Jena :)

Today was the first official day of vacation, and it was pretty uneventful for me. I slept in which was so wonderful, and didn't have to wake up to an alarm!! :)

I braved the weather and ran a few errands that I had been putting off all week. I showed up at Lotte Mart just before they opened...and I'm so glad I did. There was an employee standing at the door, holding everyone off from going inside, but the sliding door was open. I looked inside, and all the employees were preparing for the day: They were in the middle of the store in two long lines facing each other. They were clapping and singing a song (in Korean, of course). I was really enjoying the show, when it got even better!! This really loud music started playing, and all of the employees suddenly started doing a fast-paced workout. They were doing jumping jacks and bending down and touching their toes. They were switching places with one another and punching the air with their fists. This only went on for about a minute, but it was so awesome :) Then, they all stopped, went to their places in the store, and the employee at the door signaled for us that we could come in. I'm just so glad I got to experience that. That's the first time I've ever heard of AND actually seen something like that. I wonder what it would be like if more people started their mornings off like that :)

My next stop was the local market near my house. I just needed to pick up some milk. It's a little more expensive there ($1.20), but it's more convenient since I live close-by, and the milk can stay cold on my quick walk home. In smaller markets, there is typically a store employee walking around with a microphone yelling about what sales they have that day. And by yelling, I do mean yelling. I was hoping I could just run into the market and grab the milk I needed and check-out quickly, but I got stuck behind a lady doing a month's worth of grocery shopping. Therefore, I had to stand there and listen to the man RIGHT NEXT TO ME yell into the microphone about the fresh fruits and veggies that were on sale. I'm not typically bothered by the store yellers, but today, I wasn't appreciating it very much.

I got to Skype yesterday with my older sister, Jena. It was nice catching up and swapping stories and whatnot. She's just really wonderful, and I love her a lot. :) I just can't help but think what a completely different experience I would be having in Korea if it weren't for all the technology I have available. While I can't call home to family and friends, I have access to email, Facebook, my blog, and Skype. It's so nice to still feel really connected back home by keeping up with everyone halfway around the world.