God is fair.

Seoul is the largest city in South Korea with over 15 million people. And of those 15 million people, over 70% use public transportation to get to one's final destination. That's the great thing about Seoul, you never know who you're going to run into...

As I previously mentioned in last week's blog, I have been isolated in the library all week catching up on school work. I needed to clear my head, get some fresh air, a little energy booster.. you get the point. I decided to go for a therapy session, retail therapy that is. I went to Myung Dong, the fashion district of Seoul, to check out the new arrivals for the week at my favorite boutique, Jinny Kim Shoes. After a quick 3 hour therapy session, I was patiently waiting for the bus so that I may get back to my HBS Case on Wal-Mart for my HR strategy class. As my thought wondered back to reality at the amount of school work I had to finish up on, a tall guy in a dark grey suit with a nice physique walks in my peripheral vision. My attention is toward this potentially handsome guy (I had yet to see his front features) when suddenly, this mystery guy turns his head to the right at a 45 degree angle. And (gasp) it was my K-boy! I walk over to him (cool, calm and collected of course) and say"hi." And so for the next 20 minutes on our ride back to campus, we have the most amazing conversation about "stuff."

So eventually our bus comes to a halt at our stop in front of KAIST. And K-boy being the gentlemen he is, let's me get off first. As I am getting out of the bus with my shopping bags, I slip on something and (cringe) fall on my knees on the street. (cringe)

That is correct. I have fallen on my knees in front of my crush. I am no longer "cool, calm and collected." So K-boy helps me get up and asks me if I am okay. It turns out, someone had spilled lotion by the exit door. Unfortunate me~ had slipped on it, fallen to my knees on the street, in front of my crush. I am mortified to the max at this point because everyone on the bus is staring at me, as I am the cause of all the commotion. The bus driver comes by the exit door to make sure that I am okay. I am red as a cherry and all I remember telling the bus driver is, "You really need to clean that up sir, it's a total law suit waiting to happen!"

With that, my K-boy and I walk up to KAIST campus totally avoiding what had just happened. We part our ways and I get back to my dorm room and notice that my ankle is throbbing in pain. And I cannot get the mental picture out of my head.

I had slipped.
Fallen to my knees.
On the street.
In front of my crush.
As I was getting off the bus.

It is definitely a "cringe" worthy moment that will be remembered for a lifetime.

Fast forward a few days after the incident, (cringe) I get an email from K-boy stating that he needed my Cross Cultural Management notes. (He had missed the prior class) And in return for my notes, he wanted to take me out to dinner. (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!)

So of course being the girlie-girl I am, I rush over to my friend Cora's room and tell her that I have scored a date with K-boy! Cora being from Taiwan starts to explain to me the Yin and the Yang of my current events. I am still a bit unclear of the Yin/Yang theory. I only know that there is a balancing relationship in the Yin and the Yang. (The Yin being I had fallen and the Yang being that I had a date) So all in all, the Yin and the Yang always balances one another. Again, I do not fully understand Cora's Chinese theory, but I do understand my faith in God.

I had fallen on my knees, on the street, in front of my crush as I was exiting the bus. God must have felt pity on me, therefore I now have a date with K-boy. So in conclusion, I no longer fear "cringe' worthy moments in my life. After all, it is all part of life. And I will always remain faithful, because God is fair.

"Take me on a trip I'd like to go someday..."

The song "American Boy" by Estelle and Kayne West is on repeat in my head. I am in the library at KAIST and have a stack of articles to read, numerous chapters to skim, and a group project due this week. What's more unbearable is the fact that I just got back from a fabulous trip from Beijing and I am scheduled to leave for Hong Kong this weekend for another little getaway. (I know right? I seem to have it all at the moment...)

Anyhow, here is a recap of my week in Beijing. Scratch that, my FABULOUS weekend in Beijing. I visited the Lamma Temple, Great Wall of China,  Chinese Musical, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo, Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony, local shopping~ completed with a 5 hour spa at the Westin Hotel in the financial district. The picture to the right is of me posing at the Great Wall of China. Really. How many pictures have YOU seen of your friends with similar poses at the Great Wall? For me, I have seen dozens and they all seemed the same~ a person standing next to bricks. However, you need to physically be there to appreciate its greatness. The drive up the mountain and being able to view the Great Wall in its entirety is an amazing experience. 

(sigh) So back to reality in my little desk at the library... I am currently reading an article for my Cross Cultural Management class, "Negotiating Globally." Maybe after reading this 56 page article, I can negotiate my way out of my exams.. I'll keep you updated on how that goes. .^_^.

Men! Men? Men.

It is 8:15pm on a Thursday night and I am sipping a Grande, green tea latte from Starbucks at the Beijing airport. That’s riiiiiight! After a long week of studying for mid-terms, I am taking a mini vacation in China for 6 days. I am currently in PEK airport waiting for Winnie to land so that we can meet up with Rebekah and Matt (fellow Pepperdine MBA students). We will explore the Great Wall of China, Forbidden City, KungFu Panda’s, fashion, food and men. (Winnie and I are both single at the moment) ☺

That brings me to my topic this week~ as a cute, young single girl from LA, it’s inevitable that I am attracted to the latest shoes, handbag, fashion, hotspots and the obvious…. MEN. Studying abroad in Korea, I cannot help but compare the men from different continents.

Disclaimer: The following views are stereo-typed from my personal experience. Your views and outlook on men, may be quite different from mine. But as this is Anne’s blog, this comes straight from my personal thoughts. ☺

American boys: Their fabulous. And if you need me to further explain, then clearly you have neither dated men in America, nor have you met someone whose your match. But ladies, if you’re single and moving to SoCal, you got to know the rules. I have been dating Cali boys since the age of 14 and trust me, you need to play by the rules. Interested in playing the game? Want to know the rules?

Ask me.

Korean boys: It’s almost as if I went back to the future to the 1950’s. Remember “Leave it to Beaver?” Exactly that era, where it was normal for boys to pursue girls and never the other way around. It is quite refreshing when a guy knows that he has to be the “guy” and approach the girl and actually work to get our attention. But with my lack of patience, I almost wish I could get this “thing” moving a bit faster. After all, I am only here for 3 more months. And if this certain “K-boy” is ever going to score a date with me, he needs to move a little faster. Why don’t I ask “K-boy” out you ask? Well in Korean culture, if I were to pursue him, I would be labeled “aggressive.” And no Korean boy wants to date an “aggressive” girl. (sigh) So I wait patiently, fully knowing that “K-boy” has a huge crush on me.

European boys: Impressed. Very impressed. To be quite honest, I have never known any FOB European boys. (fresh off the boat) There are a total of 19 exchange students and 14 of them being male and European. All 19 of us took a road trip a few weeks ago to Busan (the San Diego of Korea) and the boys carried all the girls luggage and got all the doors for us. They were literally fighting to be awarded “Gentlemen of the week.” However, a certain Italian boy comes to mind, and I ask, “Are all men from Italy as genuine and romantic as my “I-boy?”” (open ended question)

My "I-boy" started showering me with attention and presenting me with my favorite cookies for the first few weeks. I am now getting flowers on my door once a week. (Yes, I get lots of envious "coos" from the girls at the dorm) And this week during mid-term week, “I-boy” brought me several perfect cups of coffee (and I didn’t even ask) so that I wouldn’t fall asleep. Shall I go on with the sappiness as the list continues???

I’ll stop here as I am sure you get the point. But here’s the thing that totally blows my mind. Men in America play it “cool.” But my “I-boy” does not seem to care that everyone knows of his infatuation with me. His buddies tease him all the time, but he shrugs it off in “I’m manly enough” kind of way. A certain confidence that I have never seen before…  And Korean girls at KAIST seem to drool over the attention I am getting from “I-boy.” As for me? I cannot help but feel intrigued as this is all so new to me. My dating experiences in the past have been very Jay-Z/ Beyonce- quiet, minimal/non-existent PDA, “no comment” kind of relationship. But suddenly, this is beginning to resemble Bennifer where it’s all out there. (remember when Ben Affleck wrote Jennifer Lopez a love letter in Vanity Fair? Pretty out there…)

But again, I am a cute, young single girl from America in Korea enjoying the attention. I am neither committed nor seriously contemplating on forming any deep relationship here. After all, don’t girls just want international attention?

Mid-term week!

It's that time of the semester when students are scrambling into the library, pulling all nighters. Yup, it is mid-term week at KAIST. As soon as you walk into the library, you can smell the coffee beans! There are no seats in the library and if you are ever so unlucky as to sneeze, you get about 5 evil stares. It is dead silent in the library with the occasional sound of page turning. The atmosphere is pretty intense here and I mainly think because the students are on a ranking system. So after every exam, students are ranked from highest score to the lowest score and this list is posted on the bulletin board. And no one wants to end up dead last on the list. So it is VERY competitive here at the moment. You can literally cut the tension with a knife.

This makes me reflect on my experiences at Pepperdine where instead of competition, collaboration is encouraged. After all, when one finally enters the work force, isn't it a collaborative team effort in order to produce results? Hmmmm, but then again, competition is a huge external factor in any business. So I guess in all aspects, there are pros and cons to each school structure.

As a result this week, my blog is short and sweet. I mainly want to let everyone know that I have been pretty much studying all week. After all, I am here as a representative student from Pepperdine and I do not want to disappoint and end up with the lowest test score. So with this, I say farewell, and back to hitting the textbooks. :)