Eek, I am writing this as I come down from adrenaline and anxiety because I just had my Korean speaking placement test unexpectedly. They sent a sign up sheet last week and I signed up for what I thought was tomorrow evening but apparently meant tonight because they meant Jan. 3rd in Korea, not America (even tho it had EST times listed). I was not the only one who made that mistake, so I just joined the zoom and waited until they could see me. The test proctor person was really nice, but it was not my finest Korean lol I am expecting to be placed in a low level based off of this, and trying to brace myself for it. I guess it was more authentic as to how I can do on the fly tho.
Anywayss, sorry for the late post :') I have been feeling pretty anxious about the fact that I am actually leaving really soon! Like, less than a week soon! Today, I packed a lot more and I have been slowly buying some toiletries and stuff as I remember them. It's good that I have a few days left because I always forget something at the store. To be honest, I feel really underprepared and nervous to be in a new place, learning a new language around so many new people. Trying not to think too much about it, but I kinda Have to think about it lol.
But last week was Christmas! I saw my grandpa and my dad's side of the family on Christmas and then just had dinner at home with my immediate family. It was so strange seeing some of my family again since before COVID. On Friday, I also got to see some of my cousins on my mom's side. We went to an arcade in Boston and then a bar to play shuffleboard and pool. I learned that I suck at both, which is not really surprising since I haven't played billiards since elementary school and I haven't done shuffleboard ever. But still, humbling.
my brother playing kung fu panda game
The day after Christmas, I also went down to CT to see Kyra and meet some of her extended family. Kyra made this very beautiful buche de noel. Kyra came up with me the next day and we spent a few days in MA, seeing the finest that my hometown has to offer and hitting up some beloved spots in Boston. Mostly, I have just been hanging out with some friends here and there and visiting places I think I might miss in Korea.
Finally, it is officially a new year! That means (for me, anyway) New Year's Resolutions. Last year, I think I was actually pretty good about my resolutions. I guess I could go back and read my post from last year to really check (I'm sure there's something about exercise in there, which I didn't really do until the last couple months of 2022), but the main resolutions are remember were that I wanted to read more and I wanted to cook more. I think both were a success! I didn't put hard numbers on it, but I ended up reading 53 books quite unexpectedly, getting me out of my reading slump. I also cooked more than the year before, even if it wasn't exactly as much as I would have liked. I also started seeing the doctor about some of my health issues, which has been a longtime resolution.
Next year, my resolutions are more concrete. I want to journal more (a resolution I am constantly failing at, since it's basically an analog blog) and exercise more. I am not gonna put my numbers for either that I have in mind, because somehow I feel that if I write it down I will definitely fail, but I know them in my heart. I am about two months into regularly doing yoga, so I am hoping to keep it up in Korea, but I feel that part of the reason I was able to be so successful last year was that I was unemployed for a lot of the year lol. It's harder to make stuff work when you have a life and schedule you have to really plan around, so this year will be a tough one. And I just started a new journal yesterday to ring in the new year.
Happy New Year buddies. I hope the year of Naoni shines brightly on us all. God Bless.
Alsoooo that pic Kyra took is so nice, it looks so surreal
I swear, you have a dog cat! It behaves so much like a dog, i thought it was because it was a kitten but it has gotten older and is still behaving the same. Count yourself lucky! I hope your living abroad jitters have subsided now that you’re in Korea! 💪year if Naoni is going to be a good year for everyone, I can feel it 🤪
Im so excited for you to go to Korea, you’re gonna be great! And don’t stress about packing too much, you’re gonna be living in the country you have always dreamed of!!! Don’t lose focus of that very important truth.
Whoaaaa tomato is growing so fast