Here- Provo 12:24am

I'm really lucky I got that moment.

<3

Here- Provo 12:41am

Peaks, rain, pizza buffet, mini golf, music, all with people...it was a social and wonderful day off.

(Spencer is an exact replica of Crush the turtle from Nemo...hence...I was confused, miss you)

There- 9:45 PM

As Rach mentioned before it has been exactly one month since I left home and traveled to the other side of the globe. She insists that the time has gone by quickly and I go back and forth. The days feel long but when I look at the calendar I can't believe it is almost July. Anyway, I don't have any new or exciting stories to talk about but I do have a small tidbit I need to get off my chest via ranting publicly on the internet.

I am getting a little tired of the negativity towards marriage. I swear every person I meet that finds out I’m married makes some wise crack about how sucky being married is. You know, stuff like "the old ball and chain has got me on a tight leash" or "I can't go out and have fun with you, I'm married" followed by a forced chortle and maybe a rib poke. Always lame. Now, I know that I haven’t been married that long. 3 years is not a monumental number and we don’t have kids yet and I understand marriage gets tougher as you get more problems and blah blah blah. I also understand that marriage isn't for everyone and those who choose to roll as a bachelor or bachelorette is fine by me. (At least those peeps don't complain about being married.) I would seriously just love for a fellow coworker to find out that i’m married and say something like...

“Don’t you love being married? I freakin love it.”

or

“Oh you’re married, that’s way cool, marriage is awesome.”

or even

“Brah, marriage is so bitchin” followed with perhaps a brother hug and possibly subsequent fist pounds with said employee from then on out. Ok maybe that’s a little too much to ask for.

But I love being married and I love having my best friend to talk to all of the time, even if it is via Skype at the moment. For those of you out there who are married, live it up and be proud to be so. No one is going to think you're less cool for telling people you like your spouse.

Rach, I always got your back boo.

Here- Provo (too late to put the time)

It's been one month folks. One month since my Mr pack up his life and we started a skpe/gchat marriage. Actually, it went by somewhat fast, then I remember...two months left.

Oh dear.

Miss you Speene...only a lil...just a lil

Here- Provo 1:07am

Busy Busy week/weekend. All wonderful things. I'll let a few pictures do the talking until I can blog at a decent hour.

Night <3

There- 12:30 AM

Another work week in the books. It's Saturday night here and I am enjoying the best way a semi-bachelor in another country can...I'm watching my family play golf. The fam is up in Midway for the Wittwer family reunion that they have every year and so some of the crew decided to hit the links and harness their inner Tiger Wo...er...Rory Mcilroy. Because my wife is so awesome she woke up early to swing the sticks with my Dad, Bri and Nate as well as Jon, Joe, Andrew and Dave. Apparently they played a best ball (each player takes a shot and you end up playing the best shot of the four and continue on until the ball is eventually in the hole, each player taking their own shot from the best possible lie) and Rach lead the charge keeping the boys on their toes as well as carrying them on her back most of the time. I think it was the Orrs vs the World (the other guys) but I don't know who won. Rach called me via Skype on the iPhone and I was able to ride along in the cart with them, my hair blowing through the wind as we went. I couldn't see everything but it was fun to participate in the banter and watch each of them at least take their swings even if I couldn't see where the ball went. I was crazy jealous that I wasn't there in person playing myself but at least I could hang out for a little bit. Here are a few pictures that I took of my computer screen as I watched them play.

Nate and Bri pretending like they can golf

Quite the pleasant shot, while I watched the four Orrs putting on the green I was able to hear birds chirping and enjoy the beautiful Midway scenery

Bri getting his hacks in

Rach swingin like she's on tour

Can't say I didn't want to change locations for the time being you do what you got to right?

Here- Provo 12:53am

I'm tired. And wasted. And have way too much going on in my head.

And I wish I had some Fav Reds

There- 9:30 PM

Tonight this guy from work took me out to dinner with his family. We ate some most delicious chicken and it was fun to hang out with him, his wife and 5 year old son. I am now watching "Korean Baseball Tonight" (yeah it's all I got) on TV and counting the minutes until the NBA draft. Solid night.

There- 10:00 PM

Last night I rode a bus down town and went out for dinner and a movie with...myself. So it was a little depressing in that regards but I enjoyed it. I saw X-Men: First Class and really enjoyed it. I don’t know what the reviews said or what the consensus is from everyone but I liked it a lot. I don’t remember all of the other ones but this one was good. Here are some pictures.

The theater is definitely smaller than in America. It felt like it was in between your typical American theater and someone’s home theater. If you can’t tell from the pic there was about 10 rows of seats and the screen was considerably smaller than home. The other noticeable difference were the Korean subtitles scrolling across the bottom of the screen which I actually enjoyed.

Only one size popcorn (small) so I couldn’t get my KFC bucket-size that you can refill once. Because its not like eating one of those sized buckets isn’t enough we need to polish off two. I do love that butter though.

Downtown Daegu. It was packed I wish I could show it better.

I rode the bus home late and passed out upon arrival.

Put A Bird On It!

Ever notice how all things are bird these days?....love it...but love this parody of it even more. Guess my owl necklace is hip, but also ironic. perfect.

***WARNING: I think there's swear words and it gets weird in the end, but just love it.

My sister-in-law showed me this video when we were in San Fran and then walking down the street the next day I say this in the window of Williams and Sonoma. (Please read the fine print sign) Pretty sure they'd never seen this video...awesome. Laughed pretty hard.

Jane and I owl hunt together.

There- 11:15 AM

Things I miss about being a missionary in Korea now that I am back. A few of the cultural things that I saw as a missionary and not so much as an employee.

- A companion/friendships: Believe it or not I miss always having someone to talk to. The friendships you gain far out weigh the few frustrations you experience living with another dude 24/7.

- Getting fed in every house: Whether it was a full meal, some cookies and milk, some sort of fruit, yogurt, water, or some sort of weird food or drink I had never experienced we were always getting fed something.

- The amount of weird people/experiences you encounter: I don't know if it's just a Korean thing, or a missionary thing, or just comes about because the percentages demand it (you talk to that many people for that many days you're bound to see some stuff that gets cemented in your memory).

- A nametag: Having a nametag in Korea was so much fun. I would be standing in a crowded subway or on a bus and a Korean person (usually an older man) would stare at my nametag from about 3 inches away. Looking at eye to eye he would read it over, once maybe twice, sometimes even three times and then go back to what he way doing. You can picture this probably and might be chucking a little but the game was in trying to get that guy to talk to you because 9 out of 10 times that I would go to introduce myself and would get a nice waving hand right in the face. No words, just hand wave saying "don't you dare talk to me. I got everything I needed from that eye frisking I just completed all up and down you. Oh, and i'm too busy to use words. Can't you see how busy I am sitting on this subway, ultimately doing nothing but looking like I have something to do?" I loved it every single time. I also miss being a representative of something important and proudly showing that on my chest every single day.

- Ice cream after every meal: This is one of my favorite traditions. I don't remember if I learned it from someone and then implemented into my daily life or if all of the missionaries did this but after every meal I would usually find a convienant store and buy an ice cream bar. They were so cheap and had so many to choose from it was like a kid in the candy store, literally. Ice cream was also used to combat the viscious burning in my mouth from the spicy Korean food. I still try to get ice cream after every meal here now but since I eat at the company during the week my opportunities have decreased significantly.

- The language: The only you to do here is say "I can speak Korean" in Korean and your fluent, not a word more and you're as good as a native. Oh wait, that's still the same. I get out of a kick of every Korean that I talk to that is absolutely floored that I am even attempting to speak their language.

Those are the things I miss, I'm sure there are more but that's what I'm thinking about at the moment.

Here- 9:01pm

Today I got to enjoy family time, run errands (I really like that), and sunshine at 7 peaks, but that's not what makes a Wednesday so perfect.

I got to spend some time with my Grandpa Keith today. He's in an assisted living center right by Spencer's house. Wednesdays are my day off (because weddings are always all weekend), so this morning I went to visit my cute grandpa after leaving Spencer's family. He was sleeping when I got there and I didn't want to wake him (duh Rachel, he's always sleeping, he's 93), but a sweet nurse came in and got him up and going for me. (Thank goodness for sweethearted CPA's and nurses who take care of our adorable elderly family members. I was grateful to see he was in good hands.)

I spent the next hour sitting on his bed right next to him, holding his fragile hand, and talking to him about whatever things in life he could remember. He told me he felt we had a really good family and that he was glad about that. He told me his birthdate without hesitation and about his tennis playing days. He gave me kisses on the cheek. I got to be SO close to him for that hour. I think closer than I ever have. Just me and him. With his hand so tight around mine.

He'd doze in and out of conversation but always with a smile on his face. When he would wake up 2 minutes later I'd be right there smiling at him and he would make some cute comment like "Well, how did I get so lucky",

Me- "Oh grandpa you can go back to sleep"

Gpa- "If I do that then I don't get to look at such a pretty lady."

Me- "I'll be here when you wake up if you'd like to stare."

Gpa- "Yep, I'd like that. Oh dear, how'd I get so lucky?"

How did I get so lucky? To have such and adorably witty grandpa who is so kind and sweet to me. I think I love to be around him the most because I see how much my family gets from him. I see my dad in him. I love my dad. It's better than good to see my dad in anyone.

It makes me so happy.

After feeding him some lunch, singing some songs to/with him, and talking about kangaroos on his mission I let him solidify his sleep. But when I tried to stand up to leave, he squeezed my hand he'd been holding for an hour and a half and said, "Dear, I want you to know that I love. I really love you."

And that's why Wednesdays are so perfect.

There- 8:45 PM

Another day in the books and it feels quite like the one before, and the one before that, and possibly the one before that. I haven't gotten into a routine here during the week and the days sort of blend together. I guess i'm just getting used to working an 8-5 job, 5 days a week. Tonight, to break up the monotonous routine I went over to the lake/park to watch a water show that the city puts on every night during the summer. I would say that it was a combination of the Bellagio water show in Vegas combined with the water/laser show at Disneyland. It lasted about 30 minutes and it was actually really cool. I took some pictures and a couple of videos on my phone but I don't know if you can tell what is going on. Take my word for it, it was cool.

Here- 11:57pm

Thanks to loving in-laws I enjoyed this view this evening, with a side of fish tacos.

Thanks to my loving in-laws I am now the same size as a 14 year old.

Thanks to loving in-laws my eyes were able to see this beauty...

Thanks loving in-laws, for a much needed pleasant evening. (minus the plumbing leak at 1:00am...nope that was entertaining too)

Here- 12:45am

Morning=Snooze

Evening=Rehab

p.s. don't even know how the first picture even got on my phone...shows how crazy I get when that alarm goes off.

p.p.s snooze is a funnier word when written out

p.p.p.s. the knee did good today

There- 9:30 PM

Today I went to lunch with the team that I am currently working for. It was a guy in our group's birthday as well as my welcome to the team celebration. It was a pleasant break from the norm and the food was delicious. Because I know that everyone just looks at the picture, I will attach a few randoms for ya.

Just chillin

Just chillin, in a little bit of a different way. Too much to drink already at 5:00 PM on a Monday

I thought this was cool so I took a picture of it and posted it on the blog

Here- Provo 9:30 pm

Today I'm happy. I'm grateful. SO grateful. For so much. And so optimistic...about my life, about my future, about tomorrow, about it all. It's not really explainable, but it's what I'm feeling. And I like it.

This is the kind of blissful happiness I aspire for...bubbles to a 1.5 year old is pure joy

There- 7:45 PM

No real big news today. I found the local english branch and attended church. I will be attending the Camp Doulas english branch while I am here and it should be a fun experience. I got to meet a lot of nice people and I am looking forward to getting to know them all better. We share a building with a Korean ward and so it made me feel like I was right back on my mission again. I will already be attending a BBQ this weekend and so I feel quite taken care of.

Sign outside the church

Here: Provo 11:49 pm

Same thing, same feeling, same time, same place, but smiley...cause I'm skyping with my boyfriend. While/after I soaked my feet from a FIFTEEN 15 hour work day. Ice cold water please. While Spencer watched and talked me through it. SO the anguish of a 15 FIFTEEN hour day on my feet and up down and everywhere changes to bright eyes and a wry smile.

Thank you interweb spouse.

PS He was watching as I was taking these pictures...I couldn't hide the noise. He called me a dork. It's true

There- 9:30 PM

Today is Saturday which means a nice day off for me. I slept in a little bit, then went for a jog around the park (which I will show later) and ate some lunch, which consisted of chamchi kimbab (sushi-looking think on the right), kimchi and radish (side dishes on the top left), soup (liquid in the middle), and jaeyook dupbop (spicy pork? and rice). It was delicious.

After that I had the opportunity to talk to my family via Skype. They were hanging out with the extended family and playing games at the Klindt's house in light of Sean going on his mission next week. It was fun to see everyone for a second and to wish my cousin good luck. Elder Klindt, baptize the hell out of em down there in Paraguay. You will do awesome!

After I chatted with my folks for a second and then Rach I did some casual reading. I ended up finishing Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol". A little later I was hungry again and so I took the bus down the street a ways to grab some dinner.

Bus was a little bit crowded today

I decided to treat myself to some home cooking once a week and because a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and a coke tastes good no matter what country you are in stopped in at Burger King.

After dinner I took the bus back to where I live and decided to take a book to the park to do some more reading. I am currently reading/just finished my sister-in-law Lindsey's book "Sean Griswold's Head". It was a great read and I recommend it to everyone not just because she is family.

Doesn't get much better than this

I took a few pictures of the park. This is where I run most days. I don't know how many miles around the lake/pond it is but it wears me out and that's good enough.

The park is literally a two minute walk from my hotel

I read there until it got too dark to see, grabbed an ice cream cone and then made my way home and that's where I find myself at the moment. Great day.

Here- Provo 11:49 pm

12.5 hour work day means....

I'm in a daze. Wish I could eat Diego's and complain about my feet to Spencer. Guess it's better I do neither.

There- 8:30 PM

A day in the life of me, the international intern.

Every morning I wake around 6:45 and get ready for work so that I can catch my bus at 7:25. While I am staying in a hotel the bus picks me and a few other coworkers up right in front which is real nice.

Here is a picture of the inside of my bus.

The bus is full in the morning and it takes about 15 minutes to drive to work. Once we arrive at TaeguTec I am dropped off in front of the marketing building. It is there that I spend the rest of my day.

Marketing building

This summer I will be working for 3 teams within the marketing division, pricing, logistics, and overseas sales. I will work for each department for 1 month and will be able to see the ins and outs of each team while getting to know the majority of the marketing employees. At the moment I work in the pricing department and it’s a little boring. Maybe as I learn more and they trust me with more work it will get better but at the moment I am bored. Everyone here is great though and it is extremely interesting to see how a business is run in Korea.

My desk/corner

View of our floor from my desk

At 12:00 on the dime everyone stops what they are doing and moves to the dining hall for lunch. It is like a herd of cattle going out to the pasture. It is honestly like someone rings a dinner bell and everyone comes running. People are allowed to eat off campus but I think everyone just eats here because it is so convenient as well as pretty tasty (as far as Korean food goes). The company takes a break for 1 hour and during this time the internet is shut off to all the computers to promote the employees to get up and move around. There are 3 dining halls around the campus.

Dining Hall where breakfast, lunch and dinner are served.

After lunch it is back to work until 5. It’s hard for me to compare TaeguTec to the rest of Korea because I have only worked here but everyone works very diligently. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of time wasting or lollygagging and it seems like everyone is working all of the time. TaeguTec is an extremely successful company so I wouldn’t expect anything less.

At 5 o’clock dinner is served and good size portion of the company goes and eats together. A lot of people also choose to stay a little later to work as well as simply go home to eat. From what I have heard though this is rare in Korea, most large businesses come to work early and stay late while some work Saturdays and even Sundays. TaeguTec has its employees here 5 days a week for 8 hours or work. It is a global company that is always going however so there are people who work the weekends and late hours. After dinner I catch the bus in front of my building and it drops me off again in front of my hotel. The days are somewhat long but it could always be worse. It’s a new experience for me over here and so far it has been very worthwhile.