Photos Yay :)

Sorry for the long wait! Here are my photos finally! :)

The link to my Facebook album:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201826993145896.1073741832.1514517327&type=1&l=3d0dfb0a6e

The link to my Photobucket album:

http://s1011.photobucket.com/user/Juliana_Pena/slideshow/Facebook/Seoulmates%203%202013

Photos~

Here is the link to all of my photos~~

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10201826993145896.1073741832.1514517327&type=1&l=3d0dfb0a6e

Birthday and school tomorrow~ yay

Friday and Saturday| Juli's Most Embarrassing and Amazing Moments of her Existence on Earth

Friday: 

The beginning of this day was pretty standard. We went to the Samsung delight museum where Samsung displays all of its new technology and some games~~ we had lunch afterwards and then went to Kpop dance class. We learnt the song Bar Bar Bar by Crayon Pop which is really popular in Korea right now ( the level of gangnam style). We learnt the first half of this song and I guess it'd come in handy if you're ever forced to be in a dance competition for a shopping mall. But what are the chances of that happening... Right...?

W

R

O

N

G

! 

That night I went to dongdaemun with my friends Nick and Carly...everything was going fine in the beginning. We bought clothes, did a 4d ride, and was just walking out of the mall when we heard that they were having a dance completion for Bar Bar Bar. We thought it'd be fun to watch considering that we just learned the song.. I did not volunteer to go but the MC saw that I was a foreigner and begged me to go on stage, I just had a YOLO moment and handed my bags to my friends and went on stage. I thought I'd be doing it with other people but no.. I had the solo stage with about 250 people watching me... I knew about half the dance by memory Too XD you know what.. Am I embarrassed? yes! Do I like winning $10 giftcards because I'm a foreigner and I danced it? yes! So I guess it all worked out! I did run off stage laughing afterwards! I went far away and kind of had a mental breakdown at what I just did.. My friend videotaped it too... 아이고... Maybe someday I'll be able to laugh about the video and not cringe... Then again maybe not! 

The next day was very special for 2 reasons! One: We had the closing ceremony today! And Two: the B.A.P concert was tonight! 

I'll start with the ceremony because the concert part is a longgggggg conversation! 

The ceremony was on a cruise ship that went around the Han River~ it lasted about 2 hours and we all got our certificates and also the pottery we painted the first day of our excursion! During the ceremony they showed our video compilation from the trip and we all laughed! I have a copy on DVD and I can't wait to watch it again and again whenever I miss my Seoul❤ 

After we got back from the ceremony it was our free time! Our convert started at 6pm ( I know early but it didn't feel like it!) I got ready and them headed down to the lobby with my friend Carly to find 3 other people who were going~ 2 people had to exchange some money so we went to Myeongdong to go to the currency exchange place~! Then we spent about an hour on the subway to the Olympic Park Stadium exit. When we got off you could tell there was a B.A.P concert going on.. So many fan girls and stands selling Merch ( unofficial but still good!) I bought a cheap light stick so I had something to catch the attention of the group and also a weapon against crazy fans who want to push through everyone to the front.. We followed the crowd about a 1/4 mile to the concert hall where we picked up our tickets and stood in our respective line ( concerts are so organized!) within 5 minutes our line was taken inside and into our pit. Yes pit.. I mean it looked like a pit. There was the main stage up front and then a walkway in the middle to a smaller stage. We were in the pit that was in front of that smaller stage. There was no assigned seating rules.. I mean fans just packed to the front and kept pulsing to the front. When the concert started that's when things got good.. I mean they're not B(est) A(bsolute) P(erfecf) for no reason! This was my first concert but man was it amazing! When the members came to the smaller stage I was only 1 yard away from them and when they look at you directly...man that feeling was amazing! I'm a foreigner so I stood out :D I got 10 uninterrupted seconds of Himchan eye contact time when he had a break right in front of me ❤❤❤❤ B.A.P 짱~~ the concert lasted about 2 hours and I didn't know I could stand for 3 plus hours without a break..I guess that's Kpop power for you! The concert title was " WANTED: Live on Earth" and this concert was the rehearsal for their final concert the next day- which was the day we left Korea! It was funny and it was just amazing to see Koop idols live.. Like not 3 inches tall on my screen but 5ft 5in + in person... Yay~~ 

After the concert we followed a line outside where they were selling official b.a.p merchandise! The line after we got there got crazy! I'm glad we got there quickly! I bought a B.A.P concert t-shirt and also a signed copy of their newest mini album "Badman". My album was signed by Himchan (who I got eye contact with and also my bias) and the photocard I got was Jongup :) 

We rode the subway back~ ate at Paris Baguette~ and then headed back to our rooms for our final night in Seoul~ 

***quick section about the flight***

Not much happened the next morning~ we just went on the bus to the airport, checked in, and boarded 30 mins after security! The flight was 14 hours long but I slept for about 10 of it~! I then had another flight 3 hours after we got through security again to Boston and then I was back home before I knew it~ 

I miss you Seoul 

L.O.V.E ❤ 박주리

Wednesday and Thursday!

**Almost done! 2 more posts for this trip!**

Korea in August is hot.. And humid.. And it makes you slowly go insane.. How people can wear long pants when it's 102 degrees and humid is beyond me.. 

To relieve ourselves of the heat we went to Hwansun Cave! A godsent place if you ask me! This under ground cave was a cooling 40 degrees! We spent about an hour walking through the cave, nearly bumping our heads, and slipping on the rock. It was nice~! A natural air conditioner! 

After this we spent about 2 hours in the car to go eat lunch at a seafood restaurant. Now, I'm not a fan of seafood so I didn't touch anything but it looked really fresh! It was also really spicy because it was a hotspot with about 3 tablespoons of chili paste... Wow~ (finish the phrase :D ) 

After this we headed to a world renowned archery school and I got to watch the masters shoot and also my friends attempt to shoot ( someone actually shot the ceiling by mistake XD ) 

After this~ again we went in the car for an hour and headed to the beach~ Hajodae Beach~ some students went on the banana boat but I've been there and done that and I didn't want to do it again so I took a nap on a big raised table~ after that we bought ice cream ( I swear all of my money went towards snacks and ice cream...)  our dinner was tofu hotpot (yum~~) it was spicy though so I only had a few pieces. 

We went to our hotel afterwards~ no sauna room but there was a store where I bought some ice cream~ 

Okay so Thursday~ this was the last day of our Gangwon province excursion~! We went to the Unification Observatory (not the DMZ well known to the world) and got the see the mountains and coastline connecting north and South Korea. This isn't the DMZ that people see on TV where there are guards from both countries guarding the 38th parallel but it was a part of the DMZ non-the-less! We went back to our bus where, along the way, I bought a chicken skewer ( I ordered in Korean too~ so proud of myself ^__^). I also got a photo with a military vehicle! After this we had lunch and took a nap afterwards for our transfer back to Seoul ( 3.5 hours?) and then we had bibimbap for dinner (rice with veggies and meat (you mix it together)). We then checked back into our original hotel and our curfew was 11pm that night~ so my friend Nick and I went to Dongdaemun to go shopping and also watch a singing competition by the riverside :) 

It's always fun being a foreigner in Seoul~ you get so many privileges and get invited to do so many fun(ny?) things ^__^ I'll leave that as the prelude to my next post where I get to relive my most embarrassing and amazing moments from the final 2 days~~~ 

Tuesday :) Ridge of Wind and 365 Safety Experience Zone

** I know I'm behind like 2 weeks but life has been hectic Xd**

We started today by going to the Ridge of Wind. It's sort of like a mountain ridge where they built over a dozen wind turbines. Here they also grow cabbage, that were literally the 3x the size of my head! It was crazy! We got here by taking a bus and then walking up hill for a few minutes. I didn't go all of the way to the top but I took a lot of pictures about halfway up! After we finished up here we went to see a place called the 365 safety experience center after lunch. This place was made for kids and preteens as you could tell by the bright paint colors, but some of the stuff was made for adults. Our group first went to the earthquake simulator which was sort of like an indoor roller coaster simulator. We had 3d glasses and everything. It was short but sweet. It kind of hurt to be jostled about so much! After this we went to the Terrorist simulator ( I know it sounds weird but let me explain). That's the name of it but I didn't get a terrorist feeling from it. What happened was that we went in groups of 4 down through an elevator and were seated in this 360 degree car. It then proceeded through rooms with huge screens where the terrorists would pop out and go through this story line.. I think it was futuristic bio warfare. I guess we all died in the end maybe? I wasn't paying attention because I thought people would be like poppin out of places but nothing happened XD 

This is where things got fun~! Our final activity of the day was a military obstacle course! This course was nestled high into a neighboring mountain so we got to take a gondola up. Here we got fitted into safety harnesses and helmets and then we walked over to the course. It was suspended about 3 stories and you were attached to a rope system on only one side, and everything rocked and swung so pretty much if you fell you'd be hanging awkwardly with no net underneath you.. Everything was fine besides the sideways rope bridge Xd! We then got to propell zip line down to the group and then got to do a decently sized zip line across a lake ( Costa Rica spoiled me with ziplines, sorry Korea!). After this we had dinner and then checked into our hotel! In this hotel there was a sauna room called a jimjibang. Here you get an outfit and then there are steam rooms, pools of hot/cold water, and then another level filled with hot and cold rooms. People in Korea freuqent these types of places and sometimes people even sleep overnight! (I mean for $6 it's not bad..) we ended the night with a minor spider scare in our room (eww) and air conditioning! 

Photos will be up later~! I'm too lazy to separate them by day but they are in order :)

Culture corner: 

What can I write about for this culture corner... Hmmm since I already said things about the sauna I think that's covered! 

Music: 

EXO's Growl

G-Dragon's Coup d'etat 

Dramas I'm watching: 

Master's Sun (omg it's scary but soooooo good) 

Goddess of Fire (I'm a sucker for historical dramas) 

Monday~ Icheon and Wonju

Our first stop was at a Folk Village~ it was a recreation of 17th century Joseon time and was really interesting~ Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Dae Jang Geum, and the king and the Clown had scenes filmed here~ it was so weird to think that I was stepping where Micky Yoochun had stepped. Afterwards we had lunch in a traditional Korean restaurant in Icheon and went to paint pottery~ after this we went to King Sejong's tomb and ate dinner in Wonju (roasted duck). Near our hotel was pretty much nothing so we stayed in the lobby until curfew and ordered our B.A.P tickets~ it was a stressful process because my debit card wouldn't work although I told my bank I'd be out of the country.. So I had to use my friend's card and I gave her the won so I'll just go to the bank and withdraw some money when we get back to Seoul. Nothing else happened last night ;-) haha~ 

Sunday ( Free Day~)

So in the morning I ate breakfast with my friends and I went to Myeongdong with my friend Nick :) we walked around for a while. We decided to see a movie called Snowpiercer since there wasn't much open in the morning. This was a really funny experience. Umm so Nick is Chinese/Malay and everyone here thinks that he is Korean so the box office guy kept speaking to him in Korean. Then I told him that he wasn't Korean in Korean so then he just talked to me in Korean haha :) here we get to choose our seats beforehand but I just let the office guy choose them. Apparently they are the best seats and cost a dollar more haha. So we got drinks and went to our theatre. The movie had already started and it was dark so we weren't exactly sure where our seats were but I think someone took them so we ended up in a two seater seat called the "Sweet Box.." I don't know if the guy thought we were a couple and that's why he chose that seat for us but whatever. It was really comfortable and we could talk easily because there were dividers on both side of seats. We were legit laughing over the seat for 20 minutes and then laughing about the movie. It was in English with a few Korean phrases but they had subtitles. It was a creepy post ice age movie that was pretty good :) glad i saw it. After we went shopping for about 10 minutes and head back to the hotel. After I got changed and everything I went out with a friend to the art mural town and since he spoke Korean it was so helpful. He could ask for directions and order food easily for us :) oh yeah we ate patbingsu first and then went up the hill to the art mural town.. It was a long walk.. I think with him I walked probably 4 miles.. Haha~ mm the art mural place was so interesting~ a lot of artists were painting on the walls that day and we got some good pictures :-) we walked for a while afterwards and then headed back to my Hotel area for some chicken~ after this I met up with Nick again and we went to Dongdaemun where they were supposed to have Disco Pang Pang and street markets. They had lots of stores but no disco pang pang :( I did buy Some souvenirs and we went to the stream to listen to some live music :) we headed back around 9:00 since our curfew was 10:00 and we stopped at 7-11 for some snacks :) the next day we were off on our 4 day trip~ 

Friday and Saturday

These were the days that I stayed with a host family. My eonni (she was older than me so this is the term for it) and I met at the orientation at Yonsei Univeristy. Her mom drove us to an Italian restaurant in Itaewon where I got beef pasta (it was seriously the best pasta I have ever had..). Her mom then took us to Lotte World, an amusement park with a mall, subway station, underground shopping mall, and supermarket attached to it. We went on the Giant Loop, Atlantis, Gyro Twist, and a Tree Ride. Then we had some coffee in a coffee shop, ate at a traditional Korean restaurant, and went to the underground mall to buy clothes. I bought 3 really cute shirts, some makeup, and some accessories for a really good price :-) we also bought couple bracelets. Afterwards we went on the subway to her house~ we went in for about an hour and then we went out again to Paris Baguette to buy Bread and some snacks. We met her younger brother on the way~ we came back home and her brother ate dinner and then I handed out the gifts that I bought :) I think the brother really liked the cookies~ 

So in Korea students have to study a lot and go to school on weekends depending on the classes, so my eonni had to go to math academy on Saturday. She did her homework that night and I stayed in the living room with her while she did it and kind of slept on her XD. We were really close~ we slept in the living room and watched a movie~ 

Saturday I woke up first and got ready for breakfast~ my eonni finished her homework and then we had lunch quickly and her parents drove us to her lessons. I spent 3 hours learning math and the teacher was really funny~! I think he was really surprised when he saw me in his class since I was the only foreigner in his class.. Translating Korean and doing math at the same time made me really sleepy so I had a hard time staying awake~ his assistants handed out coffee at the end though so I stayed awake ;) after this we walked to a Korean restaurant and had beef soup~ it was really unique. The beef was still on the bones and my host mom cut the meat off of the bone for me and put it in my bowl~ that was so sweet of her~ I had to say goodbye to my eonni now because she had to take a test~ and my host family took me back to the hotel~ I went out to karaoke and coffee with one friend and then I called it a night~ i also planned what I'd do during my free day tomorrow. 

Thursday

Okay so Thursday~~~ sorry I'm behind a lot~ today  we had another day of classes ( US-Korea Relations and Korean Development) after this we went to Gyeongbukgong ( the Royal Palace), King Sejong's Museum, and the Korean War Museum. We ate cold noodles and got to our hotel around 8:00 pm. We had free time until 10:30 so I went to Sinchon and Myeongdong with a friend where, yes I bought the backpack I saw~! It's super nice and feels strong. Plus it fits a lot of stuff in it.~ bought some snacks at 7-11 and then went to bed:) 

Wednesday~

Please be mindful while reading these posts that Korea is 13 hours ahead of EST so my Wednesday may be your Tuesday~ or my Thursday may be your Wednesday so that's why I'm writing in the past tense. Today we had a Korean language and history class in the morning~ they were really interesting~ for lunch they took us too.... OUTBACK!! Haha~ it's pretty much the same minus some food options. The pumpernickel bread was  really good~ of our meal options I chose the frilled chicken wrap. It was really good but really spicy~~!!! After this we went to a Buddhist temple in the middle of the city (it's modern and it's huge... So many floors~!) we did some activities and then we had lunch in the temple. After this we had free time~ this was the first time we could actually go out! Two of the Korean chaperones of our program took us to Myeongdong which is a huge shopping street! My friend and I went to the Lotte Young Department Store and there was an SM Popup store! Of course I couldn't resist and I bought a SHINee Sherlock Album and a Leeteuk Journal~ we also went to other floors of the department store~ I saw as nice school bag but it was 85,000 won ㅠ.ㅠ if we go again I think I might buy it because it was really nice and it was on sale~ I bought a cheapy backpack and a gift in the Main Street and also some sunglasses. We took the bus back (forgot to mention we took the subway to it) and now I'm going to sleep~ 

Tuesday~

Tuesday- this was the first official day of our program~ we went to breakfast at the restaurant attached to our hotel and then headed to Yonsei University where we had an opening ceremony,  an went to lunch at a buffet called Ashley's (Korean-American Style). After we went to a historical prison, Insadong, and a Kimchi making place. At night we went to Seoul N Tower which was HUGE and the views were amazing. Pictures don't do it justice~ it's so tall and you can see all of Seoul from the top (the lines for it are really long >__>). This night too we had to stay in and rest ~

Flying~

Okay~ so I'm writing this post a little late but I'm in Korea~ I have for 3 days now~ and I feel so at home with all of my group mates and hotel~ so Sunday was when I officially flew out. I had a 1pm flight from JFK to Seoul. I had a Delta flight at 7:10 am from Boston to JFK also. So my delta flight was on time but I wasn't allowed to use the shuttle connecting to the terminal I had to go to so I had to drag my luggage to the AirTran and transfer. I got my boarding pass, went through security, and went to the gate where we had orientation, got a coffee, and then boarded. I wasn't sitting next to anyone I knew so I just watched movies and played games. The food was just normal Korean airline food :) bibimbap, and beef, nothing incredibly good but edible. Because of the time difference we landed at Incheon Airport at 4:00 pm August 5th. We took our bus to the hotel, Vabien II and checked in. My roomie is Emma Philips and she is really nice~! Our room is awesome too~ it's a corner room so it was a little bigger; 2 bathrooms, living room, and bedroom with kitchen, walkin closet and make up tables. The first night we just slept~

Let the Countdown Begin~

*** I had this post typed up Sunday but somehow the app crashed before I published it so I'll be retyping it now***

안녕하세요 Seoulmates! 

There are less than 11 days left until my departure to South Korea! I'm super excited! This post will be my most recent news as of today rather than Sunday! Today I got my final piece of information for my trip! All of the paperwork and tickets are done and I finally got to choose my Asiana flight seats yesterday. I'm not too picky with my seats, but I'd prefer middle or window, so I'm trying to work it out so that my friend Izzy gets the window seat, I get the middle, and my friend Nick gets the aisle, because well he wants it! I can choose my seats but for some reason the travel agent forgot about a few people while she was booking the flights so I had a separate booking number than the rest, making it possible for me to pick my seat beforehand~ on the return flight all I saw were middle seats leftover so I don't know if we will all be sitting near each other but we'll probably be super tired so it'll all work out! I have my domestic flight all sorted out as well! I'm flying delta both ways. Terminal A in Logan and Terminal 2 at JFK. My flight leaves at 7:10 in the morning so I'm having to leave my house at 3:30 in the morning to comfortably get through airport security and get some coffee (yum). My flight arrives at 8:30 am so I have plenty of time to meet up with friends at our terminal until our chaperone arrives, possibly at 11 am, for orientation. Our flight leaves at 1:00 pm August 4th and we arrive in Seoul, Incheon Airport, at 4:10 pm August 5th (a 14 hour flight plus the time difference). From there on we go to our hotel with the Chicago group coming into Incheon at 4:25 pm. I'm happy that we're arriving first so we have some more free time to browse the airport stores and get through immigration. Plus, I really want to stop at the Dunkin Donuts at the entrance of the airport, where so many Hallyu (Kpop) idols have sat and had coffee. The rest of the week is filled with activities and lessons. We basically do things from 8am until 8pm and then curfew is at 11pm. I have a feeling we'll be out and about until curfew most nights because there is no end of things to do in Seoul and the stores and trains don't close or stop until well after midnight! I'm attaching my itinerary here but the first Sunday we have a totally free day to do whatever we want! That day there is a music program called Inkigayo but its really hard to get tickets to and we wouldn't be able to get enough for everyone in our group so it'll probably be an exploring day~ 

Anyways, in honor of this trip I'll be making a video soon about the program and about myself on my Dedicated Korea YouTube Channel "FindingSeoul". I'll also go over my itinerary briefly there. I'll be making videos during my trip, mostly from my hotel room, and I'll edit and post them when I get back since we have limited Internet access. I'll post it here when it's complete! (May take 2-3 days to be edited) 

What I'm up to:

1) Summer reading ㅠ.ㅠ : I still need to read Treasure Island and the Jungle. I'll start them tomorrow! 

2) Packing: I have decided to pack the morning before the trip and buy whatever I still need that afternoon since I have nothing else to do that day but look over my travel info~ 

3) Host Family Gifts: I still haven't gotten them yet but because I don't know who's in my host family I think I'm going to go more generic and get something big for all of the family members, whoever they may be :3

4) Harvard Minority Recruitment: I got an email a few weeks ago and I've talked to a recent graduate from there about her experience and about how much I love their Korean program :3 

5) EF Tours Global Citizen Contest: I'll be entering this year! And it's in China! I have my entry concept complete and I'll share my finished product In late September! 

6) School: Technically school starts September 3rd ( my birthday; still not happy about that)  but I have a summer reading test August 29th. I have to do the work for that as well after my trip! 

Cultural Corner: 

 Kpop songs I'm listening to: 

~ Infinte's Destiny 

~ Exo's Wolf 

~ SHINee's Dream Girl & Why so Serious 

~ Park Nam Jeong's Missing You (1989) 

~ Kim Jong Kook's One Man 

~ Super Junior's Opera (Japanese version) 

~ BTOB's Wow

TV Shows I'm watching 

This is the middle of the summer so kdramas are ending and there are some I just don't like that much or haven't started. I'll post the dramas I'm watching/ will watch and mark their country 

~Goddess of Fire, Jung Yi (Sourh Korea) 

~Mischievous Kiss (Japan- ended) 

~Love, Now (Taiwan) ( they speak Mandarin Chinese; more simplified I believe, I'm currently on episode 46 but it's getting sad so I don't know if I want to finish the Other 26 eps...) 

~ Can You Hear my Heart ( South Korea) (I hear its really good! Will start) 

~ Gu Family Book (South Korea-ended) *well made

*This is it for my dramas but for beginners looking to find a good drama but who know a good bit about Kpop, I recommend Dream High Season 1 and Heartstrings because they have some idols in it. Boys over Fowers is also a classic drama! For period dramas you can watch Dr Jin, Fate, Dong Yi, or Yi San ( the first two are newer). For modern monarchy dramas King 2 Hearts, My Princess, Goong and Goong S are for you! For movies I can recommend My Little Bride (cute arranged marriage story) and that's it for now because Korean movies are not for everyone and there are so many that you ave to find ones that you'd like yourself 

Juli's Lesson for the Day: Aegyo 

Aegyo is a Korean term for acting cute. This can include cute actions, voices, gestures, or doing whatever a Person considers really adorable. Aegyo is something very popular in Korea for males and females alike. Couples do it for each other and idols do it for their fans. Currently a popular style of Aegyo has emerged called Gwiyomi. This literally means little cutie and its what we'd call song Aegyo where you sing, and perform the required gestures. This Aegyo is also called Counting Cutely Aegyo because what you do is literally do addition. 1 + 1 ( holding up one finger on each hand) = Gwiyomi ( this is where the person would do the cute action with their hand) and they keep going up ( 2+2, 3+3...) ilhoon of BTOB is credited for the creation of the gestures and getting this Aegyo viral. If you search his name with Gwiyomi you will find a video of him performing this! 

Here is a chart of Kpop situations common to all Kdramas! 

And here is my meme for the day~~ 

Yeah... The amount of times idols get confessed to my the same sex... Too many to count. Some idols share tales of these events on tv too! Kangin of Super Junior had a particularly funny encounter with this in high school..can't blame the guy though...haha 

That's all of now! I'll keep you updated on my packing and videos! 

You'll find your Soul in Seoul~ 

- 박주리 

안녕하세요 Seoulmates!

Hey Seoulmates~ 

Nothing much to update on these last 2 weeks. My participation form has been submitted and I'm just waiting to leave for Costa Rica (ommmbbbb 8 days!!). I'm assuming travel arrangements and gateway city information will be released while I'm away so I'll have to have someone back in the states communicate for me (roaming calls are a no no..) hopefully by the beginning of next month we'll officially get to know if any waitlisters get on.. I hear it can happen up until mid July...

Ahh mid July... The 8th I'll find out how bad I did on the AP Spanish and World History tests... And sometime in July I'll find my equally awful grades for the SAT 2 versions of them...way to kill my fun in the sun time College Board...

Anyways~ starting in late September NSLI-Y applications are open (if you don't know what they are then google it!!!) I'm really stuck on Korean Summer or Year... South Korea is my favorite country in the world and I'd love the chance to formally learn Korean long term and live there... But then I'd have to give up senior year, ap eng, ap chem, and ap calc (mixed feelings about these three...XD) summer would still be an amazing 8 weeks there so I think that'd be the next best option for me :) I think I'll be spending at least one other summer in Seoul during College and hopefully a few weeks in Sweden with my amazing penpal Alva and a summer in Switzerland , interning for the UN (my #1 career choice ^^) 

Oh~ if I haven't told you guys already ( I have the memory of a goldfish...) I have 2 (technically 3) Korean penpals. My oldest is Eunyoung (this is the technically 3rd one because we don't talk too too much) who is studying for her college entrance exam, my oppa, Byeongho( if you've listen to Gangnam style you should have an idea of what this is, but basically it's a friendly term for an older brother/guy friend/ or boyfriend) , and my same age penpal Eunjin. These guys are All amazing and study really hard!!! I'm happy to help them with their English and they always tell me About their day, share pics, and wish me luck on my finals ( If it wasn't for oppa I would've failed them all XD I had to do well since he encouraged me... It's what dongsaengs (younger siblings/friends) are supposed to do!) ! I'll be getting Korean help from them when I get back from Costa Rica because although I can read Korean, my comprehension and spelling needs some work.. Got to get on that..

안녕~~~ bye bye~~~

박주리 ^^ 

PS~ here is my meme for the post~ Fun Fact: Bromances are common in South Korea. Like I mean it's not unusual for really close friends (boys or girls) to walk down the street hand in hand, sit on each others' laps, play the pocky game (search at your own risk...) and kiss on the cheek. Soooo if you're ever in or were in Seoul now you know :)

CIEE South Korea Scholarship Essay:

Here it is Seoulmates!:

         From this trip I plan to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between North and South Korea, their culture and an affirmation of my desire to live and work in Korea. As a Hispanic-American, learning about other cultures is imperative to understand your own and also to develop a global attitude. To me, the way to peace in this world is understanding and respecting each other's beliefs and values. America is a nation of immigrants, so it is important for people to have some understanding of different cultures to alleviate prejudice which many groups, particularly Koreans do get in America. 

Upon my return, I plan to prepare for an independent study in Korean. This program would be an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the culture and beliefs that can't be read in textbooks, which are difficult to find by themselves. I will be creating blogs/videos highlighting different aspects of Korean culture and language to share with the world. Korea is not defined by "Gangnam Style" and this project would expose Americans to a country with a unique history and culture; one that is often overlooked in history books. I also plan to create a Korean language awareness program because I feel that a majority of Americans do not know much about Korea's language. I've learnt a small amount of it, and it is such a rich language that many would find enjoyable to learn if they knew more about it.

I plan to major in International Relations and Korean. I hope to get assigned to a UN office in Seoul so I can promote friendly relations between Americans and South Koreans and also mediate between North and South Korea. I believe that everyone in the world is interconnected, we are essentially one people, and it is my wish to share Korea's culture with the world and bridge the gap between America and South Korea. Together we can build relationships within our countries if the effort is given.

I'm going to Korea~~~~

EHey Seoulmates! I haven't been updating much because well not much has happened until now.. Standard ap tests, sat 2s, final projects, senior graduation (I'm a sophomore but now I'm technically a Junior :D). Today was the big day of CIEE South Korea notifications and I got in!! My family was totally surprised (why? I don't know o.o) I'll be gone from August 5th to the 18th~ for those of you who don't know I'll be in Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica from June 30th to July 14th~ it's going to be an amazing summer~ my mom said I'll be seeing more in two months than she has seen in her whole life~ I'm really excited to see a lot of things in Korea~ try a lot of food~ the palaces(omggggggggggggg) ~~~ it's going to be a long wait  but I've made it up to this point so these last few months won't kill me~ 

My essay will be following this post~ feel free to email me questions @ jujubeehime@me.com and I'll reply ASAP :) 

Remember~ you'll find your Soul in Seoul ;)

Here are my memes for the day~~ 

Nothing Much Happening this Week~

My life is pretty boring this week. Just tests, quizzes, and essays to write.

Next week the application for CIEE should open up so I can submit it ^__^
Ahhh I really hope I'm going!
I have to wait until the end of May to know.....One more year until NSLI-Y notifications if I become a semifinalist...

Anyways. Nothing much to report on! Check out my other blog for Costa Rica ^__^ I'll post things of my travel updates ^__^


Music I'm listening to:

Infinite: Be Mine
FT Island: I Wish
Boyfriend: Janus
Big Bang: Fantastic Baby

Variety Shows:

Dad Where are you going?
We Got Married

Seoulmates Annyeong<3

My naver line is : parkjoori or you can search by name I believe Juliana Pena

I look forward to having more chingus online. It's pretty boring only having followers.

Applying for the Korea trip this week hopefully...wish me luck!

This image is so true of Kpop...I want to be a pure hearted fan but sometimes it's impossible XD

One the other side here is Jun! My favorite child on "Dad Where are You Going"! He is adorable beyond words and I can't wait to watch more!


Gurreom Annyeong <3

Guess Where I'm Going!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Annyeong! I got an email this Monday that said that I was chosen as one of three finalists for the SPI Costa Rica Full Scholarship and that I needed to fill out the official application incase I got chosen, which they said they would choose in 2-3 weeks. Soooo I filled it out, and emailed the admissions officer that I did...and guess what happened 2 hours later!!!!!! I got a phone call from her saying that she decided to give me the scholarship!!!2 weeks in Costa Rica for free!!! Flamingo Beach here I come!! Well I'll be going June 30th-July 14th. I haven't gotten my flight information yet but I've deduced that I'll be on either the 6am or 9am to Houston where we will have our on site orientation. I'll be taking a group flight to the Libera Airport, and from there we are driving to Flamingo beach and having a welcome dinner and meeting our host families! The next morning will be a language placement test, exploring the beach, and then classes, then beach/dinner time! I have a roommate but I won't know who that is until the week before since they accept applications up until 2 weeks before the trip. Anyways it'll be a blast and they have so much planned (which is why it normally costs 3300+ airfare) and lots of activities!

What's up in Juli's life:

Anyways: CIEE South Korea Scholarship opens up in 2-3 weeks ( I have to remind my Vice principal about the letter of recommendation)

-AP Test Payments are coming up soon haha.( I seriously need a job ㅠ.ㅠ)
-Classes, tests, no days off until Patriots Day ㅠ.ㅠ possible snow storm the 19th though ㅋㅋ
-Shopping for my trip will be done in June ^__^ some stuff I'll ask my roommate if she wants to bring ^__^
-AP tests in May... Wahh.. It actually won't be that bad but my Spanish grammar is atrocious.. I need to practice haha. World History essays are pretty fun to do though :-)
-Fundraisers Fundraisers Fundraisers :) <3 Support Oakmont Friends!
-Oakmont Friend's field trip to 5 wits in Foxboro shall be amazing..hopefully it's after May 15th when I'm not stressed with tests..

No Big News~ But Some Updates ;) OHHHHH WAIT I'M A NOONA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not much to update on since the scholarship winners haven't been announced~ So I'll just update what I'm applying for

SPI Cost Rica Tri- June 30-July 15 ( I'll know April 1st)

Summerfuel Summer School Tufts Uni.- June 30-July 11 ( if I don't get into SPI I'll hopefully be going here. There are other campuses but Tufts is my first choice~I'll know April 15th)

Lead America Med. Conference - Date TBA I'll know by April 1st

CIEE South Korea Scholarship- Aug 5-19 (I'll die if I get in!!! It'll be a tough call~ I'll know by the end of May~)

Hopefully I'll be doing something this summer and hopefully be going abroad.

Anyways School Updates: I realized I haven't shared my classes but anyways I go to Oakmont Regional H.S and we have a block schedule (I'm a sophomore too) so I have 4 classes a semester that switch out. I'll go in the order I had them~
1st semester: Geometry H, Chemistry H, Spanish 4 H, World Religions H
2nd semester: Algebra 2, AP Spanish, English 10 H, AP World History

I'm not as busy as I thought I'd be.. I don't have a lot of math or English homework so I can focus on my AP classes..tests are in May and we've had so many snow days~ I need to practice writing my essays~

KPOP News:

SHINee: Dream Girl is awesome!! Love it!! Google Hangout yesterday was awesome~
FT Island: I Wish makes me fangirl scream ;) Love you Hongki oppa!
Super Junior: discovered my love for A-CHA... It's pretty good~ I miss Leeteuk :/
Big Bang: love their appearance in running man~ I'm going to watch it today again! Fantastic baby is well fantastic..ㅋㅋㅋ

KDRAMA & variety shows:

What I'm watching/finished this month:
100 Year's Inheritance (mother in law scares me 0.0)
King 2 Hearts
Flower Boy Next Door
Rude Miss Young Ae Season 11
Running Man
We Got Married (all seasons)
----------------------–—————•
I'M A NOONA (I'm happy and sad at the same time...)

Zelo of B.A.P is my dongsaeng now...he is a month younger than me... Wahhhh it feels weird being older than a kpop star...now I'm going to have Noona syndrome but at least it's Zelo

Travel Updates~

Hi :)

Just an update on my possible summer plans~ I'm applying for the 2 week Korea program Aug 5-19 but I'm also applying for a Costa Rica trip and an engineering camp in NY so hopefully I'll get accepted to one so I'm not bored ;) In Costa Rica, I'd be staying at Flamingo Beach~ it looks amazingggg

Annyeong! Hello! Hola! Konichiwa! From Juli :)

Ok.... First blogpost...Hrm... Well I guess I should tell you some info about me~ My name is Juliana but people just call me Juli.. I'm from Massachusetts and well if you couldn't tell by the title of this blog...well I'm in love with South Korea <3. Long story short.. 3 and a half years ago, taekwondo, playful kiss. I'm applying for a program this summer to go for two weeks, hopefully I get in but that won't be until June~ gahhh T.T I'll probably be posting random stuff until June... Music videos...music bank performances...TV shows ( btw I highly recommend We Got Married, any season XD I love Lettuce Couple, Khuntoria, Teukso, and KangYoon Couples <3) I'm planning an independent study next year in Korean Language and Culture which means Youtube Videos and Blogging for SCHOOL CREDIT... If I survive this year... Honestly I'm a sophomore and I'm taking AP Spanish and World History starting Wednesday... Good thing I like the challenge. The AP tests coincide with the application deadline in my trip and my teachers promise me movie and project class time after the tests.. Hopefully I get good news so I can plan and ask my teacher Dr. Hart,who has been to SK, about what I should bring and researching cultural places XD Applying for NSLI-Y this September too... 6-8 weeks in South Korea fully paid!?!? Can't pass that up... I may apply to the Chinese summer too... It'd help with Korean and Mandarin is a widely used in business :) I'll keep you updated on what's happening... Saranghae minah <3 대한민국 Hwaiting (omg I spelled South Korea correctly from memory :O)

This is a picture of a pavillion inside Gyeongbokgong ( Gyeongbok Palace) this palace is widely used for movie locations and it looks so beautiful... I definitely want to visit here in a hanbok and eat some snacks :3

Chalga~
Juli