Bureaucracy, Bread Feet, and my upcoming Salwar Kameez debut

For all of you who can read Korean, or understand how Koreans pronounce English words, this is hilarious. Anyway, I'm sure that's what Jennifer calls him.

Well I'm sorry I missed writing in April, but it was a whirlwind of activity. Between planning the conference, trying to start a Student Government, midterms, starting a new job, and immersion week, I've been impossibly busy. To give you the rundown:

-the conference was scaled down to a one-day affair, with 3 prominent business leaders as guest speakers and only SolBridge students as participants. Here's a link for the website:

http://solbridgestudentconference.info/

-my attempt at forming a Student Government was in vain, but I didn't leave empty-handed. The bureaucratic mindset of some of the people at SolBridge are still not ready to hand the reigns over to students, and are still unwilling to listen to the student body without coddling us like children. I quote, "If you don't accept the format we have made for the student government, then perhaps it's a sign that you are not ready for democracy." Riiiight. I say I didn't go away empty-handed because I've learned that having passion cannot carry you through to success. There are a lot of elements that must come together to elicit change within a traditional environment, and having passion and drive, even having logic on your side, does not guarantee success. It also gave me a chance to understand a little more about the Korean mindset. I've now encountered a potential problem for my career goals if I choose to live here after graduation. American businesspeople strongly believe in open-door policies, flattened hierarchies, and flexibility. Some Koreans find this way of thinking uncomfortable and it makes them insecure and even aggressive. So now I have two options: to try and develop my understanding of this mindset through harmony and acceptance, or to reject it and try to be a catalyst for change. Perhaps as an American in Korea I will have to do both in order to satisfy both my needs and the need for acceptance by my peers and colleagues. Another idea would be to start my own business, that way I can avoid a traditional bureaucracy, at least within the organization I work for.

-I started a new job working with Korean Customs, where I teach business English two times a week and also a pre-intermediate class once a week. It's not completely off my career path but it's teetering on the edge; however I am making the most of this well-paying industry and researching the market to one day start my own business here.

-Immersion week was a great success for my group, and I received a lot of commendation from my peers for having the best presentation. While we didn't win according to the judges, I feel strongly that our group performed extremely well and I was proud of our achievements. I also want to say congratulations to my husband Usman; his team won first place in his division and now we get to shop at HomePlus with a gift card!

Finally, Usman's parents are sending some wedding gifts for us - traditional clothing, jewelry, and sweets from Pakistan. I'll be posting pictures of me and my husband, I'll be in a salwar kameez or sari with mendhi and bracelets. So so so excited! Miss you all. And congrats to my friend Heather for achieving her weightloss goal, you totally rock! Until next time guys!

How fast am I?

60 words

So that was just for fun. I've been slacking on writing here because I've completely thrown myself into school this semester. I only have five classes, but I'm also mentoring under Professor Butakov, the new Russian professor with tons of experience in IT-related fields. Me and one other student are helping set up and modify the new Moodle courseware, similar to WebCT or Blackboard (except that it's opensource). I'll be part of the helpdesk after we finish our training this week. I'm also attempting my first-ever large-scale event, an International Student Conference. Along with the MBA2 leadership class, we set up the conference to take place May 11th-12th, and the topic is Sharpening Your Professional Skills – Essentials for the entry-level job seeker. The idea in short is to first help international students overcome the difficulties in the job market facing them today through competitive problem-solving, then train them on how to write a stand-out resume, dress for success, network properly, and interview well. The second day will be the "final exam," a job fair, so they can utilize their newly-acquired skills. The close of the conference involves a CEO gala, where keynote speakers and other important guests will enjoy each other's company at an elegant dinner.
So far we have approval and commendation from both Dr. Jung and Dr. Endicott. I'm not sure how to bring my ideas to reality, so I'm enlisting the help of my mom, who is so experienced with this sort of thing and always ready to boost my self-confidence. I'll keep you posted on how things go.

In other news, I'm not sure how to say this, but anyway.....
I'm happily married! Me and Usman were married over the winter vacation. It turns out I am going to happy for the rest of my life, isn't that something? Being here in Korea is a great way for us to start a marriage, as you can imagine. No fighting about which side of the family we'll spend Thanksgiving with!!! Just kidding, but you can imagine all of the pressure is off since we're here alone. We realized that being together in Korea is the best place for us, and we hope to stay here for a long time. Korea is the safest, most simple place I have ever lived in. What more could I want than a simple and safe life with my dear husband?
We started making Korean food in our home last week, and let me tell you Korean fast food is quick, healthy, and amazingly cheap. We tried tuna kimpap, and it was sooo good. I used a variation of this woman's recipe, so try it!!!! And visit her website, she's amazing and fun to watch, and her combo of video and recipe is foolproof.

To make this more simple, don't use the bamboo roller, just use your hands! I don't recommend using pickled radish (because I don't like it), This was our recipe:

seasoned tuna (as she made it but without the green onions),

seasoned spinach (2c, flash-boiled, drained in cold water and squeezed out with hands, add 1tbsp soy sauce, sesame seeds, and 1 tsp garlic powder)

thinly chopped carrots

thinly sliced fried egg (no seasoning)

thin layer of mayonnaise (opt)

Seriously you can make this any way you want, it will still be great. We even used a mixture of brown and white rice, and it was even more healthy and delicious. I hope you try this, and visit her website! She has every Korean recipe you can imagine!

http://www.maangchi.com/

I'll try to write more, now that I have a heap of work on my plate - it's interesting how much better I perform when I'm under increasing pressure and have double the work. It's like I have only two speeds, turbo drive or standstill.

The SolBridge Sun is Rising

Hello friends and family! I completely missed writing during all of the holidays. True to form, I have been enjoying life too much to keep up with my blog. But I’ve been saving up some great pictures to show you!

My first semester at SolBridge ended in December, and what a roller-coaster ride it was! Anyway I survived. I’ve settled in and I’m ready to take on the world…as soon as school starts again. Here in Korea there are long breaks in between semesters, so until March I have quite a bit of free time on my hands. Thankfully SolBridge has employed me part-time, or I would be going crazy. Right now I’m working on moderating a CRM system for the University, called SugarCRM. I’m not a pro, and this is my first time at the wheel. But luckily the program is open source so tutorials are online.
In addition, I’ve got some other big goals on the horizon. I’d like to bring more students here from America, and I have a few really great ideas that I hope will come to fruition, I just need to create a presentation and get it to the right people. In addition, I’m starting a program to get books in our library. The SolBridge Library is beautiful and state-of-the-art, but it only has a few thousand books. Many people in the Korean community come to SolBridge for the other amenities, like swimming lessons and fitness classes. I want the library to also serve the needs of the community as well as the students. We should all grow together. I’ve found a program online that might donate to our University, it just depends on our needs and whether we are approved. I’ll need to interview the Library Manager to get some facts, and then I’m going to launch that program.
In addition, I’ve promised myself and other students that I would start a student government campaign at the beginning of next semester. Our university needs a voice from the student’s perspective, and student government is the best way I know how to get our ideas across.
Finally, I’m really trying to learn the Korean language, at the admonition of my father. Our university has accepted hundreds of Korean students for next semester, and I simply can’t wait to meet them and communicate with them. Once again, SolBridge is making my life dreams come true by enriching my international experience. Having more Korean friends will open new doors for me, and give me the chance to make lasting friendships and do some quality networking.

If you have any advice about all of the projects I’m working on, please feel free to email me or comment on my blog. I am always happy to hear it. Okay, enough chatter! Time for some pictures.

Birthday celebrations - Usman and Ammar...Happy Birthday guys!!!

Halloween Party at SolBridge

Eid party at SolBridge

Downtown Daejeon at Christmastime, man are they crazy about Soju!!

My New Home

Hope to hear from everyone soon! I really miss home, but I'm having the experience of a lifetime. I'm really glad I'm here.