First Official Days of Work; Life so far

Long time no post!

Saturday was the opening of the Expo! We started work at 7:45am (ugh so early) so that we could be sworn in by Ambassador Kim ---->

 and greet the first visitors to the USA pavilion. I also got to have lunch with Deputy Assistant Secretary Stout. ---> 

During that time we were able to ask her about her job and her role within the government. Talking to her and listening to her story is making me think again about what I want to study in college. I definitely will major in East Asian Studies but I'm not sure whether I want to stick with film as a minor or work towards the International Relations Certificate. When talking with DAS Stout, one thing she said the resonated was her offices commitment to People-to-People Diplomacy. Over the past few days I've met and interacted with so many people ranging from toddlers to grandmas and grandpas who come from Asia, Africa, Austrailia, etc.  I'm not crazy about government/ politics but I want to continue this kind of interaction with people of so many different backgrounds.

Other than working at the Pavilion, I've been exploring around Yeosu.  I've been to the super market twice already. I'm trying to cook myself food rather than buying stuff. So far I've made 유부초밥, Spaggetti, and.... that's it! I bought ddokbbokgi (spicy rice cakes) to make but I haven't gotten around to it.
Since vegetables and fruit are so expensive at the supermarkets, Chelsea and I recently found a local 시장 (street market).

my attempt at 유부초밥... it's a little messy but practice makes perfect :)

I also met some AWESOME friends from Thailand. Now that I think about it, I've hung out with them every night since I've met them. Two nights ago they invited us to have dinner in their apartment. They actually know how to cook so it was a real treat. Thai food= yummy!!!

The majority of my Thai friends~

Eating Thai food at their apartment

 I also met amazzzzingggg Korean-Aussie friends! After finishing work at 3pm today I went around to other pavilions to get stamps for the Expo passport (trying to one from each country). During that time a befriended a guy from Japan, a girl from Kazakhstan, and a couple of guys from Angola! Tell me where else you can meet people who live thousands of miles away from each other in until 3 hours? This is exactly why World Expo's are such amazing opportunities that everyone should know about. Also, meeting all of these people makes me want to learn all of the world's languages! My next language project is Thai! Since beginning work I've used English, Korean, and Chinese! Speaking with Chinese visitors reminded me house much I truly LOVE speaking Chinese. I just really dislike learning/being tested on it. Since I'm not taking Chinese next semester I'll have to find a way to still use it.

The weather the past few days reminds me of Massachusetts weather.. it's been cold, overcast, and today through tomorrow it is supposed to rain. I still love the town of Yeosu but I had enough of cold weather all school year, I'm ready for warm weather!




Side note: It's graduation time! Congrats to all of the Smithies, Umassers, and Mohos! Good luck with everything in the future!