2011 Marine Corps Ball

On November 12th, I attended my very first Marine Corps Ball.  It was held in Seoul, South Korea and was a night I will never forget.

Before leaving for the big night

As many of you know, my wonderful boyfriend Dan is a Marine and I was so excited to be part of his night to celebrate such an amazing organization.  Since Dan and I have been dating I have learned so much about the military and exactly what the Marine Corps does to keep people safe.  This year marked the 236th anniversary of one of the most prestigious and proud military organizations in the world.  He has taught me about exactly what the Marine Corps does and how it is varies from the Navy, Army or Air Force.  After everything i've learned, i've become even prouder (if that's possible) to  be the girlfriend of a Marine.

Well, now that you know how I feel about the Marine Corps, let's talk about the actual ball.  After a somewhat stressful journey to get to our hotel (the buses to Seoul were sold out) we were dressed to impress and out the door on our way to meet up with the rest of Dan's unit.  We hopped on a bus with the rest of the Marines and headed to the hotel that held the big event.

We arrived at the hotel and saw hundreds of people dressed in their finest.  The men and women there representing the Marine Corps in their finest dress blues, their dates in their best attire and every other important person in attendance looking their best.  The decorations were beautiful, the food at dinner was delectable and the company incomparable.

The majority of the guys from the Mujuk Ordnance Unit

My favorites from that night:  Kennedy, Alisa, Dan and I

We had an amazing night.  After eating and drinking to excess we hit the dance floor.  Watching all of the high ranking officers do the electric slide or get their groove on with their dates was one of the most amusing parts of the night.  With (hopefully) many more Marine Corps Balls to come for me it's hard to know how any of them will top this one.  I was so lucky to be able to be part of Dan's special night and finally see face-to-face how proud the men and women of the Marine Corps are of their organization.  Congratulations Marines on 236 years of amazing service to our country.

Wordless Wednesday: Marines

The past few weekends have been spent with some of the local military boys.  One of my best friends, Matt Slansky, is on his way out of Korea so I am taking advantage of the beautiful beach weather to spend as much time with him as possible.  We have been bumming around on the beach, eating western food provided by a local base and soaking up as much sun as we can.

Before meeting them I had a very negative perception of the military here in Pohang.  While that perception does fit with some of the younger, more inexperienced ones, the men I have been spending time with lately have really changed my mind.  I guess this is proof that sometimes the first impression is not the most important. 

Here are just a few pictures of the past few weeks with this specific group of friends.

My ladies of the night

The majority of the base dinner crew

They sure do know how to have a good time

Thanksgiving in Korea

[I have decided against writing specifically what I am thankful for this year.  Instead of writing that super-detailed list that will almost certainly leave out someone incredibly important, I am going to simply say, "I am thankful." I am thankful for everyone and everything that has impacted me in a positive way during the past almost 10 months.  Thank you.]

This past weekend marked my first (and hopefully only) Thanksgiving away from home.  While the multiple Thanksgiving parties (four to be exact) did help take my mind off of my family, it did help me realize that being away from home is not what I want to do for the Thanksgivings to come.  Thankfully I was able to do a big skype call with my extended family.  It helped me feel connected and as if I were a part of the celebration even though I was 7,000 miles away.  Now you may be wondering why in the world I would do four Thanksgivings.  My answer?  Why the hell not.

My parties included the actual Thanksgiving at my favorite bar, TILT Bar and Grill, where a Thanksgiving meal was prepared with as many of the western trimmings as could be found.  This included (amongst other deliciousness) two huge pumpkin pies and a large and in charge turkey.  Yum yum yum.  Number two was at my school.  They had each parent prepare something to share.  Included were all the Korean favorites with a few western dishes (buffalo wings) thrown in.  맛있다!  (Delicious!)  The next was a potluck at a good friend's house.  Not as many western food were present but it was just as delicious.  Included in the decadency was an apple cake (thanks Frank), guacamole dip (Anna rocks) and bulgogi  (Ryan the host) to name just a few.  The final Thanksgiving (my waistline couldn't handle any more food) was at the American Marine base.  A few of my good friends are in the military and it gave us an excuse for another meal (like any of us needed it) and celebrating what we are thankful for.


Clearly I had a pretty good Thanksgiving.  I had good friends, good food and didn't have to be on a boat headed for Japan after an attack from our friends to the North.  Success.

Korean Thanksgiving complete with salad, kimbap, dok boki,
chicken, glutinous rice cakes, sticky rice and yellow curry. 

Amazing apple cake

Anthony annihilating a hamburger kabab

Matt being ingenious making a "brownie pancake"

A military Thanksgiving

With one of my best friends, Jen