Grateful 254

I'm grateful for: The right to vote! Only 92 years ago, women didn't have the right to vote. Even my own grandmother was born before women had that right.

It was women of my great grandmother's generation - women who believed that their voice mattered, that their opinion counted, that their vote made a difference - that fought so that I could cast my ballot today. They stood up for their rights and the rights of all women who would come after them. The least I can do is stand up and vote.

Some people think that voting doesn't matter. Who cares anyway? But for our grandmothers and great grandmothers & for all the people in the USA and around the world who have fought and are still fighting for this right, it means something.

So here's your proof. My ballot is in the mail. I've voted. Have you? And if not, will you? If I can take the time & money to vote from Korea, everyone can vote. No excuses! Get to the polls, people! If not for yourselves, do it for the people that fought to give you the right.

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 253

I'm grateful for: Having the chance to eat lunch with Grandmaster Kim Soo! When I visited Korea back in January, Grandmaster Kim Soo was in the USA, so I didn't get to see him. But lucky for me, we are now in Korea at the same time!

It's always great to catch up with him and have lunch & better yet, this Wednesday I'll get to train with him!

Thanks again for treating me to lunch, Grandmaster! It was great to see you! See you at SABA on Wednesday! ^_^

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 252

I'm grateful for: Being able to come home for the holidays! I just found out that I can come home for the holidays, and as fate would have it, the price for tickets at the end of October is actually still affordable!

Buying tickets for cross-Pacific flights, one week in advance, without breaking $1,000 - winning!

Yay for my nephew's birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas at home!! See lots of you soon!!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 251

I'm grateful for: Gimbap Cheonguk! Gimbap Cheonguk is more or less the McDonald's of Korea. That is to say, there's one on every corner & it's cheap. If all this weren't enough, they're also open 24 hours a day. Cheap Korean food at any time, day or night? Nice-uh!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 250

I'm grateful for: Rooftop sunsets! One great thing about being in the land of high rises is that you can watch the sunset from 15+ stories up. That, coupled with the view of the mountains, makes for a pretty great end to any day.

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 249

I'm grateful for: Canine friends! Now that I'm not running around from film to film all day, I have lots of spare time. Lucky for me, I get to spend my spare time with this adorable little guy!

He doesn't seem so thrilled about taking this picture, but trust me, he loves me - and the feeling's mutual <3

Thanks for letting me hang out with the Soj, Braden! He's the best!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 248

I'm grateful for: Sleeping in! After waking up at 6am everyday during the film festival, it was really nice to sleep in today! I love sleep! :)

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 247

I'm grateful for: Samgyupsal with friends! One of the things I miss most when I leave Korea is samgyupsal. Not only is samgyupsal incredibly tasty but it's also fun to sit around a grill with your friends, BBQing up some meat and eating an endless variety of side items! Fun times with good eats!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 246

I'm grateful for: Finding my mandu place! Last year, when I taught in Busan, I worked in a really out of the way neighborhood named Allak-dong. There were hardly any food places in this infrequently visited hood, but there was this one amazing mandu spot right near my academy - it was my mandu place.

I ate mandu there many, many days. It was delicious. So delicious. And then one day, they said they were leaving. Closing up shop and striking out for busier hoods.

They said they would be reopening somewhere in Centum City, but I didn't know where. Well, today I stumbled upon their new place! I was so excited! Back to eating delicious mandu!! ^_^

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 245

I'm grateful for: Watching foreign films from countries that I've never seen films from before! One of the great things about film festivals is the opportunity to watch English subtitled foreign films that you'd otherwise never be able to see, such as "Once Upon a Time" (pictured), a 1969 film from Afghanistan.

As the last full day of the film festival rolls around, and I think back through all the films I've seen, it's awesome to know that I've gotten a small glimpse inside so many different countries! I've seen films from: Indonesia, Germany, Poland, France, Czech Republic, Spain, Korea, Cambodia, Philippines, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cuba, Hungary, Iraq, Iran, India, North Korea, Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, Belgium, Congo, and the film pictured, from Afghanistan. What a great opportunity to learn more about other cultures!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 244

I'm grateful for: Having the chance to watch "My Way" - the movie I was an extra in - on the big screen!! Thanks to PIFF, I was finally able to see my big screen movie debut in a theater!

When the movie released in Korea last year, it didn't have English subtitles, but thanks to PIFF where all movies are subtitled in English & Korean, I finally got to watch my movie! Verdict: It's a good flick! Worth seeing for sure!

I know the biggest question though is: Did I see myself? I didn't, but I did see my friend Braden! Even though I didn't see myself, it was really neat to see the part of the movie that I was in :)

I may not have spotted myself on the big screen, but I'll always know that I was there somewhere! I'll always remember the 12+ hour day of filming; seeing Jang Dong-Gun on set; and getting paid ₩100,000 for my efforts as an extra! Good times, great fun!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 243

I'm grateful for: Meeting directors! One of the great things about film festivals is that lots of directors come to the festival and do Q&A sessions after their films. Today, I got to meet and talk to directors from Iran, India, Belgium, and the UK!

And if it could get better (it could!), the director from the UK was Nicholas Bonner (pictured above), who happens to be the Associate Producer of one of my favorite documentaries, "A State of Mind" - a documentary that follows two young North Korean girls as they prepare for the Mass Games.

I had the pleasure of getting to talk to him one on one after his Q&A session about his current fictional film made in North Korea, as well as his previous documentary that I love! Another great day at PIFF!

Picture credit: http://is.asia-city.com/sites/default/files/Nicholas-Bonner_0.jpg?1273120182

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 242

I'm grateful for: Honest people! Today, I bought a film fest T-shirt and dropped my (knock-off) Ray Bans in the bag with it. Later, when I went to buy a drink before a movie, I sat the bag down and accidentally forgot to pick it back up.

I didn't realize I had forgotten the bag until I was already in the movie. If I left to go look for the bag, I would have missed a lot of the movie. Knowing how honest people are in Korea, I decided to just watch the movie and look for it afterwards.

And I was right, people in Korea are super honest! After the movie, I went and asked the information desk about the bag, and they said "Oh yes, someone brought it to us! Here you go!"

In most other places, if you set down a festival T-shirt and Ray Ban sunglasses, they would be long gone by the time you realized it. Thanks for being awesome, Korea!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 241

I'm grateful for: Fingerprints & candy! Today, I went to the police station to get fingerprinted for my visa paperwork, and not only did the police officers fingerprint me free of charge but they also gave me candy! How sweet :)

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 240

I'm grateful for: It being a small world! This morning while I was waiting in line to buy tickets, I randomly ran into my friend, Braden! Then, later today, when I was going to my last movie, I randomly ran into more friends - Meg, David, Meghan, and Chris! So awesome to randomly see so many of my friends in the Bu all in the same day! ^_^

Picture credit: http://thedirtytshirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/itsasmallworldapp.jpg

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 239

I'm grateful for: Scoring tickets to the films I want to see! The weekend is a really busy time at the film festival, so tickets for the best films sell out quickly. Luckily, because we camped out overnight, we were able to score tickets to the 4 films that we wanted to see!

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 238

I'm grateful for: Film festivals! It's October which means my favorite film festival, PIFF, is back!

Today, I rolled into Busan, headed over to the film fest venue, made a new friend, managed to get into two movies for free, and am camping out over night with new found friend to get tickets for tomorrow. Woo hoo, film festivals! Can't wait to watch more films!

Side note: They changed the name to BIFF last year, but I like to keep it old school and call it PIFF - mainly because I think it sounds better ;)

Busan. South Korea.

Grateful 237

I'm grateful for: Presidential debate pizza parties! Pizza is a must have for presidential debate nights. That way even if the debates are lame, the night's not a total letdown because you still have pizza! :)

Picture credit: http://www.trbimg.com/img-506cf7d7/turbine/lat-debate-pics_mbcksbp720121003194509/600

Seoul. South Korea.

Grateful 236

I'm grateful for: Pho! I miss being in Vietnam and eating pho everyday, so anytime I can find some pho, I eat it. Every time it's amazingly delicious. Mmmm... pho!

Bundang. South Korea.

Grateful 235

I'm grateful for: Hoodie weather! Fall weather, oh how I've missed you! <3

Bundang. South Korea.

Grateful 234

I'm grateful for: Night walks! What's better than going for a walk by the river in the amazing fall weather? Going for this walk at night with a full moon! It's nice to be back in a place where lots of people are out for walks, even at night.

Bundang. South Korea.

Grateful 233

I'm grateful for: Cheap flights from Air Asia! 6 hour flights bought 1 week in advance costing less than $300 = Awesome.

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. > Incheon. South Korea.

Grateful 232

I'm grateful for: Sightseeing w/ friends! Today, I met up with Matt, a friend of mine from Korea who's now working in Malaysia, and we went to the Batu Caves. It was really fun to catch up and also do some sightseeing!

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.

Grateful 231

I'm grateful for: Reflexology! Tonight, I got a foot massage. Now, it feels like I'm walking around on clouds. Ahhhh... reflexology FTW!

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.

Grateful 230

I'm grateful for: Haggling! Today in Chinatown, I haggled for a pair of Quicksliver flip flops, some Ray Ban sunglasses, a pair of Puma tennis shoes, and a new ring & last night I haggled for a big bottle of Clinique Happy Heart. Total cost, if I had bought these items from proper shops: $250+ / Total cost, if I had not haggled in Chinatown: $130+ / Actual total cost of purchases (after haggling): Less than $50! Cha-ching!

Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia.