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~~