My alarm clock went off at 5:30 that morning. Was it Monday already? 

Mi Sun groggily moaned in the bed beside mine.

     "Dongsaeng, why must you get up so early? I'm not getting up for another hour and a half," she said.

"I have to make sure I am completely ready, as I don't want to be late or forget something important," I replied.

     "Suit yourself," she said.

"As they say in America, 'The early bird catches the worm!'" 

     "Worms are gross," she says. 

I laugh and begin to gather my things. As I head toward the bathroom, Mi Sun greets me.

     "Joh-eun achim(good morning), Maggie dongsaeng," she said. "Are you ready for today?"

I begin to laugh nervoulsy. I tend to do that when I am excited and a bit anxious for something. "I truly am, although I don't know much about the guys, but I think things will go well," I reply.

     "Jungsoo is very nice, and from what I've heard, they are all kind," she said. "I don't think there is anything to worry about."

"Meosjin (great)," I say. "I guess I'm just nervous that I will do something wrong. You know, forget honorifics, greet someone of respect incorrectly, or just do something stupid. I'm still trying to understand the culture here better."

     "I don't know you to do stupid things, and I'm sure they will understand if you forget honorifics or such, especially if you try your best. They know you are still learning."

     "I know, noona, but I've heard that one of them, I think Mi Hi mentioned Heechul, is quite particular with honorifics," I tell her.

"He does tend to address almost everyone formally, but he is also kind and understanding. He won't get angry if you accidentally forget to address him formally," she tells me.

     "Thank you. That makes me feel a bit better, I guess. But what if I accidentally do something disrespectful?"

"Maggie, they know that you are a person of integrity, very respectful, and that you try your best to understand the culture here. People know your intentions and won't be angry if you make a mistake. You're only human," she reasures.

     "Okay, good. Thank you, unnie. You are very helpful."

"It is no problem. We can even pray and do devorions before we leave," she says.

     "That sounds great. Going to God before this sound svery reassuring. Oh, that gives me another question," I say.

"Please do not be worried, dongsaeng, but go ahead. I am here to help."

     "I know we are mostly Christians here, and so are the guys in Super Junior, but what about Zhou Mi and Heechul? I know they are Atheists. Will they be bothered if I mention something about my faith? It isn't like I'm going to hide my Savior just because others don't believe, but I don't want to be seen as pushy, either."

     "They are both respectful of religion. And anyway, they're probably heard quite a bit about Christianity from Siwon. They are probably used to it."

Just then, Eunk Kyung coems out of the bedroom that she shares with Mi Sun and Hyun-Ae.

     "Hello. How is everyone?" she asks.

"We're doing well, thank you," Mi Sun says. "Is Hyun-Ae awake?"

     Hyun-Ae calls from their bedroom, "Good morning, noona!"

"Should I go wake Mi Hi? She said she wasn't waking up until seven, but we all know how slowly she moves in the morning," I say.

     Mi Hi appears out of almost nowhere.

"I was going to get up later," she says, "but I saw a giant image of Yesung in my head, and I had to get myself out of bed."

     Everyone started laughing.

"Goodness, Mi Hi," I say. "Do you only think about boys?"

     "Nope. I think about sleep, and dancing. Oh, and Jesus," she says.

"Nice save," I say.

     Hyun-Ae says in her funny English way "Swerve!"

"For once, someoen incorporates American culture into our morning," I say.

     'It's such a fun word," Hyun-Ae replies. "Swerve!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Two hours later, we are all ready and getting into our van. We begin to discuss the coming events.

"How do you think they'll react?" Mi Hi asks.

     "I'm sure they will be very professional," Eun Kyung says.

"I'm excited for this," Hyun-Ae says to me. "Are you, dongsaeng?"

     "I am a bit nervous, but otherwise excited for this experience," I say.

"You will do fine," she says.

     We finally pull up to the front of the SME building.

"We're here," our driver calls.

     As we begin to exit, just the sheer size of the building intimidates me. They must be very successful.

Eun Kyung must see the slight anxiety on my face. 

     "Stay cool, dongsaeng," she says while squeezing my hand. "You are intelligent and have much integrity. Plus, God is on your side. Trust Him."

"Kamsa hamnida (thank you), noona. That last part really helped me." I said.

     I'm not exactly sure why, but as I approached the front door of SME, my heart began to race. And I also knew despite me nerousness, I was ready for this new journey awaiting me.