PFN 1 Year Blogiversary! OMG How Could I Forget??

Haha Ya’ll know this is fake, but it’s CUTE!

Wow I suppose so much has been going on in my life right now that I’m totally going bonkers. How could I miss the pinkfashionninja.com 1 Year Anniversary in February? I knew it was coming but somehow the most obvious things get past me.

Take for example me missing the Saturday show for the YG Family Concert because I didn’t check correctly check the date on my ticket. OR How about now, where I MISSED Junsu’s musical Elisabeth because I wasn’t paying attention to the date (again). Either way with the YG concert I ended up getting front row standing seats to see Big Bang and 2NE1 up close and got included in a picture on the YG Facebook page. Now I doubt anything great will happen like that this weekend when I finally get to go to the Elisabeth musical but I think this just shows I have a ditsy side. 🙂

I can’t believe it’s been a year already! I graduated from college last June and feel so old! I’ve been in Korea almost 7 months now. Time flies by. I can’t believe I accomplished something as large as moving overseas. It was VERY tumultuous but golly by gosh I made it. I don’t regret a thing. I feel God leads us in the direction we should go and we should learn and grow from every step taken. One things for certain, I do love and want to stay living in Korea but I do NOT want to teach anymore. 1 year is enough for me. A last resort will be just going for my Masters out here. That has two positive things acquainted with it, I get to stay in Korea and I STILL won’t have to pay back my loans. Ha! Win Win!

My goal though is to work for a fashion company out here. I’ve applied for a VMD position at H&M along with other places so I’m crossing my fingers. International fashion is where I want to be so I hope everything works out somehow I will get back to my real passion: VISUAL MERCHANDISING. Oh how I miss it, but we must make sacrifices in life to get to where we want to be. I could have easily still been in the US working for the horrible hell hole Forever 21, dealing with the worst customers ever, unhappy with 2 broke down busted cars, still living at home with a horrible step dad in the house. I love my mother and brothers to death but it was just time for me to make a DRASTIC mature decision in MY life as a WOMAN. That decision was to figure out what I wanted. I could spin a globe and place my finger in any spot and say “Guatemala here I come!” Being an American is definitely a blessing. So many countries are welcoming to us since America is known as the #1 country. Especially being out here in Korea. It’s nearly impossible for folks from the Philippians, Africa, or South America to get a visa to work in Korea, so I definitely understand the privilege that I have.

I’ve been able to enjoy so many things here in Korea. I’ve been on TV more times than I can count. When my KBS Sponge episode aired all my students watched and they know think I’m rich because I was on TV. HA! I wish. I’ve seen about every single Kpop artist I like and could probably write a book about the many places I’ve visited in Korea. Of course it hasn’t been all peaches, my hagwon has REPEATELDY broken my contract and I have to deal living in a country where I can’t understand what people are saying around me. It urkes me to death! But I am studying Hangul daily and now I can atleast pick out enough words to say “Hey you just said Waygook and Crazy! Are you talking about me?” lol
Korea has allowed me to mature and has opened my eyes up to the world. I see and understand different, cultures and belief’s. I might not agree with them but I now know they exist and it’s people’s way of life. Probably the worst thing I’ve had to deal with here is just standing my ground. Being absolutely confident in my decisions and not caring what others think of me. Being a female single foreigner in Korea is far from the easiest thing to be. But I’ve grown stronger and feel I can take on the world.

Best thing in Korea OTHER than seeing Rain from only 3 feet away (tehehehe) would be hiking to the beach and seeing the most beautiful sky and ocean in the world. It seemed that was the most beautiful day in the world and the ocean and sky were dancing for me. The wind wrapped around me and made me teary with emotion. I felt everything I had ever gone through in my life was worth it for this hour or so by the sea. I was overcome with happiness. Being from the Midwest, I was never able to be by the beach and experience the ocean but now I get a entire summer to chill on the beach sipping a wine cooler (because in Korea you can walk the streets with liquor unlike America) underneath an umbrella and just breathe in the pure country air. A few other good things would be I’ve lost about 20 LBS (because in Korea you have to walk everywhere and I’m taking Taekwondo) and my hair is longer than its ever been in my life!

Throwback! My mom and I when I was 5.

A recent picture of me in Taekwondo class with my brown belt. I’m going for red in 2 weeks!

Me and homegirl Tara.

At Tara’s Bday get together at an Indian Restaurant in Hongdae.

Multiculturalism at its best!

Cool graffiti in Yongsan.

Had just got my hair done. Fabulous!!!! Last but not least….remember