http://whatupkorea.tumblr.com/

"I looked over at Augustus Waters, who looked back at me. You could almost see through his eyes they..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:43:24 -0400

““I looked over at Augustus Waters, who looked back at me. You could almost see through his eyes they were so blue. “There will come a time,” I said, “when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this”—I gestured encompassingly—“will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after. And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that’s what everyone else does.””

- John Green. “The Fault in Our Stars

Ive always known that i really love my students. They are smart children who have really accepted me...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 05:58:46 -0400

Ive always known that i really love my students.
They are smart children who have really accepted me into their lives.
However, a lot of the time I go throughout the day counting down the hours until i can go home.
Then today I went to class and my students started questioning me about what i would do if we went to war.
The class consensus was that i cant go back to america because they dont want me to go, so if north korea comes ill hide in their homes.
I dont know if it was the fact that they thought about me or that they wanted to protect me, but i almost started crying.
For the rest of the day i looked at them all with a new outlook.
I feel like the luckiest person to get to be their teacher.
I already plan on extending another 6 months, but even then, i dont know how ill say goodbye.

"‘Cause here we are We are shining stars We are invincible We are who we are On our darkest..."

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:52:57 -0400

“

‘Cause here we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
Sun will come
We will find our way home

If you’re lost and alone
Or you’re sinking like a stone
Carry on
May your past be the sound
Of your feet upon the ground
Carry on

”

You know that moment when all you want to do is cry but you dont because you know its just self...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 06:27:24 -0400

You know that moment when all you want to do is cry but you dont because you know its just self pity?
Well, thats been me this entire week.

Ive managed to find every shit guy in cheongju, but where are the nice ones?
More importantly, where are the good cuddly ones?!

I always

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 03:36:57 -0400

miss my mom when shes not here.
Then when shes here i remember how much we just dont get along.
Shes been with me 24 hours and im about to scream.
Maybe im a terrible daughter, but there are reasons i moved across the world.

Im pretty sure

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:57:08 -0500

if you let me marry any member of 2pm i would be the happiest girl alive.

Sometimes

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 10:33:38 -0500

Being a foreigner is a lot to handle.
Every simple task seems to be magnified.
I feel like it all builds up and i just need that moment to lay in bed and cry.

Recently, i found out my parents want to move to korea.
I know that im in korea now and cant really see myself leaving quite yet, but the thought of being here forever depresses me.
I love korea, but its not home.
Who i am here is different than who i am in america, but i can still make them one in the same.
Im afraid if im here forever, the person ive always been will disappear into old memories.
I dont want to go to america and have no ties except nice feelings and happy thoughts.

I know most foreigners go through these feelings and those who are new eventually will.

Im in a funk
And i miss home
And i miss being how i was before.
I miss simplicity.
However, the storm shall pass…eventually.

some of my best friends in korea. in this picture is dongmin,...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:21:14 -0500

some of my best friends in korea. in this picture is dongmin, michelle, and sally. dongmin is korean, michelle is from california, and sally is from england. coming from South Carolina (where you meet no one foreign ever), to be in another country with these wonderful people still amazes me. before i came to korea i was so anxious about befriending koreans. i have a hard time being friends with americans, so koreans seemed sort of impossible. flash forward to now where the majority of my friends are korean. they have been my greatest learning tool and have helped me understand this culture more than i thought possible. the best part of the talk program for me personally is the access it gives me to not only koreans, but also the other foreigners who come here to teach. i think its pretty cool how we’ve all come together.

one of my favorite students and i after our halloween class. my...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:08:09 -0500

one of my favorite students and i after our halloween class. my students hate taking pictures so when she agreed to take this one, i freaked out. i look like hot shit because i literally got no sleep the night before, but i really wanted a picture with her. she looks unhappy, but i swear she said yes to this picture.

this is the concert i went to. i could start gushing love for...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:56:11 -0500

this is the concert i went to. i could start gushing love for them, but i feel like it would just end up being really embarassing.

i ran into

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:12:30 -0500

some other TaLK scholars from another city the other day
and they were telling me about their lives
then they kindly informed me of how lucky i am to live in my city
and i felt like the biggest douche on the planet
because i have completely taken it for granted.

dear cheongju,
i love you so damn much
and i am sorry i have whined about you
and have not appreciated all that you have to offer.
you may be smelly sometimes
and trip me with your uneven sidewalks
but you are my beautiful city
and i would not trade you for another
not even a paradise island!

sincerely,
your biggest fan ever

WHO!?! ARE!?! YOU!?!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:52:03 -0500

an awesomely awesome awesome lil’ spoon and not a creepy british boy who stalks people’s blogs and is a word that sounds similar to punt. (^__^)

i know that sometimes

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:58:00 -0400

i can come off as really nice and/or very foolish.
and sometimes my personality/behavior becomes really annoying.
i am aware of all of this.
it comes with the territory of being me.
but dont act like you are my friend
and that i can trust you
when in reality you hate my guts.

i may seem oblivious, but im not.
im reading you like a book
and the story you are telling is at an elementary school level.
get out of my face
and get out of my life.
i will always win when it comes to the shit youre playing
because im not the idiot you make me out to be.

im trying really hard to not be dramatic
and to not regress back to a high school mentality
(yeah yeah i know, “sarah isnt this very high school?”. its my blog i do what i want!)
since living with other foreigners is a lot like being 17 again.
but sometimes it still amazes me how people are such shitty shitty friends.

i just want

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:11:32 -0400

to cuddle and lay in bed reading.

IS THAT REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?!

sometimes i just

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:17:58 -0400

see little things that remind me of home and i really miss it.
i was not one of those people who had the whole attitude of “im not going to miss anything back home” before coming to korea.
i knew and thought i would be a hot mess, but somewhere in the middle of all the excitement…i just forgot to be sad.
i mean ive missed people and wished they were here, but they weren’t and i was okay.
i dont know why, but despite the fact that i am more social than i have ever been in my ENTIRE life and am surrounded by the most amazing people, i just miss home.
it doesnt matter if im sitting in my apartment alone or out with a large group of friends, im always thinking, “this is nice, but its not home”.
dont get me wrong…i am EXTREMELY happy and i LOVE cheongju and korea in general. however, its like this tiny tiny tiny tiny south carolina shaped piece is missing and i feel it more than ever.

i miss so many people and things and places.
if you see this back home, i hope you know how much i do indeed miss you and care about your life. <3

This is what I get

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 07:03:05 -0400

for trying to be friends with everyone.
quality over quantity, right?

so

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:26:10 -0400

i started this blog to contact and/or find other people who are teaching in korea (mainly the talk program). i wanted to document my process and see if i could help others who might want to travel to korea. well, i suck at blogging and therefore it wasnt a succesful venture. however, since being in korea i am constantly asked by family and friends back home what is going on in my life. so thusly, i am tranforming my blog from what it was supposed to be into (hopefully) a diary of sorts for my lovely peoples since its hard to tell one story to you all individually.

which brings me to the rest of this post. i have obviously been gone for awhile now (if you havent noticed…shame on you!) and i have experienced a good 2 months of life in korea. so in order to document it all, this post will be pretty long….:D?

first, lets talk about the plane ride because honestly im still traumatized by it all. having to walk through the huge security gate by myself was so sad. i felt like a little kid on their very first day of school and they were forcing me to stay there alone. i did not cry! even though i sure did feel like it. then i sat on a plane…for 15 hours. the thought of having to do it again in 10 months is already making me sad. once i arrived in korea i found some other TaLK people…and when i say TaLK people i really mean the most amazing people ever. from the beginning i knew that i would be happy in korea because if i would be with people like this for the next year, i could deal with anything. then me and the amazings “slept” in the airport and got picked up the next day by the TaLK coordinators.

now…lets talk about orientation. i dont think i have ever felt so happy and so (insert every emotion ever) at one time. i learned a lot about myself…and how i cope in situations. having to go from being a complete hermit to being incredibly social was tough. however, i became so attached to all the people i met. having to get to know each other in such a quick amount of time is ridiculous, but thats how it was. i know they would all like for me to give them shout outs, but some of them have gigantic egos and i really dont want to encourage that sort of behavior. my support team consisted of the group 1 (my group that i was put in) coordinators, jainee and ellis. to say i was thankful for the pair of them is an understatement. living in a new country is overwhelming, but its easier when people help you out and care about you. our days were filled with lectures and our nights were filled with noraebang (karoke) and soju. on the weekends most of us went to seoul to do touristy things and to shop. when i look back on orientation i feel like ive made it all up in my mind. obviously there were other things that happened, but overall (for me) it was all about the people i met and experiencing general korean life. after about 3 weeks, our time together came to an end. i was very upset. i had become attached to these people and i wasnt ready to let go. the thought of what could be if they stayed near me was far better than the thought of them leaving. i cried and i felt a little disappointed. however, what sarah wants…she does not always get (gasp). after saying goodbye i was put on a bus and shipped off to my city….cheongju!

after the sadness of saying goodbye to my friends went away, and i saw my new city i was so happy. having lived in small country towns my entire life, to be able to walk anywhere i want is amazing! plus i share my city with some amazing people. there are a ton of foreigners (im a foreigner here! cool, right?) and its easy to find new friends. i finally got to go to my school and meet my students. to say i lucked out is the understatement of my life. my school is AMAZING. i would say its the best out of everyone elses (i can believe what i want!) (and brag!) (its my blog!). when i walk up every morning they are blasting music and my kids are so smart and sweet. my mentor teachers and korean scholars are constantly making sure im okay and ive never had a problem with them. overall the only thing i can complain about is the 1.5 hour bus ride i take every morning and afternoon….during which i nap…and we all know i love to sleep…so actually its a good thing?….and i cant complain about it?…oh well. my weekdays start at 6 am. and then i get on a bus at 7am. then im gone until about 6:30pm. then i eat dinner. then i go home. then i go to sleep. exciting? not really. makes me incredibly happy? indeed. on weekends i try to travel with friends. i went to seoul one weekend with some crazy ass people and it was fun. last weekend i went to danyang and explored some caves/went hiking. obviously there is a ton more that happened, but 1) this is already too long in my opinion and 2) im not sure i want everyone knowing what i get up to.

i can honestly say that at one point i was worried that this whole korea thing was one big mistake, and i knew that a lot of people thought i was crazy. however, seeing how i am now and how much ive already drastically changed for the better, i know 100% that this was the right decision. i dont think ive ever been happier…which says a lot since i have led an amazing life so far. lets hope i can keep up this blog and so you guys can keep up with me. i apologize for the horrible grammar and/or if somethings dont make sense.

Last Saturday in the states was productive. Let’s hope the other last days are too.

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 03:00:55 -0400

Last Saturday in the states was productive.
Let’s hope the other last days are too.

10 days until I leave! I’m almost to single digits!

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:09:44 -0400

10 days until I leave!
I’m almost to single digits!

I have no earthly idea how I plan on living without my cat. Its...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:53:02 -0400

I have no earthly idea how I plan on living without my cat. Its a good thing my mom already has plans to steal his love while I’m gone, because bro needs a lot of lovin.