Sunshine and Bagels -- The Little Miss Thinks

When I was back in Seoul, a yelp deal came on for tandem skydiving -- when you fly harnessed to an instructor. My friends bought it, but unfortunately, due to medical issues, one of my friends couldn't go, and so I took her place. We drove to Skydance Skydiving early this morning in Davis, CA. This was of course after a short tour and visit to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield -- more info on this next time. After registering, filling a few waiver forms, and a short 45 minute lesson, we were ready. We then waited for about 2 hours before our names were finally called. This is when it hit Laura and she started to freak out. My instructor was Rob -- he was awesome. He was definitely professional and reassuring, making my first skydiving experience (and potentially not my last) incredible. I opted to pay extra for video and pictures and man, I don't regret it at all. By the way, if you ever want to watch it, just let me know :) I can't express in words how crazy, wo...

The young roommates and I have long been contemplating a trip to New York and today we spent some day cataloguing our wishlist. Wishlist of must-do: Times Square Statue of Liberty People "vogueing" Broadway and a broadway show New York style pizza White Castle Magnolia and Crumbs Grand Central Upper Eastside CLUBBBBBBBBBING! Central Park Go to a class! If we have time: Coney Island Brooklyn Serendipity 5th Avenue Rockefeller Center Ground Zero Union Square Harvard, Yale, and colleges Chinatown Wall Street

It is a little late now... but better late than never. I said goodbye to Nepal earlier today. But first, a recap. Day 7 Neha's mom was worried about my lonesome adventure -- I was planning to go explore parts of Kathmandu by myself -- not much, just Thamel and the Royal Palace museum... so instead I slept in. Kekeke, oh how I love my sleep. We then packed and I realized that I wouldn't have another chance to buy last minute souvenirs. So yeah, off I went on my short and fun adventure. I had plans to go buy 2 shirts and 4 hats in Thamel... I returned with 1 shirt and 12 hats. OHHHHHH, the shopper's remorse that I have. Oh wells, much to late for such regrets. I finished packing and later that evening, Neha's mom picked us up some pizza from a place that their family frequently orders from. Pizza by lantern light on the floor :) Pizza was delicious and the talks were fun. Neha's dad opened up some wine -- what a classy family! Last chance to eat some mom...

In case you didn't know this already, I'm horrible at updating my blog. However, I am attempting to make a genuine effort to log all of my Nepal experiences. I can't remember all the details and I don't have the patience to sit and recollect and type for what may take hours... so instead I will do highlights/brief summaries. Haha. Day 4: Durbar Square, Wedding Pre-reception Neha and I woke early on this day and returned to Durbar Square. I tried on my top for my sari and though it was a little loose, Neha didn't want to compromise the top by having the store fix it. By the way, if you are ever in Nepal, the store I went to is called Chanda Chakori. The workers are extremely nice, the store is clean, the saris are beautiful, and the value is amazing (as in, they don't scam you and give you great quality)... or at least it seems like it to me, Neha, and Neha's mom. Note: Pictures will be posted at a later time. As well, we recorded a video of him puttin...

Again, I woke up late today. Le sigh. Why do I love sleep so much? Past noon, I finally awoke and yay! was able to take a nice warm shower :) Today was the first day of a holiday in Nepal and so we had an extra special lunch that consisted of different types of roots (to warm you up). Also, had goat meat. YUM! Tastes a lot like lamb to me... i'm an uncultured meat eater. Neha and her mother did not agree. They find the two meats quite different. Following lunch, we were dropped off at the Monkey Temple (aka Swayambhunath). At this central temple, there are numerous stupas, many holy monkeys ( who are quite mischievous -- i saw some of them steal cotton candy from visitors!), and a main stupa. It was absolutely gorgeous. Not only that, but because of its high location in the mountains we had quite an amazing view of Kathmandu Valley. I had my first real transactions with homeless people in Nepal. Not so much transactions as two separate experiences of being followed by homel...

At the current time that I am typing, it is 1:11AM on Sunday, January 15, 2012. I'm currently sitting in Neha's former room, now her brother's bachelor pad. Neha sits a few feet away from me on the bed using her computer, listening to Korean music, and simultaneously looking through her old photos and playing Monster World. She just sneezed. Haha. Bless you, Neha! But before I write about everything I've done while in Nepal... I should first recap on everything I experienced prior to coming. The End of South Korea adventures As my days in South Korea have been winding down, it's been extremely sad... The end of my first, individual, independent experience abroad. There are many things I didn't get to do and there are many things I wish I had made time for -- Noryanjin fish market in Seoul, Jagalchi fish market in Busan, a repeat trip to Busan, the Sooul Museum of Art, a visit to Apgujung, more visits to Gangnam and especially a trip to the underground Gang...

Today is officially the last day here at Yonsei and in Seoul for many people. Move-out day is tomorrow at 11am. People are packing and saying goodbyes, and it's so bittersweet. I had my last day of Korean class today -- it felt surreal. Like graduation but not... I think because I'm not leaving tomorrow, I don't feel as sad... But a lot of people I do know are leaving... sad times. Among the people who made my experience here... I would definitely include my Korean language teacher, Park 선생님... Even though she made fun of me a lot, I feel like she definitely cared about us and wanted us to learn and was excited to teach us. I'll definitely miss her... I'll also miss Megan :( I almost cried hugging her. The good news is Megan's aunt and uncle live in Berkeley and Megan is from Sacramento, so it's not that far... but still :( I think I'm going to make a tag "People I'll Miss" haha, so I can reflect and remember. ___ In other news, ...

I think it's unnecessary to say this, since you may have already noticed... but I am incredibly slow... and infrequent with my posts. In any case, first off. I'm doing good, so no worries :) I've had many adventures since I last posted though I am horrible at updating them. *** So... in case you didn't know... I'm not extending. I was debating the question for a while and ultimately I was waiting and debating and searching. But yeah, coming back to the States in mid-January. At the current time, I can't say which date. I'm working out plans for traveling and although my original plan was to come back on January 12th and give myself some break time before class (lecture starts on the 18th).... my plan now is to come back on the 20th... and basically miss the first week of class. Why? My roommate Neha invited me to Nepal and her close friend is getting married. The marriage ceremony will be taking place from the 17th-19th... and honestly I want to go...

Had a pretty amazing day today with Henry, Neha, and Hoai. We started out the day pretty early (10AM!) and ventured to the Filipino Market in Hyehwa. I finally found the coconut juice I was desperately craving but I was disappointed by the lack of variety in food. Oh wells, my empanada and duron was still pretty tasty. As we walked back to the subway, we learned that there was a street festival going on -- we got face-painted and with his ridiculous sniper skills, Henry won all of us prizes, huzzah! We listened to some live music, got free samples, and took pics of random peoples. Side note: Only in S. Korea would a university group be able to sell alcoholic beverages to fundraise. Lols. Two of my friends were sipping Tequila Sunrises at 12:00PM because of that, haha. After Hyehwa, we jumped back onto the subway and headed to Itaewon. Itaewon is supposed to be the foreigner's area of Seoul (in other words, the area where folks go to get their 'American fix'). It...