is traveling, or just learning to trust that I can handle things on my own. That I don't need other people to figure out things for me. I've depended on my family for 22 years, and now I am depending on myself  for the most part. Even though I am the middle child I'm the baby in a lot of ways, and I've never really had to do anything on my own. I've always had someone looking out for me but not anymore. As liberating as it is being on my own, it's also terrifying, but I'm not going to let fear paralyze me from living the life I want, even if I don't have all the details worked out.

Okay, I feel better after writing this all out. I've been staring at my compute screen for like 5 hours and still nothing is concrete for my vacation plans. I know I'll be better for the experience(s) it's just the first step that's always the most difficult/daunting part. Well this is all about of my journey, I won't be roadblock that keeps me from getting to the next part. I just need to decide where that is...

So readers and fellow expats advice please!!! Where should I go/stay? What should I see/do? What tips do you have on traveling alone?

Thanks,
~Lola O.~