Do people in China REALLY eat dog???

I really, really don't like to believe stereotypes.  

Not one bit.

But sometimes, they are so true that I cannot ignore them. 

This was the case in China when we saw this headline:

I had always wanted to believe that the whole "Chinese people eat dog" thing was an urban legend of sorts.  Sure, there might have been a few isolated cases throughout history, but not a common practice.

Apparently, I was wrong. 

The article talks about dogs that were saved from being sold for food.  Another belief I had was that I believed if dogs were indeed eaten, it was only by people so poor that they had no choice.

Wrong again.

The dogs were sold for $100 to $150 each. 

Apparently, they are more of a delicacy. 

Reflecting on my time in Korea . . .

So . . . 

I have now been back from my Asian Adventure for almost three weeks, and I have enjoyed being back in the United States, but I have also spent a lot of time reflecting about the things I really liked about South Korea and/or China. 

A view of Seoul

One thing that I enjoyed a lot about the Korean culture was a lack of negativity.  For example, Koreans  do not openly criticize their government.  It is not that they are not allowed to or that there are consequences if they do, they just seem to have more honor and respect than to openly criticize.

It is a wonderful thing that our country has as much freedom of expression as it does, but I think some people just take it to a ridiculous point.  An extreme example is the Westboro Church.  Yes, they have the RIGHT to say what they say, but they should have the RESPECT and DECENCY not to say it.  I cannot fathom any Korean group acting the way Westboro does.  It might have happened, but it would shock me.

But even in the less extreme sense, I think that this basic idea plays out in our media today.  It does not seem that the media has a kind word to give any President or others in power.  In my lifetime, I have seen the media turn on Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.  Now these are three completely different humans, but it seems that at some point or another, all of the media has come together to decide that these people can do nothing right.  And it ebbs and flows.  Bill Clinton regained his saint like status after we had to endure 8 years of Bush.  Obama was glorified by the media until he actually had the power to do things, and now he is constantly criticized.

I respect the fact that Koreans do not publicly criticize those in power.  One of the members of our group asked one of our tour guides: "Who do you think should win the upcoming election?"  The tour guide proceeded to give us facts about the different candidates and remained completely diplomatic. So, he was asked again, and he still dodged the question.  I am sure that tour guide has an idea as to who he will vote for and opinions on the election, but he did not seem to find it appropriate to share them with us.

This is not what you see in America.  I myself am very guilty of loudly displaying my political beliefs.  I started wearing a shirt in 2006 that said "Barack the Vote."  But I also know how many times that I have been deeply hurt and offended by comments others have made about my political opinions.

Just because we have the absolute right to proudly declare our political beliefs and criticize others non-stop, that doesn't necessarily mean that we have to or that it is the most productive thing to do.  Maybe our government would be getting a lot more done if everyone didn't exercise this right quite so often.  

Lotte World!

I made a promise to myself that I would blog more while I was in Korea . . .

 but so far I have failed.

But, let's be honest, there is way to much to do and explore to sit on my computer for very long!

Yesterday, however, was SOOOO amazing that I just have to share it!!!!!!

We went to an INDOOR amusement park called Lotte World.  

It is currently the biggest indoor amusement park in the world!!!!

I took all the pictures on my iPhone, and they don't begin to do it justice . . . but I am going to try to describe it anyway!

You go in and get your ticket and then take an escalator up . . .

(Koreans LOVE escalators, I ride about 20 a day here!)

Right as you reach the top, you suddenly get this amazing view of a completely different world.  

To me, it was like landing in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. 

I could go on  and on all day describing all of the things that were contained in this wonderland.  One of the things that struck me most was the amazing use of space that allowed an amusement park to be contained in a building!  There was also an outdoor island that contained some of the bigger rides, but for the most park, everything was neatly situated indoors.  No space was wasted.  

Another interesting point to make about the Korean amusement park was that Koreans have a very odd sense of what is appropriate for children, in my opinion.  We went in a "Ghost House" that said age 6 and up.  It was a 3D show that was described as "follow a cat through a house on a stormy night and see inanimate objects move."  Sounds harmless enough!  

Nope, creepy as crap.  There were scary killer dolls coming at you.  I freaked out when all these 3D mice rushed at us.  The cat discovers a skeleton in the basement. At the end, you find out that the cat is actually dead. Definitely not the scariest thing I have ever seen, obviously, but they advertised it for ages 6+.  NOT FOR 6 YEAR OLDS!

Also, here is another example: 

Yes, that is the killer from Scream.  But look where it is being sold:

At this store that is equivalent to the Disney Store!!!!  That just blew my mind!

It was a completely great day and I love seeing all the interesting differences in culture!  There are many other tales from Lotte World, but perhaps I will share them another day!

  

Hello From Korea!!!!!

Hi Dear Friends!!!

As most of you probably already know, I am in South Korea doing a summer study abroad program. 

I am going to be doing a series of posts about my experiences here, such as things I like about the culture, personal growth that I am experiencing on this trip, or whatever happens to inspire me!!!!

First, I must share one of the most interesting signs that I have ever seen.  We were walking around in Itaewon, which is the area of Seoul where American military and many foreign students hang out.  It has many American stores and restaurants and the like.  As we strolled about, we stumbled upon this:

THE GREATEST SIGN EVER!!!

Many more pictures to come!!!!

Love from Seoul, 

Ambria

Walks at the Rail Trail

So, my last post got deleted when Blogger was shut down for awhile, so I am going to try it again!!!

When I moved to Morgantown from Huntington, one of the things that I knew I would miss the most was Ritter Park.  I have spent hours of my life walking around the park and spent many evenings chillin with friends there.

After being in Morgantown almost 2 years, I have finally found a spot where I can get outdoors, enjoy the natural beauty and get some exercise!

These pictures are from my recent walks at the Rail Trail.  

I have been spending an hour a day there: walking, listening to music, and exploring!!!

I have never been good with making exercise a priority because I rarely enjoy it . . . but this has given me an activity that I really love!

Also, the smell of honeysuckle is great addition to the walks!!

Dress Shopping . . .

Today, the BFF and I went shopping for dresses for graduation 

Jess and me with cupcakes from an amazing new little Morgantown business. . . The Cupcakerie!!!

Her fella is graduating, so she must look adorable for his big day, and me, I just love law school social events . . . you never know who you might see ;)

So, we went to our reliable home-away-from-home, Forever 21

I have SHORT legs, and thus . . .  have always thought I could not wear long dresses, for fear they would drag the ground!

SO, how happy was I today when I found one that I can actually wear?  

Ecstatic!!!!

I will probably be wearing this to graduation .  . . along with some cute accessories and fun shoes!!!!  

I am very excited!  Love having events to look forward to!

Often, I do not know what to blog about, so I don't blog that often.  Today, however, I was INSPIRED!

My lovely friend Cole does a weekly Book Worm post and I love love love reading it!  Why???  Because, as my dear friend Tommy said the other day, I am a bibliophile.  Books are my passion.  I realize some people might think this is a dorky, DORKY passion . . . but I never denied being a dork!  As much as I enjoy law school, the happiest I ever was in a job is when I was a supervisor at Empire Books and News in  Huntington, WV

Empire is an amazing independent bookstore and I was given a great deal of freedom to create my own displays, advertise the books that I loved, host book clubs, etc.  I felt HAPPY surrounded by all those books all the time.  That passion has never left.  When I am really sad, upset, feeling lost, or can't see beauty in the world . . . I go to a bookstore.  Hiding in the bookshelves, getting lost in the pages, REVIVES me.  

My mom is planning on getting me a Kindle, and while I will love it and it will be very useful for traveling and such, I will never give up old-fashion paper books.  There is definitely a tactile level to my passion for books . . . the smell, the feel of the pages, beauty.  

HUGE Change in my life!!!!!!

I CUT OFF ALL MY HAIR!!!!

Before:

AFTER:

A Beautiful Evening . . .

I am in Huntington this weekend as an early birthday treat!

I have gotten to spend a whole lotta time with this guy:

Malakai Berry

And this beautiful girl:

Piper Poole

We ate at an amazing new Huntington restaurant,

Thai House.

Almost all of us ordered the same thing

(because it was sooooo amazing!!!!)

 Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce and Chicken . . . PERFECTION!!!!!

I had to make sure pretty Piper ate too!!!!

And Look at Malakai's AMAZING Shirt!!!!

It says: My Aunt Rocks!!!!

Hope you all had as wonderful an evening as I did!!!!

Love, Ambria Monqiue

A Single Girl's Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I am single. 

I am more frequently single than not. 

I, in many ways, enjoy being single.

I do NOT enjoy stereo-types about single people, and one of those is that we all hate 

Valentine's Day!

I often find myself giving in to societal pressures to, as a single, hate Valentine's Day.

I get on Facebook and see all the cynical status updates about

"anti-singles day" and "singles awareness day" and think,

"This is how I am supposed to feel about V-Day"

But then, in moment's of self-realization, I realize how much I really truly love it!

It's a day all about LOVE!  And I am a person who loves LOVE!

It doesn't have to be all about a significant other!  

I can use this day to celebrate love of my friends, my family, and myself!

(This is a Valentine my 5 year old sister made me!)

So far, I have enjoyed this Valentine's Day greatly!!!!

It was proceeded by an AMAZING weekend.

The weather is beautiful. 

I didn't have class till 2, so I was able to wake up and unwind at my house, 

reading homework while both of my very loving cats cuddled up on me. 

 

Bleaker

All in all, I am in a VERY happy place in my life!  

I feel love every single day.  

I have a beautiful "niece" and "nephew"that I love all day, every day,

even though I do not get to see them often.  

BFF Tommy holding my lil Malakai

The Beautiful Piper Poole!!!

There are people in my life that I love deeply, and just because I am not in a romantic dating relationship, that does not mean that I do not feel love and passion every day, I do!

And most importantly, I am surrounded by the most beautiful, loving friends that human being could ever be blessed with.  

Some I see every day, some I see every few weeks, some less than that, 

but I love them all with my whole heart

So, today, no matter what your "relationship status", 

CELEBRATE LOVE!!!

Give it freely to all of those you encounter and are blessed to have in your life, 

and you will feel so blessed, you will be forced to get rid of your cynical Facebook status!!!

Love, 

Ambria Monique

Lovely Lady Law Bloggers

Today, I have an EXCITING post!!!!  

Some beautiful fellow law students and I are starting  a fun blog group!  

We are going to have dinner parties and other fun events and blog it all!!!!!

Here is a post the lovely Jessica put together this morning to introduce our group!!!

INTRODUCING THE LAW LADY BLOGGERS!

I am SO excited to bring 

you this  post!

Allow me to announce our SUPER AMAZING new blogger group- The Law Ladies!

This new group is going to be full of such great things- fancy dinner parties, styling 

and photo shoots, surveys and guest posts, and much much more!

Here is the first of our photo shoots:

 From Left to Right: 

Cole, Ambria, Jessica, Lauren, and Chelsy

Here are all the pics- the good, the bad, 

and the FUNNY!

For example, I think the one above 

was our "law faces." 

Well, it was SUPPOSED to be haha.

The Arrested Development 

"Chicken Dance" even made appearance!

Trust me, when you are studying LAW 

you need alllll the humor you can get!

~*~*~*~*

Here are descriptions of each of the 

Five Members, 

and a little bit about their blogs.

*Cole---

I am a law lady who is learning to find balance and 

beauty in all the craziness of life.

A Space of My Own lets me focus on the good things, 

vent about the difficult ones and document the process of life

 and all its twists and turns.

~*~*~*~*

*Lauren---

I started my blog Luxlucy randomly after finding 

and following a few amazing blogs. After reading the

 blogger's posts for a few months I decided to give blogging a shot.

 It was a rocky start and I rarely kept up with my posting. 

When I started law school a year and a half ago

I began to see my blog as a creative outlet instead of a burden 

and have started posting more and more.

 I love that so many of my law school friends also have blogs--

I enjoy reading their posts and am inspired by them everyday! 

~*~*~*~*

*Chelsy---

I’ll be brief is a place where I can channel my daily

 frustrations, revelations, and inspirations :)

 For me, blogging has been a very necessary outlet 

during this crazy era of my life. 

Law school brought with it tons of new experiences, 

new friends, and new challenges. Having a place to sort things

 out and bounce ideas off other bloggers

 has been so helpful—and having this small community 

of fellow law ladies/bloggers within the vast blogosphere 

has been the icing on the cake!

~*~*~*~*

*Ambria---

Inter Alia (should be italicized, in legal language, 

means "among other things" During my second semester

 of law school, I realized I needed an artistic outlet 

that had nothing to do with the law. 

My best friend Jess always inspired me with her blog, 

so I decided to try it out!!!

 Currently, my posts have focused on my journey

 to lose weight and become more healthy, 

but the beauty of "among other things"

 means I can talk about anything my lil heart desires

 (Including tributes to Michael Jackson and 

Kanye West v. Charlie Sheen debates)!!!!

~*~*~*~*

AND me,

*Jessica---

Crafting Happiness is my project to celebrate the 

creative spirit and passion in all of us, one day at a time. 

 I want to encourage the creative spirit is each one

 of my readers through: daily inspiration, fashion outfit posts, 

vintage finds, thrifting advice, various cute collections, 

home decorating, advice on translating your style 

to all the areas of your life, yummy food, 

supporting local businesses, music reviews and suggestions,

 and all sorts of lovely guest post by inspired souls.

~*~*~*~*

Be sure to visit all the girls' blogs (linked in their names),

 and keep checking back for more of our fun projects- 

starting with a dinner party Sunday night!