Just after the clock struck 12 on New Years, I dropped by phone face down and the screen cracked really badly. But it was still usable, so I taped an old iPhone screen cover onto it to protect me from getting shards of glass in my fingers. It was pretty ghetto. But I kept using it for another couple weeks or so because replacing my phone would require me to take a 3-hour train ride to Busan, where my pops lives, because the phone is under my his name.

I finally made my way down there for a night and replaced my phone (yay!). Even though it was a huge hassle, going down to Busan is always relaxing. Maybe it's the ocean or maybe it's simply because the weather is warmer there than in Seoul. Or maybe it's because my dad's beautifully-designed office has such a peaceful aura about it. I don't know but there's something about Busan that's just nice.

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This is the entrance to my dad's office (looking out). That red thing hanging is a wreath of over 1,500 paper airplanes that he and his staff made for their annual Christmas concert. It's an art installation in and of itself. 

Just one of those days

We've all had these days...your head feels like it's in a fog no matter how much coffee you consume, your slow to get moving on any task in front of you, all you can think about is a Snickers bar and a hamburger even though you're not a huge chocolate or burger fan (OK, maybe that's just me). Anyway, I had one of those days not too long ago and before heading to a meeting, I just had to get a burger. I sat by myself, put my phone away and just ate. Each bite was savory and amazing. I don't think I even thought of anything except the next bite I was going to take. Don't judge me.

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Good food, good friends, good times

Mark, Hannah and I went to our friend Peter's house for a home-cooked meal. With all the ingredients we brought, we made a delicious dinner consisting of pasta, pork chops, salad, hummus, bread and zucchini. I think we were all kind of surprised at how good it turned out :)

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Not only did the evening consist of delicious food, it was also filled with amazing conversations, new friends and fantastic stories. Nights like these make me feel very close to home, almost forgetting that I'm in a foreign country. 

Until next time...bisous xoxo

Gravy

Mark and I went to a new Creole restaurant in the French Village called Shy Bana. Although a little suspicious, Mark convinced me to try it. I got a chicken po' boy, which was bleh, and Mark got a country fried steak with A LOT of gravy. At the time, the gravy was a delicious addition, but as we were walking out, we could feel the regret immediately settle in. As we sat on the bus, our eyelids started to droop and my stomach started to turn...let's just say, my tummy was not happy later that night.

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Green

Because of my work schedule, I have a lot of one- to two-hour breaks throughout the week. That's not enough time to go home, so what I usually do is find a cafe near my next destination and get some work done.

On this particular day, rather than getting my usual coffee, I decided to go for a healthier option: green tea. And while it may seem obvious, this green tea was particularly green. Huh. Go figure.

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Documentary Night

For the last few Sunday nights, my friends, Michael & Lee Ann, have hosted documentary night at their lovely apartment. Wonderful friends + delicious food (last week was build-your-own-burrito night!) + insightful documentaries is the recipe for a perfect night.

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Although this isn't the most focused photo, I just love the expressions.

A prolonged goodbye

One of my dearest & closest friends, Jamie, is returning home at the end of February. When Mark and I arrived in Korea, she was the one who welcomed us with open arms and happily showed us all the cool spots that she had discovered for the entire month before. Since then, we've grown closer than we ever imagined, which, apparently, is reflected in our physical appearance as well...I can't tell you how many people have asked us if we're sisters just in the last month.

I've known that her departure was approaching, but with only a month and a half left, it seems like that time is already here. So lately, I've made sure to cherish every moment with her, which isn't hard to do quite frankly. She has that ability to just bring you into the moment. 

Last week was a perfect example of how we hang out (and how beautiful it is). Before our photo club was scheduled to meet, Jamie and I got lunch and just wandered around Hongdae. We kept saying, "Wow, we have a lot of time." Then, we'd giggle and then, dance. No joke, that's what we did on three different occasions. Then, suddenly out of nowhere, we were out of time! Here's a few snapshots of our shenanigans. 

[Korean cafes have the most random names.]

[A clever sign.]

[Fell + Cole Ice Cream: a gastronomic ice cream shop owned by a San Franciscan :)

What's better are the flavors: honey lavender (l) and burnt caramel (r).]

[Drawing pictures in the guestbook.]

[Winter.]

[A breathtaking dress we stumbled upon.
Wouldn't this be the perfect dress for a Gastby-inspired wedding?]

Hopefully this prolonged goodbye means the actual one won't be so bad. Ehhh, who am I kidding? ;)

Breakfast with the family

Two weekends ago, Mark & I decided to devote Saturday to do nothing. That may seem silly to some of you, to intentionally work to do nothing...a paradox perhaps. But for all you busies out there, you know what I mean. It takes work to do nothing. You've got to say "no" to tempting cafe dates or dinner dates. You've got to get past the cabin fever and anxiousness of staying indoors all day. But once you do, it's heavenly & rewarding, especially when you realize you saved money (hoorah!).

Mark came over early in the morning. We cooked breakfast: cinnamon whole wheat pancakes, eggs, hash browns and coffee. Then, we video chatted with his sister and it felt like she was sitting right there at the table with us. Oh the joys of technology!

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As much fun as it is to have breakfast via Skype, I'd much rather do it in person. Just a few more months :)

Seoul Photo Club

One day, Mark had the ingenious idea of creating a photo club, where we'd go on special photo shoot outings with some of our photographer friends. One friend in particular, Michael, knows a lot about photography and he's always open to new adventures, so his contribution to the group has been invaluable with tons of amazing tips & suggestions that we wouldn't be able to receive from a regular class.

Also, three of us (myself included) got brand new cameras, which has given the photo outings more significance since we can devote entire days to playing with our cameras. So far, we've had two meetings and they've been so much fun. Although I'm usually exhausted at the end of the night, I find myself eagerly anticipating the next one.

[This was taken at the beginning of our night, over a rail, on top of a mall, looking over the city.

It was dangerous, thrilling and a beautiful moment...a perfect way to start our adventure!]

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At first, I was hesitant to climb over that rail...the idea of voluntarily putting myself in a situation where I accidentally plunge to my death (especially with only 5 months left 'til the wedding) seemed less than ideal. But the worry was quickly forgotten. Moments after I took this picture, I climbed over. Mark, on the other hand, remained worried and was sure to hold on to all of our coattails...just in case.

[Inconspicuously making our way to the rooftop of the shopping mall.]

[Jamie & her G12]

[Our challenge for the night was to take a portrait of a stranger.
It was intimidating to ask complete strangers, but the result was fantastic.]

[My favorite of the night.]

I know I haven't listed all of my 2012 resolutions, but one of them was to be creative in as many ways as possible. So far, so good.

Cute Boys

Meet Cassandra. She's tall, blonde and beautiful. And she's hilarious. She has a heart of gold and a passion for justice. She's down to earth and so easy to talk to. I could go on and on about how much I love Cassandra. But the best part of her is the fact that when she blushes (which is only around cute boys), her ears, and her ears only, turn red. So every time a cute boy walks her way, this is what she does.

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Friends & Cafes

It was a random Wednesday afternoon. The weather was dropping rapidly. People were at work. I could have stayed in my apartment to save money and get some work done...but instead, I went to a cafe to hang out with a few friends and play with my new camera. I may have not written that article like I should have, but it was a lot of fun just hanging out and being silly in the overcrowded cafe.

We giggled, took self-portraits, made fake mustaches, took turns getting massages & told fun stories about who knows what. And it was perfect. 

I caught Melody capturing a cute photo of herself. You can catch more of her cuteness here. 

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Days like these are numbered, so I might as well appreciate the heck out of them now. 

Sky

Sky, who is like a mentor to me, is, simply put, amazing. She's creative, gifted, goofy, kind, wise and recently married (!). Thus, she's busy. But every once in awhile, I have the privilege of getting dinner with her or meeting up with her for some one-on-one time, which I cherish dearly. She's got a lot of important advice for me (like what to expect as a newlywed), but more importantly, she's just a good friend to talk to.

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And isn't she gorgeous? :)

"Oh my God"

Among the smorgasbord of jobs I have, one of them is to teach English to 5th graders at an English library. I have three students: Amy, who is studious, sweet and eager to learn; Joseph, who is slower than the rest and a little lazy, but a good kid overall; and John, who is smarter than the rest but huffs and puffs at every assignment that comes his way. His worst habit, which I am trying my best to break, is to say, "Oh my God" every time I give him some more work to do. I can't really blame him, though. They meet with me on Monday nights from 7-10 and from 3-6 during their holiday vacation.

Even though I know teaching is not my gift, I have a lot of fun with these kids. It's entertaining to watch their reactions as I do my very best to act out new vocabulary words and enthusiastically show them new TED videos. Sometimes, though, they've got to have a quiz from big, bad Liz Teacher every now and then :)

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welcoming 2012

To welcome the new year, a group of us went to Times Square (a mall) for the concert of all concerts. On five separate floors of the mall, a dj or band was performing all night. It was tons of fun going up and down the escalator, running from one performance to the next. But I think my favorite part was the 2012 countdown with my closest friends & the love of my life! You can catch a glimpse of it on this video, which also happens to be the first entry of my 366-day project...yay!

Like I mentioned for my last video, watching it in high-definition is so much better. You can do that by clicking here.

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366-Day Project

Happy New Year all! 2012 is going to be an amazing year. And not just for me, but for all of you too! Personally, 2011 ended on a crummy note, which makes me that much more excited for this year. Some of the things I get to look forward to are: our wedding (!!!), soaking it up in the Caribbean, experiencing marriage, being with family & friends, creative projects, developing business plans, and the list goes on.

I don't know about you, but I feel like the start of this year brought a shift in the environment. The air is mixed with hope, creativity and passionate dreaming. And because of this, my new year's resolutions are more specific, each letter packed with confidence, just itching to be fulfilled. But we'll talk about all of that at a later date.

For now, I want to share with you just one of those resolutions. The 366-day project. I originally read about it here, but my friends Jamie and Hannah are the ones that really encouraged me to do it (they're doing it too!). And if you haven't figured it out yet, this project requires me to take one photo a day for the next year (366 because it's leap year)...but not just a photo of anything; rather, a photo of something that brought me joy that day. The unofficial name for it is, "Documenting Delight."

Rather than sticking to just photography, I'll be mixing in a few videos too. Now, you may be thinking to yourselves, "Elysabeth, it's already January 5th and there's nothing on here. You already failed." But I assure you, I've been documenting each day since the start of the year...I just haven't blogged about it yet. So keep your eyes peeled :)

Already, I've noticed a change in how I view the world around me. Rather than averting my eyes forward and allowing my mind to wander as it usually does, I'm observing the people and places around me. I'm constantly asking myself, "What's bringing me joy today?" Do you know how much of a difference that question makes for your ordinary day? HUGE.

So...perhaps you'll join me?