Date Not Date

Hello! So as I posted earlier, I actually met up with A (brief recap: guy I liked freshman year who moved away to boarding school). It's kind of drama-esque.

So first, let's start with morning of. I sent him a brief message reminding him of our hangout the night before. When I woke up, I received a message that he was busy on the 17th (the day we agreed to meet) but that he was free today (today as in the 16th) and Sunday. He's leaving on Monday so it's not like there was another week to plan this. I had already made plans for lunch with another friend. I was very perplexed. Somehow, we worked it out to meet on the 16th at 12:30 pm and I managed to push my other hangout to 2 pm.  

I went to my day class in Chinese and quickly went straight to Gangnam. Finding my way there wasn't much of an issue because I've been there a couple times now and there's literally a subway line that takes you straight there in 20 mins. He was 30 mins late, which is "a little late." Thankfully, I could shop and browse. At one point, I thought he was standing me up. His phone doesn't have data connection here so he couldn't even send me a message. 

I chose the wrong exit so there wasn't that much to eat/see. We still managed to find this little Japanese food place that had empty tables. I had ramen which is perfectly good with me! It was kind of awkward at first as expected, but soon got a lot better. He paid for lunch haha. He even saw me take out my wallet and everything. Once he realized that I don't have any directional skills at all (I can't even read a map or follow google maps...), we went back into the subway and left through exit 11. Exit 11 is where EVERYTHING is. So we wandered around a bit. I said I'd buy dessert since he bought lunch. 

We found this really great, popular, delicious patbingsu (look it up on google) place but it was really full and there was a line. He knew I was short on time too and really courteous (in every way). So we wandered more and found Caffe Bene. It took around 10-15 minutes to find the door lols. Korea has a lot of buildings on top of buildings so it's hard to find the right entrance. He apologized for making me walk up and down so many stairs. 

When our bingsu was ready (the little beeper thing buzzes), I stood up and he immediately said that he was going to get it. While eating our bingsu, it really felt like we were old friends reconnected after a really long absence. We joked about his three friend groups at my old high school, the snow, dorm essentials, etc. 

It seems like the door is open for future dates not dates in college. I sent a message at night (after my night class) saying thanks again for lunch and that it was fun. He replied saying that he too thought it was fun :) 

It's kind of like the date I always wanted, except it was so comfortable and felt like two friends talking. I don't want anything more than that. It's perfectly fine the way it is right now. 

Sunshine Award

The rules:
Thank the person who nominated you. THANK YOU ENVY!!! I so appreciate this :) 
Answer the questions. Yes, I will do that! 
Nominate a bunch of other people. You got it. 
Give them questions for homework. Hehe, okay! 
Tell them they've got homework. I WILL FIND EVERYONE. jks, but actually.
Put the award picture on your blog. One step ahead of you. 

Questions!

1. What is your favorite book and why?

Hmmmmm... this is so difficult. I have so many books that I like. I think I'm going to go with recent favorites since it's too difficult to pinpoint just ONE book. I am in love with Haruki Murakami, there I said it! Although his books are all translated to English, I always take away something breathtaking that resonates with me forever more. I feel that way about almost all of his books that I've read, from 1Q84, Wild Sheep Chase,and A Windup Bird Chronicle. Murakami is just quirky enough for me to read. It's weird, a warning before you delve deep into the world of two moons, tiny people, deep wells, and the overwhelming sense of fighting isolation. I also enjoyed The Glass Castle for the second time! I will one day get around to reading Kurt Vonnegut because I feel like he is just up my alleyway. I love love love Jane Austen too. She is the master of social critique and empowering women. Guilty pleasures are a whole nother category but these books are actually so fulfilling before, during, and after.  

Do you have any hobbies that your friends think are ridiculous, but that you totally like?

I'm an obscure hipster (full embodiment of current persona) and so of course I have weird hobbies that my friends think are ridiculous. First off, I collect cacti. Yes. I collect cacti haha and name them fancy European names. I also collect mason jars. I have a lot of particular loves-- like milk jars, hair bows, cats, hydrangeas, TopShop.. these aren't hobbies but I feel like my friends do give me the occasional eye roll. 

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

Ooh. Hmm... this is one of those questions where I can't think of anything once the question is asked. Like everyday at Chinese day class is embarrassing. I do so many embarrassing things that they constantly replace each other for "most embarrassing" in my memory. One time I mixed up hyung and oppa and that was bad (hyung is only for guys, oppa is only for girls). My mom somehow gaining access and stalking all my photos, all TG's photos, all A's photos on the train was a recent debacle. One time I wore jean shorts and flip flop to a dinner with S's mom and family friend at a nice restaurant in Berkeley. She insisted I didn't have to change and it was the worst feeling ever. I mixed up turpentine and serpentine in junior year English class...The list could literally go on forever. 

4. What would you miss most about blogging if you had to stop?

I have thought about quitting a lot of times. Blogging is a really difficult hobby to maintain. It's hard to come up with interesting content all the time or even publish on a regularly basis (I know, I know. I have posted 1 post in July thus far..). I would miss having this little outlet to rant to and know my opinions were being read by someone. I would really miss this little blogging community!  

5. Who's your biggest inspiration? (Not sure if I'm asking this question the right way... but I hope you understand what I mean)

My biggest inspiration is none other than WES ANDERSON. I feel like these questions have not revealed much new information about my life. I'm sorry I'm so one sidedly hipster. Wes Anderson just embodies what a hipster should be like. He doesn't do things just to be unique or not mainstream. He just does them because he likes them and it turns out it is uniquely him. He doesn't have to maintain an image because his uniqueness is not an act or something he copied from a magazine. Wes Anderson creates and lives the way he wants to and has a dedicated fan base that truly admires his work. He doesn't compromise his work and passion for money. I hope to one day say the same things about myself. 

MY QUESTIONS:

1. What is one photograph that you keep dear to yourself?

2. Toast, Waffles, or Pancakes? Why?

3. If you realized that you could talk to animals, what would you ask them?

4. Describe your happiest memory in the past month.

5. How do you feel about war? 

I nominate.....

Adeena! 

Cathy!

Amber!

Smo! 

Have fun answering these questions!

Goodbye San Francisco, Hello Seoul!

new hair! I love bangs. 

Hello everyone! I know I haven't been posting at all recently. Life has been very busy and I honestly don't know what to blog about at the moment. I hope all that will change once I receive some stimulus from Smith!

I've been taking two Chinese classes in order to master basic Chinese. In my free time, I've (of course) been shopping. I've only been here for one week though! 

Every day from 10 am - 11:50 am, I have class. This day class is scary. Everyone is so intimidating and I shake due to fear of messing up and failing.. This class has about 9 people. I work on my accent so much but improvement is so insignificant. No one realizes I've lived in the US for most my life though which is a success! 

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have another class at 7:50 pm -9:50 pm. The night class is so much fun. It's much more conversational and there's no fear of messing up. There's only four people and the teacher is so cool! The environment is very relaxed and during breaks, we gossip about celebs (I really need to catch up on celebs..) and she (the teacher) tells us the best places to drink beer and eat street food. I think I'm of legal drinking age here but I'm such a square. There's this one guy in my class who is at least 3 years older than me, but really attractive. He is so nice to everyone and he said my voice was cute haha. I'm like the little sister of the group. I love this class. 

I have a lot of plans going with some family friends and even some of my own friends! I'm meeting up with some girls who are going to Smith in the fall and some old church people :) I'm excited! 

So I guess it's time I shared another little story of my past-present. Let's call him A. He confuses me a lot. This story is pretty long so click below if you want to read.