Yoojin Cho

Why I Miss Traveling…

Of course there are hundreds (or thousands) of perks of being home – home-cooked meals, easy communication, cozy bed, lovely friends and just the comfort of knowing that you’re close to people and place you love.

But then…Why do I miss traveling so much?

After spending four months away from familiar buildings, faces, food and culture, I was initially happy to be back in my comfort zone. Now that I have resumed an endless cycle of work-eat-sleep, however, I would love love love to return to unfamiliar territories.

First and foremost, I miss exploring. I am not the type to just take off one day and venture out to mysterious neighborhoods, but as long as I have my map, I’m more than happy to take the winding narrow sidestreets.

Oh, I don’t know. How else would you find Waffle-bob Squarepants in the middle of Brussels?

Or these mega-cool Star Wars & Star Trek postage stamps in Madrid?

Besides discovering unique antique stores or tiny family-run restaurants with only three tables, meeting great people and making new friends also make me happy, fulfilled and content.

I may or may not stay friends with everyone I meet on the road, but at least for the brief few days you’re stuck with them in small hostels or extreme-euro dance clubs, everyone is simply BFF(aeaeaeae…).

Aside from incredibly friendly and wonderful hostel owners – Giuseppe, Andrea and Mabri, etc. – I remember having great conversations with and sometimes having awkward/hilarious encounters on streets with a Dutch kid, a Norwegian couple, girls from Wisconsin, crazy Brits on a bar crawl in Berlin, a couple from Texas… Oh, and of course, a BU ALUM! What a small world.

Regardless, transitioning from having nothing in common except for being in foreign countries together to being friends even for just 10 minutes. I miss that kind of interaction with people. The one where strangers just stare at you and bump into you on the T is no fun.

I also missing walking down the street and simply admiring the gorgeous architecture. Granted Europe is certainly a lot older than North America, the beauty of its buildings, churches, houses and schools is incomparable.

London Eye… (I know it’s not Gothic or romantic or whatever, but it’s pretty!)

Vatican City…

Trevi Fountain…

Notre Dame…

And of course, the scenery beats everything, too. The beaches, the river, the park…

The view from Sacre Coer…

Cefalu…

Nonetheless, something MORE beautiful than the coastline and architecture is food. Seriously, one of the best parts about traveling to new cities was trying out new dishes.

I had the opportunity to devour, er, I mean, savor, the best Bratwurst, the Currywurst, the freshest clams, the best pasta, the most delicious prosciutto, the white Sicilian pizza, the English breakfast, the richest Guinness pie… Ah, the list goes on.

Additionally, these fresh ingredients are all available at amazingly low price at markets – even including high-quality wine, cheese and meat.

Often I could have a full 3-course dinner for under 5 euros. Of course, it’s nothing fancy. It’s rather delicious sandwiches from a stand run by two brothers, then gelato and a glass of sangria. But those affordable items from friendly owners and chefs were so much better than five-star, $50 per dish food.

For example, a loaf of baguette, a big wheel of cheese and a huge basket of strawberries cost me 3 euros total in Paris, and don’t you worry, they were DELICIOUS.

Arancine, a fried rice ball with cheese or ham or even curry, is Sicily’s signature food. Big enough to serve as a whole meal, Arancine definitely counted as one of Sicily’s charms. And the best part… Only 2 euros. What? I know.

I would certainly hop on the plane and travel around if given a chance. I mean, why not? All these great food, architecture and people await.

Maybe, if I’m lucky, in the next five years or so, I’ll be able to afford (both time and money) to embark on a brand new adventure. Australia sounds just fine. Or the Middle East.

Work Experience – London Edition

One of the easiest and the best way for me to interact with REAL British people while abroad was through my internship, or as they call it over there, “work experience.”

During the second phase of BU’s Study Abroad Program, I had the opportunity to work at etv media group where I met some awesome people and learned a lot about the life of a small digital agency.

(www.etv.tv)

Just to clarify – since there really isn’t one simple word to describe the company, as a digital agency, etv takes on numerous projects involving new media, which can range anywhere from websites to TV shows to iPhone apps.

And as a work experience, I worked in various departments, thereby learning about different stages of a project.

My first big duty in February involved a lot of office work – sitting in front of a computer (unfortunately PC), researching, making calls, etc. to find the perfect news cutting agency to replace the current one.

I honestly don’t know much about the behind-the-scenes details of American PR agencies, but many marketing & PR firms in England employ news cutting services to track any articles or clips that mention the company name or its production/projects.

Obviously, what a useful service! Every morning, an e-mail with a list of all the stories or packages mentioning “etv” waited for me in my inbox. Then I got to read all about what people thought about our production. Neat!

To supplement my major, broadcast journalism, I also found myself in the middle of a studio where etv produced Thomas Cook TV. Unfortunately, I joined the company as Thomas Cook traveling agency decided to cancel its television shows, but I still found more than enough time to play with AVID equipments, autocue (prompter) and studio sets.

(How cute! Right?)

Once in a while, I would also visit the bigger studio in Battersea to watch the production of Gala Bingo – a live, late-night bingo show.

Yes, apparently people all over the UK can participate via web, and players do win quite a bit of money. I suppose it’s equivalent to Wheel of Fortune over on this side of the Atlantic?

Well, more importantly, Battersea is where I encountered the stress of a live production for the first time. Now I of course know and understand the significance of accuracy and punctuality, thanks to my current internship. Back then, however, I had no clue.

Moreover, the advanced technology of green-screen also amazed me endlessly. No need to design backdrops or mess with heavy sets. Simply program everything on your computer and drop the picture behind the presenter.

Toward the end of my work-experience period, I began to get more involved on web & iPhone projects, such as “Visit Britain” iPhone app, Harvey Nichols iPhone app and the come back of “Footballers’ Wives” in social gaming form.

Some technical details of constructing an app and building a website went completely over my head. Nonetheless, I’m happy I had an exposure to many different kinds of new (social) media.

I’m glad my role as an intern went above and beyond simply making copies, scanning documents or bringing coffee (actually, tea in this situation). Certainly I was sad to leave since I made great friends and had a fantastic time.

iPhone vs. BlackBerry

If you’re an avid smartphone user, we all know, at point or another, you sat down in front of your computer, looked up every single technology-related blog and contemplated, “iPhone? Or BlackBerry?”

(Photo Courtesy of another WordPress blogger, theophilusLondon)

Yes, Yes. It IS a tough decision – probably the trickiest decision EVER. Since BlackBerry Pearl, BB has been around a bit longer, but thanks to Apple’s wonderful reputation and my personal obsession with my MacBook Pro, iPhone is just as desirable.

Last month, due to my BB Pearl’s unexpected death – more precisely, battery gave out, I found myself in the midst of confusion, anxiety, nervousness and indecisiveness.

Do I take this chance to upgrade to iPhone? Or do I stick with BB?

Let’s skip to the end: I upgraded to… dun dun dun… BLACKBERRY CURVE, and I love it.

Why in the world did I stick with BlackBerry? Well… for many reasons.

1. I’m never leaving the Family Plan: Hello, I’m currently NOT paying for my phone, and because my family has been with Verizon for such a long time, I received my BB Curve fo’FREE. Additionally, we get 20% discount on accessories – yes, I already decked my phone out with a screen protector and a cover.

2. I do love BBM’ing: iPhone doesn’t have “IPM,” does it? Only BB has its own messaging tool. With the unlimited data plan that I already have, messaging my friends is easy, fast and free.

3. BB has Apps, too: While I do envy my friends who have the coolest games and one of those “shake the phone to decide where you want to eat” apps, my BB has allowed me to download plenty of decent apps. So far I have downloaded news apps (TIME & AP), food apps (Poynt – a lot like Yelp, Flixster – moves, Groceries & SparkRecipes) and other tools (tip calculator & games). They do just what I need them to do, and I’m perfectly content with them.

4. Touch screen still freaks me out: Maybe “freaks me out” isn’t exactly the phrase I need here, but it’s a similar idea. Gross finger prints, oil from your skin, residue, etc. Yuck! Plus, I like buttons on BB.

5. Even though BB is not an Apple product, it still syncs without a problem with my computer: I would have sprinted to the Apple store and picked up the new iPhone 4G, but that’s not the case. BB loves MacBook Pro just as much as I do.

6. Verizon tends to get better service than AT&T: I may be taking this debate to Verizon vs. AT&T level, but regardless, in my experience, my BB’s reception even in the woods of Maine is stellar.

7. TrackPAD not TrackBALL: The new Curve comes with a touch-pad, not the cute little ball, which makes it easier to scroll through web pages and to actually click without rolling the cursor to who-knows-where. Moreover, only a small portion of the phone suffers from fingerprints, not the entire screen. One downside? Much harder to play Brick Breaker. (Grrrrrrrr).

8. Sentimental Value: I’ve had a BB since freshman year in college. After spending almost three years together, it’s tough to separate myself from my lovely phone.

Now I have a 2-year contract on my BB. Do I still get a bit jealous when people walk around with the 4G? Yes. Does that mean I’ll abandon my BB that easily? Nope.

What I've Been Reading: The Other Boleyn Girl

We all know the story of King Henry VIII who married six wives, beheaded two, divorced two, saw one die and left one as a widow. Yeah, really, NBD. Right? And I’m sure more than half of us saw the movie, “The Other Boleyn Girl,” featuring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

The movie received mixed reviews. Critics on RottenTomatoes gave it 41%. Some friends said “fantastic drama.” Some said “awful movie.” Some suggested watching the TV series The Tudors, instead.

I personally have NOT seen the movie, and despite the movie’s reviews, I decided to go ahead and give the book a try. Written by Philippa Gregory, “The Other Boleyn Girl” captures the story of two sisters, fighting for King’s love.

First, let’s be real. There is no surprise ending here. Even though it’s a work of fiction, Henry does not miraculously change his mind when it comes to Anne’s beheading. Nor does Katherine of Aragon win back Henry’s love. So we all know what we’re getting into even before reading. After all, it was rather hilarious when we first learned about this once handsome king in history classes in middle school.

The book contains plenty of drama, emotion and love. At times, I was extremely frustrated with Uncle Howard who merely used his female relatives as tools with which he can gain power in the court and with Mary who just could not get over the fact that her being a Boleyn was NOT a good thing for her.

As an uncle, how can you ever say “There’s always another Howard girl?” And Mary, why can’t you see that helping out Uncle Howard because you’re a Boleyn doesn’t do yourself any good?

Nevertheless, through exchanges between Anne Boleyn and Uncle Howard and the relationship between the three Boleyns – Anne, Mary and George – and their parents, I realized ambition and desire can easily overcome love, passion and care even in families.

More importantly, usually family goals outweighed personal interests. You don’t marry for love. Rather, you marry for riches and prestige.

Even more importantly, in Tudor’s court, once you lost King’s favor, you were lost forever. Once you were branded impure, you were never getting married. Once you were accused of treachery, you were dead.

Intense, huh?

Throughout the story, I vicariously lived through the ups and downs in Henry’s court: Queen Katherine’s failure to give Henry a male heir, Anne taking down anyone and everyone to get to the throne, Uncle pushing her to be a King’s whore no matter what, Anne’s coronation (finally), Anne’s failure to give Henry a male heir and her beheading.

In all this madness, the only winner is Henry. As a king, he’s invincible.

If I were to actually live in his court, I don’t think I could have survived a day. All the games played to rise up, all the drama, all the meticulous calculations for marriage. Yeesh!

And fat, ugly, selfish king on top of all this? NO, THANKS.

But just reading about it? It was wonderful. Almost 700 pages long, but not one part was boring or unnecessary. Thanks, Liz, for suggesting this book to me, and now I suggest it to ALL of you. In fact, I’m currently reading another book by Philippa Gregory, The Queen’s Fool.