Everything I Own in a Box to the Left

So yeah, I totally did wait until the last minute to do all of my packing and yeah, it's really hard, both physically and emotionally. I never realized how psychologically challenging it would be to literally Sophie's Choice my entire apartment.

'I can take my Magic Bullet but not my mixer.'
'I can take my pink ski jacket but not my red pea coat.'
'I can take my black boots and brown boots and grey ankle boots and black booties and riding boots but not my heeled black boots.'

OK, homegirl just has a lot of shoes. But really, these are hard decisions to make. Instead of being able to return to all of my things when I get back from Korea, I'll only return to the items that can fit in my Corolla. I ended up selling nearly all of my furniture and the only things that remain are my little IKEA Lack tables. You know, those ones that like $7 a piece that everyone buys. Seriously, that is all of the furniture that's left in my apartment that I haven't sold. I lucked out and the people who are moving into my apartment after me need all new stuff so they bought a ton of it.

I love this apartment. It was perfect for me in almost every way. The walls were painted the exact shade of silvery blue that I would have picked out myself. The bedroom was spacious enough to fit my stuff while still being somewhat cozy. The living room was open and inviting. I even grew to love my Barbie-pink bathroom.

Time to get back to packing. At the end of the day, I get to keep all of my make up, all of my DVD's, and my skis. What else does a girl really need?

Amazing Friends and Loose Ends

I'm officially in the home stretch of my last few days in Minneapolis. I have two more nights in my apartment and then two nights at my friends' apartment before my trek back to St. Louis. I didn't think that I'd freak out at all about leaving but now I'm starting to get really overwhelmed with moving out of my apartment. I'm not freaking out about leaving and I'm not nervous for Korea; I just have SO much to do in the next few days!

I have almost all of my furniture squared away except for my bed but if it's not gone by tonight, I have a contingency plan for it. The huge majority of my packing will be my clothes and if I can knock that portion out today like I'm planning to do, I will be 100X more relaxed about the rest of it. I still have a few other miscellaneous non-packing things to do before I move but I feel like I have time to get this all done. Once I get packed up and out of here on Thursday, I have little-to-no-responsibility save for my GRE before my departure.

On the flip side, the biggest things keeping me from packing are my awesome excursions with my friends. I am overwhelmingly ecstatic by the amount of people coming to my farewell evening on Friday and everyone has been incredible at making time in their schedules to hang out before I leave. I had one of the best Sunday Fundays of my life with two amazing friends and yesterday I did something really cool: the behind-the-scenes tour at Sea Life at the Mall of America! I highly highly highly recommend this to anyone visiting or living in Minneapolis! It was seriously so cool. I also found out that they have snorkel and dive options, too. If I would have known that before my last week here, man I would have taken that up.

Overall, I think I'll be just fine with getting everything done and if I'm not, there is always my preferred method of moving: waiting until 7 hours before I'm set to leave to even start thinking about getting it all in boxes.

DISCLAIMER: I TOTALLY WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THAT AT ALL TO ANYONE.

Future Plans

This entry is going to be short and sweet, especially compared to my ballad of luggage post.

Today is my last day at my current job. I started here in October, a few months after making the decision to go to Korea and to leave the advertising world. People ask me all of the time what my plans are for after Korea and I usually respond why a wistful 'I have no clue'. Well, I do have somewhat of a clue but nothing is set in stone.

As of right now, I'd really like to go to grad school after Korea. I'm good at school and I enjoy school and I feel ready to go back. There are two types programs that I'm currently looking into: Urban/Regional Planning  or a masters in Geography.

Urban/Regional planning obviously leads to a clear-cut career path (although I don't necessarily want to be a city planner) but you're probably wondering what one does with an MA in Geography. While there are some consulting jobs that specifically hire people with the degree, I'm actually highly considering pursuing my PhD and going into academia. It sounds totally different from what my goals were a year ago but I also would have never thought of Korea a year ago.

Other than entertaining the idea of going back to school, no, I don't have a clear-cut idea of what I'll be doing or where I'll be living after Korea. Who knows? I might like it so much that I end up staying for way longer than planned!

Packing - The Skeletons

My entire last 36 hours have been consumed with doing research on packing. I'm not referring to what to bring--oh no--that's a totally other ball of anxiety to deal with. I have spent hours on end researching the shit out of the packing vessels and organizational pieces. Huge props to my girl Sara for pointing me in the right direction on all of this and for sharing in my strategy planing and border-line addiction to Eagle Creek Pack It Cubes.

(Side note: Sara is also teaching in Korea in the exact same time frame as me and we plan on doing a lot of traveling together so prepare to read a lot about her.)

Without further ado, here are the final decisions!

The Exoskeletons:

I have a few pieces already that I'm bringing but I also got/am in the process of getting a few new pieces.

Checked Bags

For one of my two checked bags, I'm bringing a traditional black wheeled suitcase that I've had at least since my Fall 2009 semester in Norway. I don't remember the exact brand and it is in St. Louis right now so I can't take a picture but it is similar to the one below. The biggest difference between this picture and my giant black monster is that my suitcase doesn't have 360 spinner wheels. Whatevs. I'll get a cart at the airport and deal. This suitcase is really spacious but it isn't something that I would ever take on a side trip once I'm over there. It's great for getting from point A to point B but wouldn't be so great dealing with high-travel situations. But I'll get to those high-travel situations later. It's also expandable which is great for people who like to, ahem, acquire more items along their travels. I don't know what the volume capacity is but the dimensions are somewhere around 32'' x 18'' x 14''. That is just a guess based on this similar-looking one.

This thing is a monster is is CRAZY durable!

The second checked bag that I'm bringing is a new one that I just purchased from REI. Sara told me about the wonders of wheeled duffels and it totally makes sense. They weigh less so you have more weight for necessities shoes, they fold flatter so they are better for storage, and they are much more portable for intense travel. I probably wouldn't take this on side trips (again, see further down) but it's great to know that I'd have a super durable, life-long warranty piece if I DID want to. The dimensions are 35'' x 16'' x 14'' and it can hold a whopping 118 liters! The side straps also help compress down AND are an added safety feature for better security. Plus, the guy at REI who was selling this to me (after I was already totally convinced that I wanted it) piled a ton of things in it to show me that it will stand upright even if filled with a large amount of weight. And come on, it was on sale. Yeah, girlfriend lucked out. And as a bonus, if I die on my trip and someone needs an inconspicuous way to hide my body, this can totally double as a body bag.

The totally appropriately named REI Wheely Beast Wheeled Duffel - 35''

Carry-on Bags

I am totally maxing out on space allotted and I'm bringing a roller on the plane with me along with a backpack as my personal item. I got a great roller for the holidays last year and I love love love it. I've taken it on a week-long trip to the Caribbean, several extended weekend trips back to St. Louis (4-5 days), to various places around Minnesota (like my ski trip last weekend), and even to the St. Louis/New York trip that changed my perspective on life (see the first post for clarification). I honestly just don't want to live without this little baby for a full year. I have a matching shoulder bag, too, but I probably won't bring it unless I have extra space to fold it up and stash it. This powerful little dude is 21.5'' x 14.75'' x 8'' and it says that it can hold about 41 liters but it feels WAY bigger. There is some sort of Mary Poppins shit going on with this bag where you can fit way more in than you think. I'm telling you, if you are in the market to buy a carry-on go-everywhere suitcase, this is your jam.

My pride and joy of travel: the Samsonite Hyperspace Spinner: 21.5 Expandable

Now to the part that I've been referencing this entire time: my main man for inter-Asia travel once I'm over there. To say that I've researched this is an understatement. I think I have read more articles on this particular backpack than I did for my honors thesis senior year. Let me be clear: I have a backpack. I have a really hardcore, high-tech backpack that was quite expensive and is technically perfect. I used it for Norway and after traveling with it once to Greece, I swore it off. The reason for this is because I  have a hiking/camping pack and not a travel pack. There is a huge difference! Camping packs are more concerned with evenly distributing weight and gear and pay little attention to ease of use. Most travel packs have u-shaped zippered openings (as opposed to the top-loading drawstring openings of camping packs), and less bells-and whistles for gear. So, to make my travels in Asia significantly easier than in Europe, I am selling my camping pack and buying a new travel pack.

When searching for my ideal pack, I was looking for a few main features: a large spacious main compartment that could hold my plethora of Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes, hide-able back straps, a zip-off daypack, and a large capacity that can still be counted as carry-on. This one has it all and still comes with the Osprey lifetime warranty. I don't think I have been this excited for a single purchase since my senior year prom dress (refer to Facebook pictures for proof of the cascading waterfalls of white chiffon). The biggest trick to get this over there as a 'personal carry-on item' will be to not pack it full and compress it down. I might end up throwing the zip-off daypack into my Samsonite spinner, too. The main pack is 22'' x 17'' x 13'' and can hold 37 liters and the daypack is 19'' x 11.5'' x 7'' and can hold 15 liters. I've read about people using this as their only item on year-long nomadic worldwide trips so I feel pretty good about it.

What is soon to be my lifeline of travel: Osprey Farpoint 55 Travel Pack

The Endoskeletons:

Y'all are going to think that I am really dumb. For real. It's OK--I did, too, until I looked up reviews of these products. Now I seriously need to contain myself because I want to buy so so so many of these little things. They will be amazing for travel throughout Asia but I need to edit and think about how many I really need just to get over there. I know, it seems pointless to buy little suitcases to put into bigger suitcases but I'm telling you, I tested it out yesterday and I fit four pairs of jeans into 10 liters of space. That's amazing. I also used a small number of these for Norway but I definitely didn't use them to their capacity. The final count of how many of each are yet to be determined but here are the three styles that I'm using:

Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube (14'' x 10'' x 3'')

Eagle Creek Pack-It Half Cube (10'' x 7'' x 3'')

Eagle Creek Pack-It Tube Cube (13'' x 4'' x 3'')

The final item on this list is a no-brainer: compression bags! I have used both Spacebags for travel and Eagle Creek compressors and I have to say, I find the Eagle Creek to be far superior in quality. I plan to use the compression bags JUST for my pillow, sheets, towels (yes I can buy them there but a) I want big towels which are hard to find and b) I want some of my own stuff to feel home-y), and winter coats/ski pants so I'll probably end up getting two of each medium and large. I still have some left over from Norway, if I can find them!

Eagle Creek Pack-It Compressor - 2 Pack

So there you have it: my current plan for the packing structure inside and outside. I plan to document how the actual packing goes, too, so that I will be sure to update with another post on the result.

REI: you love me. And if anyone else has any international-travel packing tips, please let me know!

It's Really Cold

If you are living in Minnesota right now, you will know that it is fr-fr-fr-freezing outside. I mean, not your typical I-Live-In-A-Frozen-Tundra cold; a I-Will-Get-Frostbite-In-Two-Minutes cold. If you are anywhere else in the country, yeah, I get that there is a cold front, but check this out:

CH'YEAH!

This weekend, I went to the North Shore with my dear friend for our annual weekend ski trip. We skied at Lutsen and stayed at Grand Marais and it was, if you can imagine, pretty cold. Grand Marais is all the way up on the northeast tip of Minnesota, less than 30 miles from the Canadian border. It looks like this:

Well, ok, that's just at sunset looking over the harbor but still--freaking gorgeous!

Yesterday when we woke up an the car wouldn't start, it was a balmy -24 degrees. That's without windchill. With windchill, it was close to -40. It was significantly less cold when we were actually skiing but it was still pretty chilly. The biggest difference is that when skiing, we were totally outfitted for the weather. We wore our long underwear (NO COTTON EVER), mid-layers, and element-proof shells along with totally skin-obscuring accessories. And you know what? It was pretty OK. Sure, the winds were so bad on Saturday that we had to ride in a Cat back to the main lodge because the lifts were closed. And sure, we totally got windburn on our noses on Sunday. But all-in-all, the weather did NOT stop us from enjoying our sub-arctic adventure!

Here's the lesson: don't let the weather control your plans; just modify yourself/your clothing for the weather.

...we'll see if this still stands up when I have a hike planned during monsoon season in Asia!

Fears

I had a small medical scare yesterday (related to my time in the hospital over Thanksgiving) and that lead to me freaking out because of Korea. Then I started to really think about it, and there's nothing that scary about it.

I recently read an incredibly sad story about a local college student who passed away while traveling after a study abroad program. I believe she was in a four-wheeling incident in a country in South America. It is a huge tragedy and I feel absolutely terrible for her family and friends.

But that is an extreme case. That is a one in a million scenario. That is something to keep in mind as precautionary, but not to base one's actions around.

As I'm sitting here writing this post, I'm legitimately trying to think of scenarios that I actually fear for my time in Korea. I can think of situations that would make me uncomfortable and I can think of undesirable scenarios but every time I think of something to fear, my mind immediately jumps to the solution.

"What if I get sick and end up in the hospital?" I know that my school will take care of me and I know that I'll have a support system over there. Plus, Korean healthcare is like, really good.

"What if I have a travel mishap and I lose my luggage or something?" Been there, done that. It's not THAT terrible.

"What if I'm hiking in Borneo and I get bit by a bat in the face and could possibly have rabies?" RABIES VACCINE TO THE RESCUE!

As I mentioned in my first post, one of the biggest lessons that I have learned since graduating college is that it is impossible to really understand a situation until you're actually in it. I know that something will come up. I know that fears are inevitable. I know that I will have to overcome undesirable situations.

But I also know that I'm braver than I believe. I'm stronger than I seem. And I'm smarter than I think.

And if worse comes to worst, I'll just close my eyes and totally let the fear take over. But only for 10 seconds.

Who else has combined Winnie the Pooh and LOST in a blog post before?

The Bucket Lists

It finally hit me this week that I am leaving in little over a month. It is 35 days to be exact and today marks the point where my time is split evenly between Minneapolis and St. Louis. I have 17 days left in my beloved Minnesota and then 17 days in the STL before I head out. THIS. SHIT. IS. SO REAL.

Here are my bucket lists for both the Twin Cities and St. Louis. Some are things that I've never done and I want to do and some are just my favorite activities/places for this time of the year.

Minneapolis/St. Paul/State of Minnesota
Skating at The Depot Done last weekend
Juicy Lucys at Matt's, 5-8, or The Nook
Drag Show at the Gay 90's
Winter Carnival in St. Paul
Midtown Global Market Going tonight, actually
Spend more than 5 minutes in Duluth
Skiing in Lutsen
Timberwolves Game
Sven and Ole's Pizza
MOA Sea Life
Marvel Bar


St. Louis
Pi Pizza
Fabulous Fox Theater
Fro-Yo/the 10,000 cupcake places in the CWE
St. Louis Art Museum
St. Louis Science Center
City Museum
Ice Skating at Steinbergs

These are things that I want to do, not  things that I have to do. Things that I have to do include packing, selling my furniture, beasting the hell out of my GRE, learning basic Korean, etc. But which one is more fun to read about?

Have any more ideas? Want to join me for any of the above excursions? Let  me know!

Big Changes

Hello, World!

Welcome to my new blog and, if we're being really dramatic here, 'new self'. This blog is a way for me to keep a collection of my thoughts and experiences and share them with others while I embark on my biggest adventure yet: my time teaching in Korea. It's also totally and unapologetically self-indulgent. Whatevs, bro.

If you are one of my close friends or, let's be real, my mom (hi mom!), you already know why I'm doing this. If you happened to stumble upon this from being a Facebook friend from high school or some how by the Google lords, let's get you caught up.

I was totally that girl. The one who had her shit figured out and who knew exactly what she was going to do with her life. The one who had a plan and stuck to that plan. The one who secured a job right out of college in the exact planned field. The one who rolled her eyes at people who went to law school, did Teach for America, joined the Peace Corps, etc, because obviously they were just trying to figure out what they wanted to do. The one who liked to write in thematic lists.

OK, I totally still do that one.

The point is, I was a very different person with very different priorities. I graduated college in May 2011 and started working full-time at an advertising agency in downtown Minneapolis doing media planning. If the last time you talked to me was in the summer of 2011, I was probably really excited about this job and acted really pretentious about it.

The job and industry were just not what I wanted. I considered changing agencies countless times but at the end of the day, I just didn't have the passion and drive to really care all that much. I was burned out. Work was tireless and meaningless and I did not enjoy my environment. With the exception of a select few, I also really couldn't stand the people that I worked with. When you spend 10 hours of your day at the office, you don't want to feel like a kappa-house reject 24/7. (Disclaimer: individually, most of my coworkers were lovely people. But as a collective group, I felt like I was living out my fifth-grade clique rejection PTSD in real life.)

After a really rough year and a half of working for the same agency and having tremendous ups and downs, I had the vacation that changed the course of my life. In the summer of 2012, I went to my cousin's Bar Mitzvah (a Jewish rite-of-passage into adulthood at the totally mature and appropriate age of 13) in my hometown of St. Louis and I was flooded with accolade from relatives telling me how great it was that I had my whole life figured out at the age of 23. Then it hit me: I HAD A CHOICE IN THE MATTER?! This wasn't expected of me at this point?! I thought back to my friends who were all taking time off, traveling, working abroad, doing TFA (which I completely respect if you're doing it for the right reasons), etc and I got really envious. Maybe there was something to this whole letting-life-happen thing?

After the Bar Mitzvah, my mom took me to New York for a wonderful mother-daughter trip. As I was walking through Central Park I had a thought: I really disliked Manhattan. I mean, I found it absolutely repulsive. And you know what Manhattan is? The advertising capital of the world. I always loved the idea of living in New York and thought that it was my destiny. If I no longer had any desire to live in the absolute best place for my chosen career, maybe I didn't want to continue in my chosen career?

I came back to Minnesota with a mind flooded with thoughts of what to do next. I researched other marketing jobs and nothing seemed like a far enough departure away from the field that I despised. I went through countless 'get-rich-quick' ideas before thinking about the many people I knew who had taught in other countries. I never thought that I wanted to teach and I never thought that I'd want to live in Asia. But the more research I did, the more perfect the idea seemed. Some how, the concept of throwing myself into an unfamiliar situation, an unfamiliar occupation, and a totally unfamiliar land seemed like the perfect way to combat my current situation of boredom and confusion.

Here I am, five months later, about a month away from starting a year-long contract in Suwon, South Korea. I still have a lot to learn and a whole life ahead of me, but here is what I am certain of so far:

1. A college major does not define a person.
2. It is totally, 100% OK to change your mind.
3. There is no way to know what a situation is really like until you're in it.
4. Enjoying the journey is so much more important than the destination.
5. Success is not a measure of income, job titles, or societal approval; success is a measure of individual ability to challenge oneself to live their best life possible.

In this blog, I want to chronicle the mechanics of my time in Korea, my discovery of what I want to be when I grow up, and basically whatever I feel like writing about. I promise that not every post will be this preachy.

But for the time being...WHADDUP, LIFE?! Let's rock this bitch.