:)

1) I am always counting down to Christmas - I just love Christmas and countdowns... and that hasn't changed just because I moved to a different continent. 73 days until Christmas! What has changed are the titles of my countdowns (yes, plural). I used to count down to going home from Luther for break and other things.. but now I'm counting down to flying back to the midwest. I forgot to reset one of my countdowns titled "Fly to Korea!" and it has since started counting the days since I flew to Korea. I've been in Korea for 77 days, and will be flying home in 68. Time really flies!

2) Saturday I went to Severance Hospital's International Healthcare Clinic at Yonsei University. I made it without a hitch and got what I went for (prescription for my inhaler). I felt pretty proud of myself as I paid for a doctor's visit and vaccines (that I requested - look at me go!).

3) I found a beautiful Caribou Coffee in Seoul.

4) I started reading "Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra" - good stuff. Loving it so far.

5) I attended an event and celebrated a birthday this weekend - each of those including their own wine buffets. I now know more about wine than I used to. I tried sparkling red wine for the first time - delicious! But let's be real... I was there for the food. :)

6) I met up with a classmate from Luther today - Katie. She's been here for over a year and might be leaving in 1 month or 3. It was so fun to meet up with her. We chatted about Decorah, our classmates, adjusting to Korea, and everything inbetween.

7) I don't think I could have done this 10 years ago. Email, Facebook, Kakao and Skype all play a huge role in my stability and happiness currently. I talked with Maren on the phone for 15 minutes the other day through Kakao - beautiful. I'll be skyping with my whole immediate family on my monday morning/america's sunday night. The words, smiles, recordings, messages, and love I get through the internet is a serious blessing.