Growing old is required. Growing up is optional.

When I tell people that I am moving to Korea to teach English, I usually get basically the same responses. "Really?! That's awesome." "I know someone who taught English in China and they loved it!" "Do you speak Korean?" Yes, it is awesome. Most people I've heard about going to China are volunteers that pay their own way, I'm going to be an actual teacher that gets paid (not to brag or anything). And, no, I don't speak Korean, but you can bet I'm going to learn. I don't often get asked why, but I know that there are those out there who are curious as to why I decided to teach English in Korea. So, I guess it's story time (and this could be a long story): Once upon a time, just two weeks before her last finals before graduation, Amber sat alone in her apartment. Her roommates were studying or gone for the weekend and the effort to find out if the neighbors were doing anything fun that night was too much. After all, some...

There is something exciting, yet nerve wracking, about buying new things for a move abroad. Clothes, shoes, personal items, electronics, books. For me lately, it's been a constant battle between figuring out what I really need, wanting to buy things I really like, wondering what I'll really be able to buy when I get to Daejeon, evaluating what I've already got, and not wanting to spend too much money. Luckily, I have wonderful parents who are willing to help me get ready. They even went halfsies with me to buy a new laptop. (Macswell and I get along very well so far, in case you were wondering.) And, today, my mom and I spent part of our morning luggage shopping. Last week I spent some time scoping out the deals and looking at different designs, so today, when we went looking, I still had no idea what I wanted. Soft-side? Hard-side? Four wheels? Two? Patterned? Zippered? Plain black? Blue? After searching for a while, it starts to feel a little Dr. Seuss-y. How i...

After months of waiting, things are finally starting to move! Yesterday, I sent the necessary documents to the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles to get my VISA. Today, I bought a one-way plane ticket from Las Vegas to Seoul. And tomorrow marks one month until my departure. So crazy! But you know what is almost crazier? My current lack of anxiety. Sure, I'm a little nervous, but nothing like I was waiting for my background check or sending documents to Korea or waiting to hear about my placement. I am surprisingly calm. Amber - the girl who freaked out about buying a ticket and flying to New York without her parents last year to visit friends - just bought a ticket to KOREA with a credit card (why yes, I am in debt for the first time in my life) and is planning on boarding a plane ALONE to go to a country where she knows NO ONE. And I have yet to show any signs of a pending anxiety attack. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was more anxious about whether or not I should have bought th...

In honor of the great changes that are happening in my life, I have decided it's time to clean up the old blog and start blogging again. I have also changed the look of my blog to reflect the next year (possibly more) of my life. The background picture you are looking at, my friends, is the beautiful city of Daejeon, South Korea.  Right there. Can you see me yet? In just over a month I will be making my way to Seoul, and two weeks after that I will officially be an English teacher in Daejeon!! Crazy, right?! Right. I won't get into all of the details of how I got to this point, just know it was quite long and stressful. (In case you were wondering, having your future dependent upon the speed of an office of the U.S. government is NOT fun. Background checks take FOREVER. And it costs A LOT to send documents to Korea when you want them to get there fast.) But, in the end, it's all worth it. I'm going to be having the adventure of a lifetime! I'm excited...