Blog is The New Black is the creation of Nadine Nocero, a twenty something single girl just trying to figure it all out. Publicist turned English Teacher, follow my journey as this Western girl comes crashing into the East as I narrowly escaped the American recession with just a few dollars left. It might be messy, but its awfully fun. Here is where it all replays. This is the personal blog of Nadine Nocero. All views expressed are her own. She can be contacted at Nadine.Nocero@gmail.com or followed on twitter @nadinenoceroTumblr (3.0; @nadinenocero)http://nadinenocero.com/<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kz68c15XZd1qzwgqao1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>After staring at The Road as it sat my desk for a few weeks, I finally felt brave enough to pick it up. Everyone warned me that it was a story that would tear me apart. They were right- there are no words to describe it… What I can say is that I started it up yesterday afternoon and finished it today. It was captivating. If anyone’s seen the movie let me know your thoughts. I don’t know whether or not I should see it.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/443306252http://nadinenocero.com/post/443306252Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:33:37 -0600<object width="400" height="336"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RVT4Spg4rXg&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RVT4Spg4rXg&rel=0&egm=0&showinfo=0&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="336" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed></object><br/><br/><p>I just got around to uploading video from my winter vacation in Boracay. Here is a clip of a cock fight we went to while on the island. I know it will probably offend or upset alot of people- so if you have a weak stomach…its probably best to skip it… The others are all much more pleasant. I promise!</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/436581525http://nadinenocero.com/post/436581525Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:54:08 -0600<p>Happy Anniversary to me! A few days ago I hit my sixth month mark in Korea. I used to try and imagine what it would feel like- living in Seoul six months, being halfway through my contract, and halfway until I return home. It wasnt as monumentus as I expected. Life in Seoul has been crazy lately, its probably why I havent posted in sometime. With my semester ending my life has been consumed with goodbyes to friends who are leaving, welcoming the new crew, and a bunch of new little kiddies who speak barely any English.</p> <p>These last few weeks have flown by, and I’ve been having a great time- probably too great of a time. So now I’m taking a break and trying to refocus. Too bad I can’t pull myself away from watching LOST as often as possible.</p> <p>Life in Korea just seems normal now. I’m used to not understanding signs, looking different, and not really fitting in. All of it seems comfortable at this point. I have also realized that if I could leave Korea at this very moment I wouldn’t want to. I still have so much to explore and am just having too good of a time. So I guess that means I’m happy where I am. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think about the US and the future all of the time. I am constantly wondering where I will live and what I will do when this second half is over with.</p> <p>In other news- I went hiking for the first time yesterday, and we got some pretty decent photos. I will be sure to post them soon!</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/432121450http://nadinenocero.com/post/432121450Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:50:46 -0600montly updateseoul<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxw2ontDxd1qzpe8uo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Penguins in hanboks. VERY KOREANNNN!!!</p> <p><a href="http://marielizabeth.net/post/391604602/want-where-can-i-find-a-pet-penguin-photo">marielizabeth</a>:WANT.  Where can I find a pet penguin? (Photo via <a href="http://sunnyexpectations.tumblr.com/">sunnyexpectations</a>)</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/392707373http://nadinenocero.com/post/392707373Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:01:50 -0600<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxx44vcC9X1qzwckuo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Thank you Ollie for throwing me a great bday party!!!</p> <p><a href="http://lauryneffie.com/post/392147055/gratuitous-picture-of-you-and-your-best-friend">eff-this</a>:Gratuitous Picture… of you and your best friend and her birthday party edition.  :) Happy 24th Birthday <a href="http://nadinenocero.com/">ollie</a>, I love you!</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/392466912http://nadinenocero.com/post/392466912Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:49:31 -0600“Natural? What is natural? What is that? I do not believe in totally natural for women. For me, natural has something to do with vegetables.”<br/><br/> - <em>Donatella Versace</em>http://nadinenocero.com/post/386180686http://nadinenocero.com/post/386180686Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:18:49 -0600“I don’t want you to be the guy in the PG-13 movie everyone’s *really* hoping makes it happen. I want you to be like the guy in the rated R movie, you know, the guy you’re not sure whether or not you like yet. You’re not sure where he’s coming from. Okay? You’re a bad man. You’re a bad man, Mikey. You’re a bad man, bad man.”<br/><br/> - <em>Swingers</em>http://nadinenocero.com/post/385014584http://nadinenocero.com/post/385014584Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:20:10 -0600<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxdo46Iaa41qab86jo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://betterthanihoped.tumblr.com/post/372543519">betterthanihoped</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://talklikealady.tumblr.com/post/372541594/donchaknow84-korean-advertising-agency-diamond">talklikealady</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://donchaknow84.tumblr.com/post/372538883">donchaknow84</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Korean advertising agency Diamond Ogilvy created ads for Good-Nites modeled after David Beckham’s last Armani Underwear campaign.</p> <p>HA HA HA!!</p> </blockquote> <p> I find this terribly disturbing!</p> </blockquote> <p> So do I. </p> </blockquote> <p> HEY WORLD- WELCOME TO MY LIFE.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/373582028http://nadinenocero.com/post/373582028Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:19:06 -0600<p>Today is the first day in 12 days that I was able to sleep in. I stayed out late, drank too much, and what time am I up? 7:30 am. grrrrr</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/372964551http://nadinenocero.com/post/372964551Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:44:48 -0600<img src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxb8rzVUW61qziyd9o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://shelbatron.tumblr.com/post/371915392/dannybrito-sofresh-xsxtxaxtxixcxsxhxoxxx-naff">shelbatron</a>:<a href="http://dannybrito.tumblr.com/post/371719622/sofresh-xsxtxaxtxixcxsxhxoxxx-naff">dannybrito</a>:<a href="http://sofresh.tumblr.com/post/371716478">sofresh</a>:<a href="http://xsxtxaxtxixcxsxhxoxxx.tumblr.com/post/371688967/naff">xsxtxaxtxixcxsxhxoxxx</a>:<a href="http://naff.tumblr.com/post/371685967/icystars-whisperedword-via-movieoftheday">naff</a>:</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/372243395http://nadinenocero.com/post/372243395Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:19:51 -0600<p>Today I receivednot one, but two cards in my mailbox from my parents. I love how not once have they combined Valentines Day and My birthday into one holiday even though they are just two days apart. I have always been surprised with gifts or cards for each day.</p> <p>Thanks for the V-day card and the birthday card Mom and Dad! I love you!</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/370515048http://nadinenocero.com/post/370515048Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:00:49 -0600<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx6nxmDQEZ1qzy3ruo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><i>oh my goodness. Precious. I love elephants <3</i> (via<i> </i><a href="http://lzbth.tumblr.com/post/365688304/oh-my-goodness-precious-i-love-elephants-3">lzbth</a>)<i> </i> </p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/368438552http://nadinenocero.com/post/368438552Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:48:50 -0600<p><b>Confession:</b> My birthday is coming up in two weeks and I’m feeling unbelievably anxious about it.</p> <p>This is the first birthday I will have ever had away from my friends and family. The comfort of spending the day with the people that mean the most to me will not be a reality.</p> <p>Further, I have two very wonderful amazing best friends, <b>Jen and Holly</b> who I always celebrate my birthday with. <b>Jen was born on February 9th and Holly was born on February 14th, and I was born on February 16th.</b> How lucky am I to have two amazing friends with such close birthdays? I mean hello! Its the AGE OF THE AQUARIUS. For the past five years of my life I haven’t had a birthday party without them. I have celebrated in 3’s since I  turned 19 years old. Well now I am turning 24, and without them it just isn’t the same. I am truly sad to be away from you both. I miss you so much.</p> <p>*On a totally superficial note, I always have AMAZEBALL b-day parties, what if this year sucks? WHAT IF NO ONE COMES?!?! I’m a wreck.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/367109688http://nadinenocero.com/post/367109688Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:24:50 -0600birthdayaquariusfriends<p>* Months 4 and 5 COMBO STYLE</p> <p>Ok all- I am here to report back on my Seoul monthly update! However, I will be writing on <b>Month 4 (December)</b> and <b>Month 5 (Janunary)</b></p> <p><b>Month 4:</b></p> <p>Ok here is the deal, when it was time to wrap up month 4 and talk about it, I was a little too sad to put my feelings out there on the internet. Now that I’m feeling better (yay!) I am able to put down everything that happened that month. So… December was CRAZYYY. The month flew by- I was pumped up for vacation, it never even felt like Christmas. I went away to Boracay with Lauryn. We had an unreal time in the Philippines and I was lucky enough to experience paradise. I was also lucky enough to partake in the following: drinking gallons of booze, eating tons of food, and parties all night. Oh, lets not forget illegal water sports. I met some great people at the best hostel I’ve ever stayed in and also encountered my fair share of delicious men. Coming home was a bit of a disaster, and both Lauryn and I had our fair share of airport flip outs. I came home exhausted and tan- I guess those are two proving traits of an amazing vacation.</p> <p><b>Parlay into Month 5:</b></p> <p>The next few weeks are when the blues hit… after coming back from such an amazing trip and meeting such great people, Seoul felt… DULL. I wasn’t having fun anymore, I was tired all the time, and not meeting anyone (IE: dudes) I felt lonely and like my routine was getting the best of me. I hid inside all the time and watched episode after episode of Gossip Girl. I also hid from my blog (again, I am sorry) So to distract from these sad feelings I decided to take charge. I joined a gym, I started working out again. This in itself helped immensely. Lauryn and I also started forcing ourselves to go out more and in new places- we have been quite dedicated to taking the city by storm at least 3 times a week. I took a trip outside Seoul to visit Karim and the escape was well worth it (it also made me realize how much I love living in Seoul) To wrap up the month Lauryn and I went ice fishing with some friends. To say I have pushed myself out of my boring routine would be fair. Life is back to being fab- the month flew by.</p> <p>Now here comes February- <b>Month 6: </b>the shortest month of the year, the pirate booze cruise, lunar new year, v-day, Carnivale, and MY BIRTHDAY. To say I have a serious line up would be an understatement.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/366852721http://nadinenocero.com/post/366852721Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:24:06 -0600month 4month 5monthly updateseoul<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/education/29brush.html?hp">Preschools Add Brush-and-Spit to Day (Via NY Times)</a>: <p>I found this article, and the parental debate interesting. In Korea everyone brushes their teeth after every meal. My pre-schoolers keep a toothbrush and ‘brush cup’ in the classroom and brush after lunch everyday.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/359813970http://nadinenocero.com/post/359813970Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:34:51 -0600<img src="http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwzj5wF2dg1qzvrm1o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Lalalalalal!!!!!!!!!!</p> <p><a href="http://mar-see-ah.tumblr.com/post/358780244/via-zooborns-this-stick-is-going-to-taste-so">mar-see-ah</a>:<a href="http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2010/01/checking-in-with-melbournes-wildeyed-elephant-calf.html">(via ZooBorns)</a> THIS STICK IS GOING TO TASTE SO DELICIOUS.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/359562087http://nadinenocero.com/post/359562087Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:34:50 -0600<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwz9z89SZY1qz8x7oo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://theviesociety.tumblr.com/post/358486349/a-fascinating-read-the-top-ten-places-you-cant">theviesociety</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>A fascinating read:</p> <p><a href="http://listverse.com/2010/01/06/top-10-places-you-cant-go/">The Top Ten Places You Can’t Go</a> (via ListVerse)</p> <p>Included: the highly classified “Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center” (for US top officials when the world ends, literally), a Russian secret underground metro system, and a top-secret members-only club at Disneyland(!) with a 14 year waiting list (pictured above).</p> </blockquote>http://nadinenocero.com/post/359364677http://nadinenocero.com/post/359364677Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:34:50 -0600<img src="http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwyt9dJKtf1qz7qxco1_400.png"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://borderlinephil.tumblr.com/post/358540675/meredithbklyn-this-paragraph-needs-to-be">borderlinephil</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://meredithbklyn.tumblr.com/post/358057371/this-paragraph-needs-to-be-broadcast-throughout">meredithbklyn</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>this paragraph needs to be broadcast throughout the world.</p> <p>you have to WORK for things. they don’t just come. preach it, kelly.</p> </blockquote> <p>Surprisingly well-formed guidelines.</p> </blockquote>http://nadinenocero.com/post/359073680http://nadinenocero.com/post/359073680Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:34:51 -0600<p><i>“What really knocks me out is a book, when you’re all done reading it, you wished the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”<br/>—Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye.</i></p> <blockquote> <p><b>RIP J.D. Salinger</b> (via thedailycourtney)</p> </blockquote>http://nadinenocero.com/post/358683617http://nadinenocero.com/post/358683617Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:34:12 -0600<p>bad jokes put me in a bad mood. That is all.</p>http://nadinenocero.com/post/358020942http://nadinenocero.com/post/358020942Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:42:53 -0600