On the road

Hi everyone! I know it has been SO long since I've updated but I don't think I can even explain to you guys how INSANE my last two weeks have been.

I feel like I just went through North Korea boot camp. We have worked over 200 hours in the last 2 1/2 weeks learning about the crisis, learning how to host screenings, watching media, practicing our speaking parts, learning about software, making thousands of cold calls, booking places to go. And finally we are on the road. Since yesterday morning at 9 am, we have driven from Los Angeles, CA to Oklahoma City, OK. It has been so fun but leaving was really hard. The same as saying goodbye to everyone in Pines was bittersweet, leaving LA was bittersweet. It's so crazy to think in the month I was there, it began to feel like home. I know come the end of tour, I am NOT going to want to go back home. In some capacity, I need to continue my work with LiNK. Maybe intern for them in the future, maybe fundraise tons in Tampa...I'm not sure. All I know, is that learning about this issue and spending the time I have at LiNK HQ has changed me as a person, and therefore has changed my life.

I have met absolutely incredible people and had so much fun. I have felt challenged, I have felt scared, I have felt elated. Two nights in particular were absolutely incredible. First, we went to Korean karaoke. It was SO MUCH FUN. Basically, your group gets its own room with couches and strobe lights and a karaoke machine. We had so much. Everyone felt so comfortable and so open and it was a bonding experience that really made everyone more comfortable. Secondly, one night we decided we wanted to watch the South Korea-Argentina game for the world cup. So myself, and a few other people, including one staff member, hung out at a Korean restaraunt until 2 am then went back to the LiNK Office and stayed up all night having a slumber party to watch the game. The game was only at 430 am so we watched it, got ready and stayed in the office for a full day of work. It was so fun. Though I was exhausted the entire day, it was totally worth it.

Speaking of Korean culture, I have fallen in love. We have had Korean food, I've learned how to speak some Korean, I've learned about tradition and listened to music. Seriously, I find it so interesting and so much fun. I need to go to South Korea, soon. And I want to continue to practice the language. It's hard though. Danny, the North Korean refugee we live with, who has become my really good friend, has been teaching me.

We also got to meet Joseph, another refugee rescued by LiNK's first mission. Meeting him really reminded me of why I am here. When he spoke, my eyes filled with tears. I could not believe what he was saying. Hearing someone describe themselves as "an animal living in the streets" broke my heart. I know people are not heartless and I know the awareness tour we are doing will help to bring light to this issue. I need to do something, and I am so glad I have been given this opportunity to ignite change.

OH -- on a fun and more shallow note. We were invited to Helie Lee's house for a BBQ. She is a very well known author who writes about the North Korean situation and some of her family members who had to escape the country. Her husband is the producer of America's Next Top Modeal. SO, not only did we walk in to the most delicious Korean bar-b-que waiting for us (we all need to eat this together, it's SO delish) in the most gorgeous house in west LA with a pool and three-stories, we also walked in to see Nigel Baker (world-renound photographer and judge on ANTM). It was so much fun. We all hung out with Helie's family and Nigel's family. Both of their children was so adorable. It was crazy, I couldn't believe it existed. We were also invited back when we're done with tour. (Maybe Tyra will be there?! ahaha) But for real, Nigel said he would have taken us to the ANTM fashion show if there had been a few less of us.

Seriously though, I am so excited. Our first screening is on Sunday. So tomorrow, we will drive from OK to Little Rock. We will spend the night there, wake up and do a screening (OUR FIRST! AHH) and then drive to Nashville for a night. I am so excited and so nervous at the same time. I know everything will fall into place but I also know we will make some huge mistakes.

This is incredible. Thank you all so much for helping to make this a possibility for me <3 Here are just a couple pictures of us in Cali:

This is my teammate Elyssa and I, with one of the office puppies, Mr. Happy Song. He is adorable and wheezy and only has one lung and poops everyone...but we all love him.

This is my friend Danny. He is silly and pretends not to want to be in the picture, but totally does.

This is almost everyone. I think we are missing only two interns, and one regional manager. We had mock screenings outside and took this picture. Love them all <3

The girl on the far right and the girl on the far left are my teammates, Elyssa and Bridget. Beside me, Esther, is a Northeast nomad and the girl in front is Liz, a movement intern. We were just taking pictures while waiting for our "intern/nomad" photoshoot to start!

Overloaded

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated. I've barely spoke to my dad or grandma or anyone because things have been insane! We picked people up from the airport the entire weekend...and it has been insane.

Meeting people has been fun but stressful. I never realized how hard of a time I have with figuring out how to deal with everyone's personality. I think it's a bit more stressful because I'm 1 of only 2 drivers and I hate being the one who has to tell people where to go and when to be ready and whatnot. But it's okay, it will all be worked out soon. And I've already met some people I really get along with. Oh, and my team is awesome.

Yesterday, we began training. Right now, actually, I'm working on cold calls because it's a training I don't need to sit through (thanks to being here 2 weeks early! haha). Seriously though, I feel like I am going to learn so much. Yesterday alone, I found out more than I ever knew about North Korea. I can't wait to spread this information and educate people about the travesties. I love seeing the faces of the refugees and knowing who they are and knowing how what we are doing is truly powerful.

Honestly -- North Korea has PRISON CAMPS. TOTAL CONTROL PRISON CAMPS! Hello, how can we all sit around and say that we learned from the Holocaust and that we will never let it happen again but IT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Seriously, I'm so happy to know that I doing the most I can to bring an end to this travesty. It breaks my heart and honestly tears me apart inside.

I can't wait for tour to start.

And so it begins!

College is a crucial time in every young person’s life. It’s when people finally learn how to live without mommy and daddy doing everything for them, when morals and principles are put to the test and when people finally discover their passion in life. For me, it has been all of these things. While being at the University of South Florida, I have realized my true passion lies in social justice and human rights. I want to spend the rest of my life making sure people treat others with dignity, while educating people about ways they can help innocent people live their lives without suffering.

One issue that have caught my attention in learning about human rights issues is the crisis in North Korea. Not only does the North Korean government limit free speech, assembly, press and religion. Wrong doers and wrong thinkers are punished in ways we could never imagine, sometimes even with death. Also, there is an insane amount of people who are malnourished because the government barely rations enough food to keep people alive. What makes this worse is when North Korean citizens try to flee their country in search of freedom, they are often not welcomed in to the neighboring countries and often killed in the process of making a better life for themselves and their family.

In beginning my journey to help end human suffering and educating my peers about social justice infringements, I have decided to spend my summer doing an internship with Liberty in North Korea. On May 22nd, I will be flying into the Los Angeles and will be moving into a house with the rest of LiNK’s interns. We are all called “nomads,” because after spending a couple weeks in L.A., learning more about the crisis in North Korea, we will be divided into teams and sent in vans around different regions around the United States. We will spend the rest of the summer couch surfing and living out of our van, traveling from churches to summer camps and college campuses to temples, screening documentaries and speaking to various groups about the North Korean dilemma, encouraging them to help ignite the change we need.

LiNK is a non-profit and all of their interns are volunteers, so I will not being getting paid over the summer. I still have to pay for my food, toiletries, outings, bills back home and other necessities throughout my three-month adventure. This is why I am writing you this letter: to ask for your help in making this summer a possibility. I know money is tight for everyone right now, and I would not be asking if I didn’t think this was an infinitely valuable way to spend my summer. Anything helps—even $10 dollars would be appreciated. If you can’t help monetarily, please just keep me in your thoughts and send me some good vibes throughout my journey. If you would like to donate, please make a check payable to Liberty in North Korea and send it to:

LiNK
1751 Torrance Blvd. Ste L
Torrance, CA 90501.

Remember to write my name in the memo portion of the check so they can put it in my account, rather than the general nomad account that is used to buy gas and pay for the housing in L.A. If you would rather send cash, you can, just put a note in the envelope letting them know your donation is meant for me. Also, all donations are tax deductable.

Thank you so much. While on the road, I am planning on keeping up with this blog so everyone can see what I am up to and where I am every step of the way. I’d love if you would read along and comment. If you would like to learn more about LiNK and the North Korean crisis, visit their website, www.linkglobal.org.