Finale...with a not so "big bang"

For all those Korean Kpop fans...you'll understand the pun of "big bang".
Anyways, today was full. I'm trying to do as many things as I can before sunday arrives. Tieing loose ends as some would say.

Anways, Angela, Morgan and I went to "Dr. Fish". This is a cafe where you order cake and a drink and as an extra treat, you get to stick you feet into water containing "Turkey Fish or Chinese Fish" and get the dry skin of your feet peck off. It was one of the most awesome experiences in S.K. I was super scared but quickly got use to the nibblings and vibrations coming from these tiny fish. After my feet felt very good. The cafe even have nail polish too...for free...to paint your nails or toe nails. The only bad thing that happened was that my right foot got stabbed in the sink (after finishing and washing my feet) by the silver stopper. My foot didn't bleed a lot and didn't hurt as much til right at this moment as I am typing this post. After, my roommate and I went to Nandaemun to grab a luggage for me. Then we met up with friends at 6pm to go toghether for HYORI CONCERT!

HYORI's official concert was supposed to be tomorrow 12/20 but since the tickets sold out so fast, they opened up 12/19. There was rumor that Big Bang was going to be there tonight but unfortunately they didn't appear. Hyori didn't mention it at the concert but guess what she did mention? Rain!! Rain will be performing tomorrow with her. Now after hearing that I'll miss his concert by one day was very heartbreaking. Not only was Big Bang not there, Rain will be performing tomorrow night (ah. so close yet so far).

There was a good turn out for the concert. The audience members suprised me a lot. There was a mix of old and young people.Some of them were very pushing. We got there late because we happened to be on the subway when someone suicide and so the trains stopped running to clean out the mess. There has been a lot of suicides by jumping and getting hit by the train.

Anyways, the stage was super close. S. Koreans were so tall that I could barely see. We first tried to get to the stage but then it was so crowded that I just went to the back. My two other friends made it to the front though...after some pushing and shoving. The stage was very close so I got a close view. I just wish that there was some policy about how short people should have the right away in concert situations. The concert was super long. It started at 8:30pm (officially 8pm) and wenttil about 11:30pm. There were other guess appearances but I wasn't very impressed- I just wish that Big Bang and Rain were there. It would have made my entire year! Hyori's concert was very sensual. It was a concert that I would not take my kids to. The funny thing was that I saw a children there. Think Briney Spears...and then imagine an Asian women who wants to be like Brit and so goes the extra mile to be like Brit. Yep, I was dissappointed that their wasn't more creativity and originality behind the performance. Overall, it was a good experience!

Ahh... I'm super tired. We didn't get back til 1amish because it was so hard to catch a taxi and so we caught blue bus 470 (luckily and suprisingly it still ran).

NeaR the End

It's unbelievable how times fly so fast when you are not looking. My time here in South Korea felt like such a long time when I first got here but now, it's only 1 day left til I go home. It's sad. I felt like I've made a life here in S. Korea...school, friends, my favorit restaurant, the cheapest place to shop...this chapter of my life is really closing.

Like I said before, South Korea feels like a "moment in time" where I got away from the realities of life for just a moment, and now I'm forced back into the worrying-about-my-future- plans again. Here, in South Korea, I can relax and learn how to appreciate and observe things that are happening around me. At home, I'm so caught up in school and family that I lose myself. It' s funny how it takes going miles away from home and comfort zone to find yourself.

Walking the path I took to school everyday, riding the blue bus 171, and walking the steep stairs of Yonsei brings a "wuff...back to waking up 5 minutes before class, wearing sandles and running over, and still be 2 minutes early" kinda of feeling. But then, I'm going to miss the pond with the goldfish, or the ahjumanies stealing acorns, and definately sense of style (heels....hehe). I've made great friends here in South Korea. The saddest part about leaving is saying goodbye to the people that you've gotten to know deeply. Goodbye is the hardest words to say because you'll never know when you'll meet again.

Finals is done and over with! The most stressful final was Korean Language oral examination. Wow....!! It was just dang hard. I'll be so nervous for it that I won't pay attention to the writing exam until my oral is done with. Yep...it's that bad. I adore my Korean language professor. I realized that she was the only one that knew our study habbits, our personalities, etc. We see her everyday for two hours- and it's sad because out of all the people here in Korea, she probably knew me the most.

The thing I love about S. Korea is that students can have hang out with the prefessors. The professors actually invite you to have tea, lunch or dinner with them. Some of the students even went to a prof's wedding. Now how cool was that. I and a classmate went for a brunch with my Modern History Korean prof and then my whole Korean Langauge class went out to dinner with our Korean Language professor at an Indian restaurant in Sinchon. It's cool to see the profs out of their teaching norms and just be people with the students. Profs' personalities here are so very cute. Everything about S. Korea is very cute! The interesting part about taking exams here in S. Korea is that the prof don't show up for the exam itself but has a random student give out the test. An exam day is like a prof's day off! So the sucky part of it is that if we have questions while taking the exam then basically we must fend for ourselves.

It's sad, so sad. One more day left in S. K.

And the Blind shall LEAD

Sorrow has found me this day.
Sadness left its mark and it's never going away.
Tears in my heart, burning like a acid-
Creating a hole so deep, impossible to heal.

Sitting on the subway
A world of fun awaits- just a few more stops
Lotte World.

Man gets on.
Middle aged, back bent, Legs distorted
In pain
Grunts, incoherent words
I don't understand.

I am afriad.
My eyes lower, ashamed.
Piece of paper-Korean
Onto my lap.

What does it say?
Others looks away- No help there.

Out of the corners of my eyes-
Man leans over rail
Is He crying? Or is it the sweat of pain
dripping down his face?

Man comes back
I hand the paper back

A stolen glimpse of his broken face-
Pain, desolation, suffering
Wanting.
A broken MAN.

A broken ME.

This experience has touched me so deep, I have no way to explain it coherently. I hope that my poem speaks for itself.

StairWays to Heaven....

Lotte World: Ice Rink

Lotte World!!! We went there on sunday (12.7.08).Guess... what movie was filmed there? Yep, It's Stairways to Heaven, one of the best Korean drama movies of all time. I remembered when I first saw the drama and look where I am now? Standing right before the Merry-go-round reminencing about when the hero at last sees the heroine. Wow. Exactly my feelings. Lotte World is huge! I think it may be a little bit bigger than Camp Snoopy but don't trust my memories...it's been four months! Or at least : ) Everything about Lotte World is very lovey dovey. It would be the ideal place to go on the first date, the first place for first kisses, and the first place to eat cotton candy together. Since we went after 5pm- it was $21000 won for the special ticket which included everything (attractions, rides except games). We rode on there free running bumper cars (called "Crazy Bumper Cars"...usually the ones in the states are run by electricity). We also rode on one of the roller coasters inside which was very fun but very heady-slaming-on-seat ride. The very cool thing was that it went through a dark tunnel that had cool flashing lights.

Next we went to Magic Land, which was outside of Lotte World. WOW. WOW. It was kinda like going to Disney World except it was a smaller version of it. Right before the entrance, there was a "cinderella" castle looming elegantly. It was snowing (the kind of snow that you can see the snowflakes), encirculing the castle like it was a fantasy come to life...and it felt like we "were for real in magic land". It was so beautiful. I wished my family was there to experience that one perfect moment with me.

Oops! I forgot to mention that on saturday 12. 6.08 we went to the famous electronics department store, Yongsun. It was not as large as I expected it to but there were lots and lots of electronics. The fun part of it was that there were all men manning the individual shops and they were trying to speak Konglish (Korean-English) to us. It was very funny. I find that the men are much more interactive than the girls when they are trying to sell us stuff.

This saturday we also had a reverse cultural shock workshop. It was helpful reflecting on what happened in South Korea and what we should expect when we return home. Although some people may not take it seriously, I believe that it's always better to be prepare than be sorry later when the signs aren't recognized and depression or some sorts sets in.

Friday, 12. 5.08- I made Kimchi and Bulgogie! Suzanne arranged a traditional cooking class for CIEE students. Only 1o people showed up but hey, the smaller the group the better! In a way, preparing Kimchi and making Bulgogie is much easier than I expected it to be...it's just that getting the spice right and the preparation time is long. You need patience! I know for sure I'll be cooking Kimchi and Bulgogie back at home!

In a New Light

I recieved a totally different hair cut this weekend. Ashley came over to Seoul on saturday. Ashley, my roommie, and I went shopping at Ewdae- and that's where I got my hair cut and my rommate got her hair colored and streak. It's a little above my shoulder now. It's so wierd because I'll reach over and touch my hair but there's hardly any left. I guess I'm so use to it being there. Cutting my hair is symbolic- I'm trying to let my past go and be more of what I want to be and not what others regard me to be. 22 years gone in a snip. My head definately feels lighter.

I had to wonderful and yummy Thanksgiving dinner this week. The first, wednesday was put on by our RA. There was very good food. The only disturbing that happened (which was surprising and immature) was that the supposedly "leaders" hid one pumpkin pie, went in the back of the kitchen ate it. It was a stingy act, that at all what Thanksgiving was about. There was a lot of people that came to the dinner, and I could understand that that just wanted a piece of the pie...but to hide it and pretend that there was none left was just plain not right. Hmmm....Thanksgiving was definately interesting. Anyways, the second Thanksgiving dinner was held by CIEE. Suzanne our director had a friend of hers make the main courses- mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, ham, veggies... it was very delicious. This was a cool event because we got to see come of the CIEE students that we don't see around school.

Angela and I went to Apgujeong and Lotte World (place were "Stairways to Heaven" was filmed)today. Apgujeong was supposedly the "rich" area of Seoul. Which I definately agreed with as we walked by imported car shops. We tried to find one of the shopping districts, which we couldn't but luckly we came across another shopping district. Shopping there was definately out of my realm....
Lotte World was very cool. It was just like any amusement park except it was inside...think of Mall of America. We didn't get the chance to go in the park because we got there later in the day and didn't want to waste money (so we'll go there next saturday). Anyways, there were lots of shops outside of the amusement park. We got to see (from above) the skating rank that appeared in most Korean dramas. Yeah!

I Might Just Stay 8 )

Hmmm....today a friend told me that schools (I'm not sure if this refers to only colleges) are regulated to allow girls/women to have one day off from school once a month without penalty.

Now, isn't this COOL?

USA should definately adopt this tradition : )

A dip in the Ocean

My roomies and I went to Busan for our three day weekend. We stayed three nights and two days. We took the express bus (21000 won) at 9pm thursday night and didn't get back til sunday afternoon. It was a 4.5 hour ride with one 15 minute restroom break. It was a good deal!

The weekend was beautiful down in Busan. There was a definate difference in the language, looks and attitude of the Busan people. The words were short, chopping and sounded like Japanese. I felt that the people were a lot shorter as well. The girls had a more flater and rounder face. I definately like the attitude down in Busan better. People seemed happy and they tend to do things on a slower pace. There were only three subway line, in which you can almost get to any place. The subways are cleaner, by the way.

Here's a recap of the things we did in Busan:

Thursday, 11/24: Left 9pm and arrived at a random bus stop in Busan (no idea of the district) at 1:30am. Taxis were lined up. I didn't even have time to think when a taxi driver came up to me and grabbed my luggage. We reserved a hostel (Artists and tourists hostel) back in Seoul. We had a hard time communicating with the taxi driver because he didn't know where the address was (note- you must know what is around your distination because the hotels, houses, etc. aren't exactly numbered). We ended up being dropped by the subway station where our hostel was by. We found our hostel....but guess what? It was closed...there was absolutely no life. Plus, it was located by this really really creepy church. I felt that I was living a scary movie. We were also in a rough neighborhood- Namcheon. So we grabbed a taxi and told him to take us to a hotel. Well, you would expect that the taxi would assummed that we wanted a good hotel...but nope- he took us to "love hotels". We didn't realize what the hotels were until we saw call girl cards and plus a really disturbing maching with lots of * things in it....wow. Well anyways, we started to walk away really fast, and happened to grab another taxi. This time we got lucky, and the driver dropped us by the Grand Hotel in Haeundae. We spent the first night there- it was about $50/person...but it was worth it- to be safe and to have a fantastic view of the ocean. The next day, we moved to a hotel right behind the Grand Hotel called the Golden Beach Hotel- which cost about $180/person for two nights. At first we thought that it was $90/person for two nights but we were informed the next day that there was a mistake. Ah well.

Friday, 11/21: We woke up at 10am- went walking around, shopped at HomeEver (which was nicer than the one in Seoul). We stopped by Haeundae Beach0- absoluately gorgeous. We had lunch at a yummy seafood place (but we ended up getting Kalbi)...Their kimchi was delicious. Next, we enjoyed desert at Hagan Daaz...So we visited two markets- Seomyam No. 1 Street, and a seafood market by the area. Next, we shopped at Pusan university- which was exactly a version of Sinchon and Ewda area. After, we visited Gwangali Beach along with the bridge. The bridge had a multitude of colorful lights and the beach had lots of shells in comparison to the Haeundae Beach.

Saturday, 11/22: We woke up at 10am, ate at the Bulgogie Brothers (very upscale and yummy food where I got a noodle seafood dish) and visited the Busan Aquarium, which was 10x more better than the Mall America Under the Sea aquarium. They had all aquatic animals not only the ones with fins. There were penguins and otters! We were planning to take the Tiffiny Cruise for a dinner tour but unfortunately the seats were full. So, me and one of my roomies decided to visit the Jewelry Specialized Shopping Street (which was a dissappointment because it was indoor and expensive...more like gold, silver, etc as opposed to little shops set outside). Anyways, we looked around the area and saw another seafood place. Next, we went down to Texas street, which was supposed to be like Itaewon. Here, we saw lots of foreigners- they were kinda looking at us wierd too. I was like- you're a foreigner too! It wasn't as big as I expected it too be. We went down to another district and here we shopped underground. This was a first experience because we haven't shopped underground in Seoul yet. They had super cool stuff and they were pretty cheap. Anyways, we had our last meal at a seafood buffet, which I ate delicious crab legs.

Sunday, 11/23: We woke up at 6am to catch the 8:30am bus back to Seoul. We took the taxi down to Busan station and found out that the bus system was located at the very end of line 2 (green line). My roommie and I had an aweful breakfast at a restaurant at the bus station. We arrived at about 1pmish. It's good to be home to Seoul and to my own bed!

Finally, a Locker!

It's amazing how time flies by. There's four more weeks left til I go home. It's really a serendipity feeling- a feeling of wanting to go home yet wanting to stay. There's so many things going on at home that I'm missing...the little funny cute things that my nephews and neices do and say- oh, how they've grown!

It's taken me about three months to figure out that I can use a locker here at school. Well, it's not really my fault though. No one says anything here. The office assistent for CIEE has a locker that she offered for me to use. Boy, I was about to drop down on my knees and cry- really, it's been that bad (at least on tuesdays and thursdays) when I have to get to class in less then 10 minutes, while climbing and running down hills and hiking up super steep stairs. My load has lessen : ).

Bus Ride Crazy

One of the buildings at Yonsei University

Imagine this....

Bus is stopped at a red light facing east. Green light at north and south light. Bus is tired of waiting....so bus makes a slight right turn...and then does an immediately U TURN (so that it looks like it is coming from the other way (facing green light) and then makes a left turn...sounds complicated, huh? Yeah...I was confused too. Why didn't it just go through the red light then?

This really happened!

If Gold Grew On Trees

Fall season is here in South Korea. As you enter the main gate of Yonsei University, a cascade of Gynko trees align the main rode. As it is fall, its leaves turned bright yellow and in a distance, the leaves shine brightly in the partly-sunny sky as if gold grew on them. I think to myself...hmmm...if only gold grew on trees, maybe there wouldn't be so much suffering in the world, but then...corrupted people will probably hoard the trees and the world will remain the same. Ah well, so much for dreaming.

It's two months and 15 days...8 more days and then it will be officially three months. It's unbelievable that there's only five more weeks left here. I feel very sad yet am excited to go home as well. I miss family and friends so much. I've made plenty of friends here, but it's not the same I guess.

(picture above: Yonsei University- Gynko tree by student center)

The world seems so small being here. Apparently, all the Hmong girls (8 including myself) that came with CIEE all know each other one way or another. It's crazy the how the world works...how fate works. I know all the people in CIEE by name now 8 ). Although many of us don't hang out- there's a mutual companionship among us. A group of us went to B Boys (break dance boys) last friday. It was super awesome....I admit, it was the guys that really made it special. They had really really nice bodies...as in, they were really fit. This performance only made me more appreciated of the many talents that Asians have, and break dancing is definately one of them. The performance is called "Ballet girl falls in love with B-boy" (something like that). The jest of it is that ballet girl falls in love with a B-boy...romance, disputes between the two sides, and than B-boy fiends himself with a muscular disorder disease, breaks off with ballet girl because of this, but they both get back together again at the end. The funny thing about this was that the whole story didn't make sense at all. There was a very wierd scence where they did an enactment of Dracula...hmmm...I'm still trying to understand the point of it. Korean perforfamances are very interesting...in a nice way. I really liked it though. I think it showed Asian talent all the way! Go Asian power : ).

School is school. I would say my most interesting classes are Korean Language and Victorian Literature and Culture. The professors make it fun and part of it is that it is interactive. I'm getting use to having Korean taught to me in Korean language. At first I had a horrible time with it, but I'm starting to see the reasoning behind it. I still don't understand half of the things I do in the class, but it got me use to hearing Korean...considering CIEE is so isolated from campus.

I met an interesting Korean this week. It was so random. I was sitting in Korean Language class about 1 hour early (as usuall), and this Korean boy came in. He was very shy, but he asked me to be his friend...hehehe...it was very sweet and interesting in a way. But the unique part of it was that in exchange for being his friend...he'll help me with my Korean. I was a little disturbed by this because he made the friendship seemed like a conditional thing...but he was so shy that I agreed to it. I told him I'll help him with English too...to make it more of a fair exchange. Hmmm....It's a little hard to communicate with him, but I think this is the challenge...we are getting by and he's helping me with pronuncing my vocabulary words. It's cool : p.

My roomies and I are planning to go to Busan next weekend. No school on friday because it's a an entrance exam day. We'll leave on thursday and come back sunday. We have no plans as of yet...but we know we want to at yummy seafood!....

Over and Done with

So I found my missing Korean language books. Apparently, my friend accidently took my book while we were sharing it. The funny thing is, I asked him already but he said that he didn't have it. After I freaked out and bought a new set, he said that he had it. Now I have to return the new books...if the college even has a return policy...I have no clue.

Midterms in S. Korea is a little different then in the states. Guess what?! We don't have normal class during midterm week. Instead, we get scheduled exam time and need only to be there during that time. I definately like this system better. This way, we don't have to learn any thing new yet (especially right after an exam). I was a lot more relax for my midterms here than back in the states. Maybe it's because my classes aren't science courses (besides my health and nutrition course)! (jking). I slept a lot during this week. It was a never ending sleep.

We went to Everland on Oct 25. The weather was supposed to be "fine" but it rained all day (on and off). Everland is one of the theme parks in Korea. With group discount, the tickets were about 24won per person, otherwise it was about valleyfair ticket price. Since, it was near Halloween, the theme of that weekend was Halloween. It was amazing! The sights, the decorations, the customs, the food, etc was beyond anything I've yet to experience at a theme park in the USA, including Disney World. Although it was smaller than Disney World, the rides were pretty wild. Unfortunately due to the rain, we couldn't ride "one of the world's largest wooden roller coaster rides". We ended up with only four rides (if you include the spooky house). The Koreans were super into Halloween. The were really dressed up. They had all the works going on- the dyed/fake but real hair, the clothes, shoes, makeup...the whole KABANG. I really wanted pictures of them but I wasn't sure how they would respond to me asking to take pictures so I 'secretly' took random pictures of the customs.

It is getting colder here in S. Korea. The leaves are turning into beautiful colors. My favorite past time in S. Korea is to watch the leaves fall. Yonsei has this natural park in the middle of the campus. It's full of oak trees. Most of the time, I'll see old ladies and men scouraging the ground for nuts. The next thing I'll hear is the security guard yelling...this is quite a site. The old people are really courageous people. By the way, he main street of Yonsei is lined up with Gingko trees- if you have taken Dr. Capman's class- you'll know the horrors of this consequence. Yep- the whole place smells like rotten flesh....the smell is often times suffocating because it also combines with the sewer. The funny picture of this is that the old people would clamber all on the streets to pick up the seeds of the trees. This is a funny sight for me.

A distubing sight for me occured yesterday while my roomates and I were on a hunting expidition to find Forever 21 in Myungdong shopping district. While looking at the clothes, I happened to look behind me and saw a girl wearing a white face mask (you know the one's that dentist wear because you have bad breath or something like that). I thought nothing of this...I just thought that she was probably a sick girl. Unfortunatly when I got closer, I saw that her eye lids were swollen. It was a disturbing sight because I could instantly tell that she had plastic surgery and that he face was in the process of healing. The mask was probably covering her nose job (and possibly cheek/mouth job as well). I wonder what goes on in these girls mind at that instant that they decide to change their face. I wonder what they are thinking when they lay on that table, reading and willing to have their face cut up. Why the extreme? Can they not bear with how they look like? Are they that ugly? Who are they comparing themselves to? Why? WHy? WHY? Beauty is only a concept, a perspective, a brief passing thought of one mind. It is so hard for me to accept these actions to beautification. God created us for a reason.

Fustrations!

I am so fustrated tonight...or lets say...this early 2am morning. So apparently my norton virus protection expired. I renewed my subscription but the company didn't send me my confirmation email with my access code. I tried to call customer service. The lady couldn't understand me so we haggled over how to spell my name and what the letters were on my email address. After, she tried to sell me this product, and said no but she kept going at it...until she finally let me go. I then realized that this was the first step. She then transferred me to the "real" center and made me with for another 30 minutes or so. After 30 minutes- I gave up and just hung up. I think I got charged for international call...I'm not sure so I have to check with the hotel tomorrow. D* companies....I think they know I was calling internationally so they were making me wait intentionallly... or they were angy that I didn't buy their product.

I am so fustrated with technology. If I get a computer virus...I am blaming them.

Now, I have just sent an email and hopefully I get a reply from them soo. I am super, super, super fustrated with them. I only worry how much that long wait costed me.

Anyways...that is the start of my week.

Please read the next post for updates : )

What a dAy.

One of the many buildings: Yonsei University

I lost my Korean Yonsei 1 book for my Korean Language class today. I absolutely have no idea where I last seen it. I guess this is the downfall of getting older- losing you memory! I discovered this unfortunate and stressful incident this morning while I rushed to get dressed. It seemed to have dissappeared magically- I honestly have no clue where I could have left it. I could have sworn that the book never left my backpack these last five days. For the life of me, I couldn't remember if I had the book with my yesterday in Korean class! Arghh....and so I bought a new book (30000 won). The book came in pairs- so now I have an extra book. Ah well...I am so stressed out! All my notes were in my old book and now I feel a little lost. I'm hopeing that it will magically re-appear again. My mom always says to me when I lose or couldn't find my things, "You hid it too well".

Korean language class is super fun! It is very hard- and I find myself not understanding half the things my professor says. All directions and explainations are in Korean so I have no clue why I'm doing what I'm doing. It is all imitation : ). I wish the directions were in English! I think this is my most fustrating yet fun class. My professor is hilirous. We've had a few stranglers (who had come to class late after a short break) and had had to sing in front of the whole class. I don't think I've laughed so much in all my classes [in the duration of my college career].

It is hard to make Korean friends here. We are staying in apartments about thirty minutes away and so the people we interact with are the one's in CIEE or student foreigners. I feel sometimes that I don't know how to interact with the Korean students. They all seemed to have already formed groups and it is more harder to get into the group in contrast to the groups in the U. S. Plus, the Korean students are super shy. I had one Korean student approach me a week ago- I was so surpised! It turned out that we both were biology majors.

Being in a homogenous country is harder than I thought it would be. It sometimes gets tiring seeing the same faces everywhere I go. It's kinda of true that all Asians look the same...after a while.

It seems that the professors here are a little impersonal. They don't encourage us at all to visit them- just to talk. Some professors don't even put their office room number on the syllabus! They are super nice but they always seem to be in a hurry so I'm a little hesitant to hold them up. Communication between student and professor through email takes super long...

I've always been so controlled and organized- I'm finding the other side of myself here in Korea...I'm learning so much about my virtues, my values/morals...I'm still trying break free of my comfort zone.

Pretty to Punky- Excursion to Japan(a.k.a. I found Hello Kitty)

CIEE trip:

Japan was incredible. CIEE took the group on a four day trip to Japan- Kyoto, and Osaka. The feeling of being in Japan is exhilirating. I guess it's the concept of being on the land where Toyota, Sony, anime, etc. orginated is like a dream come true. Our first stop was Kyoto where we stayed at a traditional hotel, which meant that we spent the night on mats. I prefer mats to beds. For some inexplicable reason, my back prefers the hard floor to the soft comforts of the downy bed. We wore Japanese robes to dinner. It was super super cool! There was a public bath, which many of us took advantage of. The concept of public bathing is very interesting...hmmm...for those who are interesting- look it up : ). I have yet to try it, but I've heard that the bath is rejuvenating. Beware- you must be naked...absolutely naked.

Our first night was spent on chasing geisha's around town. There was this part of twon in Kyoto where geisha was still the tradition. The town was very touristy yet very traditional as well. We happened to come upon a geisha movie in making- unfortunately all we were able to see where the backs of the actresses. The geishas ran very fast. It was disturbing for me to chase after them- but I really wanted a picture of them. You must understand- they were very very beautiful. They seemed like story figures taken out of the stories. If you have seen "Memoirs of a Geisha", the geishas in real life is 10x more beautiful and decked out. After the discouraging bouts of chasing after geishas, we explored allies of the geisha town. There were lots of restaurants and clubs. We happened to come upon an ally that contained stripper clubs that consisted of mainly men in suits that hung around it. We left very quickly!

The remaining days in Japan was spent on visiting museums, castles, shrines, Korean town, and shopping districts. The schedule was packed but I loved it- we saw many things.

Korea is very different from Japan. Korean fashion style for women is heels, skirts, and baggy shirts that can be dresses. Korean style for men consists of more prepy clothes. Japan fashion style for women is boots, bongo-like pants, and more tighted shirts. Korean hair styles are nicely in placed whereas Japan hair style is all spiky, dyed (bleached), and funkyly arranged. I LOVE THE JAPANESE BOY HAIR SYTLE! Their hair style is so anime-ish. It's like seeing an anime character come a live. Korea atmosphere definately feels safer and more calm lively. In Korea, you see mainly up to two (friends or couples) hanging out. In contrast, Japanese tend to hang out in large groups, especially the boys. The boys hang out in "gang" groups. All they do is walk around and look very cute : ). Japan definately has a more edgy feel to it. Its night life definately tops the chart.

I found Hello Kitty! There was a Senrio store in the shopping district that we visited. Wow- I stood in awe at the entrance.

Til next time! Midterms is next week- so I might not be able to update next week! I'll try : )

Tall Koreans

Whoever said Asians were short were dead wrong! I've never seen so many tall Asians in my life...and they are normal everyday Asians at that. Wow, I still stand amaze whenever I see Koreans.

It's been over three weeks since I've last posted updates. It seems like life goes by when I'm not noticing- I guess that's the whole point, huh. It'll be a few more days and then it'll be two months since I got here. A lot of things happened these three weeks that I must split this update post into two (again). I don't want to bore my diligent readers: ).

My birthday was about two weeks ago. I never realized how lonely it could be to be without family on the day that is the most important day of one's life. I think out of the all the holidays and special days, a missed birthday is the hardest one to miss. There's friends and strangers to congratualate but it is not the same as seeing loved ones the moment I wake up. Any how- my B-day was a quite day. Coincidentaly, the Korea national holiday fell on the same day so lucky for me- no school! hehe.

There was an Asian Song Festival Concert at the World Cup Stadium (Seoul) on October 4. I don't know how describe this festive event to my readers- except if you ever have the the opportunity to experience a concert (even if you don't have a favorite girl/boy band), you must- I repeat- you must absolutely experience it before you die!!! Fortunately, I got to attend the concert by chance. A few friends got free tickets (1 ticket brings in two people). We left the apartment at 11:30am, waited in line til 1 pmish, waited to be seated for 4 hours, and waited for the concert to begin for 1 hour (it started at 6pm). It was the longest day of my life- at least the most wasted hours of my life. I can't believe people actually do this. Let's just say- those singers/bands better appreciate their fans. Go Fahrenheit and DBSK! Yep- I'm one of the those not-so-obssessed-fans but still obssessed.

Also, a few of us in CIEE went to a theatre performance a few days earlier. This opportunity came by chance as well. One of the my friend cancelled his, so I took his ticket. I was very glad that I attended the performance. The performance, "Jump", was a non-verbal martial arts comedy play. The actors and actresses were amazing. The martial arts was superb!

Classes are going very well. I must say, Victorian Literature and Culture class is my favorite so far. It's very interactive, the teacher is excellent at teaching, and the students have very interesting personalities. It's the only class that I have with actual Koreans. I had a presentation a week ago. It was quite an experience. First, I didn't know any of my group members til the week before my presentation. Second, they thought I was Korean so they started off speaking Korean. Third....hmmm...let's just say...interesting. My group worked very hard on the ppt. The last day we met, we tried to order pizza- but unfortunately our order "didn't go through" so we wasted one hour for it. We then, went to the Korean style Outback Steak House and waited twenty minutes to be seated. Wow- I couldn't afford Outback Steak House back in the states and I certainly couldn't afford to eat this kind of food daily here. One of the girls afford to pay the bill for three of us. This offering made me realize two things: 1. Most if not all the Korean students at Yonsei are rich, rich, rich. 2. Koreans are very generously.

In the meanwhile, I'm still dreading tuesdays and thursdays because my natural enemy- the HILL and STEEP STEPS. I still have yet to explore the main library. Yonsei just recently built an addition to the library. I've been to the roof top of it (refer to main blog picture). The library doesn't bring the studious person in me out- it seems too modern and tech for me. I miss Lindell library!

Life here in Seoul is hectic. There's always people rushing everywhere- the park, the streets, the sidewalk, any place you can imagine. Have I mentioned how crazy the traffic is here? It's not as bad as in Laos or Thailand (S. Korea drives on the "right" side). I think for certain Asian countries- red and stop signs seems to be of no affect. Korean drivers are kind of scary. Korea is very safe- except beware of the Korean drivers!

Word of advise: Beware of Old Women stepping on your toes while waiting for the public bus. Don't expect "sorry". I guess it's a cultural thing.

Getting the hAng of it!

Everything is getting easy here. The language is still getting to me. That's the hardest part for me- the language- it's just so fustrating not knowing what everyone is saying around me or not understanding what the signs say. I can read now but I still don't understand what it says. I hope that in a month or two, I'll know the basic vocabs. I get so excited when I understand what is being said!

School last week was very good. I still run out of breath especially on tuesdays and thursdays because two of my classes are ten minutes apart but it's a good workout. I just get so worried that I'll be late though- it's a good thing that the professors themselves are late : ). I don't know if I'll get use to Yonsei- everytime I walk up the hills I just want to cry (literally). I could use the workout but it's just that my backpack is so heavy!

I could get use to living here. Everything is sooo cute. I wish the States have cute things but everything is so supersized there that it's not cute anymore.

I'm growing more indepedent nowadays. I'm learning how to resist buying things and conserving money- because I need it for food. It's so tempting sometimes though.

On saturday, I and a couple CIEE students went on a Shamanism hike on a famous Shaman mountain. It was absolutely cool. There is a rock that is very famous- it is in the shape of a buddha. There are many stories associated with the rock formation- but the main concept is that it is a holy rock. The formation itself is curved by lava along time ago. Korea doesn't declar Shamanism as a "religion" but it is still very prevalent in Korea. There was a kut today but unfortunately, we had plans and so we didn't get to see it.

My roommates and I went shopping in the Hongik (?) area today. Hongik University is the best art school in Korea. The are we went to is very artsy and full of very cool looking people. I am still amazed by the very tall Koreans! I saw so many things I want to get! Argh... so many temptations! This is what I love about Korea. I feel like no matter how I dress or look like, I won't be stared at like a "freak". There's so many people dressed so differently and those who look just different. I think that no matter how you look like or dressed like, it'll just be a normal thing. In the US, it'll be stared upon. I still feel as if I don't really fit in, but I'm starting to feel like everything will be okay.

I just want to see everything! I can't wait til I actually go touring again!

Three Weeks Aniversary

I can't believe it' already three weeks (on sunday). The longest I've stayed away from home was three weeks. I keep expecting to pack and get ready to go home. I constantly remind myself that I still have a little bit over three montths left.

I'm getting the hang of taking the city bus and going to the grocery store. There's always so many people everywhere I go. I really miss seeing famaliar faces (white skin and hair color that is not black). I've seen tourists but I'll like to see other people besides that. Somehow, I feel really out of place in Korea but I'm slowly adjusting and getting used to the culture. I wished that I was more prepared with knowing about the culture norms and the language (like knowing how to ask, "where is the bathroom" or "how much is this"). Everyon here minds their own business. It's alot more liberating here because there's always something to do any time of the day, especially the night time. Night life here is crazy and completely exhilirating. I think I am starting to like this night life...not that I stay up too late, mind you!

The second week of school is much better. I like all my classes! I finally got the class that I really need on monday (last day of drop/add period). Last week was so stressful because I felt like everything was out of my control with registration. I didn't know where or whom to talk to and the people whom I wanted to talk to were not here. This experience has been very challenging for me because I've alway had things the easy way. I guess it's good to experience a little obstacle once in a while. So, I signed up for two classes that is back to back with a 10 minutes break. Hmm...I don't know if this was a good or bad idea. The thing is, those two classes are at opposites sides of each other separated by a huge hill with steep steps! The last five minutes of class would be constant worrying about being late for class and coming up with strageties of the fastest way to get to class. It's good excercise...I guess!

I feel like I should be doing a lot more things but I've just been very exhausting. My schedule every weekday is 7am-7pm. I'm still amazed by the heels that the girls where up and down the hills. Someday, I would like to just sit at the corner of the hill and watch them walk up and down and maybe gain some profound insight. I'll post some pictures up of the girls in heels but I'm afraid it'll look a little wierd...I'll try though!

I have yet to find a quiet place to study. I've tried the library but it's so crowded at any time. The library is so large and tech to that I don't know where to go in the library or how to work anything. It'll take a day of just exploring the libary. The two buildings that I constant lately have very cute cafe type restaurants. The food is cheap and they have really good kimbaps! The bathrooms are kind of smelly though. Anyways, there's a lot of internationals from all over the place. I've actually met a few Hmongs from the States. Apparently, South Korea is the new hang out place for us Hmong people- the Korean wave has swept across the Hmong population too.

Sunday was Choosuk (Korean Thanksgiving) therefore we got monday off. Some of the people in the program went home, Lotte World, and some stayed in their apartments like myself. I'm still getting acquinted with my surroundings! There's time to explore Korea : ).

Until the next time !

Reunite Day

A good friend came three hours to visit me this weekend. She came on saturday and spent the night. Ashley Stoffers went to college with me. Right now, she is a fullbright scholar teaching English in a subarb near Seoul. It was so great seeing her. I was so used to seeing her at school that it felt wierd not seeing her everyday. She is the most caring nicest person in the world. She brought me my early birth present which consisted of items to survice in Korea. It was in a cute Hello Kitty bag. I've been having a not so good experience in Korea and her coming had made my week.

We went out for lunch and had a delicious meal- it was cold noodle with chilli sauce. I felt way healtheir after eating that. We than took the subway to a traditional shopping place. Things were on the pricey end but we all ended up buying little souvenirs. I say ninja turtle!! Well, actually there was this man who was literally green walking down the street like it was a normal thing. There was a white dude doing something on the streets; Koreans were actually giving him money! Next, we went to Daedonum (?) shopping district and I was blown away by the vastness of everything. There were whole buildings (many) dedicated to clothes. The clothes were the most fashionalest I've ever seen. I wanted to buy everything I set my eyes on but fortunately I was able to controll my impulsiveness and bought just one shirt. But boy, am I coming back and shop like crazy! I have to figure out how much I can afford to spend and still have enough for food for the next three months. We toured till we got tired and left for home. We stopped by this really good restaurant by Yonsei Uni and had a delicious spicy meal. Constant going to the bathroom was definately worth that good food!

This was the most relaxing day of the week! Ashley definately made me feel better. We had a midnight icecream craving so we hopped over to GS2 and bought some snacks. I ended up buying icecream and Ashely bought these popcorn snacks. Korean snacks are delicious!

Walking the HILLs

I felt my calories burning up particulary in my thighs and calves as I walked up the hills to my classes. My heart and lungs are getting a good work out but Seoul's air is poluting them at the same time. My first week of school was the most fustrating week of my entire college career. It is really hard to get the classes you actually need being a senior. All the classes are either too low of a level or taken up. This week was the first time that I felt a little regret of coming to South Korea. I feel like I'm so stressed out about school that I am not enjoying my stay here as much. I hope that this is just a feeling brought out by the inconveniences I had encountered so far.

Highlights:

September 1, 2008- It RAINed. A few girls and I decided to leave early by city bus and not by shuttle bus. We didn't count the traffick being a majoy obstacle in getting to class. We guessed wrong. Traffick jam was horrible! Absolutely horrible. We took about 1hr15minutes to get to school and class when in reality it should have taken us 30 minutes by bus and 20 minutes by shuttle. The worst thing was that we missed our stop and so we dashed through the rain (stopping three times for directions). We were told to carry umbrellas wherever we are because Korea rain is never predictable especially during its monsoon season. Plus, the rain is supposedly very populated. Well, we got soaked by the rain and were 15 minutes late to class. I hate it when everyone stares when you walk into the classroom. Geeze! Mind your own business : )

September 2, 2008- Everything went okay today. I went to Korean language beginning level 1 class today and was in for the shock of my life. The professor was going to teach korean in korean. I was about to pee in my pants. Even the books were all in Korean when it's title clearly states "English version". It's a good way to learn but I can't seem to be able to connect to korean. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

September 3, 2008-Walking the hills are hard! Korean class was scary! I still can't rememer all the sticks and circles. My professor is so nice though.

September 4, 2008- Thursday is the beginning of the add/drop period! I dropped one class and signed up for another. It turned out the "Literature and Stylistics" was the same course as the one I took at Augsburg. I switched it to "Coveant of the Christian Moral Life". Everything is so complicated. They are making registration so fustrating. The professors are bad at communicating. The communucation system here is bad overall. I don't have a clue what is going on nor what and where everything is. When I ask a staff or a student, they don't know a word of English. This language barrier is getting to me. I understand everywhere else where there is no English Translation but I expected Yonsei to display its labels and directions in English. I'm having a little hard time settling in to my role as a student at Yonsei. It is so wierd hearing Korea spoken as a common thing.

September 5, 2008- Yay! Finally Friday. I think today is the most stressful time this week. I'm trying to contact a professor for a class i need to take but that professor either doesn't know Englsih thus the reason for a no reponse (still she should send something in Korean so know that she received my two emails) or she is just ignoring my emails. I really need this one class "Victorian Lit and Culture" because it is the only class with the time and level to fulfill my English Major. The only thing is that I'm not sure what the class consist of and if it is even taught in English (although the course catalog says so). Also, the Vic Lit class is full so I would need her permission to get into the class. But she is not replying to any emails! It is getting on my nerves. Right now, I am signed up for a class that I have interest in yet don't want to take because it will not cover any of my requirements. This STINKS. Monday is the last day for add/drop. I would go in to personally talk to the Vic Lit professor but the course description, which I can not open doesn't have her office building and number. I'm about to go out of my mind. I also would like to take one more class because I feel like I'm going to have a lot of time here in South Korea.

I really wish and hope that the professor in the Vic Lit class would reply back to me even if it means no. I just want a definitive answer so that I can know what step I need to take next. I hate this ambiguious feeling. I'm not good at dealing with disorganization. Right now, I dropped the covenant class and am taking the nutrition and health course. I would like to take both classes but their overlaps. I feel like the nutrition and health course will benefit me more in the futue despite its inability to fulfill any requirements except as an elective.

I can't wait til everything is set in stone. I need organization in my life!

Aghrrrr. I'm crossing my fingers for next week!

First weeK of scHooL (all over again)

After being in Seoul for a week, I feel better and more confident in my surroundings. I still feel like I am lost in this big city. There's so many things to do- touring, shopping, etc- but the problem is that I don't know any Korean so I can't ask questions nor bargain. I don't even know how to say "where is the bathroom?"! . I'm a sad sad person. Yonsei University is very beautiful. The buildings are on hills. There's a gorgeous park. I have yet to explore all of Yonsei partly because 1. it's too hilly 2. everything is so far apart 3. it's the first week of school. There are so many people. To see all these people coming down the hill reminds me of ants scurrying out of the anthill. The only difference is that everyone...EVERYONE...is dressed up. The women are in heels, short mini skirts, cut of necklne t-shirts while the men are in tight jeans or slacks with collar shirts and a vest. No one carries a backpack. Wow. I think the way we call all tell each other apart is the difference between a shoulder back and a backpack (koreans carry a shoulder bag and foreigners have a backpack). I feel so grummy in my baggy jeans and plain t-shirt. South Korea is definately a pop culture place. Everything is not for convenience- it's more towards the "looking good". I'm planning to shock them with my sweat pants and sweat shirt on final's day. It's a good thing that I'm leaving South Korea then.

*Read the next post for highlights of the week.

Catching Up- 2 weEks impresSion

August 23, 2008 at 3:30pm my flight left Minneapolis international airport. Thousands of miles- Minneapolis to Tokyo to Seoul. It's been over 12 days here in South Korea and I still feel like I am in a dream. I'll be studying at Yonsei University for a semester. What am I doing all the way over here in South Korea? I don't know the language nor the culture. I feel completely lost and so small. I didn't expect South Korea to be so advanced. From all the stories I've heard, I expected a torn country- where we still had to pay to use the public bathrooms. I didn't expect electrical toilets with buttons I have no idea what it's for. The students (myself included) ended up living at DMC Ville (Digital Meidal Center), which are apartments...like no other! When I first walked into the apartments, I was extremely excited. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully equiped kitchen, a LCD flat screen tv, coaches, a desk in the living room....it was a dream apartment. Why are simple college students living in apartments such as I just described? Well, as it turns out Yonsei University is constructing another part of the building to the internation house. CIEE (the program I am with) decided that we should not live there during construction.

Since I'm so far behind, I'll just highlight some of the things that happened so far on the trip that happened to me or to the people that I'm with on this study abroad program. This first post will be about my first week in South Korea. The second post will be this week's summary. Enjoy!

August 24, 2008- Backpack strap broke in Tokyo Narita airport. My most memorable thing about this day was the airport taxi man holding a sign with my name "Nou Chang" on it. What can I say? I feel special:)

August 25, 2008- Krystal (a school mate) and I went on a one hour walk straight down the street. We didn't want to get lost. On our walk, Krystal accumulated too many things so we decided to take a random green bus (there are different colored bus- blue, green, yellow, red- we had no idea which is which). The bus took a scary right turn but fortunately, it turned back on the correct street and we got back safely to our apartments. Whew! My first dinner meal in South Korea was accidental Japanese food. Krystal and I didn't realize that we were in a Japanese restaurant (the sumarais on the doors weren't clues enough!). When they wouldn't give us our bibimbap and bogolgi- we realized that the food they had was Japanese.

August 26, 2008- Yonsei University and CIEE orientation. Yonsei is a huge university. The building is located on rolls of hills and hills. I took one look at Yonsei, and I was glad I packed sturdy tennis shoes. We got a mini long tour of some buildings and a surrounding neighborhood. My first lunch and dinner meal was delicious! I don't remember what they were called. It was just delicious.

August 27, 2008-We visited Gyeongbok Palace and say the exchange of guard's ceremony. I felt like wearing a honbok and walking around the palace. We also met with people to discuss the topics of "Staying Healthy in Korea" and "Culture Shock". We were told that the only food we probably shouldn't worry about is kimchi- it was spicy enough and had preservation good bacteria in it already that it'll kill any bad bacteria (if this makes any sense at all). We also walked through a crowd of buddhist protestetors. As it turned out the next morning, the demostration was the largest buddhist protest in South Korea.

August 28, 2008- We made a visit to the US Embassy Annex where we learned about the political, social, and economical background/relationship of South Korea and the United States. We had the chance to see the DMZ (demilitarized zone), which is the cut of zone between North and South Korea. We visited the first tunnel dug out by the North Koreans that was discovered after the armstice. We went down the tunnel and caught a small light coming through the crack of the tunnel- we saw North Korea! We were actually in North Korea (if you count the tunnel). We visited different parts of the DMZ. It was very interesting, sad, scary, and exhilirating.

The following three days and two nights are of my trips around South Korea with CIEE.

August 29, 2008- We traveled South to Jeonju where we picked up Professor Adams and his wife who were with us throughout the trip. They were our tour guide. We visited Saemangum (land reclamation area on the west coast). It was beautiful. This is the place where they made some movies/dramas! We stayed in Jeonju Hanok Village. The village consisted of old fashion houses. We made paper as well. We slept on the floor. I finally had icecream and steammed buns (filled with sweet fig). YUMMMMMM.....

August 30, 2008- I had a nice morning walk with the professor. There was monnument that consisted of a tortoise (longivity), middle square stone (earth- humanity), and a dragon (power). The professor said that these symbols will be found almost everywhere. We visited the Confucian school and Namwon (a city park). During the afternoon, we climbed Mt. Chirisan located in Nogodian. It took us 1hr15min to climb up the mountain. The pain and the view was totally worth it. After our exhusting climb, we visited the Hwaomsa Temple which contained the largest temple in Korea. We enjoy a simple dinner with the monks. It was a beautiful and peaceful dinner. We joined the chanting ceremony which was simply magical. I feel like I could stay here for a few days and in the process find myself. This peace and quite could work miracles.

August 31, 2008- We visited Hadong, which is a folk village and setting of a famous novel. The view from one of the houses was breathtaking. The simplicity of it catches my heart. The best part about this trip was our time at the tea museum. I loved it! It was a quint little place with rows and rows of green tea bushes! We picked leaves and we drank some green tea. It was the life style that I can live and be happy in. The view from the tea place was a sight that is unexplanable. I can sit on the chair and gaze into the mountains for days and see a different view each time.

The next day, September 1 is the first day of school. I feel like I am starting college all over again. We didn't get a chance to go look for our class buildings. Overall, we didn't get a chance to see all the buildings. It was so stressful, not knowing how to get to Yonsei by bus nor by walking. There's a shuttle that comes at 8:20am but I was still nervous that I will be late for my 9:00am class. If only we had the chance to visit Yonsei by ourselves and explore....It would have lessen my anxiety.

*Read the next post for my update about how school went! Yay, for first days of school : ) Wether elementary, junior high, high school or college- starting new at a different place always bring back the same feelings!