The Tests Are Almost Over~ For Now...

Hiya~

So, let's see... what's new. I hung out with Sarang and her cousin on Saturday. We went to Insadong and had lunch and then to another area near there with a bunch of really cute cafes~ We had a feast for lunch! Man, the restaurant was really expensive, except they had a lunch special, that included a ton of side dishes!  It was really nice inside too~

 kinda creepy looking, but tasty~

After lunch, we wandered around Insadong for a bit and then went to a chocolatier cafe and had hot chocolate. I ordered the hot cocoa with the most cocoa in it, I think 75% maybe... It was so bitter! I had to add a lot of sugar to it, but it was really good!

Nik came back to Korea on Sunday, so we had dinner together. I was supposed to be studying, but that didn't really happen... oops. But it was fun to see him and hear about his visit home and his adventures in LA, California~

I'm almost done with midterms. I had my writing exam on Monday, and my speaking/reading/listening exams on Tuesday~ I did okay. I was really annoyed with myself about my writing exam, because on the last page, I used the wrong grammar ending for the entire page, so I got -7... If I had used the correct ending, I would only have had -2 off... Ce la vie~  I did well on my listening exam and actually, I aced my reading exam.  That was a surprise, because the listening exam was so fast, I didn't feel like I actually caught what was being said.
Next Wednesay, I have my speaking interview with the teacher, and then we'll get our speaking exams back~

classroom

some classmates during break time

Anyhow, after work on Tuesday I met up with an unni, I met through a friend. We went to dinner and then to a cafe. It was really fun, and nice to get a chance to practice speaking Korean~ I got home pretty late, but my host sister had gone out to and was picking up pizza for us to eat, since I finished my exams! so sweet!!! So, even though I had eaten, I ate again. I can eat sweet potato pizza anytime!

On Wednesday, I went straight from school to Aehwa to teach ASL. I had new students, so we just went over the basics.  I swear one of the girls asked if I was pregnant... Maybe not, because she asked it in KSL to one of the teachers. But, I swear that's what she said... lol. I guess my sweatshirt was kind of bulky... um.  But the kids are really great and very sweet. (and apparently, very honest ^^)

After volunteering, I headed over to Nik's.  Even though our exams are over, we still had to make our videos of memorized dialogues from our book. Two classmates came over and we filmed at Nik's. After filming, we made dinner and hung out with was really fun!  I taught my classmates, one from Japan and one from China how to say "drop it like it's hot."  And today in class, they said it to the other American in class, who got a kick out of it~

Today, teaching went really well! I was very pleased and felt like the kids actually learned something. They seemed to have calmed down a bit, although this school has always been pretty good...  Hopefully I don't jinx myself! Afterwork, I met Nik and we headed to Hyehwa to meet up with Sarang, Nathan, Hyeonjung, and Hyeonjung's friend, Meejoo for dinner. Sarang called while we were on our way and we figured out that we were riding the same subway! lol!  It was rush hour so the crowds were terrible!!! The subway station was jam packed full of people! We had to transfer, and Sarang didn't think there was room for us, but we were already running late, so I said we should just go.  So, we shoved our way onto the train and made it.  Unfortunately, the door we needed to exit from was on the opposite side of the train... So, we literally shoved our way through a mass of people and made it out. Whew.

Met up with everyone and went to Korean BBQ and then to Baskin Robins for ice cream.  It was really fun, linguistically confusing, for me any how...^^  Hyeongjung and her friend, Meejoo are Korean KSL interpreters, so they know Korean and KSL.  Nathan knows ASL and KSL.  Nik know Korean and English. Sarang knows Korean and English.  I know English, ASL, and Korean (sort of..).  So, for example, if Nathan was talking in ASL, I would translate it into English and then Sarang would translate the English into Korean. A very entertaining experience ^^
Oh, and on the way to the ice cream shop, I totally wiped out! I told Nik earlier, on our way to meet everyone that I was gonna wipe out sooner or later... The roads here are terrible!!!
[ I can't remember if I already wrote this in another post, but when I was in Myeongdong, I literally saw two city workers with a hammer and a chisel trying to hand chip all the ice that had formed.  The roads were literally covered in sheer ice, from the snow that melted and refroze and also just because SOOO many people had already walked all over it and packed it down. ]
In any case, my shoes had no traction and we were going down a really steep hill and I totally wiped out. It was actually extremely hilarious. Sarang and I laughed and laughed.  (actually, even now as I write this, I've started to crack up again...) So, since we were on a hill, aparently, I just kept rolling... If I recall correctly, I think Sarang told me that as I was rolling, I was laughing (I don't actually remember). And I had my backpack on, which is kind of blue. So, Sarang thought I looked like a blueberry rolling down the hill.  So, after I stopped rolling, I tried to get up, but my bag was too heavy and I was on such a steep hill, I couldn't get up... So, I gave up and just lay there, until Sarang pulled me up. It was epic.

Anyhow, now I am finishing up editing our videos for class... I hope it doesn't take too long, because I want to go to bed...
Til later!

done with midterms, whew.

First off, my most avid and dedicated reader, my grandpa, had his 94th birthday was on April 10! So Happy birthday Pop!!!

So midterms are over! yay! I did surprisingly better than I thought I might.  I got in the 90%s on both my paper tests and got a good evaluation from my teacher on the oral dialogues and one-on-one interview.

My partner and I weren't the most efficient with our dialogues. Over a span of a week, I think we worked about 7 or 8 hours and averaged about 1 dialogue per hour and a half. We had 8 dialogues to create and memorize... the last four we split between the two of us.  Most other people met once or twice for maybe a total of 2 hours... but, I think it worked out for the best. We felt pretty prepared.

Last Wednesday, we had our oral tests.  Luckily, I had an early time slot, so I was out of school by 10:30 am! I met up with Sarang and we went to TechnoMart and hung around. We looked around a bit, ate lunch, and Sarang talked me into getting my very first manicure.
Honestly, I think that manicures seem like a waste of money, that I could spend on something else more fun or productive, but she paid for almost all of it, so I agreed. It was kinda fun, I'll admit. But the color I ended up with totally reminded me of malibu barbie... As I strongly detest pink, I wasn't too happy. There were so many colors to choose from and since it was kind of overwhelming, I let Sarang choose. Thus, I ended up with hot pink/orange nails.  haha.

So on Wednesday evening, I went to drumming class.  There's this kid who goes to the same University I do, but is a regular student, not a language student.  He can be pretty awkward.  During class, he  lean over and pat me on the leg a few times.  I was wondering why he was touching me.  And during our break time, he took one of the snacks and tried to shove it in my mouth. Awkward.  After class I was really tired and didn't wanna go out with my classmates, so we ended up riding the subway together.  As we were riding, he leaned toward me, way too close, and said, "noona (what boys call older girls), I like you."  In my head, I was like WHAT?!  I kindly told him that I liked him as a friend. He took it kind of hard and kept saying, "you don't like me, you don't like me."  I felt really bad... then he leaned toward me again, really close and told me I had a pimple on my face and stroked my hair.  AH! so weird! And telling a girl she has a zit on her face is certainly not an effective way to woo a girl. Seriously. 

On Thursday, my Korean class had 반말 (banmal) day, or "half talk" day.  Korean has different levels of formality depending on who you are speaking to, so most of the time we learn formal Korean in class, which is used with adults and strangers, but not between friends.  I was really impressed that we were actually formally going to learn banmal, as I've found it rather inconvenient to not know it and talk with Koreans my age. It freaks them out when I talk formally to them.  Anyhow, the rule was that everytime you failed to speak banmal, you had to put a sticker on your face. I think I ended up with the most stickers on my face.  By the end of the day, I had five stickers on my face. Most people had two or three. Banmal is hard! haha!

After class, Sarang came to Sogang and we took pictures around campus and then went to hangout in Hongdae, a nearby area that has lots of fun shops and restaurants etc.

Friday, my class (and the other 2 level classes) took a field trip to Insadong and painted ceramic cups. It was really fun! and a nice break!  The place had transfer images to put on the cups and then we could paint the images. I chose a city scene.  We haven't gotten them back yet, but I wanna see mine!

reading/writing teacher and another classmate

 most of my class and our speaking teacher

After class, I wandered around Insadong with one of my classmates for a bit.  She had to leave and I was wandering around alone and ran into two of the Japanese students, one of whom is in my morning writing class.  I needed to buy a ggwegwari stick, so I took them to "국악길" or the traditional musical street, which was pretty close to where we were.   I like hanging out with my classmates from non-English speaking countries because I'm forced to use my Korean and we're pretty much at the same level.  Its fun to try and get your point across when your common lingua franca is a language you're not fluent in... haha!

I met up with Emily, who came into Seoul, and Sarang at Hongdae at 4 and we went to Eastern.  Emily had a file viewing. I thought I was supposed to have one too, but there was a mis-communication on my part, so I rescheduled for later in the week.  Afterward, we went to the Coffee Prince Cafe, which is the setting for a really popular drama, or mini-series TV show. It was fun, but overly expensive... At least I get to check it off my "to do list".  One the way to the subway, we found an awesome Turkish Kabob stand! We were all a bit hungry but not in the mood to spend more money, since our drinks at the cafe were so expensive, but the kebabs were only 4,000 won (roughly $4).  Nice. And amazingly delicious!

 Sarang, Emily, and me at the Coffee Prince Cafe

Saturday, my friend Kyungmoon and I had to attend a conference and give a short introduction and talk about our experiences at Sup Sogui Hosu (the camp I worked at two years ago) in Korean.  One of the staff from camp is a Korean teacher and is currently doing a fellowship at Univ. British Columbia, but came back to Korea to give a presentation at this conference. I was sooo nervous! I HATE public speaking, and this wasn't even in English.  It really wasn't so bad; my introduction was probably about a minute at the most, but I was freaking out.  And while I was outside in the hallway waiting, I ran into my Writting teacher from Sogang! She was really surprised to see me at the conference, as it was for Korean teachers. haha!
I was so nervous, I have no idea how it went.  I don't remember anything after saying hello.
Afterwards, a bunch of staff from camp got together for dinner, which was really fun!

camp staff at dinner

Sunday morning, I tutored the two kids who live 5 floors below me.  After tutoring, their parents invited me to lunch.  We met downstairs and their dad pulled up in a Jaguar!  I'm normally not into cars or anything, but I'm not gonna lie, I thought it was pretty cool.  One time, the kids had told me their dad works at a parking lot.  What he really does is own four parking lots in Seoul.
We went to this traditional Korean restaurant and the food was insane! It all looked so cool. Presentation is important here.  I can't remember the name now, but its more traditional than just normal Korean food.  The dishes just kept coming and coming!

I also went to my host dad's work place because there are lots of cherry blossoms there. The trees were gorgeous! and afterwards we went and ate 20 cent ramen from a vending machine at his office. Awesome! 

the cool ramen vending machine!

On Monday I hungout with Youngwha unni and we went to Yeoido.  Its cherry blossom season and thats one of the most famous places to go see them. It was really pretty, but the sky was cloudy, so my pictures didn't turn out as well as they otherwise could have.  The flower blossoms kind of blend into the sky.

 with Youngwha unni at Yeoido

Tuesday, Sarang's family was celebrating her dad's birthday, so I met up with her and her family after class.  I met them at the Children's Grand Park, where there are lots of blooming cherry trees.  The weather was surprisingly warm, as its been unusually cool here.  After, Sarang, her dad and I went to the biggest market in Korea to buy fish for his party.  Her dad really likes sushi, so he bought 4 fish for sashimi.  The market was really cool! There were fish and other sea creatures in tanks and out on display everywhere.  Her dad chose his fish and then we watched them as they were filleted and cut up into bit size pieces and placed on serving platters for the party.

the fish on the dinner table waiting to be eaten

 Sarang and her dad goofing around with the bday cake

Wednesday is my crazy day. I have back to back tutoring right after class and then have drumming after that. I was so tired, I didn't make it to drumming...

Thursday, I had my rescheduled appointment at the adoption agency to view my file.  The new social worker, who is much younger than the last one, was really great.  She went through my file and let me look and ask questions etc.  I found out my blood type, which is important in Korea because people think that it determines your personality.  I'm O+, however, I don't think that fits my personality at all.
 I went to Bandi and Luni's bookstore because I wanted to buy The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian (If you haven't read this, you must!) for my friend.  The internet said that the store didn't have it but I went to check anyhow and surprisingly, I found it!
But the English section was so odd! Basically, all the novels were just thrown onto the shelves. I couldn't figure out any rhyme or reasons to how it was organized. It certainly wansn't by author, and it wasn't by title.   When I was looking through the "Religion/Science/Spirituality" section, I found a Hillary Clinton memoir and "The Boy Called It."  I'm fairly positive it was completely arbitrary.  Weird.

Today after class I went to Youngwha unni's house.  Her mom is in town and cooked us a feast for dinner!  It was so good! Then I had tutoring and then I met up with Kyungmoon in Myeongdong.  I finally found a pair of sneakers that have a good arch support. Whew.  All the walking here, in archless shoes is doing a number on my feet. 

Anyhow, I need to go to bed!

Update

Saturday 3/22 I went to Samulnori lessons in the morning. I met this cool lady who is here on a fullbright to do research on ethnomusicology and what types of music are used in Korea dramas. I told her that I was taking a class on hallyu (the Korean popculture wave that has spread throughout asia) and she got all excited and actually came to our class later that week! I went to noraebang with some of the kids from my Korean class. They were all super into it. I don't really like singing alone, but they were from Japan and Singapore, so we didn't really any mutual songs. too bad. : ( I went to the Hyundai Dept. store with my friend for dinner. We got pizza, which was pretty good and expensive... Afterwards, I bought a dress on impulse. Its so unlike me, plus, its so unlike me to even buy a dress. I didn't even see myself in it... but my friend Vianey said it looked nice. However, I tried on the white one and then decided to get the black one. When I got back I tried the dress on and it didn't fit!!! Now, I need to figure out how to return/exchange it... Later some of my friends and I went to Dongdaemun to go shopping. It was pouring rain outside though, so it wasn't that fun. A lot of the shops are indoors, but still... all the vendors are outside. I think I hit three people with my umbrella and I got stuck between a vendor and the wall... I thought if I kept walking my umbrella could squeeze through; not true. It was a wet night. Sunday 3/23 Happy belated Easter to those of you who celebrate Easter! I was going to go with my friend Vianey to a Spanish speaking church, just to check it out, but it turned out the service was much later than we though. I was supposed to meet my Language Buddy, but she never showed up. My phone ran out of minutes, so I couldn't call or receive any texts. Later when I reacivated it I found six text messages from her... oops! I waited outside (but under an awning) for an hour and then left. Man was cold out! Monday 3/24 nothing exciting that I can recall Tuesday 3/25 Pang and I met up with our former classmate (we all took Korea together last summer at the University of MN) and friend Kaitlin. We had donkasu for lunch and then went to Angel-In-Us-Coffee after. (the name makes absolutely no sense). I had a pumpkin latte. Very interesting... You know how in the states pumpkin is full of spices etc.? I don't really like that, but this was basically straight up pumpkin pure with milk. It was interesting; there were nuts in it too, and when I got to the bottom there was a whole chunk of pumpkin. Later, after class, we went to our poongmul meeting. We got these free facemasks that some org. was handing out at the subway station, so later that night we got really silly and pretended we were ninjas... we got yelled at by other casaville residents because we were being to loud in the hallway. oops! Wednesday 3/26 I had class from 11-12 and then I went to lunch with my language exchange partner SungEun. We had shabu shabu!!! yum! It only cost W6,000 and included ice cream for dessert! Then we took sticker pictures, which was really fun. It only gives you a certain amount of time for each pictures, and then decorating, so we kept running out of time. Then Emily, Pang, and I went to get our haircut. There is a hair salon below InKAS in EeDae where adoptees can get a free haircut. I think we should have gone with someone who spoke Korean though... I do NOT like my hair cut. Afterwards, I freaked out. I was so bitter!!! At least it was free. Pang and Emily's hair cuts turned out really well. I just wanted a trim and then my bangs cut. I tried to tell them how to cut it and the lady was like 이상해 ... (weird...) Really it wasn't. All I wanted was what half the female Korean population has; side bangs. She obviously did not understand... So she cut them and then, I tried to tell her I didn't really like it and so she came back and razored them! which made them way worse. Basically she cut them too short, and there is nothing I can do about that except, let them grow back out. They washed, cut, dried, cut, dried, and curled my hair. It took so long we missed class... oops! Another lady curled my hair with a straightener which totally fascinated me. But my hair wasn't cooperating, and it kept getting bigger and bigger! the lady kept adding hairspray and trying to re-curl it, but eventually she just gave up. Afterwards, I was so sad about my hair I ditched the rest of class and dragged Pang to InsaDong with me. haha. Thursday 3/27 I finally met my language buddy (I have two through two diff. programs). Her name is MinSeo and shes a freshman. It was really funny because Korean school year is opposite from ours. So, this is their first semester, and our second semester. So, really this girl has only been at Yonsei as long as I have. Went went to lunch and had BoriBap (like bibimbop but with barley. it was really good!) Afterwards we were walking around campus a bit and she was so fascinated with everything. It was really funny and cute! Later Emily, Pang, our friend Ryoma, and I thought we had poongmul club. Turns out the meeting was cancelled because there was a school wide protest/demonstration against the school administration against raising tuition etc. So, we just messed around with the instruments and I showed them some of the beats the group is playing. Then one of the members came in to the ttaebang and invited us to go out with them. I guess all the Yonsei poongmul groups rented out a restaurant. All the new leaders for each group had to drink soju out of a big bowl. The bowl was passed around table to table and people could add whatever they wanted to it (salt, twedgigoki, onions, garlic, milk, radish etc.) We all thought this was very amusing. Little did we know, this was similar to what would happened to us this past weekend. haha. Friday 3/28 I went to Sarang's parents house! I think there was a misunderstanding, because I tried to tell them I had class til 6, but I think they thought I was going to arrive at 6. So, her dad called me right as I was walking out of class. oops! I takes me about 25 min. to walk back to my place from school. I grabbed my bag and ran out to the subway station. About two stops later I realized I left my phone back in my room... So I had to go back and get it. Sarang's parents live about 18-20 stops away, so it takes quite a while. The line splits too, which Sarang told me about, but I didn't really understand it, until it split... So I ended up on the other side! I asked these two women who looked to be in their mid-twenties if they spoke English and could help me. They told me what to do and eventually I got there!!! yay! I saw Sarang's parent's new building. Its so nice! There is a restaurant (where we ate dinner at) on the first floor and then office space and the top two floors are theirs. They house is so cool! Everything is automatic. (Sarang, I took a bunch of pics for you). The next day, we took a drive though the country. I think they wanted to show me the spring flowers, but it was raining, so we didn't really see any... too bad. It was fun though!