Things My Mom Says

If you've ever met our (Natalie's and my) mom, you know that she can be pretty hilarious. Spend 10 minutes with the lady, and you will be laughing your face off. Our family vacation proved no different, so Nat and I thought we'd include some of the highlights:
(P.S. This should in no way be taken as slander against our mother. I love my mom with all my heart and respect her as a woman, wife, and mother. Her humor is a great gift that brings our whole family together. If it weren't for her great disposition, family gatherings would be way too boring)

Look at all those baby monkeys. They walk like they're gay.  While watching Disney's Earth, where there are chimpanzees walking across a flooded area.

Whoever says, I want to go to Tennessee on vacation?
This came out about 2 hours into our family vacation, when Natalie and I were discussing where we want to move someday. We were on our way to Tennessee for vacation, as she said this, but she seemed to have forgotten that fact. We promptly told mom, "Our family says that about once a year or so."

I think it would be fun if we all got tipsy on champagne and did Harry Carey impressions.
Mom's plan for our quality time.

Hey, why don't you just drop me off and pick me up next year? I'll be here, sweeping the porch.
Imagine Mom saying this in a Harry Carey voice. I don't know how she came up with it...

What did Harry Carey do anyways?
Mom's remark after already impersonating Harry Carey for 2 days...

Birthday Revisited

So, in a grand birthday makeover, I got to go out with a good group of friends (again), dress up cute (again) and go to a Bavarian restaurant (again). Awesome Awesome Awesome.

I told my friends back home that if we went out, then I'd be sure to wear a dress. My mom did my make-up and then decided we needed a photo-shoot, so I was a little bit late. Oh well. I made it over to the West Side, just a few blocks away from my old neighborhood, and prepared for the Gerst House.

Since my friend Kelly had also just had a birthday, it was like a double celebration. So super! We had a good group at dinner. I got a Philly Kielbase and Hefeweizen. It was so good to be around friends I've known forever and listen to them tell stories and hear about their lives. It was like snuggling up in a cozy blanket by the fire.

After dinner, Mike, Kristen, and I headed to Ri Ra to try and scope out some icecream. It was trivia night, and we ended up sitting right by the stage. Kind of crazy...but eventually our French Press and Guiness brownie-icecream-goodness came out and we were, again, the last ones out of the restaurant. I give the night two thumbs very up! Thanks for such a good time guys!

Why I love Indiana

Before I came home, I was expecting to have major culture shock. I was expecting to be angry for a good 3 days before settling into life back home. I was expecting to be hating everything.

But you know what? I like home. I like the people. I like the way that Borders coffee shop is the new hangout for retirees and stay-at-home moms. And how they all know each other. And how the moms read with their kids, and the retirees also know the kids, and the kids know the barista.
I like the way that the License Bureau was surrounded by a soy bean field. I like that when Nicole and I went to get pedicures and we were talking to our pedicurists (I don't know if that's a word or not), one of them said she didn't want to stay in Evansville after she finished beauty college because she didn't like big cities. I like the way that when you leave Target, there is a beautiful sunset. And you can see the sunset because very few buildings in Evansville are over 4 stories. I like seeing old friends and hearing stories about their crazy roommates and being the last ones out of the restaurant, even though it's only 10pm. I like being able to DRIVE and dance to music in my car. I like the way people hold the door open for you and say hi when you pass them riding bikes. Reverse culture shock? No way. I am settling in just fine :) Thank you home for being so good to me.

Travel Blog End: Home Safe

So, there's not much more to say. The flight to Indianapolis went fairly smoothly; we were able to watch a lightning storm off in the distance. Mom and Nat met me at the airport, and we're all together now. It feels good to be home :)

Travel Blog Part III: I've been traveling for 2 days, and it's still July 17.

Or, I've been traveling for 30 hours, and I still feel like I'm moving.
Travel fatigue sets in! Oh no!
So, here was my plan leaving Narita: put on the jammies (Yes, I broke down and bought one of those "PINK" tank tops from the subway the other day. Why did I do this? Because I needed a cute airplane outfit, and what's cuter than a pink tank top that says "LOVE" on it with a few rhinestones?) and fall asleep as soon as I hit the plane and sleep pretty much all the way to Chicago. Stay awake in Chicago and then I would be ready to sleep again once I get to Indy.

Plan thwarted though because I could not sleep. I don't know why. I tried and tried and tried. I just kept falling into half-way sleep where it's like you're resting, but you're mind is still thinking of things and that ends up being more stressful than restful because I'm wondering, when will I fall asleep? I didn't read or anything, because I felt tired. I felt tired and yet, could not sleep. I slept a little, I think. But they bring you food like every 10 minutes, and it took me an hour to get through my first cranapple drink, and then if you are sleeping, you don't get any food...anyways, I dozed here and there and managed to watch 2 movies: Leap Year and How to Train A Dragon. Leap Year was not as cute as I had been hoping. It does not beat The Matchmaker for films about sassy, American city girls battling the wiles and wilderness of Ireland. Dragon was way funnier than I had been expecting, and I would watch it again.

Coming back into the United States is kind of an ordeal that I had forgotten about. We got into Chicago around 3pm Central Time (5AM Seoul time), and I was thankful that I didn't have to make a quick connection becuase there is alot that has to be done.

First, everyone has to go through passport/immigration. There were 2 huge halls full of people, foreigners and citizens, in line waiting to get their passports checked. I probably waited in line for like 45 minutes just to get through passport control. Then you have to clear customs and pick your luggage up. Even if they tagged your luggage to go all the way to Indianapolis, you still have to pick it up and recheck it.

Then, I had to go to a different terminal. That's fine. No problem...but I felt like the man who was maintaining crowd control at the shuttle station was pretty rude. He was yelling really loudly and telling everyone that they weren't all going to get on the train at the same time, and slightly abrasive. However, there were these really cute little boys on the train on their way to basketball camp. I had no idea that Turkish children were so cute, but now I know.

So, I take the train to terminal 3, where, I have to go back through security. That means more lines. And more abrasive men who are in charge of controlling those lines. AND, ok, so I bought some stuff at the duty-free in Japan, because how often am I going to go to be in Japan...and in Japan, they were ok with 2 carry-ons plus a duty free bag. In Chicago though, oh no, can't have that. So I have to stuff my backpack even more! (I know, these are all small problems in comparison with flesh eating bugs, which one of the flight attendants seemed to know a lot about on the way over here).

SO I finally get through security and into my  terminal and am thinking, I need a massage and/or a coffee shop. I look on the terminal map and it says "Spa Station" or "Sauna world" or something like that. Assa! That's perfect! SO I go to the indicated place and am looking and am looking, but there's no Spa Station. There some massage chairs in the middle of the concourse with some tough-looking Chicago guys standing around them, but there's no world of spa. That's ok, I freshen up in the ladies room (but they do not have the fancy toilets like Japan does), and decide to look for a coffee shop.

You know what? There are no coffee shops in O'Hare airport. There are Starbucks kiosks on every corner, but there is no coffee shop. Furthermore, there is no lounge area. If you wanted to sit down for awhile, but not wait right outside your gate, there's no place to do that...except for the food court. So I go to the food court, because eating would probably be a good idea. I finally get a table and then am swiftly surrounded by a big man-friend group who are all on a mancation together...wearing baseball caps and cargo shorts and all I could think was..."ermmmmmmm American boys. I forgot how you traveled."

Then I think, ok, I've only got a couple of hours left, I will go ahead and hang out by my gate and hang out on the internet for a while. They advertise Wi-Fi all over this airport, but it's not free. You have to buy it and download it...and then....THERE ARE NO OUTLETS IN THIS AIRPORT. I walked up and down my concourse trying to find an outlet. And you see all the laptoppers, staking their territory around the scarce and randomly placed tables in the hallway or outlets of abandoned gates (b/c Delta used to be in this concourse and recently moved, so now there's just empty space, which is kind of creepy in a way). I found one plug in, but it wasn't attached to the wall all the way. I found another one, but it couldn't pick up a signal. I finally found one that is well attached to the wall and picks up the wi-fi signal, but leaves me sitting on the floor but the gate door. (eg. I'm going to have to move soon, cos we're going to be boarding :)

That to say, there are two very nice and friendly attendants working this gate, and it may seem trivial, but they have made me notice that not everyone in Chicago is fat and abrasive...but can be friendly and caring and polite to foreigners, even if their English isn't good (not speaking about me obviously, but I've been observing since I got here).

SO, that leaves me....getting ready to board in about a half hour. WOOHOO!!! I'll see you in Indiana!

Travel Blog Part II: Ode to Narita

Before I move on and talk about getting to O'Hare, I thought I'd spend some time and talk a little bit about Narita Airport. One, because I got off a plane 4 hours ago and yet still feel like I'm moving. Two, Chicago did not like my duty-free shopping and so my backpack has become even heavier. Three, it took me FOREVER to find an outlet and get connected to the internet...SO, I am staying put.

Anyways, I had been to Narita on my way to Seoul the first time I went there. At that time, I remember it being hot and boring. It seemed very desolate for being the main airport for one of the largest cities in the world (maybe THE largest city of the world...websites seem to differ on their opinions).

So going back and having a 6ish hour layover did not sound like fun to me. Especially because I had heard disparaging comments from another friend who had stopped there on her way home. However, I have to say, I was pleastantly surprised. The main shopping area was bright and colorful; there were several little different shops...being a person who is distracted by color and sheen, they definitely held my attention. Also, there was a cute internet cafe that offered good coffee complete with foam art and FREE internet. I was even able to "rent" a shower.

I also thought the people were really nice. Koreans are nice in a very ... "earthy" way, I'll say. Nice in the way that if the store ahjummah thinks you didn't get the right pillows, she will take them out of your cart and give you different ones. I love Koreans. I love the way they are loud and push and the Ahjussis make these noises in the back of their throats, and they wave with both hands, and they make hearts on top of their heads.

The people at the Narita airport were nice in the way that...obviously, they are used to dealing with foreigners and didn't seem non-plussed by it at all. Also (and I'm totally basing this off the hostess/baristas at the cafe), they are just polite. They smile, look happy to see you, watch to make sure you are enjoying your drink...but they don't hover. I was super impressed!

SO, opinion of Narita changed. You know what? I liked it there, and I could spend another afternoon there (In fact, in 2 weeks, I will be doing just that).

Travel Blog Part 1

Hey kids,
I'm on my way back to the states for a much needed vacation/quality time with my family. Being that I have an ample amount of time in the form of layovers, I thought I'd share about my travels...
Part 1: Seoul to Tokyo.
Can you believe getting out of the Korea was the hardest part? I was not expecting this. I stayed up all night, cleaned the apartment, took out the trash, etc. and stepped out of the LCI House at 4 AM to go meet the Airport Bus. There are several airport buses, but I was sure about Bus #6009 and even knew how to pronounce the bus stop. Or, I thought I did. It was raining, and I ended up with heavier luggage than planned, so I hopped in a taxi and said "Woosung Apartments" (in Konglish: Ooh-song Apartmenta). The taxi driver repeated this several times, and every time after he repeated it, I'd say yes (yeeeeh) and repeat it again. I know I'm white, but I've been to this bus stop before and I know how to say it. He was not happy with my answer though...Oh well, eventually I got there and only had to wait a few minutes for the airport shuttle!
I was ahead of schedule and arrived at Incheon (Seoul's major airport is actually in a neighborhing city called Incheon) airport before the check-in counter even opened. Now, I have a friend who is a pro at getting "bumped up" and I was ready to try to implement some of her tactics....not quite as ready as she is, but I tried a little. I put on make-up and dressed nice (not too nice though, I mean really, what's the point of wearing a dress and heels at 4AM? No point. No point at all. I opted for comfortable fashion.) She also suggests waiting to check in, so that if there are empty seats they have to give them to you. I'm a little too neurotic to wait for too long, but I at least tried to stay at the back of the line. Then, when it was my turn: luck! I got a male clerk (also one of her suggestions). However, he looks at my visa, looks at my itenerary and says, you need to go to immigration.
((-__-)) Hrmmmmm
Here is what happened: my visa from my first year here expired July 16. I gave my passport and ARC (alien registration card) to my school a couple of weeks ago so that they could take care of this before I left, but "taking care" of it meant only adding something onto my ARC, not a new stamp in my passport. Now, this is fine, but no one ever told me, hey, plan an extra hour at the airport because you'll have to go to the immigration office, and it won't even be open yet, and when it does open, there will only be 1 attendant.
So, it's about an hour before I'm supposed to board, and I'm in this immigration office with like 30 other people, and I'm number 28. Then I notice another white guy who had also been in the same line for the flight to Tokyo who comes in with a clerk. I swiftly attach myself and wonder if they could help me as well..."Assa!" I get to move ahead in the line, get my stamp (at the cost of 30,000 won...) and rush back out to check in.
SO, I do not end up with a male attendant, but I am one of the last people to check in. That apparently came in handy, except it's now 7AM, and my flight is at 8, and I have to transfer to the "new" terminal which takes about 40 minutes. I have to go through immigration, security, and then take a train to a new terminal to board. I was pretty flustered because I hate (hate!) being crunched for time when I travel. However, when I boarded the plane they showed my to BUSINESS CLASS and suddenly I felt much less flustered.
Guys, these seats were like pod seats, and they had automatic controls, and you could lay horizontal! You got your own TV, and you could choose a movie or music, and the flight attendant was 10x nicer than any other flight attendant AND I got a meal, even though it was only a 2 hour flight, I got a little box meal. SO happy!!!

I am now in Narita Airport in Japan. I exchanged what  I thought was a good amount of money, but apparently the Yen is worth much more than the Won, so we'll see how it goes. I've got about 5 hours left here, but I'm happy to have found a cute internet cafe. And it's sunny here, which is much more than I can say for Seoul at the moment.

I've also spotted some Hello Kitty T-shirts, so I might have to do some shopping. This airport also has napping rooms and a massage center, so I don't think the afternoon will be totally hopeless! :)

OK, so obviously, I'm online...don't be a stranger.