Beetles on Beetles on Beetles

Sorry, I know it's been a while since my last post, but it is an understatement to say that we have all been busy in Korea. Since my last post, we finished our training, had a couple of fun nights exploring Mokpo and moved to The Wondo Youth Training Facility on the beautiful rural island of Wondo. This camp has one of the most incredible views I have ever seen. We are up on a mountain that overlooks a beautiful valley that is home to a farming village. The setting sun reflects off the beautiful rice fields and we can see fish and seaweed farms in the ocean just beyond the village. "Spectacular" does not even begin to cut it. 

Shortly after we arrived on the island the children invaded for the first week of middle school camp. WOW. I have a new found respect for ESL teachers and teachers in general. I neurotically planned my first lesson, prepared games for my kids and had everything under control. Then I met my homeroom class ... They were silent. Then they were more silent. Then they were even more silent. I asked questions and they folded their hands in their laps and looked down. My poor class is very shy. I tried to play silly games with them and they stared at me more. I made of fool of myself and they FINALLY laughed a little bit. I decided to change my game plan and borrow an activity from my first official lesson. Finally, I got an adequate reaction from my moderately comatose class. How? I told them my parents are short. No joke. In fact, as I moved into a day of teaching my first lesson, all of my students found the fact that I am very tall while my parents are average height hilarious. Whatever makes them happy, I guess. 

Fortunately, after a few days of camp my homeroom class is finally loosening up. They're still very quiet in the mornings, but they are all really sweet kids and work hard in the evenings when we work on their skit for the end of the week. We have bad guys who ride tigers in our skit. It's awesome. (A few of my boys have picked up on my consistent use of the phrase "that's awesome").

All of the teachers are starting to get a little bit tired. Teaching six classes in a day is definitely a lot. Teaching the same lesson twelve times can also get a bit monotonous but it is a lot of fun overall. My first Lesson Felt like a comedy Skit. I jumped and Made Around the Kids think I was completely ridiculous. In the hallways they all say "Nature Teacher! Teacher Nature!" The Kids Celebrities make US feel like. There is even a group of kids that continues to give me a very specific kind of gift. I call their leader, "Kevin" (his English name) my Beetle buddy. Fun fact, if you teach kids the word "Beetle" they will bring you tons of beetles. It cracks me up. On the topic of beetles, I now have a class pet ... a giant dead beetle. "Teacher Jon" brought me this massive beetle that he found outside and told me to show it to Kevin. Kevin was very amused. The beetle stays in a cup in my room and was named "Jon" (by Jon's class). 

That's all for now. Busy busy! So happy to be here with such a wonderful group of people.

Dancing Fountains, Open Containers and Chicken

In the words of one of our new Korean friends "Things that you never thought were possible- they're possible in Korea!" Of course she was referring to the fact that Korea doesn't have open container laws. After this discovery, a group of us who had set out to explore downtown Mokpo walked to a small 7-11-type mart (which were scattered throughout the downtown area) and each purchased a beer.

It was a lovely (fortunately not humid) night and we were able to sit out by the water to watch the Mokpo Dancing Fountain show (see crummy photo below). The show was very impressive, well-attended and set to a mixture of Korean and American music. When I say American music, I mean "Let It Go"- No Comment. 

Following the dancing fountain show a group of us went to a chicken and beer restaurant for a late night snack and final drink of beer and soju. It was a great night to bond with my fellow Mizzou students and blow off steam during our period of jet lag. Although, the ultimate frisbee that we played first thing in the morning didn't hurt either. 

There is so much in this small South Korean city. During our taxi ride, we drove past a beautiful waterfall. The store and restaurant fronts are beautifully lit up and as my roommate keeps saying "everything is just so cute here!"

Lesson learned: Don't forget a camera. Ever. 

Bunnies for sale in Lotte Mart- a giant grocery store/Walmart/Target/Macy's.

The view from outside Lotte Mart with everything lit up. 

Mokpo Dancing Fountain. 

Google is Now in Korean!!

We made it to Korea last night !! Or this morning or at some point. Time is a weird subject right now but it seems like we are adjusting just fine. 

Our day of travel went well. Lots of Group bonding and Airplane movies. Our Day consisted of Sixteen and a half hours of Flying (Split between two Flights) and then a Four hour bus Ride (which we all slept through) to the Mokpo International Football Center in Korea's Southern-Most province. 

My roommate and I woke up to an ocean view this morning before eating breakfast and playing ultimate frisbee with our MU group mates. Our orientation and Official Training Begins in half an hour. So excited !! 

(Also, the post's title is referring to the fact that my google page keeps switching back and forth between Korean and English)

The view from our dorm room. 

A nearby bridge. 

It's been a while, but let's go!

Hey, so sorry, haven't posted in a while but now I have a real reason to! On Thursday, very early in the morning, I will be boarding a plane to South Korea!  In South Korea, I will be teaching English at summer camps for middle schoolers in the Jeollanam-do province. After a month of involvement with the summer camps, my friend and I are traveling to China for whirlwind trips to Beijing and Xian!!! Looking forward to sharing this journey with you.

I know the irony has been pointed out before but...

TOMORROW PARIS GOES TO LONDON!!!

The countdown has been exciting, but tomorrow it will come to an end.  My lovely friend, Paris will board a plane and head off on her exciting European adventure at the University of London!  I just know she is going to have an amazing time and will come back with stories on stories and sooooo many beautiful photos.  Although, I will miss our 90 minute phone calls over the next 90 or so days, I cannot wait to read about Paris' trip on her adorable blog! (http://aneventualdestination.blogspot.com) And share in Skype conversations on the account she might have been peer pressured into making... (It's just because I love you, Pear!)
Most importantly, I am going to miss this girl!!!

Have the time of your life, Love!  :)

A Dumb Comparison

Tonight, as I was brushing my teeth, I came up with a dumb comparison while I stared at my never-ending to-do list.  There is a reason "to-do" rhymes with "bamboo," you can cut it down as much as you want, but it is always going to come back with a very frustrating vengeance.  I know this post is a bit silly, but hey, it's midnight and I have a thousand things to do tomorrow.  I hope your to-do list feels less intimidating than mine.  More interesting posts to come! (Yes, that is a line item from my list of things to do)

Feeling guilty while I should be sleeping

Well shock, I'm feeling guilty about not blogging again... and I deserve to, because it has been over six months since I have posted here.  Can you tell that my life has been hectic?  Here's the quick version and yet another promise to get my crap together and blog more soon!

The Highly Condensed Version (of the past six months)

- Went back to Mizzou for the spring semester

-Took my first journalism class (loved it!)

-Took another costuming class (So much fun!! Definitely didn't see this hobby coming)

-Went to the Dominican Republic for 72 hours of bliss (and along the way, I spent my birthday in Miami with one of my best friends (honestly, what more could a girl ask for? (especially when there was a 50 degree difference between Missouri and Miami)))

-Did a lot of homework

-Did more homework

-Didn't freeze (too much!)

-Saw snow fall for the first time! And experienced my first snow day(s)! 

-Started working with STRIPES, the safe-ride system on campus! (Now I have lots of stories about funny drunk people)

-Went home for spring break!

--Saw all of my beautiful, amazing, hilarious, talented, brilliant friends

----I was even lucky enough to see a handful of them in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (a musical, that I just might have seen three times...(what can I say?  I love them))

- Went back to Missouri

-Got hired at White House Black Market! 

-Got hired by Mizzou Theatre's Summer Rep program to work in the costume shop and backstage on Anything Goes! 

-Did more homework

-Took finals

-Moved out of the dorms

-Slept on a very generous friend's floor for a week

-Moved into my new townhouse!

-Spoke Spanish every morning at 8:40 for two hours with a group of hilarious people 

-Worked in the costume shop five days a week! 

-Worked at White House Black Market after

-Did a lot of math homework (and I mean a lot of math homework)

-Did a lot of Spanish homework (and understood it... I'm sorry, but when the hell did that happen?) 

-Worked on wardrobe crew for Anything Goes! (Possibly the best job ever!-- Minus the very sweaty t-shirts and more specifically, the adult onesie I had to collect at the end of the night, but other than that, so much fun!!)

-WENT HOME AFTER ALMOST FIVE MONTHS!!

-Had a crazy airport surprise

-WENT BACK TO CAMP BRAVO AS A COUNSELOR AND HAD AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE (I cannot even begin to describe Bravo, if I started to, I wouldn't get any sleep tonight, or for the rest of the year)

-Played in Huntington Beach and Del Mar for a couple of days

-Maximized my time with my friends before returning to Mizzou

And there you have it, the past six months in a nutshell (concise really isn't my thing....).  I'm now back in school and working my ass off already.  If you are so inclined, feel free to follow my academic/professional blog at lesjay.wordpress.com .  I will probably be posting there more often because, well, I am graded on it.  I hope you're all doing well and that there aren't too many spelling/grammatical errors in this post because honestly, I am prioritizing going to sleep over proofreading it.  Talk to you soon! (hopefully about something other than my life)

Thanks for reading. 

New Years Resolution- Blog More!

 Yes, I know, I suck.  It's been way too long since I've posted, but it's a new year, so here we go.  The world didn't end on December 21st so I have who knows how long to "keep current" with my blog.

Here's a little bit of catchup before we move into the new year.

After eating way too much over Thanksgiving break I went back to school, took a bunch of tests, then came home again.  The holidays went well and recently I've been spending a lot of time with friends.  It's also been nice to have the opportunity to get out of the WC and explore different parts of The Bay.

Here's a little taste of my winter break adventures! 

One one of my first days back I took a hike in the hills with one of my very good friends. We had to avoid the mud because of all the recent rain, but the hills were green and beautiful.





Don't judge me for my use of Instagram pictures... I was without my actual camera that day.











Again, if you want to follow me on Instagram my name is LeslieJay. Gotta love the annoying plugs.... *rolls eyes*

Took a trip out to San Francisco with my friends for one of their birthdays.  We had dinner at the Ferry Building, sat by the water, then just walked around and went in all kind of stores we couldn't afford to shop in.  I forgot how nice it was to just sit by the water.  I occasionally feel a bit land-locked in Missouri.... go figure.

And I've been spending lots of time with this lovely girl! (Even though it's never enough)

We took Pear's beautiful new camera and went to Berkeley to explore the Cal campus!  I love college campuses.  Each campus is so different and is home to a unique group of students.  It was really interesting to look at Cal from a student's perspective and not just as my dad's, my uncle's, and my cousin's (and many many more) alma mater.  I wouldn't trade Mizzou, but Cal has a gorgeous campus!

I wanted to take pictures of the ginkgo leaves in the grass at Mizzou, but they lost their color before I got a chance, so CA Weather to the rescue!  

More ginkgo leaves

My favorite picture of the day

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! 

Honestly, who does't like pie??

There are some conveniences that are lost when one goes off to college, one of them being a kitchen.  There is a kitchen in my building... but ask 90% of the people who live there and they will say that they don't use the kitchen (and a slightly disgusted look will come over their face).  So, since I had some time at home last week, I took complete advantage of the fact that there was an available kitchen at my fingertips and a glutinous holiday in the very near future.

Every year on thanksgiving we make three pies (gotta love traditions): Apple, pumpkin, and chocolate.  This year, my mom wanted to make the apple, so I took over the responsibility of making the pumpkin pie and decided to change up our typical pudding filled chocolate pie.  People, like my dad, like the pudding filling, but personally, I was convinced that there had to be something better out there.  So, I went to GOOGLE, the best cookbook ever and found this lovely recipe, and so it began.  My epic afternoon of baking.  Check it out! (Oh, and I have no idea why, but cliche as it may be vignettes, mattes, and edge blur effects look good with food...)

Surprisingly few ingredients for two pies. 

Graham cracker crusts- super easy! Just mix graham cracker crumbs and butter.

Melting chocolate and butter for the pie filling- no double boiler needed.

Couldn't find the real splash guard... oh well. 

Mixing the chocolate  with eggs, sugar, and salt.  Took a bit of effort to mix them together, but it looked cool.

 Ready to bake

 Fresh out of the oven

Chocolate pie, final product. 

Thanksgiving dessert. 

Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving! 

Thanks for reading!! 

Forgotten Photos

Over the summer, I replaced my computer in preparation for college and even though I thought I transferred all of the pictures from my old computer, apparently I was wrong (need to work on that over break...).  But any who, I recently plugged my camera into my new computer and discovered a collection of random pictures I took over the last year.  Here are a few of my favorites.  It was a fun, memory evoking surprise.

Flowers on my dining room table from when Zach asked me to his prom last spring.
(No, I really don't empty the photos on my camera)

Playing with my new camera when I was bored on an airplane

What can I say?  I like to play with my camera. Blooms from a tree in my yard in CA. 

Old tiles found in rainwater by my car.

Found on the beach after a long walk with Sam.

Old posts on Del Mar Beach that you can only see during low tide.

Sam likes to model.

Del Mar sunset and surfers. 

My favorite place at my favorite time.

Busy Busy Mizzou Days

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while.  Life has been crazy!!! I had multiple tests last week, a story due and a bunch of other stuff going on.

Here are some brief updates on random stuff:

I GO HOME IN FOUR DAYS!!!!! And I can't believe it!!! I haven't been home in three months and I'm really really excited to see my friends and family!! :D  Sometimes, it doesn't feel like I've been in Missouri for very long because I am constantly busy.  However, I am not counting the days until I get to see my friends, sleep in my own bed, and shower without shoes (I'm not sure why that detail is so exciting... but it is).

I wrote my fifth Maneater/MOVE story!!! Which means that next time I submit a story I will get paid for it!!! (It's like ten bucks a story, but still!!!! I will be getting paid to write :D )
Here is a link to my latest story! College Photographer of the Year Competition  It came out today and was on the front page of the news section (aka, page three of the paper).

I've also been helping backstage with costumes for Mizzou's production of The Glass Menagerie.  If you have any way to get to the Rhynsburger theatre tomorrow or Thursday night you really should see this beautiful and impressive show.  When I originally read The Glass Menagerie, last year, it really wasn't one of my favorite scripts.  However, seeing it on stage with MU Theatre's amazing cast was a perspective changing experience.  I highly recommend the show to anybody who loves theatre or just wants to see a story told in a really touching way.

Any who, that's really it for now.  I'm very excited to go home on Saturday (in case you haven't already figured that out).  I'm sorry for being so sporadic with my posts... I am working to fix that.  Let me know if there is anything specific you want me to write about.

Lots and lots of writing!

Recently, my time has been filled with lots of writing.  I write texts, emails, psych study guides (which I am totally procrastinating on at the moment), to-do lists (god, so many to-do lists...), class notes, postcards, essays, and articles!  And speaking of articles, here are my two latest MOVE/Maneater articles!

Emigrate to a new sound

The result of my "squirrely" day!

Okay, so if you clicked on the second link you probably noticed that the actual story title had nothing to do with what the hyperlink said.  There's kind of a funny story behind that.   I went in to interview one of the ladies quoted in the story at 8:30 on Monday morning, I was told that she couldn't come into the office that morning because she had a squirrel trapped in her closet.... No joke.  My only response was "well, at least she has a good story."  It was a completely true story and definitely not something you hear very often.  As you can see by the story, the woman and I were able to chat later that day and she ended up being completely fantastic, but still, all I can think is.  Wow, what a way to start your week... with a squirrel in your closet.

Hope you enjoyed that little story.  Hopefully, I won't have to write a follow-up to this if/when I find a squirrel in my closet over break.....

I got my shit together!!! (no in all aspects of my life... but in this one!)

So, I was sitting in front of my computer one night when I got an email and thought to myself, "Well, hell... I can do this!"and sent an immediate reply to the email.  A few minutes later I received a response and had a mini party/panic attack at my desk.  I had successfully picked up my first pitch!!!  If you are reading this and don't know exactly what a pitch is in this context, it's a proposal for a story, in this case for MOVE Magazine, a weekly student publication at Mizzou.  Since this first pitch, I have picked up and written two more.  The third will come out this Friday!  Here are links to the first two!

-The print title of this article was "A Phantom Birthday" but it was changed to fit the online requirements. 

http://move.themaneater.com/stories/2012/10/25/phantom-opera-play-missouri-theatre/

http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/10/30/first-functional-mri-comes-university-hospital/

Hope you enjoy!! 

My life is currently insane

Dear world,

I will post again when I have time to breath- aka- Wednesday.... maybe.   Sorry!

~LeslieJay

To Be Continued (Maybe)

          You see yourself moving through a field of nothingness.  The gray expanse feels delicate and warm, as if the air is being perfectly circulated around you.  As you float along, distant, formerly amorphous, shapes begin to appear more geometric.  You can make out buildings.  Not historic, stucco or brick buildings, but large cement blocks.  An illusion of light is created by small bits of mirrors cemented into the sides of the buildings that reflect the shards of light which cannot be masked by the artificial cloud cover that not only fills the sky, but fills the spaces between the geometric, evenly spaced structures. 

            As you continue to move closer to the cluster of buildings, you can feel the eerily warm air comb through your short hair and make your light, silky clothing ripple against your dry skin.  Your hands are loosely holding a warm metal railing, not for the sake of balance or protection, but the necessity to have something solid to hold onto. 

            The light, dry, gray fog around you begins to thin, as the cluster of structures grows closer.  The field of nothingness slowly splits itself into three parts.  The first being the thinning fog mixed with the warming air, the second the approaching “city,” and the third being the still, channel of liquid you are cutting through.  The color of the watery substance is difficult to identify.  It is a tertiary, powdery green that is tainted with the same gray undertone as the rest of your surroundings. The liquid in front of you appears almost as still and cement at the buildings you are approaching until your industrial wooden raft cuts through it. 

            The raft’s deck is made of smooth wooden planks that feel cold under your feet, clashing with the warm air surrounding, sending a feverish sweat through your poorly insulated body.  You are standing at the bow of the 800 foot raft which is shaped liked a thin oval with a pointed bow and stern.  The actual source of the raft’s forward motion and direction is unknown, as is the width and length of the channel you are traveling on, due to the thick, puffy cloud cover that is only absent over the raft’s path but stands like the walls of a tunnel ten feet from each side of the raft and a ceiling about twenty feet overhead. 

            Through your journey there was rarely a break in the clouds and they created the constant illusion of a solid wall in front of you.  But as you approached the city, you suddenly broke through the eternal wall of clouds.  The clouds turned from a dark gray to light gray and began to appear thinner and wispier, but show no sign of disappearing.  The cloud ceiling appears to raise at an ever increasing slope, and the shards of light that reflect off the buildings increase, causing you to squint your eyes.  You cannot remember the last time you saw light, real light.  The raft has four ten foot tall fluorescent lights that create a bright square in the center of the raft.  You prefer to stay outside of this artificial light because it reflects off your bright white tunic, with a blinding effect and causes your head to hurt. 

            Your name is #248677895883 but you go by “Key,” after the trade of your distant locksmith ancestors.  What a locksmith or a “Key” actually is, you don’t know but you’ve been told they go together. 

            You feel a hand press against your back.  Simple human contact is relied upon for sanity during long, raft journeys through the gray abyss.  Any concept of time slips away as you pass through the never-ending foggy tunnel.  It is only when you approach the occasional cluster of buildings that you can tell you’ve actually covered any distance. 

            On the rafts, people find things to entertain themselves with.  They count the wooden planks.  Then count them again.  The children create games, tapping each other’s fingers and pulling their clothing in different directions to create costumes.  Most people slip into a state of restless sleep or, for the lucky ones, meditation.  Other people just sit close to one another or hold hands just to exchange a feeling of life.  There is no speaking permitted on the rafts.  

I wrote this on a plane a few months ago.  Not really sure what it is or exactly what it means but it's something I might want to work on in the future.  Hope you enjoyed it! 

LET'S GO GIANTS!!!!

Sorry to my Missouri friends, but I have to root for my home team this time.  Play hard tonight San Francisco!  Wish I could be there.  

And Sandoval hits a home run!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Okay, I'm going to watch the rest of the game now.  

Bye. 

Oops... Sorry, I'm Human...

Well, third day of my blog and I'm already screwing up.  Usually, I'm pretty good at sticking to my word (or so I would like to think...), but when a big assignment calls, I'm unfortunately at its mercy.  That being said, I very obviously didn't get a chance to post yesterday.  Hopefully, I will be able to give you a better excuse as to why in a few days.  All excuses aside, I now have to make up for the fact that I missed yesterday.  So, today I will post twice.  This post will be shorter, because I have class soon and my actual Wednesday post will come later tonight.

Tuesday Post: 

As it sit in my dorm room wearing workout shorts and a t-shirt, I have one thing on my mind.  MIDWESTERN WEATHER...WTF?????  A few weeks ago I packed up my shorts and stowed them in the Russian Nesting Doll-esque set of suitcases I keep beneath my bed, under the assumption that the weather would continue its trend of gradually easing us into nice fall then scary winter weather.  Despite my fear of inevitably freezing my ass off, I had accepted that the weather was going through a natural process and was maintaining hope that I would adjust to the foreign cool temperatures.  But then there was an unexpected turn of events!  The the rain, the warmth (there is a high of 84 today), and my personal favorite, the humidity (please note my extreme level of sarcasm) decided to come and barreling in and royally confuse me.  And to exasperate my confusion even more... there is a high of 50 on Saturday!  Soooooooo excited....... ugh.....

New Blog Week Post #1- A Few Random Photos

I was sitting awake last night and decided that in honor of my new blog, I should post something new every day this week, just to get things going.  After this week, I will be posting approximately once a week.  However, today is a very busy Monday for me.  So, I decided it would be a good day to post a few pictures.
Last week I decided that it was time to start carrying my camera around with me again.  I love Instragram (which you can also follow me, "LeslieJay" on (can't believe I just wrote a plug for my other social networking account...)), but sometimes nothing beats a real camera. I use a little SONY Cyber-Shot digital camera.  It's light, fits in my purse, and was a gift from my lovely grandparents.  Eventually, I would love to take an actual photography class, but for now, I just play with my camera settings and some very very basic computer editing techniques and just see what happens.

Here are a few really random pictures I have taken over the past year.  Hope you enjoy!

I took this last February on a trip to Hawaii and tried to make it look like an advertisement.  

From the same Hawaii trip- found these little guys while I was on a walk.  

I was mesmerized by the caterpillars' eyes.  They didn't even seem real.  I used the background blur setting on my camera to take this and didn't have to do any editing on it.

From a beach trip my friend sand I took last May- This is a picture of my friend, Wesley, that I took with the background blur setting on my camera.  

Just took this yesterday.  A couple of my friends walking through the Missouri School of Journalism arch.

Check back in tomorrow for another new post!