I have CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH and a new roommate!

This past week I flew to Jeju island for the Chuseok break and when I returned I had a new roommate! To be honest I was little bummed at first because giving up my second closet was very sad, but she's really awesome so it's worth the sacrifice. Her name is Joe (that's her English name, her name tag on the door says Pho Sze, needless to say I prefer Joe) and she's from Hong Kong. We really haven't had that much time to sit down and talk but she seems really cool. She's just at Yonsei to learn Korean, rather than to get a degree. She is not enrolled in any other classes, just the morning Korean class from 9-12, so she has plenty of free time. Valerie had such a huge course load that I barely got to see her, so it will be nice to have a roommate who's actually around.

Joe's English is good, but not nearly as great as Valerie's. It's okay though, we have good laughs over some of her cute mistakes and I enjoy helping her. I think the funniest thing Joe said to me was "Last time I was in Korea I couldn't find meat, I NEED MEAT!!" It was hysterical and then we laughed over the fact that we both hate vegetables. She said to me, "I hate vegetables; I just can't eat them. Does that make me weird?" Perhaps she's my long-lost twin from Hong Kong?

Today I had my first group presentation! For my sports medicine class we've been working in groups on a research project on the ACL which is the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. It basically connects the tibia to the femur and is used to absorb shock during motion as well as to provide a stable range of motion for the leg. The presentation went really well, but boy am I tired! My group worked basically all night last night to put the finishing touches on it and I didn't get to bed until after 2 am. Then we met again at 8 am to rehearse the presentation until class which was at 11. I couldn't understand why we needed so much time to rehearse but then I realized that since English is my group members' second language, presenting a project like this in English is a very different experience for them. It was really inspiring watching them devote so much time to practicing the correct pronunciations. They asked me many, many questions about the English grammar on the power point and my job, aside from researching, developing and presenting a rehabilitation program, was to edit and put the finishing touches on the power point.

Like I said, my job was to come up with the rehabilitation program for our project, and so after researching the topic I developed an aqua aerobic therapy program for our "injured athlete", Jason. It was a bit scary at first getting up to present because I am the only Caucasian in the class. Also I was unfamiliar with the technology system in the classroom, which is very modern, but it was basically just a touch-screen monitor and my group members helped me navigate through the system. All in all, I believe my group did really well. Something that stood out to me was that a different group presented their project in which they included a video clip that was in Korean. The video had English subtitles though, and they told me they subtitled it themselves so that I'd be able to understand it. It was really nice of them and it meant a lot knowing that they had done that.

The best part about today was getting back from class and having a package waiting for me in the lobby of my dorm! Thanks to Aunt Amy and Aunt Linda, I got the best package ever with all my favorite American snacks! And hidden at the bottom... drum roll please... CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH, my favorite cereal!!!! I ran downstairs, and by ran I really mean I stood in front of the elevator and yelled at it to hurry up, then went to the convenient store (conveniently located in my dorm) to buy milk. So I had a wonderful appetizer of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but don't worry, I didn't spoil my dinner because I only had a little bit. This box has to last me 2 and half more months!

I know you're all wondering about Jeju! My trip to Jeju was really incredible, I had such a wonderful time touring the island with Andrew. We didn't even want to leave! I'm definitely going to blog about it very soon when I have a bit more time (and perhaps a bit more sleep!) So stay tuned!

P.S. It seems Aunt Amy and Aunt Linda were pioneers in the international package-sending process, but don't be intimidated by their success and audacity! Don't be shy, if you'd like my address just ask!