KIMCHI WORLD

제 새 하숙집 My new place

2006-02-25T20:38:00.000+09:00

So back in December, I found a place to live through the help of my fellow adoptee friend Katie. I came to see it and after deciding it was pretty decent, I made a deposit. I moved in the 2nd of January. It is located about 5 to 7 minutes from my school (so nice since I am definitely a morning person) and is pretty reseaonable. The only thing is it is in the basement so there really isn't much sunlight cuz I have these tiny weenie windows....but I figure for the price, I don't mind. I won't really am not there except at night anyways....
But turns out I'm really lucky because the meals are great! Yummy! Unlike some of the other boarding houses, this one has a woman who is there soley to cook and clean! Yeah!
So yeah my room is pretty big. The room came with a bed, desk and a bookshelf. The floor is heated so even during the cold winters, the room is toasty warm, almost to the point of shorts and t-shirt temperature.
I share a bathroom and breakfast and dinner are provided. Most of the days the lady has a whole different meal. The side dishes are pretty much the standard side dishes and I have grown to really like Korean breakfasts. I think I'll miss the a lot when I leave...
I think one of the best highlights of living here though is that I have the chance to interact with Koreans. The lady who owns this boarding house and the lady who cooks both can't really speak English so I really have to try and use my Korean. Everyone is really nice and helps me with my Korean. When my friend Nick came they even let him stay.
About 30 people live here, most of them being college students either at Ewha University or Yonsei University. I live in the basement in the section with three other guys and the cooking/cleaning lady. In Korean we call her 아줌마 so I don't know her real name.
The guys next door are both Chinese and their Korean is really good. I think both of them are working now so sometimes the bathroom is pretty busy in the mornings. The other guy is a Korean who can speak English really well. I enjoy talking to them in English as sometimes I just want to talk...we have still yet gone out all together but a couple times one of the Chinese guys and the Korean came out to drink. The cooking lady is really nice too and I enjoy living here.
The only bad thing maybe is that the windows are pretty much obsolete and since I live near the highway it gets a little noisy...but now I'm used to it so it okay.
I get internet and cable! When I first moved in though my computer, for some reason, couldn't get hooked up to the internet so both Rick and Ill Gang helped me. I ended up having to reboot the whole thing and loose things but it's all good.

Nami Island YONSAMA!

2006-02-23T19:22:00.000+09:00

Well my friend Yoko really likes Yon sama, the actor who was in the Korean drama "Winter Sonata" so we decided to take a trip to a place called Nami Island. This is one of the places the film was shot. Yoko came back on the 6th so we decided to travel to Nami Island to see a little more of Korea. I asked my homestay sister how to get there and she looked up how to get there on the internet. We were supposed to go to Cheongyangni and from there take a train. It was pretty nice and easy to get there. We had a little bit of a late start because Yoko had slept in so when I got to Sinchon she still wasn't there. I rang her up and woke her up. I don't blame her that she was late cuz she just got back the day before. She apparently had a lot of luggage with her and because she lives on the 4th floor, she had to lug it all up there by herself. Anyways, we got there a little later but it was still good. We had fastfood breakfast and then got on the train. On the train Yoko ordered some eggs from the man who walked up and down the aisle with food. There was a white package in with the hard boiled eggs but we didn't know for sure if it was salt or those little packages that keeps food okay (but you're not supposed to eat) so we asked the guy if we could eat it...he must have thought we were hilarious because after probably really rude people, it was a nice change to have some stupid question asked very seriously. Yes, it was salt....ha ha ha.
So anyways we took the train and got to see some scenery outside of Seoul. We arrived and got in a taxi who took us to the Nami Ferry Terminal where we took a ferry to the island. It was probably a ride less than 10 minutes. I could already feel my lungs expanding and breathing in deeply because the air was so much cleaner. Although the sun had come out, it was still cold so the top layer of the lake was frozen. As we made out way to the island, we were breaking ice. Was neat!
Once on the island we walked around and saw all the lines of trees. It must be so green and open during the summer. We went when there wasn't snow so all we got to really see was the line of trees. It was really nice though just to be out of the city. For the time of the year (without any snow) there were a lot of Koreans there and quite a few couples. I guess that is the place to go. Koreans are sooo funny about poising for their pictures. It was hard to stiffle a laugh then they look like they are trying to be on the cover of the next fashion magazine. ha ha ha
Yoko had a great idea of renting a bicycle. We just didn't have the luck though. We decided to rent the bicycle for two...or rather the "couple" bicycle as they advertised it. The first one we got had a flat tired so we had to wait until he pumped it up...then that bicycle as we went down a hill the chains fell off so we had to wheel the bicycle back and get another one....finally we could ride. Mostly I sat in the back and let Yoko do the navigation. I did some and it was hard. Pluz, you have to work more in the front. I was pretty tired by the time the hour rolled around...but it was fun being on a bicycle again.
We had some time left so we decided to head on to Chuncheon. We took a bus there and then walked around. We hit some of the sites that were also in "Winter Sonata" and had dakkarubi...the famous food there. It was good but a little spicy for me...
We were pretty tired after a big day so we moved out train up to an early time. We headed back and on the train we mostly slept. It was definitely a nice day trip. Pretty cheap and a great chance to get out of the city. I think Nami Island would be good to visit on other occassions when there is actually some green....

2006-02-17T22:05:00.000+09:00

Chuncheon...and their famous Dakalbi...

2006-02-17T22:04:00.000+09:00

The random pig heads we discovered in a back alley.

2006-02-17T22:03:00.000+09:00

This is harder than it looks! But bundles of fun!

2006-02-17T22:02:00.000+09:00

Another ice sculpture...we slid around on the ice near this one

2006-02-17T22:00:00.000+09:00

The famous lane seen in "Winter Sontata"

2006-02-17T21:59:00.000+09:00

Amazing Ice Sculptures

2006-02-17T21:58:00.002+09:00

Yoko and I on the boat ride over

2006-02-17T21:58:00.001+09:00

One of the many lanes between rows of trees

2006-02-17T21:58:00.000+09:00

Happy Warm me...

2006-02-17T21:56:00.000+09:00

Nami Island...the famous Island....

2006-02-17T21:55:00.000+09:00

It was cold enough where the water in the lake was frozen. Pretty neat!

2006-02-17T21:54:00.000+09:00

The boiled eggs Yoko bought....the salt...

2006-02-17T21:03:00.001+09:00

The remains of the Roman Candles....

2006-02-17T21:03:00.000+09:00

Some more....

2006-02-17T21:02:00.001+09:00

Another group photo...

2006-02-17T21:02:00.000+09:00

Some of the Roman Candles in action

2006-02-17T21:01:00.000+09:00

Group Photo! Ready to join the crowds!

2006-02-17T21:00:00.001+09:00

Yummy Mexican....Dos Tacos in Gangnam.

2006-02-17T21:00:00.000+09:00

Happy Times on the last day of 2005!

Marc in Seoul and New Year's Eve

2006-02-17T20:37:00.000+09:00

Okay after the girls left...I had unexpected visit from yet another friend I met in Japan! Marc was actually coming to visit Steve, a fellow X JET. Steve had to work during the days so Marc and I hung out and caught up. It was nice to hang out with people who have the same experiences as you and can relate. It has been quite awhile since I last saw him but meeting him I recall how easy it is to get along with him. I think I met him through a mutual friend but had talked to him occasionally online. We watched King Kong and went to Insadong as well as have some good Mexican food. We also hung out together for New Year's Eve. We ended up not going dancing on CLUB NIGHT cuz I wanted to save my energy for New Year's Eve. My homestay family also planned a day trip for New Year's Eve. We went to a place where KING SEJONG was buried and where there is a famous Buddhist Temple. They rented a car and the father drove! It must have taken about 3 or 4 hours! I felt bad cuz it was two days before he was going to leave and driving is sooo exhausting. We made it back to Seoul around 8 and then had dinner before I headed out to meet Marc and Steve's friends to welcome in the new year.
We met up around Chungmuro and drank some at this Irish Pub. Ha ha ha...It reminded me of Thailand when we were also at an Irish Pub back in 2004. Anyways, we walked over to the BIG place where there was a count down. There were definitely a lot of people. What there seemed to be more of was the ROMAN CANDLES that were lite off as it struck 12. It was crazy! The air was full of smoke and I was seriously afraid that I was going to get holes in my clothes. There were sparks coming down a lot, just like the Nozawa fire festival. Anyways, it was a good old time. We lost track of some people but eventually met up with some in Insadong before heading to Sinchon where we drank in the mushroom bar. It was crazy fun. We drank a lot of juice soju. I think we went through a two or three big pitchers. It was about 5 or so when we got out so we all caught the subway back. I headed back and slept a few hours before heading to church. I was tired but I was happy to spend time with nice friends.

Brandy In Seoul

2006-02-17T20:12:00.000+09:00

So Satomi came but I was fortunate enough to have another wonderful friend visit. She's my angel and has been with me through some tough times. I not only got to know her because she is my sempai but because she listens to my problems and is there when I need her.
She came on Christmas Eve and her plane came in on time so we meet up with Satomi and Chris for a late dinner. I hadn't seen here for about 5 months or so. She looked very nice and very "feminine" when I saw her! We embraced in a hug and then took the bus. We had samgyeopsal which is like bacon-type pork. Afterwards, we all headed to NOREBANG or Karaoke. We sang Japanese songs and American songs. It was good to hear Brandy sing again. She has such an amazing voice....Satomi had to leave the next day so we parted at the motel before Brandy and I made our way to my church. We enjoyed our service and then headed to Myeong-dong and Namdaemun Market. We both had dressed up so we were both quite tired by the time we got to our motel. We changed our shoes and rested up before heading out to meet my homestay sister and her boyfriend at Insadong for dinner. Before having dinner Brandy did some shopping for her family. We had some traditional noodles and then had dessert at a place called RED MANGO that serves really yummy yoghurt. I am now sooo hooked on that stuff.
Anyways, the next couple days I showed her to my school, we went to a Sauna...a first for me in Korea. We got these amazingly orange t-shirts and shorts that made us look like convicts....while Brandy was getting her AKA SURI, basically a semi clad women using this scrubber to scrub off all your old skin....I waited and met this girl. She and I started talking. She didn't understand much English so I had to pull out all the stops on my Korean. It was really neat talking to her and hearing her story. Her and her boyfriend are having a baby. Her family knows but his doesn't. Um...I hope things turn out okay for them. She was younger than me. She was really happy to have the baby though but I think a little scared...I guess who wouldn't be? Anyways, after that we felt refreshed. We had yakiniku at the "yakiniku" place I usually go to with Yoko. The people kind of know me by now but since I haven't gone there for awhile they probably have forgotten me. We visited the palace and headed to COEX mall the next day before Brandy had to head off. We visited my homestay and I took her to the airport. I have to give her soo much thanx because I was dead tired by the time she left. She was really cool about the whole trip and allowed for a lot of down time which I must say is from a REAL FRIEND. I thank her so much for coming and visiting. I can wrap up the trip with one word....HOTTOK!

2006-02-11T21:22:00.000+09:00

Satomi in Korea

2006-02-11T12:08:00.000+09:00

Okay so this is about two months late but figure late is better than never. So Satomi, my dear friend from Japan came to visit me in Korea. It was a visit I knew would take place even before I came since we both studied Korean at Ina sei. Anyways, it was a good chance to meet up PLUS for her to actually use her Korean outside of a classroom. I was going to meet up with her at the airport and then we'd have a couple of days to hang out before she would head back to Japan on Christmas Day. Things were going according to plan UNTIL.....I arrived at the airport and oops! Her plane was delayed due to bad weather. I was like, Okay...I should have checked the progress of her flight before I left...oh well. I'll wait the extra four hours....but after the four hours it was pushed back even more. So it was going to be a 8 or 9 hour wait at the airport. I came shortly after noon and didn't leave the airport until after 9. So yes, I was tired already before this visit began...but I couldn't complain because I knew Satomi had gotten up early that morning to go from Takato to Nagoya Airport and then had to wait at the airport too. NOW that is hard! So yeah after a delayed meeting, we finally did meet up. We caught a bus back to near Anguk Station where I had made reservations for a motel. It was the motel Karen and I stayed at after our backpacking trip. I didn't have much problem staying there and it seemed like it was decent so I had booked a room there again. It wasn't as good as I had remembered it....plus it was a little loud the first night but I really didn't care at that point. It was a bed, the room was warm, and we had our own toliet. Plus, why pay a lot for a room when you will only be there only to sleep? We slept in a little and went downstairs to make breakfast...toast and eggs. Then we headed out and enjoyed Seoul. In two days we went to Insadong, Namdamn Market, Myeong Dong, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Yonsei and around. It was a lot of walking and it was pretty cold so I think we were both pretty exhausted from just walking from one place to another. On the 24th, Satomi had made plans to meet her penpal Korean friend Chris. She came to the motel to meet us and then we headed to Apgujeong where we spent a couple of hours at a nice coffee shop where you can get refills free but its 12 dollars for cake and coffee.
Afterwards, Satomi wanted to buy an electric dictionary so we headed to Yongsan and then headed near Namgsan Tower to have lunch before I took off to go pick up Brandy at the airport.
We made plans to meet up later that evening to have dinner together.
I am so blessed to have such a dear friend. When I lived in Japan we'd meet up at least once a week for Ikebana and sometimes Korean or just to have dinner. She and I went to Johnny Concerts....SMAP, TOKIO, and KINKI KIDS. She was one of my close friends in Japan who helped me when I needed help. I hope that we continue to be friends even after I leave Korea....

2006-01-29T22:47:00.000+09:00

Lunch at Yonsei with my Language Exchange friend Jeong Woo

2006-01-29T22:45:00.001+09:00

Our first time....at a Sauna...and the "jail uniforms" we had to wear.

2006-01-29T22:45:00.000+09:00

The NEW river....

2006-01-29T22:44:00.000+09:00

Visiting my homestay...two girls I LOVE!

2006-01-29T22:43:00.000+09:00

The changing of the guards

2006-01-29T22:42:00.000+09:00

Xmas in Korea!

2006-01-29T22:41:00.001+09:00

The mountain Brandy took liking to....

2006-01-29T22:41:00.000+09:00

Xmas Dinner...traditional Korean noodles at Insadong

2006-01-29T22:40:00.000+09:00

Beautiful Korean architect at Gyeongbokgung

2006-01-29T22:36:00.000+09:00

The night life....we sang Karaoke or ???

2006-01-29T22:33:00.000+09:00

Our Christmas Eve dinner of ??? (Bacon type pork)

2006-01-29T22:31:00.000+09:00

When Satomi came to visit we visited Unhyeongung right by the place we stayed

2006-01-29T22:30:00.000+09:00

The only Starbucks written in Korean in Insadong

2006-01-29T22:29:00.000+09:00

Get together with Chris, Satomi's SMAP friend

2006-01-29T22:27:00.000+09:00

The Xmas party of GOAL with Suhee

2006-01-29T22:25:00.000+09:00

Picture with "Korean" Santa...her first time meeting Santa....??

2006-01-29T22:23:00.000+09:00

The "points of energy" ritual

Homestay

2006-01-29T21:33:00.000+09:00

Okay....so back to blogging my life....
For the month of December I stayed with a homestay arranged by Yonsei. From what I get, the matcht was quite a random thing but I was fortunate to get a nice family. They have a son but he is in America right now studying English. They have a daughter who is 22 and sweet as a pea. The mom can also speak English as well as the daughter so there weren't any BIG miscommunications. As I was living with them, however, I realized many different subtleties in culture. One big thing was maybe I didn't eat as much as they did in the mornings....
Another I noticed was how they treated someone who was sick. I came to the homestay still recovering from the flu. I relapsed and wanted just to sleep. Instead, they wanted me to eat and move my body. I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep and had NO appetite so I had to force myself to eat....
Eventually that was good because it gave my body enough energy but really what I wanted to do was sleep. Anyways, during this whole ordeal...I got to experience this natural heating ritual. They place these little heating things along your hands or your "energy points." It really did warm up my hands and you did feel good after....
I mostly went to Yonsei and just hung out trying to write my Xmas cards that did eventually go out to people but were probably a few weeks late as it takes about 10 days to send from here....
I went hiking to a Buddhist temple behind their apartment....(they have an awesome view as they are on the 18th floor....) and to the National Cemetary. It felt nice to walk and get some fresh air as I really feel my lungs are taking a toll living here in Seoul.
Their dad is currently working in Indonesia and came back for a little bit. I got to hang out with him a couple days but also my friends came to visit from Japan so it was maybe a total of 5 days I lived with him. My homestay sister gave me the impression he was strict but when I met him I thought he was nice. He had a kind look about him but I could see maybe where he would be strict when it came to certain things.
New Year's Eve they rented a car and we took a day trip to Kyonggi Providence. They wanted to visit a Buddhist temple before Dad left again for Jakarta. They had visited the temple before but it was such a great experience that they were able to take me along. I felt bad because Dad drove in Seoul traffic both to and from....on the way back there was a traffic jam too....we slept while he drove.
Anyways, it was a good time. I was happy to get a sister and experience living with a real Korean family. At night we would talk and watch CSI together. Even after I moved out we email and occasionally hang out.

2006-01-28T19:39:00.000+09:00

King Sejong

2006-01-28T19:36:00.000+09:00

His resting place

2006-01-28T19:31:00.000+09:00

The Temple....

2006-01-28T19:10:00.000+09:00

A beautiful place by the temple...

2006-01-28T19:09:00.001+09:00

My homestay sister, Su-Hee. She's soo cute!

2006-01-28T19:09:00.000+09:00

Our trip to Kyonggi Providence to visit Silluk Temple and King Sejong's tomb

2005-12-08T23:03:00.001+09:00

Our reading class minus a couple people

2005-12-08T23:03:00.000+09:00

Our class minus one person

2005-12-08T23:02:00.001+09:00

Our class list.

2005-12-08T23:02:00.000+09:00

My language exchange at the dorm. He didn't like this picture but I thought it was funny.

2005-12-08T23:01:00.001+09:00

Fellow prisoner's at Muak...

2005-12-08T23:01:00.000+09:00

Amy's crazy new style

2005-12-08T23:00:00.000+09:00

Right after Seoul's first snowfall...a white wonderland.

2005-12-04T00:33:00.000+09:00

My friend and me eating hot spicy Korean food...couldn't eat all of it cuz too spicy for me.

2005-12-04T00:12:00.000+09:00

It's Christmas Time! A lite up tree on campus....

2005-12-04T00:11:00.000+09:00

Classmates on our final exam day.

2005-12-04T00:05:00.000+09:00

My cool language exchange buddy and me with my messy hair....

2005-12-04T00:04:00.000+09:00

A typical Korean meal....this one was 5,000 won or about 5 dollars.

2005-12-04T00:03:00.000+09:00

Thanksgiving dinner...met at the head of the table of at least 20 people!

2005-12-03T23:48:00.000+09:00

An advertisment for an "unusual" museum

Thanksgiving

2005-12-03T23:47:00.000+09:00

I thought I'd have another Thanksgiving without turkey and all that yummy stuff. I was getting pretty sad...not only because I was missing fabulous food, but because I know that the Rockwood family usually gets together have a merry time....
It wasn't too bad during school but our reading teacher mentioned Thanksgiving and that really made me hungry for turkey. There is one other American in our class so he and I talked. We decided that if we couldn't have turkey, we'd at least have a turkey sandwich. So after class we headed over to the place we knew we could get turkey....SUBWAY.
Yeah, if all else fails, why not head to that local chain healthy sandwhich shop! So we headed over to Ewha University which is a women's only univeristy just a few blocks away from Yonsei. We sat down at not a plastic table and chair booth but at a subway where the atmosphere is like that of a coffee shop....cushy chairs, little decorations and lights that make you wanna say, "ooooh....how cute!"
So that was my Thanksgiving turkey....so I thought.
I was at the library studying away...as usual...and another adoptee friend emailed to say (yes, during this time I also purchased a cell phone or as they call them here handi phones) that there was a free Thanksgiving dinner being put on by KOROOT (an organization and guest house for adoptees). I misread the message so I thought it was for tomorrow...so I thought cool, I'd have turkey after all.....and continued studying. Decided to head back to the dorms. As I unlocked my dorm room door, he called to ask where I was. I answered, "hu?" And then realized it was tonight. It was about 15 minutes to when I was supposed to meet him and told him I'd try and make it but be at least 30 minutes late. I ran out the door and hailed a taxi. After crazy explaining that I wanted to go to this and this subway station he headed off....the traffic was bad so I thought that I would totally be late. After passing the busy section though we zoomed down the streets (crazy diving here) and was at the subway station in about 7 minutes....I showed him a picture of the directions on my camera. He somehow understood what I was saying and dropped me off in the right vicinity. I walked a couple minutes up an alley and found the place. The dinner hadn't started yet as the turkey hadn't arrived...was still in the oven.
I met some other people who also happened to be at Yonsei and was able to exchange numbers. It was definitely a good night. I got the turkey and cranberry sauce, wine, mashed potatoes and gravy (unfortunately no stuffing...) and even pumpkin pie. It was nice being surrounded by so many people. Even met a girl who was from Tumwater. She knew of some of the stores and new of my old elementary school. Now that is a small world!

2005-12-03T23:46:00.000+09:00

Great invention....hot dog and fries!

2005-12-03T23:38:00.000+09:00

Dinner with our former teacher.

Dinner with Su 선생님

2005-12-03T23:32:00.000+09:00

Well it had definitely been awhile since I've updated this so wanted to do it before the new year jumps up on me. So yes, the following week (after changing teachers) we invited our old teacher out for dinner. It was a grand time. Not only was she cool and had a couple of drinks with us, but she asked if us if we still had any questions. Now, isn't that cool. I aspire to be a teacher like her. Not only does she act like a teacher but she is a friend. We all have been guessing her age but she is in her 40's apparently with a kid. Not we could have guessed she was still in her 30's.....

So we went to a yakiniku place and ate our hearts out. We paid for our teacher's share but it still came out less than 10 bucks per person. Now drinkies, meat galore, and all the kimichi (grilled is even better) and at that price! How can you go wrong?!

Teacher Swap

2005-11-07T19:49:00.000+09:00

It's Monday again. Our beloved teacher got replaced with an equally nice teacher but one who doesn't have the same humor and energy as our last teacher. Quite sad. But as the school's policy, we are supposedly going to improve our listening skills as we will be exposed to different types of Korean. I am thankful for the opportunity that we got to study under such a cool teacher. She was funny and she made the three long hours endurable. Her laughter was also great. I hope the last month of this quarter will pass as quickly as the previous one....

2005-11-07T18:56:00.000+09:00

The teacher we all love!

Mushroom world

2005-11-06T20:38:00.000+09:00

Well my Japanese friend got an invitation to come taste some food and get a 50000 gift certificate in exchange for filling out a survey. I think it was targeted towards Japanese people but managed to tag along and eat my heart out on various types of Toppogi and get that (very nice) gift certificate. I also was able to meet a lady from Iida who was in the same van. Sometimes I think it is definitely a small world....

I was running a little late in the morning and we were suppose to meet our friends in front of our friend's husk so we took a bus (the bus driver was rude) and we found out on some buses it is a little more expensive....we met the van drivers in front of the Hyundai Department Store and got in...
It was a little sketchy as were just sitting there....almost felt like they were going to abduct us to North Korea or something...but it was all legit.
We were driven to Apgujeong, a place that has a little more class than Myeong-dong, and were seated at a restaurant called RED PEPPER. We were given a variety of dishes....a lot of them having some kind of Toppogi. Apparently this company wants to open a restaurant similar to this one in Japan and wanted to know what Japanese thought of this restaurant. We were given free drinks and after filling out a survey, I was given a certificate. It was fairly easy but maybe they thought, why is this Korean here....oh well.

My friends that I came with wanted to stick around a do some shopping but since I wanted to catch a phone call from my successor (so that we could meet up) I headed back in the van to Sinchon. On the way here I met this Japanese lady who was from Iida, Nagano. I thought, hey what a small world! She now has my email address so maybe we can get in touch again. On the way here and back there were many people who motion sickness from not only the road but possibly the driver's driving. I felt okay but definitely know how that feels. I can't read books in cars and if the sea is too rough, I get queasy.

But ended up talking to the driver and his friend who sat up in front since either the other passengers were sleeping or too ill to talk. One of the persons lived in Tokyo for three years helping his dad run his business. I explained my back ground so even though I could pretend to be Japanese by the time they dropped me off, they knew I was really from America but my mom is Japanese and I was born in Korea. Ha ha ha. Well at least I wasn't totally dishonest. I did have some Japanese culture and experience behind me.

So anyways got dropped off around 4:30 (was really supposed to be back by 3 or at least that is what I told my successor) and I caught a bus back to the dorm so by the time I got home it was closer to 5... chatted with people on MSN until he called around 6:30. We decided to meet up later around 9. I chatted with people and wrote some emails, updated more of my blog, and then headed out around 8:15. Was starved by then so was looking forward to some good company and food. We had decided to meet in front of McDonalds right by the subway station...They came up from the subway station and I was standing there just looking for a group of foreigners...it was strange though because I didn't know what my successor looked like, but apparently he knew what I did from pictures I had sent the teachers. It was crazy to meet so many foreigners who knew Ina an Komagane. We quickly bonded over some meat and beer. I don't know how much we drank but we did get a good start during dinner before heading to a crazy bar/izukaya place that had mushrooms motif and water running overhead. We ordered this beer that came with steaming...quite funny. There was also this random Korean girl who had had a little too much to drink who joined our table. Was funny. Found out that Black Berry Bar had closed for good. Bubbha decided to close it as it probably cost more money to fix than he was making. Maybe his current job was more steady...plus he could actually go out and drink himself. I bet that is also another reason...it must suck to work almost every night and not be able to drink carefree because you must work....but anyways thinking of it is really sad as it represented my time in Japan....as one of my angels put it, "it's an end of an era..." How sad....that place has sooo many memories. It's where I met soo many friends....both of my angels and I went there often. It was where I celebrated the 4th of July, it is the place where I celebrated my birthday...it is the place where I would leave and open the door and it would be light outside...it was the place of cats...and the awesome one of a kind bathroom....(thanx to maco's present, I can always see it and remember the good times). Anyways, talked about school and people and what has been going on....

After some pitchers we went dancing at ZEN. It wasn't as crazy as CLUB NIGHT and people started to file out around 4, but it was good times. I definitely had a swell evening and once again didn't get back until morning.

I am definitely glad Akaho and Komako got replaced with such a cool person. I hadn't met him before today, but even by his emails, he seemed really awesome and was relieved to know students and teachers had someone like that. He's in his early 20s and I think that is sooo young but looking back now, I too was his age when I came to Japan. It's definitely weird to think how crazy young and adventerous I was...still am...

2005-11-06T19:05:00.000+09:00

Outside of our free lunch at Apgujeong

2005-11-06T19:02:00.001+09:00

Drinking the beer

2005-11-06T19:02:00.000+09:00

Waiting for the beer...

2005-11-06T19:01:00.000+09:00

Crazy Mushroom Bar we went to...even had water running overhead.

2005-11-06T19:00:00.000+09:00

A group of Nagano lovers in Seoul

2005-11-05T20:18:00.000+09:00

Another hat...this one is cool. Beer on my head!

2005-11-05T20:17:00.001+09:00

Goofy Hat I found...but didn't buy

2005-11-05T20:17:00.000+09:00

Good JOB...

2005-11-05T20:16:00.001+09:00

Lotte Castle

2005-11-05T20:16:00.000+09:00

Lotte World

Midterm Week

2005-11-04T19:30:00.000+09:00

I survived midterms. We had a reading test on Monday, where the teacher chooses a passage for you to read and then she grades you on fluency, accuracy, and pronunciation. I didn't get too hard of one. I don't remember how I did though as I just wanted to get it done. Then the next day I had a listening and conversational test. The both were difficult for me as I often miss the last half of the sentence trying to decifier the first part. The second convesational test was also very difficult. I knew already speaking wasn't my strong point but gave it my best shot. I felt bad for the teacher who had to interview me as I'm sure she had to write down more mistakes than the average student. Anyways after this I was pooped so ended up going to the library and clearing my brain by watching LOVE LETTER. I just randomly chose it because of the title. It turned out to be a Japanese movie. It portrayed love at its most simple state. The love you have as a student and the love that survives but isn't known. It also demonstrates how one can love even more deeply after someone dies. And only people who really remember that person keeps that love alive. Although I used English subtitles, I mostly could watch it in Japanese. It is sometimes a burden reading the subtitles....

The last day of the midterm I had a reading comprehension test and a grammer test. I did alright on both of these. After I was finished I was drained but somehow got energy knowing we were going to celebrate.
A few of us went out and had lunch. It was nice and yummy. Then we went in search for a bar...but unlike the US, there weren't any bars open at 2pm. Ha ha ha. So we decided to go to Karaoke or NOREBAN. It is different from Japan's Karaoke as we paid by the room and not how many people. There weren't too many people so even though we reserved a room for an hour for abnout 15000 won (roughly 15 bucks) they kept extending the time so ended up singing for almost 2 hours for 2000 won. Crazy!
Afterwards headed to a bar where we drank our share of beer or MEKJU. W e had 4 big pitchers and each person only paid 5000 won! Crazy cheap! That is about the same as ordering a mug of beer in Japan. We were a little happy by then but were hungry so stopped by a THAI food restaurant. It was not that authentic and the food was actually pretty expensive compared to what you can get in Korean food. Oh well. Lesson learned.
So my roommate who doesn't drink so much was pretty drunk and lately she has been having problems (now resolved) with her boyfriend so she got a little upset so I had to cut the evening short and bring her back to the dorm. But maybe that was for the best as we DID have to go to school the next day.

Our teacher is leaving. There is a rule at Yonsei that teachers change after midterms. It is to give the students a variation of accents and drills on listening. Our whole class however adores our teacher and will miss her terribly. She is quite a teacher and her personality helps pass the three hours away faster. The whole class becomes more alive when she is in the room. I just hope the next teacher is good. Our reading teacher is not quite the same level. Most of us dread third person as it goes by slowly and the drills are the same each day.

I guess the celebration of midterms wasn't quite finished as after school on Friday we headed to LOTTE WORLD. It is an amuesment park in Seoul. We had planned to have most of the class come, but only 6 ended up coming. But it was fun anyways. My favorite ride was the Atlantis roller coaster. Crazy fast and crazy fun. I'm not too big on the turning rides....
But did get to one that was like a pendulum that swung while turning. Was scared on that!

We had Mexican food for dinner. Was once again expensive compared to traditional Korean food but splurged figuring that I might not have another chance in my year here and should take it while I can.

I stayed after with two other friends after we rode the rides and watched a lazer show and a TARZAN show. The lazer show didn't live up to my expectations but was entertaining to watch the TARZAN show as there was this guy and girl who used just ribbons to fly around. Was a little scary thinking about the danger they were in if anything happened as they didn't have a saftey line.

By the time I arrived home it was after midnight. I tried to catch a taxi but since its not such a long ride from the train station, most said no. What *SSes. Anyway, ended up taking a bus but had to ask around to get the right one. A nice man helped me get on the right one and the bus driver was nice and told me where to get off. But there was another student who was sitting next to me who overheard my conversation and said that he too was a student and he said to get off at the next stop. I figured if he was wrong, I'd just have to walk a little more but he was right. There was a short cut to the dorms. Talked to him and he actually wasn't Korean. He was a Japanese student studying at the graduate school. He could speak Korean, English and Japanese! Wow, am very impressed. Was supposed to get a call from my successor who is in Seoul visiting with some other AETS but knew I missed his calls. My roommate mistook him for a friend and told him a whole bunch of stuff that he probably got really confused about. Anyways, another friend had called to invite me on a trip with some of his other friends but had to decline the offer as already pretty much agreed to meet my successor. Was a little bummed about that but would feel bad if I dissed someone just because I could go on a trip.

Went to sleep dead tired. A lot of other people were quite tired also. I was tired enough I passed on drinking on a Friday night.

2005-11-04T19:28:00.000+09:00

The library

2005-11-04T19:27:00.000+09:00

Campus in Autumn

2005-11-04T19:25:00.001+09:00

Drinking after midterms

2005-11-04T19:25:00.000+09:00

Lunch after midterms

2005-11-04T19:24:00.000+09:00

The karaoke place we sang at after midterms

ClubDay

2005-10-30T00:29:00.000+09:00

I survived club day. I had to go at least once while I was here just to see what all the hype was about. Basically on the last Friday of each month a whole bunch of clubs in the Hondae district get together and create a club day. A club day is where people pay just 1500 won and can go in and out of all the clubs that are linked to club day. That is about 10 different clubs all is close proximity to each other. It's definitely a nice way to experience a lot of different kinds of music. I headed out about 9 to meet my friend and his friend from Japan. He had also invited another friend from Argintina. We all headed towards a jazz bar with plush couches and refined tastes to socialize and wait for things to pick up. We got there just before 10 as I was a little late showing up (although I live just one stop away on the subway, I had to take the shuttle bus to the library and then walk to the subway station and wait for the subway). We ended up staying there until a little after midnight. It was a good conversation with added delight of cheese cake. We hit one of the most famous clubs but the line was huge so went down the street to another one which also had a line but wasn't that bad. We put our things in a locker and headed down. The fire marshall would probably be pissed if he saw all the people packed into the little room. It was crazy madness. Soooo many people. I have never been to a club with sooo many people. There really wasn't too much room for actual dancing. Just shaking. The lack of room allowed for people to grab and touch others so its definitely good to be with friends who will watch out for you and change places if they are of the opposite sex. We stayed there for awhile but decided to check out some of the other places as it was club day and we had that privilege. I think we went and checked out four other clubs but I think that it was the last club that really drew us in. The DJ was playing everything and anything. We had oldies as well as punk and rap. It was a good time, especially dancing with the poles.....ha ha ha. But anyways, by 4 I was a little tired and we decided to grab a bite to eat. It would have been nice to just go home but the subway also doesn't start until 525 and my dorm doesn't open until then....so we had some breakfast and then I caught a taxi back to my dorm. The fare was about 3 dollars and 50 cents. It's a little expensive if you think of it in terms of Korean won but in Japan, that is nothing!

Anyways, it was a good time and was with cool people which makes the experience even better. I definitely was impressed with the muti cultural gang. We had a Japanese gal, Swedish guy, a guy from Argentina and me, from America. During the night we could hear, Japanese, Swedish, Korean, English and Spanish. It was interesting and fun. Lanuage and people!

I think back in America, although it is called a melting pot, I have never met as many people from so many countries as I have in my stay in Japan and Korea. I believe it is also because of what I did and do. I was really able to talk to people from New Zealand, Australia and England for the first time in Japan. Here I am able to really talk to Chinese people and Japanese people. It is crazy to think that here in Asia, where often people think the countries are homogenous, I am able to mingle with so many nationalities.

2005-10-30T00:08:00.000+09:00

The random bathroom that was outside...you pay 100 won to use it and the door opens.

2005-10-30T00:07:00.001+09:00

The clubs you can get into and the music

2005-10-30T00:07:00.000+09:00

Club Day at Hondae

2005-10-30T00:06:00.000+09:00

Language Lab...first class of the mornining

2005-10-30T00:05:00.001+09:00

Beautiful colorful trees

2005-10-30T00:05:00.000+09:00

Walking to school....

Eurika!

2005-10-28T14:24:00.000+09:00

I discovered an awesome way to relieve my stress for free! You can watch DVDs and videos for free at the library in their media room. They have a pretty good selection and it will let my brain rest at least for a couple hours...give it a break from Korean. Now if I want to be really good I would watch Korean movies with English subtitles and study...ha ha ha. Maybe someday will progress to that. Today watched Shrek 2. Very entertaining and well made. Tomorrow is already Friday. I was just talking to my roommate Monday saying how it's gonna be hard to last the week but it went by fast. I think I am finally getting use to the class schedule. It is going by faster than when I first got here.

Tomorrow am planning to do another all nighter as my friend's friend is coming from Japan and we wanna go out. I am going to dedicate the rest of the weekend to studying for my midterm next week. But I seriously doubt I am going to study Friday night so I might as well have some fun and be social.

Yesterday was able to see how much I have progress with my Korean. For the last class we mingled with other classes and introduced ourselves in Korean. It is pretty interesting to talk to people in Korean. Then afterwards watched a Korean movie called SUPER FAMILY or Cartoon Family. It was all in Korean but could somewhat understand the storyline and was able to catch some words....ha ha ha. Then as I was leaving the school walked to the Gobal Lounge with a Chinese student. Was trying to practice and communicate in Korean as well because he couldn't really understand English. How interesting.

Anyways, received a care package from my parents today. It included my beloved robe as well as granola bars and apple cider. Yeah!!

Whatever...

2005-10-26T13:01:00.000+09:00

"Whatever you thought, think again..."

I stole this from my friend's shirt....ha ha ha. Just like the sound of it.

Another random thought. There have been a few Fridays here now in Seoul that I have experienced and more than half of them there has been rain. Come to think of rain, I think rainy days are loud. Not only because you had the patter of the raindrops on your umbrella, but also because the tires of the cars pick up the water on the ground and spray it around, there are splashes, and earth starts to talk. It is crazy....just listen one of these days when it is raining and you'll know what I'm talking about.

So have midterms next week. I seriously think I'm not going to do well. Especially with the listening and reading section of the test. I will study and do my best but I am not going to get down if I get a bad score as I am here to learn and I don't believe my score will reflect my acheivements. I have never been good at taking tests and I doubt I'll suddenly improve now that I'm in Seoul.

I talked to one of my classmates today and he said that you can't compare yourself with others. If you do, you will only feel unsatisfied with yourself and you start to put yourself down. You have to look at your own progress and see how far you have come. It is true, if you look at things in that light, I knew very little when I first got here. I knew the essentials. Thank you and hello. The language sounded like noise and all I heard were sounds. Now I can pick up words and understand questions. I have come aways. I still know I have ways to go before I can say I'm good, but I'm making my progress slowly....

Class

2005-10-26T12:49:00.000+09:00

My classmates.

Whatever...

2005-10-25T21:01:00.000+09:00

2005-10-25T20:57:00.000+09:00

My roommate and me.

2005-10-25T20:56:00.001+09:00

The night is young....a Friday out.

2005-10-25T20:56:00.000+09:00

My dorm...my prison. I live in the one to the right of the picture.