midterms, already!?

So, I've been busy studying for midterms.  I can't believe they've come so soon! Yikes. I need to memorize a lot of vocab in the next two days. Luckily, since Sogang is a Catholic university, we had Easter break! So, I didn't have class thursday or friday, which was really really nice. I needed the break, although its not entirely a break, since I have to study.

Anyhow, lets see... last week was Marina, one of my classmates last week.  She was on this short study abroad program through her Japanese university during her spring break.  So, she was only here for thee weeks. But it was sad, as we hung out after class etc.  So, on Tuesday, after pronunciation class (from 2-4. It was my first time going and I really liked it) a few of my classmates and I went out to have 닭 한 마리 (an entire chicken cut up in a hotpot style pan in the middle of the table.  It was really good!  It was one of the foods on Marina's "to eat" list before she left.

1.Chen (Austria), Junhye (Taiwan), and Marina (Japan) 2. an entire chicken in a pot

Friday was really fun because we had a going away "snack" party for Marina.  So, people brought snacks in to share. I made puppy chow and brought some in.  I never realized how disgusting it looks, until I was thinking about it from the perspective of someone who has never eaten it... but everyone seemed to like it.  Then, we actually got to make chapchae in class!  Our chapter was on cooking chapchae, and our reading/listening teacher brought it all of the ingredients. Everything was already cooked, so basically we just mixed it together and added seasoning, but it was really fun!

 1.teacher with the directions on the board behind her 2. Martin (Sweden), Scott (England), and Travis (US) with chapchae

After class, I went to Youngwha unnis and hung out.  I really like hanging out with her. She's so fun and I really get to practice my Korean with her.  I met up with Marina and some other classmates in Sinchon at 7:30 for dinner. I had another thing at 8(ish), but I wanted to see Marina one last time.  We ended up at some samgyupsal place that Tte used to frequent a lot.  lol.  That night it was pretty empty though, and the soju man came! He goes around to various restaurants in Seoul and hands out free bottles of soju to promote a certain brand.  We kind of buttered him up and he gave us 4 bottles for free!!!

1. Marina with the Soju Man  2. Marina (Japan), Travis (US), and Scott (England)

I left around 8:30 to go meet Yunjeong unni, kyungmoon and taesung oppa for taesung oppa's birthday.  I had the job of buying an icecream cake for him. I found the cutest one at Baskin robins; it was a tiger!

1. Yunjeong unni and I  2. Taesung oppa and his birthday cake

I ended up staying the night at Kyungmoon's apt. on the couch since it was too late to catch the subway.

The next morning I booked it to Myeongdong to meet Jeewon unni.  I haven't seen her since I got her.  We were suppsed to meet last week, but had to reschedule.  Unfortunately, I left my phone at kyungmoon's place....  A BIG inconvenience!
Anyhow, we went to Mr. Pizza for lunch and had potato pizza. Yum! and then walked around myeongdong for a bit.   

That afternoon I was supposed to meet Youngwha unni and mark to go to the last Dulsori rehearsal.  I got on the subway and it went about two stops and then stopped in the middle of a tunnel and sat there for about 15 min! And then, when it finally started moving, it went really really slow! I didn't know what to do, as I was running super late and I couldn't call either of them. So, I decided to chance it and take a taxi. Bad idea. Sometimes taxis are faster, but the traffic was terrible!!!  So, I got stuck on the highway for ever and a day!  I finally got there 50 minutes late, and ran over to our meeting spot and I saw Mark and Youngwha unni talking. My first reaction was relief that they were both there; my second reaction was, wait, how do they know each other!?

Youngwha unni told me that after about 30 min. she noticed that Mark had been milling around too. So, she walked over to him and asked him, in Korean, if he was Lia's friend.  He said something like, "Oh, I don't speak Korean." and she was like yup, its gotta be him. hahaha!
Anyhow, we caught the last half of the Dulsori show. whew. awesome, as usual.

Then we went out for dinner and had뽈쌀 aka pig cheek. sounds disgusting, but it wasn't bad.  really. So super unkosher... but its really hard not to eat pork here, as thats the main meat available.

Youngwha unni and I at dinner (that tube hanging in the pictures is a fan that sucks the smoke from the grill)

Sunday, Kyungmoon came over to study and drop off my phone.  We ended up going out for lunch and wandering around. We found this awesomely cheap samgyetang place! and then wandered around. The weather was sooo nice!  Then we came back and studied Korea for a bit before my host family took us out to some very famous duck restaurant, outside of seoul.

The restaurant was so awesome! I love smoked duck, so the meal was amazing. Plus, the scenery was so beautiful!  The place doesn't take reservations, so we had to wait over an hour, but we had fun taking pictures and looking at the Han river.

1. with my host bro, John, near the Han River  2. Kyungmoon and me  3. sweet potatoes that cooked while we grilled our meat  4. host parents (note the duck on the grill)  5. kyungmoon's lettuce wrap  6. the grease after the meal... ugh. as Moon pointed out, at least we didn't digest it, right?...

On Monday, I met up with Jeonghye unni for dinner.  We went to some famous nangmyeon (cold noodles) restaurant in Jamsil.  It was so insanely spicy! Both of us could only eat half. but it was so good.  I think next time I go, I'll order mul-nangmyeon (with broth), not bibim-nangmyeon (spicy sauce over the top). whew. I'm positive I killed some tastebuds with that meal.
Then we went to this super cute cafe and I had pumpkin juice. So delicious!

On Tuesday, I went to baram (pronunciation) class again. After regular class but before baram class, a few classmates and I went out for lunch.  It was fun because I met some new people, who are in different classes. Its interesting going out with classmates, because often times, the only language we have in common is Korean. Its a good way to practice Korean!

Wednesday, I started tutoring a new student. My monday students decided not to continue. I liked them, but the distance was really hard (1 hr to get there from school and 1.5 hr to get home), so it worked out.  Anyhow, this new student lived in the US for two years, but his English isn't fluent.  He is in 3rd grade and had a lot of energy. wow.  but he lives right near Sogang (my university) so its quite convenient!
I tutored him for 1 hr. and then had to rush off to get back home so I could tutor my other students from 5-6.  Then I ran off again to catch the train to drumming class. Wednesdays are going to kill me! everything is back to back. So it goes...

Thursday and Friday, I didn't have class which was amazing! I met up with Dewi on Thursday and she tried to help me fix my phone payment/bank account situation. She is also the friend that helped me get a phone in the first place.  Anyhow, because of my short visa, I basically can't do anything, so 1.5 hrs and 2 stores later, we concluded that I couldn't switch it.

Afterwards, we went to yonsei and she showed me the new I-house.  They completely redid the international dorm there and it is sooo nice!  I wasn't going to eat lunch, since I had a lunch date with another friend, but she talked me into it... I ate two lunches! but I skipped dinner.
I had KLI sundabu, the best spicy tofu soup.  I used to eat it all the time after class while I was abroad!

1. Dewi and I (we were in the same Korean class at Yonsei two years ago  2. KLI sundabu!!!

Then around 1:30 I met up with Sooah from the drumming club I joined at yonsei.  We hungout in tte bang, the club room and ordered chinese noodles.  One of the other members I know came in and a few first years.  It was really fun to be back!!!  Eating chinese takeout in the room brought back lots of memories (it was a very regular occurrence while I was at yonsei). haha!

Everyone had class at 3, so I went to wangshimni and met up with youngwha unni.  We just chilled at her house, which was really nice. I asked her a few questions about some Korean grammar and taught her some English stuff. We ordered chicken for dinner, which was super good!  Then I went home.  It was a nice relaxing way to end the day.

Friday, I pretty much tried to study all day.  I did get sidetracked... but I didn't really do much except tutor for two hours.
And today, I tried to study most of the day. Sarang called! She got in yesterday, and invited me to her grandpa's for his birthday dinner! It was so nice seeing her again! and her parents/family!!! I'm so glad she came to Korea!!!!

Tomorrow, I am going to see the Alice in Wonderland movie, 3D, with Youngwha unni and then study for the rest of the day. I have my exams on tuesday and wednesday, and then an interview the week after.
Wish me luck!

happenings

Hey! So, its been almost a week since I posted, so just a quick update.

Thursday evening I went with Suise, her friend Celine, her boyfriend Mark, and Kyungmoon to the NCKTPA to see a gugak music performance (traditional music).  Celine had free tickets from her host mom!  Awesome performance.  Although it was work to get there. To make a very long story short, Kyungmoon was supposed to meet us but her taxi driver dropped her off somewhere else. But, I was convinced she was just in another area of the complex, as its really huge, so we both spent about 30 min. wandering around in 0 degree weather (Celsius) looking for each other... real productive.  But the performance made it worth it!  We went out afterwards and ended up eating boonshik, korean style fastfood. The restaurants serve ramen, dukbokki, donkasu, and kimbap. 

Last Friday I met up with Younghwa unni, this woman I met on the plane over.  I think I wrote about how her husband and I had a lot of things in common.  Anyhow, we went to myeongdong and ate lunch together.  She is super nice and I had a lot of fun.  Meeting her really gave me a boost of confidence because I felt like I understood about 90% of what she was saying in Korea, which NEVER happens. I think it was a freak incident.  Also, I think she knows how to talk clearly.  She lived in the States for two years (Madison, WI) and took ESL classes, so she knows how it feels when people talk too fast etc.

I left around 4 to get back for tutoring which started at 5:30, but of course I messed up on the subway and was late... I tutor from 5:30-7:30 so 1.5 hrs was plenty of time to get back.  It really should take me about 30 minutes.  Anyhow, the train I was taking stopped at Changnyangni station as its final destination, so everyone who wanted to continue on had to get off and wait there for the next train.  But somehow, and seriously, I don't know how, I ended up going the wrong direction.  (In english I'm directionally challenged.  In Korean its 길치 gilchi).  I swear I didn't walk over to the other side and get on the train going the other way, but I guess I must have...  In anycase, I kind of zoned out figuring I'd hear my station, but when I heard Seoul Station looked up and realized I was going the wrong way and was now far from my destination. Arg. I ended up being 10 min. late but luckily when I got there, my tutee's parents were out. Whew.  I stayed an extra 15 min. to make up for it.

Nik came to Seoul and came over to my apt. He actually arrived while I was tutoring... since I went a bit over, and called, but I didn't answer my phone. So, I found him outside sitting on a bench.  He played with my host brother and sister, we ate dinner, and had fruit and tea for dessert.  Then we headed out to KoRoot (I decided it was easier to spend the night at KoRoot) to meet Emily! who had also come in for the weekend (both Emily and Nik are Fullbright ETAs and teach English outside of Seoul).  We talked for a while and then crashed.  

Em and I eating ice cream fish - our favorite ice cream treat.  I actually beat her, which is a first!

Saturday, Nik and I coffee-shopped-it.  We attempted to do so the weekend before and ended up wandering around for about an hour looking for one near dongdaemun. oddly, there weren't any open.  This weekend, we went into Paris Baguette and studied Korean etc.
The weather was crazy. It rained a bit, but the sky was this sick green color because of the yellow dust (황사) that blew in from China. Gross!!!
Then around 2 we headed to hongdae to meet up with Mark, Susie's boyfriend, who was going to go to the Dulsori performance with me (drumming perf.).

I got to see the whole thing this time! yay! (the weekend before Nik, Kyungmoon and I tried to go but were lost for a while and ended up catching only the last 5-10 min).  Seriously amazing.  Afterwards, the manager, whom I had met last week came up and talked with Mark and I and introduced us to everyone.  It was kind of Tte style, so after the performance, which was tech. an open rehearsal, their teachers and famous composers etc. who were there to watch criticed them and then the manager, yuri went around and introduced the other people in the audience. When he got to me, he said I wanted to learn taepyungso and my face turned so red! I need to learn to control my embarrassment better... Anyhow, they invited us to dinner with them! But, I had plans to go to Kyungmoon's apt. for dinner. She decided to try cooking Korean food for the camp unnis and me.

It turned out really well! She made chapchae and there were lots of banchan (side dishes).  I brought along some fruit, which we ate after the meal.  While Yunjeong unni and I did the dishes, Eunji unni and Kyungmoon went out and bought soju and makoli (korean rice wine), which by the way is only 6% alcohol.  They gave me the clear glass so they could see how much I was drinking. lol! I had about 3 glasses and my face was bright red; my ears too. Kyungmoon actually put powder on my face to try and make it look less red.  Then we left to go to hongdae to meet up with some other counselors from camp.  I ended up drinking 2-3 more glasses of makoli (one of the unnis thinks its really funny when I drink and kept urging me to finish up so she could refill my cup. hehe.)  I was rather dizzy. 

Sunday I did homework until the afternoon and then I met Emily and Kaonou in Myeongdong. I haven't seen Kaonou (we were on the same study abroad prog. and now she's here teaching English just outside of Seoul) in about a year! So, it was fun to catch up.  Myeongdong has the best street food! 

Kaonou and I with out potato sticks

Emily, Kaonou and I at dinner

 The End.

first drumming lesson!

So I had my first poongmul class today. It was awesome! I had tutoring from 5-6 (we ended at 6:16), so I was running a bit late... I had to get from sineemoon to nambu bus terminal for my lessons, which takes aprox. 1 hour, and my lesson was to start at 7:30. So I booked it to the bus stop, transferred to the train station and took the metro there.

The weather is super messed up; it was snowing and dark and I was late when I got to nambu bus terminal, so I decided to take a taxi my lessons instead of walking and getting lost and wandering around for like 30 min, which is totally what would have happened had I tried.
The taxi driver had no idea where this pilbong school was, but he was really nice and drove me around. He asked someone but they didn't know. I called Dongwon and he told me to wait at the GS25 and someone would come get me. I so almost found it! It was right across the street from the GS25, and I drove by it about like 3 times...

Anyhow, Eugene, one of my classmates met me and we went back. I met my two teachers and the main teacher and I got a bit acquainted. People started showing up around 7:40ish (definitely running on Korean time) and we started class.
We played changoo first and I was happy to find that my level was pretty on par with everyone. Whew. I really wasn't sure what to expect. Dongwon mentioned that it would be all adults, so I was thinking a class with a bunch of ajussis and ajumas (middle aged people) but the people turned out to be roughly my age! So, that was a nice surprise.

There are 4 girls, including myself and one boy, who goes to Sogang! I think today was the first day... Maybe. It was obviously my first day, but also Eugene's first day and YoungIn's (boy) first day. Anyhow, back to class. We played changoo for the first part, and then ggwengari for the second part, and sogo for the third section. It was my first time playing sogo, besides that one day I tried to learn it in Tte bang at Yonsei and miserably failed. I just remember they kept telling me to be more "flowing." I'm still not very flowing, but I kind of got it by the end... lol. The playing style is definitely different from what I've learned previously, but I really like it. It seems more relaxed. The teacher is extremely friendly and nice, so that helps too.

After class, the three newbies (me, Eugene, and YoungIn) went out with our teachers to drink beer and eat chicken. Nice. I said I'd go even though I hadn't finished my homework... And I think I'm just going to do that tomorrow because I wanna go to bed now. Eugene lives kind of near me, so we rode the subway to hwegi together. She is really nice, is a 4th year at her university, and is majoring in Education!!! The language issue is still a big barrier... I need to study my butt off so I can hold a semi coherent conversation... Ugh. The school offers other classes too, but of course, just my luck they are on the days that I tutor (Mon and Fri), so unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to make them, which kind of sucks. But I guess I can only ask for so much.^^ Anyhow, good night!

*too cold*

So, it is really cold out! I was nice and spring-y when I first arrived and has since turned back to winter. As mentioned in my last post, we even got quite a bit of snow last week. weird. I didn't bring adequate clothes, as I thought it was going to warm up soon... what the heck???
 

Anyhow, I'm feeling rather stressed, and even more stressed because I don't feel I deserve to feel stressed. I mean, I finish class at 1 in the afternoon... seriously, whats to be stressed about? I'm tutoring two families, and the one is quite far... but that should stress me out too much. I think I'm stressed because A. I don't feel like I've been studying enough B. I was kind of confused in class today. I get everything, but actually putting the grammar into practice is different... arg. C. I may be a bit unorganized... I need to make sure to write things in my planner. Also, I think I know too many people in this country. I love having all my friends here, but I also am trying to meet them all and coordinate schedules etc. which is stressful. But that's a SUPER lame to be stressed about. So, I'll stop now. ^-^

Anyhow, today in class we talked about emoticons, symbol slang people use when texting.
here are a few examples:
^^ or ^__^ is a smiley face
__ ., __ is when you're stressed and you're nose is running. The lines are closed eyes and the dots are the nose; there is snot dripping out of one of the nostrils.
ㅠㅠ, ㅜㅜ, ㅠㅠ; - are all crying/tears
ㅋㅋㅋ - kekeke aka hehehe

>-< - angry or screaming
-_-; - stressed, the ; is sweat

So there you go, a tutorial on texting emoticons.

So, this past weekend Nik came into Seoul and we met up with DongWon, a samulnori teacher who comes to MN every once in a while and conducts workshops. (I've actually never attended any, as I've always been at school...).
He took us out to lunch and we talked about different drumming styles and philosophies. I told him I was going to be teaching drumming at SupHo and so we discussed samulnori vs. poongmul etc. Dongwon said there are two branches or styles of poongmul. I won't get into all of the historical details, but one is more professional and one is more community oriented. I need the community oriented one, as this will be most accessible to children and foreigners/people unfamiliar with korean traditional music. Thus, we concluded I should study pilbong style poongmul. He also found me a place to talk poongmul lessons!

Initially, the price he quoted was roughly $400/month! whew. This was one of the main reasons I took on a few tutoring jobs, hoping to break even, or at least, make myself feel better. But apparently a few weeks ago, a new drumming school opened up that teaches Pilbong style poongmul (필봉 풍물). Its about $40/month; SOOO much better. But, there is only an advanced class so far, so he told me to attend that one. yikes! Anyhow, I'm really excited. Tomorrow will be my first time. Wish me luck. I think I'll need it.

Nik, Kyungmoon, and I were supposed to go see a drumming rehearsal/performance, Dulsori. However, Nik and I were running late, as we were coming from lunch with Dongwon, and then when we met up with Kyungmoon, we took the bus, missed out stop and kind of got lost... But we eventually found it! Unfortunately, we missed almost the entire performance and only caught the last 5-10 min. But it was really awesome. I wanna go again! It was an "open rehearsal," so not a formal performance. It made me really want to learn taepyungso!

After the performance, we met up with Susie and went to Dos Tacos for dinner. It was really good! I haven't had mexican in a long time! My veggie burrito was delicious!

note the one cup of sprite to be shared by 4 people. ㅋㅋㅋ

Over the weekend, my host brother, sister, and mother "baked" cookies. We had a mix we got at EMart and one would think with a mix, nothing can go wrong. Not so. Most Korean houses/apt. don't have a big oven like we do in America. So, my host mom took out a pan, put oil in it, and proceeded to spoon-drop the batter in. She told me it was a special pan that works like an oven. Korea is full of all sorts of weird things, so I figured sure. But about 5 min. later, I smelled something burning!
The bottoms were completely charred and the tops were still uncooked. We decided to leave them so the tops could cook (we had about 7 min to go.. ) and just not eat the bottoms when they came out. I asked about their oven. They have a small portable one, but I don't think my host mom uses it too often. She took it out and we tried it again. We even used cookie cutters this time and stamped thomas the tank engine ontop of each cookie. They looked perfect! But about 5 min. after we had put them in, I smelled something burning.
My host mom and I ran over, but it was too late. The bottoms were all charred. My hostmom/brother/sister dubbed the first batch "외에 만 쿠키" aka "top only cookies" and the second batch "조금 만 쿠키" aka "only a little bit cookie," as my host mom cut off all of the burnt parts, so only a little was left.

top only cookies

the oven

host mom cutting off burnt parts of the cookies

Today we made puppy chow. Both Emily and Nik made this with their students, and it was a hit. So, I decided to give it a try. I went to Emart with Jeonghye unni on Sunday and bought the ingredients. I couldn't find normal chex cereal, only chocolate flavored cereal, so it was extra super sweet... But it worked! Honestly, what could go wrong? You just microwave the chocolate, peanut butter, and butter and then mix the cereal in and pour powdered sugar over top. my host brother and sister liked it! but their parents thought it was too sweet. It was rather sweet... but so good.^^
Anyhow, I need to go to bed. Til later!

update!

Hi! Sorry for the lapse in entries! I've been busy, running all around the city... Okay, so I guess I'll go back to last week. The 4th was Jooeun, my host sister's 6th birthday (5 years old in America). We went out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner and had cake later at home. I gave her a Hello Kitty purse full of candy, which she seemed to really like. She's so cute when she wears it!

I started classes on the 4th. I really like them so far. I have class from 9-1 every day; writing for the first hour, speaking for the next two hours, and reading/listening for the last hour, with three different teachers. There are roughly 15 students in my class, some come and go through out the day, although most are in all three of my classes.
I really like the emphasis on speaking. Hopefully my speaking will improve!... My classmates are from all over. There are about 4 or 5 from Japan. Two from Canada, one from Sweden, one from Taiwan, one or two from China, and me and this other guy from America. Peoples' ages are all over too. At Yonsei, my classmates and I were all relatively the same age. In my class at Sogang, I am one of the youngest and the ages range up to 65 or 70! But in any case, I really like all of my classmates.

So, I generally (try) to get up around 7 and leave home around 7:50 to catch the subway to school. I have one transfer, and its pretty crowded because its rush hour... Sometimes people pack in so tight that I seriously think if I "sat down" or picked up my legs, I wouldn't fall to the ground. Its gross. Thankfully, most mornings its not quite that bad. I've started tutoring two families (their children, rather) in English. One lives pretty far from school; it takes about an hour from school to get there and then another 10-15 min. walk from the subway station and then about an hour and a half to get home. Its a long day...
Last Monday, my first time, I didn't get back home until 8:30! But the kids are cute. There are two boys, a 7 year old and an 11 year old. I tutor them for 3 hours. They were both pretty shy last week, but I'm sure this coming Monday will be better! They want to play games. haha.
The other family lives in my building, which is a heck of a lot closer! I actually tutored them for the first time tonight. They are a brother and sister and I tutor them at the same time, as they are only a year apart (10 and 11) and have similar English levels. Very cute! I had a lot of fun tonight! and thought our lesson (hour and a half) went very well. We went over introductions, continents and countries on a world map, directions, read an entire book together, and played hangman and word bingo.

Last weekend I met up with a two of the Korean staff from camp, and Kyungmoon. I met Kyungmoon at camp two years ago, and she is now studying abroad at Yonsei on the same program, CIEE, that I went on. I met the two unnis (what girls call other girls who are older than them) and we went out for dinner. We had shabushabu, or hotpot. They ordered the seafood style, and they were extremely entertained by the fact that I had never eaten a mussle or crab before and that I was scared of the shrimp, which still had its shells and legs. I tried everything once, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan...

seafood hotpot

Junghye unni and me

Then Kyungmoon joined us and we went to Junghye's house, which is near where I live! It's so awesome, her husband is a director (he directed the show JUMP, which is in one of my entries from the last time I was here) and she teaches drama classes to children! She drove Kyungmoon and Yunjung to their bus stop back in Sinchon and then was going to drive me back to my house. But we got lost! She was using her GPS, but it hadn't been updated in a while and kept freezing up on us! She is quite possibly the cutest adult on the face of the planet so it was really funny to watch her call the GPS pabo (stupid).
We were so close, like within a 5 mile radius, but we were lost for a little over an hour! We had had tea at her house, and tea really makes me have to pee... I thought I could hold it until I got home, but when I realized we weren't going to find my apartment anytime soon, I had to ask her to pull over to find a bathroom. How embarrassing!
We went to a GS25 convenient store, but they didn't have one and the guy told us to go to the PC bong (place where anyone can come and use the computer to play games etc.) on the second floor. Since Junghye thought I really really had to pee, which I did, she ran. Not good! But I made it! and luckily the guy was really nice and helped us look up where we were on the internet without charging us!
We ran back to the car and turned on the GPS, but it froze again. It took us another 20 min. and a few times up and down the street to find my house! A memorable night to be sure, and good thing I didn't wait to go to the bathroom!

On Saturday I met up with Kyungmoon again and we went to Myeongdong to go shopping. I didn't really actually have any money, but whatever. Then we met my host family at Lotte World, a giant amusement park. Sooo much fun! I hate scary rides, but even the "safe" rides were awesome! Plus, Kyungmoon and I pretended to be 18 and got in with a teen discount. My favorite ride was the hot air balloons that take you around the entire inside of the amusement park, which is both indoor and outdoor (there is an ice rink inside!). The laser show was also pretty cool! There were flames and fireworks, all inside. Kind of seemed like a huge fire hazard to me, but whatever. It was cool. I could feel the heat from the flames!

Kyungmoon and me above the ice rink

my host family

in front of my favorite ride!

On Sunday, I met up with Susie and Mark for lunch. It was fun seeing both of them at the same time! and weird to think that we were in a different country, not MN. After lunch Susie had tutoring and Mark had to go get his apt. stuff sorted out. I actually translated his entire real estate transaction! Obviously not word for word or perfectly, but I got the main point across to both parties. I have no idea how that happened. Seriously. But I have to say, I was pretty impressed with myself. lol.

Mark chilling in his new pad

A few days ago it snowed! Yes, snowed. Weird, because I thought I left that all behind when I left MN... It was kind of a freak thing here, because normally the weather is warming up by now. But on March 10, we got about 5-6 inches of snow! And of course the city isn't set up to handle snow the way I'm used to in MN, so the hundreds and thousands of people trekking on the same sidewalks packed down the snow into ice. Awesome. It was really fun walking to school that day. But everything looked very nice and clean and pristine.

people use umbrellas when it snows...

view from the subway station near my house - don't you love the yellow house?

The tenth, Wednesday, was also Kyungmoon's bday! We met up that evening for dinner with two of the Korean staff members from camp. I waited for 20 some min. in the cold hoping someone would come to the area that we were supposed to meet. Not having a phone sucks. But I finally found Kyungmoon, and then we found YunJung unni, who then pointed us in the right direction and we met up with Eunji unni.
Dinner was fun. We went to this Italian restaurant in Sinchon and the manager guy spoke English and gave us a stack of photos to look at to choose our dinner, since the entire menu was in Korean. lol! Oddly, he lived in Rockford, IL for a few years! which is about 20 min. from Beloit and where Sarang went to church. Weird!

mooncat looking at pictures of possible entres

After dinner, we went to 치우 bar; the bar that my classmates and I used to go to every Friday after class! Everyone there could hold their liquor pretty well except me. We ordered 3000 cc of beer and a bottle of soju (Korean version of vodka). Yunjung unni poured the bottle into the pitcher of beer and mixed it all up. When there was about a 1/4 of the pitcher left, they all concluded I needed to finish it by myself and they ordered another 2000 cc of beer and another bottle of soju. I tried, but couldn't do it.^^ I still had to get myself home and get up at 7 the next morning for class. I did get pretty tipsy though... I will not make going out on a school night a habit, although the next day in class, about 4 or 5 other classmates had gone out and were feel the same as me. lol!

Yunjung unni & Eunji unni

Kyungmoon blowing out candles for her 21st bday!

why oh why does my face turn so red!?

unnis again

So, until today I did not have a phone, which is EXTREMELY frustrating in a country where it is common to see 4 and 5 year olds with their own cell phones. Ironically (and unfortunately) one of my friends was in the same predicament as me. He had gone to the immigration office, spent about 5 hours waiting and then was turned away (by a really mean clerk) because he didn't have his school registration documents, spent about $40 on taxis running around the city trying to get a hold of his papers, come back the next day and got the same clerk, and wont get his card until Monday. In addition, just like me, he also did not go to the bank to deposit his travelers checks prior to handing in his passport for his immigration card, and was without money for the past two weeks... ugh.

As a kind of continuation of my immigration card saga, I couldn't buy a phone until I received my alien reg. card. Today was the day that my card would be ready! Last night I had called one of my friends from my Korean class at Yonsei, who is now attending grad. school at Yonsei to see if she could help me get a phone, as her Korean has become very good. Coincidentally, she used to have a part time job at a cellphone store! So, she knows the ins-and-outs of how to go about buying a phone and said she would help me out.
I left class an hour early (I missed reading class...) to make sure I had enough time to go the immigration office, go to the bank and deposit my travelers checks, meet Dewi in Sinchon, get a phone, all before my 5:30 tutoring job (its takes me 40-45 min. to get back home from Sinchon).

Luckily, I got my card in about 5 min. at the immigration office! I went to the Woori Bank next to the immigration office and got my travelers checks deposited no problem. Then I took the subway back to Sinchon and met up with Dewi. We went around to a few phone stores to check things out and I found a phone I really liked, the Samsung B8850D. But it was almost $300! Plus all of the stores were telling me that I could not buy a phone as my immigration card was only good for 6 months and that Dewi couldn't put me under her name (shes Indonesian), as foreigners weren't allowed to do that! Arg!! So, we kept looking and came across a store opening. We went inside and saw the phone I liked. The retail price was $449 but it was crossed off and said 공짜 aka FREE. awesome!
 

phone et al.

After a few phone calls, the sales man concluded that he would let me go under Dewi's name since my visa was too short. Interesting how different places and people tell you completely different things... Two other places said it was impossible. ha. It took forever though! and I was running out of time before I had to leave for tutoring!
We ran into some problems because I guess my bank account is still set up under my old immigration card, which no longer exists, as they took it at immigrations 2 years ago... So, they couldn't access my account, even though I had deposited a lot of money in it earlier today. So, Dewi and I had to run to her boarding house and grab her bank book so that we could set it up under her account. I can switch it in two weeks to my own account. Whew. I don't know what I would have done without Dewi! Seriously.

with the antenna to watch TV

Not gonna lie. My phone is pretty awesome. I really wanted white, but they only had black. As long as its free, black is fine by me. I can watch TV on it! It comes with a little antenna that I can screw into the phone when I wanna watch TV. People do it all the time on the subways. haha. It also came with headphones, an extra battery, and a battery charger! Bank. So, I now have a phone, a (semi-useless) immigration card, money in the bank, and my passport back. Life is good.

immigration office

So, I went to the immigration office again today to try and get my alien registration card. Unfortuately, I needed to bring my admissions papers from Sogang, which I neglected to do... I had my passport etc. but not those. I also needed passport pictures of myself.

Last time I was here, my program, CIEE took care of this all for me. Anyhow, my host mom and I went all the way there to find out I didn't have what I needed. Luckily there was a kodak shop across the street, so I got my pictures taken and then we had to go all the way back from Ahndong to Shineemoon for me to run up to our apartment and get my documents. We went back, but by that time, my host brother was done with school 11:50, so my host mom went to pick him up and them met me at the immigration office. I filled out all the necessary paperwork, handed in my documents, and paid my W10,000. The lady told me it would be ready on the 12th.

That sucks because I need this card to get a phone, and it is extremely inconvenient to live here without a cell phone. Especially because I've been trying to make plans with friends etc. So it goes.

Afterwards, we went to Myeongdong and ate at a ddukboki house. It was really good. An H & M just opened up, the first in Korea, so we went to check it out. My host mom, who live in CA for 6 years and I were shocked at how expensive everything was! Everything is like double the price of what it would be in the States. Too bad.

My host sister had her first day at an English only preschool, Poly school. She came back and seemed a bit confused and very cranky. I'd be too. whew.

Yesterday, my host family and I went to Emart, a big shopping center. It was packed because it was a national holiday and no one had school. Plus, today was the first day for most schools, so everyone was doing back to school shopping. I def. wanna go back and explore the store more. It has everything from running shoes to groceries. We bought cookie mix for my host sister's upcoming birthday and hodduk mix. We made the hodduk last night and they turned out really well!!!

Yesterday, I also showed my host brother and sister how to take pics on my computer and they have A LOT of fun with that while we watched the movie, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Some of them turned out really cute and some of them are just weird. Tomorrow is my first day of class, so I should get going. Wish me luck!

we went to Paris!

and rode a rollercoaster....

and looked in a silly fun house mirror...

AND we visited Yosemite!!! all while sitting in the living room.^^

Korea Spring 2010

Hi! I'm here again. I'll be here for roughly 4 months studying Korean language at Sogang University, and hopefully Korean traditional drumming as well.

The plane ride over wasn't too bad. I think I only slept about half an hour during the entire flight though.
I met this really nice guy and his wife who were sitting next to me. It was funny how much he and I had in common. He totally freaked out about it. ^_^ It was weird though. So, he attended Yonsei for undergrad and that's where I studied abroad last time; he attended the U of M for one semester for his doctorate and I live in MN; he now attends UW Madison and Beloit is just 45 min. south of there; he is getting his PhD in Education and I majored in Education; his hometown is Daegu and that's where I was born; he is currently living near Dongdaemun and so am I (its near my host family's apt). Weird, right? Anyhow, we exchanged contact info and he said he and his wife would love to help me study Korean.

So, I arrived on the 24th at 4:30 pm Korea time. My friend Jeewon's dad (who arranged my host placement) picked me up at the airport. I didn't know what he looked like, so I waited around for a good half-hour looking to see if anyone was holding a sign with my name on it. Finally, I decided I should call Jeewon. I found some random American man who had a blackberry and asked if it worked in Korea. He said he didn't know and said I could test it and see. It did, and I told Jeewon where I was. Her dad had been waiting at gate A but I was at B.

The car ride to my host family's apartment took quite a long time, as we got stuck in rush hour. I think it took us about 2 - 2.5 to get there! My host family is extremely nice!! The husband got his PhD at UC Irvine, so they lived in California for 6 years. My host father, C.K., is fluent in English; his wife Young will mostly talk to me in Korean, which is good, because that's why I wanted a host family; their son, John (age 9), is near fluent in English; and their daughter Jooeun (aka Nicole) is 5 and doesn't speak any English. She was born in the US, but came back to Korea 2 years ago at age 3. (Their son went through first grade in the US, hence his good English skills.)

host sister and brother

Anyhow, I really had no jetlag at all! Very convenient for me, since I met up with Emily, Susie, and Nik on my first full day here. Emily and Nik were in Seoul because their schools hadn't started up yet. They both left this weekend to go back to their respective cities. It was so crazy seeing everyone back together in Korea! The last time I had seen all of them together was at a restaurant on Grand Ave. last summer.

 1.  Emily, me, Susie 2. Nik, Susie, me, and Emily in Seoul

I also went to Sogang and took my level placement test. I was supposed to have a phone interview, but got mixed up on the time (I switched the time but not the date...) and missed it. Oops. So, I went in and did it in person. I was pretty nervous, but the teacher who interviewed me said I had done very well considering I haven't taken a Korean course in 2 years. I got into level 2. ^^

On Friday my host mom, sister, brother and I ventured out to go the immigration office so I could get my alien registration card. Unfortunately, it seem like EVERY foreigner in Seoul decided to go too... The man there explained that since most universities are starting this coming week, they were really backed up. He told us to come back after the 2nd. Unfortunately, I cannot get a cell phone until I have this card. And not having a cell phone, or a hand phone as they say here, is extremely inconvenient. Arg. Oh well, hopefully soon.

That evening, Nik came over. We ate dinner and watched some tv. I wanted to go to Dongdaemun and we found out that my host mom loves Dongdaemun, so we invited her to come along. She's a pro! - she knew all of the best places to shop. we got back around midnight, so Nik spent the night. The next morning my host dad, host brother, and nik went for a run. After breakfast, we hung out and watched the olympic speed skating. Everyone went crazy!!! Overall, Korea did very well.

Then we went out for lunch and ate shabu shabu. It was sooo good! Then we drove over to the national ice area, where the Korean national speed skating team practices. It was open skating, so Nik, John, and I rented skates. The track was huge! It's hard to grasp how big it is when you see it on tv, but I can't imagine going around it 5 times in 40 seconds. wow. The area was packed with people. Korea has speed skating fever right now, so everyone was learning how to speed skate. You could rent figure skates, the world's crappiest "hockey" skate (essentially cheap rollerblades with dull metal blades) or figure skates. I opted for the crappy hockey skates.... Perhaps a mistake. Nik tried the bowling shoe-esque speed skates. It was really fun though, and it was cool to see little children up to 60 or 70 year olds learning to speed skate!

                                                                             This country is Kim Yuna CRAZY!

After skating, we went to a mountain located behind gyungbokgung. I can't remember the name... The drive up was beautiful. We didn't stay too long, as it was a bit cloudy and started to rain.  my host brother is quite a ham I had plans to meet up with Kyungmoon from SupHo (Korean camp) at 7, so my host parents dropped me off at the subway station and I headed to Sinchon, my old stomping grounds, near Yonsei.

I met up with Kyungmoon, which was really fun! I hadn't seen her in about 6 months, since I-Day up in Bemidji. We wandered around 이대 and ended our night with coldstone ice cream. We got this really good frozen yogurt with crushed almonds and pistachios - something I've not seen in the US. So delicious.

Kyungmoon and me

Today, I studied Korean for an hour or so, and then decided to wander around the Dongdaemun-gu area where I live. I took the bus in search of a stationery store, which I found! This area is much more residential and very different from Sinchon. I guess its kind of like suburbia, but still very urban... There is a really nice park across the street that has an inline speed skating track and biking path along a small river. Anyhow, it was fun to go exploring.

apartment complex

 pictures of the park across the street from our apartment

After my host family came back from church, I played with my host sister. I taught her how to say "Are you ready" and to answer "yes" or "no." Then I tutored my host brother for an hour or so. He has an English test coming up on the 14th, so he is busy studying for that, although today he put up quite a fight with his mom before he succumbed.

After that I met up with Susie, who has been her since last summer teaching English - she and I went to Korean school together. We were going to meet at Euljiro 3ga, but we were both running late. I got there, and not having a phone started to freak out when she didn't show... I thought maybe she had left or gone to Euljiro 4ga, which sounds really similar... I was looking around for a friendly looking person to see if they'd let me borrow their cell phone (I couldn't find a single pay phone) when she came running up behind me. Whew.
She had been dreading the same thing-that I had gone to Euljiro 4ga. Haha. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and wandered around near chunggyechong stream. It's been so crazy seeing all these people from MN/the States but hanging out with them in Korea!!! But I'm glad they're all here. ^^

The End.