Day 02 - Seoul, South Korea

Jet-lagged
Lunch by the Han River
Etiquette boxes
Cham-si-man-yo
Sea fish/sea urchin(?) bimpbimbob

So I finally got to ask my friend, D, here what that box I saw in the woman's bathroom stall was in the airport. It was a small white box labeled "Etiquette" with a button on it. I really wanted to press it but I was afraid someone would come running in with toilet paper. You know how sometimes in changing rooms when you go shopping they have buttons for you to press if you need assistance? Well turns out my imagination was running wild, and it's just a box that plays sounds so you can do your business discreetly. Funny how that works and how revealing it is about the Korean culture. I must press it on my way out.

After my arrival, D took me around her neighborhood in Incheon and to a park by the Han River for lunch. The first thing I noticed was how a lot of the smaller streets didn't have sidewalks or only on one side. Hmm I'll have to pay special attention when walking.

On that note too because there were a lot of people out, and walking into me I had to learn my first useful Korean phrase besides hello and thank you, and that is "chamsimanyo" which is excuse me. I'll be saying a lot of that.

Lastly we ended our night at my first Korean buffet and it was delicious. My favorite counter was the one where you can make your own bimpbimbop, which I've had before but never with sea urchin. Or at least that's what I think that yellow yolky stuff was. And also instead of an ice cream machine they have a patbingso (shaved ice) machine! So much funner and healthier than ice cream I think.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I was too tired to take any and just wanted to enjoy the moment. Next time!

Day 01

A new page, a new leaf.

                                         

Backpack and passport, ready to go!

Finally after years of dreaming, months of deliberation, weeks of planning and a 14 hour flight, I'm finally here on the first leg of my traveling journey- in South Korea! And believe me when I say this 14 hour flight has caused me to reflect on EVERYTHING. But especially the support and encouragement I've received this last week when I told friends and coworkers I'll be leaving. 

I always thought that when I tell people my dream is to travel the world, they would respond by telling me I'm naive, irresponsible, or that I'm just escaping from reality, but on the contrary everyone has told me the opposite. The support that I've received has completely blown me away, and I can't help but think how many of us out there are holding back on our dreams because of what we THINK others will say?

I'll admit I don't know what the heck I'm doing, and I most likely will not get to see the world all in one go. Maybe I'll get homesick and be perfectly content with just seeing a few countries, maybe it will not. But all I care for is that I've taken the first step. This first step was in fact the hardest step. I've known for the longest time that traveling the world was something  I wanted to do but I just ignored it. That little voice in my head telling me to go travel was shut out again and again, so I could focus on getting a job, earn money, and pay for student loans. And in hindsight I'm glad I did because it taught me to be responsible, to work hard, to manage my own finances, and most importantly to be responsible for who I am and want to be. And that meant owning up to the fact that I wasn't doing what I wanted and being who I wanted to be. 

The decision to go after my dream didn't just come to me overnight. It took days and nights of agonizing before I actually did something about it. But that was the key: DOING something. That may sound simple but you'll be surprised how many people say they want to do this and that, and not do anything about it. But I didn't want to be that person. So I began researching airfare tickets and lodging prices just to see how much I would need, then I planned out how much money I would need and how I was going to save for it. And before you know it, I had a quarter, a third, a half, and then finally a amount that I felt okay with. 

I won't get into the whole spiel of how I sacrificed my lattes in order to save for this trip, because I know that everyone has different priorities. Instead I just want to leave you guys with the idea of taking responsibility for who you want to be, and to take that first step towards it. It doesn't have to be big, first steps aren't suppose to be. So whether it is to take a trip, to get your own place, to run a marathon, or to buy a car, just take that first step. Go and find out how much that car is, and I don't mean "Oh you know, A LOT." I mean, go find out how much it really is down to the penny. Go find out how many marathons there are in your city, and where you can sign up. Get a pair of good running sneakers. You deserve it. Whatever it is, make step number one happen and then we'll talk.

THE FINISH LINE IS NEAR...FOCUS!

First of, a pat on the back for myself for dragging myself to the doctor for a full checkup. Gotta make sure I'm in good health. Yay! 

Second, another pat for myself for ordering a backpack! After looking at a dozen of them I decided to go with this one, the Gregory J38.

Image from REI.com

I was pretty much sold when I read that it comes in different sizes, as it should be just like a pair of jeans or sweater because you WEAR it. But also this bag is designed with both functionality and comfort in mind. For a tiny girl like me, I cannot waste my energy carrying a bulky, over-sized backpack, so hopefully this one will be just small enough to carry, but large enough to fit all of my necessities. It'll be here next week so we shall see!

With that said though there is still a LONG list of stuff waiting for me to do, and every time I look at that list I panic a little. But I just gotta keep telling myself to stay focused and concentrate on the next thing.What's that saying? Rome was not build overnight? Pyramids are not build over night? I'm the worst with quote, but you get the gist.

On a separate note a few days ago when I was digging up my old passport photos, I found one of my old journals. And in one of the entries I wrote a bucket list, on which I realized I already accomplished two of those things! I've only written that list two years ago, so I felt pretty proud and surprised that I had already accomplished two of those goals. What's even better? I'm about to cross off two more.

If you haven't written out your dreams and goals yet, I highly recommend you to get to it!

Time is ticking! Pressure is ON. Trip preparations.

People say the hardest part about traveling is getting yourself out the door and boy are they right! Hours of skimming through travel blogs and watching videos is making my head spin.

Which backpack should I buy?
Which health insurance should I get?
Is there a better way to fly there?
How long should I stay?
How much money would I need for that location?

And now with just about an month under my belt I barely have anything planned except my departing flight! I've purchased guide books, I've bookmarked a dozen travel blogs, but I am definitely feeling overwhelmed! There is so much to do, so many places to go, and SO many opinions on which routes are the best to take. I feel just a bit like a deer caught in the headlights.

However when stressful situations like this happen to me I just gotta keep reminding myself that I need to take small steps. One foot in front of another. Step, step, step. 

A few days ago I decided I know! I'll go get a backpack first. So on my day off I went to REI, went into the backpack section and just randomly started grabbing backpacks to try on. Turns out, a 60L backpack, which is  what many people going on this type of trip get, is WAAAY too big for me. Not only because I'm super short, but I just don't see myself needing THAT much stuff. Of course it helps that my shirts are half the size of an average person, but I think I'm a pretty minimal person compared to most travelers. Yes I'd like to brag that I'm a pretty low maintenance person, but partially it's because I'm lazy. I hate carrying heavy things, and I hate carrying useless things, so for this trip I'm thinking maybe a 40L backpack or 35L if I dare.

Now the next step is to wait for my new shiny credit card to purchase all these things with. NO I'm not going into debt for this trip! It's just that this card comes highly recommended for travelers since it doesn't charge international exchange fees, and let's you build points in exchange for miles. ;) 

From here on then it will be more planning.

Oh, and if anyone is on the same boat as me, here are some sites that I've found tremendously helpful so far (and I will keep adding):

Nomadic Matt
Legal Nomads
Her Packing List 
Wandering Earl 

I really appreciate these guys sharing their experiences by the way, and I really enjoy reading all of them. They're all super helpful for anyone that is looking to travel, and their stories are just inspirational!

Hoorah! Hopefully I'll have more planned the next time I write.

5 Minute Magic Routine by OonShuAn

What's your magic routine?

My Month Long Gluten Free Experience

UPDATE (4/17)- Definitely noticing some differences! I have not had ONE single bloating incidence like the ones I use to have, nor have I had a stomache since! Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself...

So last month after taking a trip to San Francisco and experiencing a great deal of bloating from my  dining experiences, a friend suggested perhaps I may be gluten sensitive. I never thought about it, and thought of "gluten free" as another one of those fad diets for losing weight. But I wasn't feeling too swell after our dinners on several occasions even when I didn't eat that much, so I thought maybe my friend was up to something.

I quickly did some research on Celiac's disease (which is the name of the disease if you are extremely sensitive to gluten), and found out one can determine if they are sensitive to gluten by avoiding it for a whole month, and then ingesting it again to see if they get any symptoms. My symptoms were bloating and digestive problems. It has been a month now, so what's the verdict?

I don't think I'm extremely sensitive to gluten, but I think it definitely makes a difference in my health. Since not eating gluten, my instances of bloating have noticeably decreased, and my head feels clearer, and even my skin seems clearer, although I  still have breakouts. So maybe I'm not 100% sensitive to gluten, but I definitely feel better without it.

Thanks to Google and an app called "GF Search Free", it's pretty easy to spot gluten ingredients. What makes it hard for me  though is when friends make me food that aren't gluten free. I can't seem to turn down cupcakes and pastries. But with time I think I can learn to.

The good news is though, since I don't have Celiac's disease I don't think I have to avoid gluten 100%. I do like how my body feels without it though, so if there is a gluten free option I will take it. And there are so many options! Did you know there are gluten free bread, pasta, cakes, and even brownie mixes? Neither did I, but now that I do I'll definitely try them all. Most of them are quite tasty, except the bread that I tried to make.

Umm...is that cake or bread? Gluten-free bread fail.

Stuff I love

Finding Your Own North Star 
Tackling Rejection
Danielle Laporte
Marie Forleo
Meditation for Beginners