Back for July

Hi! So remember how last month I said I would start a monthly recap. Well its already time for a recap!!

7/4 - Mitten flea market event

The month started with an event for the Mitten in Korea.

It was a collective between me, Emily, and another guy. Together we had organized drives in each of our respective apartments and then decided to sell at a local flea market in our neighborhood.

Honestly, the flea market itself ended up being a success, with us raising over $500 total after selling used clothes, shoes, books, and toys.

7/8 - Tian Mi Mi

Before I left to return to the US. My dad, family friends, and I went to eat at Tian Mi Mi, which, if you don't know, is the restaurant of this famous Korean reality TV Chef. She got famous from the Netflix show Culinary Class Wars.

We basically ordered all of the dim sums and just had a blast trying all the different food. Honestly, all tasted really good, and it was a great meal to finish off Korea with.

7/10 - My apartment

So this was a photo that my friend Emily and I took when we first landed in New York.

Basically, this is a pretty funny story, but I convinced Emily's mom to let her come with me to New York, and it ended up working, so our friendship ended up transcending the Pacific Ocean!

This was from the first night when we were so excited to be in NYC together that we couldn't sleep, so we decided to go on a night walk around the city.

That ended up being a preview of what our lives for the next few days would be, as all we did was walk and walk and walk.

7/12 - somewhere in New York City

For the next few days, all Emily and I did was walk. We would just leave the house in the morning, walk as far as our legs would let us, stop somewhere to eat lunch, and continue on our walking journey. During these days, I would walk 40,000 steps daily, which is insane because that's like walking a half marathon every day.

7/13 - Lincoln Memorial

After a few more days in New York, we ended up in D.C. for college tours.

With Emily's mom, Emily, and me, we visited Georgetown, which was really nice, and then ended up taking a cab into D.C. to look around.

Seeing the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial was honestly so emotionally evocative. Like, especially for the Lincoln Memorial, thinking about how the lines of the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second inaugural address were inscribed into the wall, both of which we learned about in school, felt surreal. Honestly, I think this was one of the first times I realized how much my learning from school enhanced an experience, and it made me so thankful to have learned about American History this year.

7/18 - Times Square

Soon enough, our time in D.C. came to an end, and we were back in New York. During the week, it was crazy to see how much spirit for the World Cup people carried with them.

Emily and I tried to go to Times Square during her final days in NYC because she wanted to make custom m&m's at the m&m store.

There ended up being an Argentina block party where people would wave around flags of Maradona and Messi and would chant Argentine songs.

It was honestly such an experience seeing how much spirit the World Cup brought up in people, and although it made my commute around the city a bit more difficult, it felt so cool to witness.

7/22 - Central Park

I ended up meeting one of my school friends, Janina, to catch up, especially since it had been a while since both of us saw each other.

We grabbed dinner at this Thai restaurant on 74th St. called Sala Thai. The place itself was so aesthetic, and the food was really good. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to check out a new restaurant.

Afterwards, we ended up taking a nice walk wrapping around the natural history museum and into Central Park. As we talked and walked across Central Park, we saw this pond where couples and friends rowed together. At this moment, we made a pact saying that somebody would recreate the notebook scene here.

7/25 - Upper West Side

One of my friends from school ended up staying over at my house. In the early morning, we decided to go to Central Park to walk around and talk about how life has been treating us so far.

We ended up sitting on the big rocks and just talking. It felt so nice being able to share a lot of the emotions I had been feeling with someone, especially since I feel like I really sort of lack those friendships in New York.

After, we decided to city bike. I wondered why my friend was biking so slowly, but after I realized she was taking photos of me the whole time, that ended up being a pleasant surprise.

7/27 - Pier 97

7/30 - ktown

I might just say that this is my favorite place in New York City.

This is a photo I took during one of my nightly visits to the pier, but honestly, just seeing the NYC skyline from afar is just so surreal. I think when you're in it, you end up forgetting how vast and dense it is, but when you step back, you're really able to see it.

I genuinely love this pier so much, not just because of the view but just how nicely the place is built and how you're able to feel the breeze from the Hudson while sitting.

This has to be my favorite place, honestly.

Recently, I've been on a mission.

Do you guys know about the small wrappers? Well, for the past week or so, I've been using these gum wrappers to fold cranes.

I can usually get around two out of a wrapper, and although it's pretty difficult to fold these cranes just because of how small they are, for me it feels so therapeutic.

My goal is to try and fold 100 by the end of summer and maybe a 1000 one day. I remember the story of how folding a 1000 cranes will make my wish come true, so hopefully I succeed.

7/31 - Barclays Center

To end the month with a bang, I ended up going to the Daniel Caesar concert.

At first, I was honestly a bit hesitant, especially because while I used to be a big fan, I had sort of grown out of that phase. But I'm honestly so thankful my friend convinced me to go because I ended up becoming friends with the other girl she brought, and we genuinely had the time of our lives.

Also, my friend did such a great job procuring tickets because not only did we get center seats, but we ended up having the VIP pass and a suite sitting arrangement.

The fact that Faye Webster opened the concert too was just immaculate.

I wish that I could relive this concert every day, and hopefully I can go to another soon!

Thanks for looking through my July photo dump, and while sadly the next time I post a photo dump, I will be back in school. I'm honestly so excited for what August ends up holding.