Ready for More Sarah Thursday, March 29, 2012

This weekend will be significant.
This weekend will be awesome.
This weekend will be unexpected.
This weekend will be a revival.
This weekend will be out of this world.
This weekend is off campus.
This weekend is not in a nut shell.
This weekend is going to end off March.
This weekend is going to kick off April.
This weekend This weekend This weekend
This weekend is the Emmaus "New Wine" Retreat!

This weekend is only the beginning.

Be anticipating Sunday for a faith lift on this blog.

Shop like Home, Eat like Home Sarah Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I really felt like blogging today and though nothing special happened, I shall talk until something perhaps significant comes along.

I thought I had missed out on telling of the damage I did on Saturday. What started as a spontaneous buddy shopping day turned into a trio and soon a quartet of broken wallets. I have been deprived of a really good shopping day. Street shopping is fun and diverse, but I realize I have been craving store shopping. Myeondong had the best of both worlds, so I headed there with the intention of setting a budget and breaking it (I know tsk tsk). I was so happy to be in Forever 21 and immediately felt guilty upon leaving wondering why I had just shopped so much there when I could do so at home. Well, I justified it with the fact that I don't go to F21 as often as I like to since it's a far and inconvenient trip from where I live in Edmonton. Also, as it was started by a Korean couple, I thought I might as well support their location in their home country, and lastly, because I miss it so-that's enough of a justification to me. However, to my surprise, I found lots of sale items and F21 at home never has sales (well only crappy leftovers), and everything I bought was less than what it would cost on the street-especially stuff not labeled with a price on it (the seller usually jacks up the price if your a foreigner, therefore speak Korean and be assertive on getting a discount).One of my friends usually fills out a form for tax refunds when she spends quite a bit at one store. I always thought it was for custom purposes until she told me that if you keep your receipts and have a tax refund form filled out from that store, then when you leave the country, you are eligible for about 10% (depending on the store) of the tax you paid back (tax is 9% in Korea and usually included in the price tag already). It sounds fairly little and insignificant when the items are cheap, but being here for a semester can add up to a few bills back in your pocket.

Unfortunately, I found this out after I had paid and left F21. I guess this tip will be for future shopping trips. Otherwise, even though Myeondong was busy and crowded as expected for a Saturday, us girlies were satisfied with our store and street shopping and headed for dinner at Pizza Hut. Again, why are we eating at a place where we can eat back home? Well, because we wanted to try bulgogi pizza and this popular sweet potato crust. Pizza here is not cheap, its about the same as home or a little more. No surprises when you acknowledge that most western food places are considered higher end here. But again, our taste buds were happy with pizza selections you can only savour in Korea.

Well, nothing really significant came about in this post, except the fact that its okay to be doing non-Korean activities in Korea. Having these places gives you a piece of home and happiness. Sometimes, that's just all you need to make a day special.

Night Owl Sarah Saturday, March 24, 2012

This past week hasn't been all that exciting. What started as a dry, sore throat turned into a Mr. Cold and he's been stirring up a tornado in my nose. In Korea, blowing your nose in public is not a very polite thing to do, but more than often, I just couldn't contain my wailing trumpet. This time around, Cold FX didn't fight off Mr. Cold for me, but I'm so glad to say that I'm finally not congested or suffering from phlegm no more.

During the week, I was anticipating for Friday. It was a skeptical, curious, and a lack-of-expectation type of anticipation. My language exchange partner had decided for us to have a 'meeting' with my friends and his friends. So with the knowledge I have of the term 'meeting' in Korea, it pretty much refers to a blind date, though nowadays its more of a comfortable setting to meet new friends. Well, you never know what will happen through the meeting, but he had planned it so it was one guy for every girl. You can see now why my friends and I were a little skeptical about this whole set up now. As common as Koreans do these meetings, for us foreigners, it was a first, so we really didn't know what to expect. Also, we were meeting to go to a 술방-literally a drinking room, a bar like place set up into rooms where people come to drink soju, play drinking games, and eat snacks.

So the day arrived and we headed to a place in Sinchon. The rooms in the 술방 actually reminded me of traditional tatami rooms in Japanese restaurants, minus the taking off your shoes and sitting on your knees part. It was slightly awkward at first with five guys on one side and us five on the other, but I'm glad there's always that one guy who has an outgoing persona to break the ice. We were first taught a drinking game call 딸기 딸기 ("Strawberry Strawberry" which was supposely the easiest game according to the guys, but then again they learn these games since they're fairly young, so they're pro at it by now, and disclamer: it wasn't the easiest for us, we were so slow compared to the guys). We ended up splitting off into pairs to play as a team as it actually didn't work very well girl vs. guys, and it turned out that being paired off was to our advantage too, well initially haha.

You wouldn't believe the amount of drinking games we learned. I personally don't know any drinking games in North America except beer pong, but the culture of drinking is so different in Korea. Each game has an introduction, sort of like a 3-4 line rhyme or song to kick off the game, and then you start. It was so hilarious and entertaining to see these guys sing and do the hand actions to some of these drinking games-priceless! Most games required sufficient hand-eye coordination (like the Animal game, if you have ever played it) where you had to say something to a beat or point to someone while maintaining your clapping rhythm. Whoever hesitated, lagged, or didn't know what they were doing would obviously drink with their partner. I lost count of how many of these games we learned, but it was over ten for sure. It can get so loud too, sometimes, you could hear the room next to you shouting, but we were shouting too. I actually didn't mind losing because I liked the selection of drinks we had. For us females, we ordered strawberry, yogurt, and pomegranate soju. Its pretty much a super diluted, water down soju drink, you can barely taste the alcohol, so it tasted like a fruity drink to us. The guys on the other hand, downed soju shot by shot.

Turns out, we had over analyzed this 'meeting' and it was a very enjoyable night for us ten with lots of laughter. Despite some of the guys not having a proficient level of English, they still tried to converse as much as they could. I couldn't believe it, and you probably wouldn't either, but we lasted 6+ hours in that room! Crazy eh? Apparently you can stay until sunrise if you have the energy to. Time sure flies when your having fun.

Another cultural thing in Korea is that when you go out with your group of friends, you usually do three rounds of activities known as 일차, 이차, 삼차 (first, second, third round respectively). First round is usually a meal/dinner, second is usually at a cafe for dessert or a drink, and third round is usually karaoke. It doesn't really matter what order or what you do, but typically Koreans just do three rounds of activities. It was already around 1:30am when we figure we should wrap up our time in the drinking room, but we were all quite awake from all the games so we headed to a restaurant for some snacks (이차). We conversed and asked some questions that made us think, but the energy was dying slowly as it was hard for us to think by now, so around 3am we called it a night? and headed home in rainy Seoul.

Note to self: buy an umbrella!
Insider: After Eight no more!

Reflection Celebration Sarah Sunday, March 18, 2012

Today is a month since living in Seoul and it has actually felt like a month's worth of seeing, eating, doing, and experiencing. I have been reflecting lately and there's a few things I want to share about in this reflection. I will separate them into categories for an easy read.

Seoul City
This city has not disappointed me and I feel with each new experience, it just gets better. There is so much to do and as much as I have done and flooded your facebook walls with my photos, there's still so much I want to do: more palaces, sightseeing, touring, exploring, finding hole-in-the-wall places, things not in a lonely planet book, and more. Just more. At this point, I don't want anything to stop yet and I feel if I'm not doing something I'm not making the most of my time, though my purpose here is not only as a tourist, so this sets me back a bit, which I'll elaborate later in this post.

Seoul FoodSo when I look back on all my photos, there's been a lot of food, but you may be shock that this is actually not the top damage in my budget. Meals in Seoul has been way cheaper than a meal in Edmonton. I have also noticed that Korean food is generally more healthy with less fried, greasy, or msg added foods. However, having analyzed my consumption habits, I think this next month I will aim to lessen my indulgence at all those unique cafes and bakeries and try to eat in more. I am on my way to figuring out what is cheap to buy at grocery stores and I think with better planning skills, I will be able to keep my wallet and waistline in tack. Sometimes eating out can be cheaper than eating in, but when you split the cooking time and costs with friends, anything is possible. Actually, I really do miss making food for myself too.

Seoul PeopleKoreans are a different bunch of people. Having been to HK a handful of time, I would never consider ever in my entirety live there, but I would consider and love to live in Seoul. Having said that, this is what I'm thinking at this moment, who knows if I'll change my mind by the next month. Why you may ask? Well, for one thing, I couldn't figure it out for the longest time, but having skyped a friend earlier, I found the word. Passion. Koreans have passion in everything they do as if it was imbedded into them from day 1. Even the ajummas who clean after us college students have smiles on their faces and greet us with enthusiasm when we passed by (and who likes having to clean up piles of cup noodles, wipe disgusting stains in the kitchen, and trash garbage dumped all over the lounge?! seriously, some students are so dirty here) Koreans may look, stare, and even point at you when your a foreigner, but its really just out of curiosity or care for you (don't be shock if an ajumma slaps your leg for not wearing socks outdoors during the winter months).

Seoul CultureI have close to no culture shock. There are a few things I was quite taken a back by, such as the affection same sex genders show for each other (especially guys), but I've come to acknowledge that this is their way of caring for each other and its rather a cute bro-mance. The mannerisms of Korean guys are so different from American guys, and its actually so sweet to see a guy hugging their guy friend when they meet them. Though, I do dislike those who spit and the vast amount of males that smoke in public and their admittance to smoke indoors at certain places (ugh). I also cannot understand why a girl would ruin her outer beauty by smoking either, but the choice is hers. As for the language barrier, its been better than I thought, and I find myself improving in my Korean as I'm constantly expose to it. I am also loving all the walking I am doing-tanking all those stairs and steep climbs.

Seoul Education/YonseiYou may not have known, but I didn't know until I arrived either that my university is considered an "Ivy League" school of Korea, one of the top three universities that spell out 'SKY' (Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei Uni respectively). Despite this fancy label, in the shoes of an exchange student, there is no pressure for us to live up to this title as we are marked on a pass/fail basis (having said that, I definitely want a mark better than a pass). So far, I don't feel any stress yet and perhaps for one thing it's because I'm only taking 4 courses, 1 is taekwondo so pretty much the workload is three classes. To be honest, I haven't really been keeping up with my studious habits as I would in Edmonton, but I need to do something about it before all my uni skills goes sliding. It's one thing to label yourself as an exchange student and define it as an overseas escape to fun, but another thing to ruin your transcript and have your escape backfire to doom. Thus, I am still trying to figure out a balancing act before school and play.

Seoul Life & BeyondUp to now, everything has been pretty much smooth sailing. Friends have asked if I'm homesick and the answer is no, I'm not. Being here has allowed me to learn things I wouldn't learn living at home such as buying groceries and living with a roommate (Amen, because mine is an absolute sweetheart), and if I was independent before, I feel that more than ever now. Sometimes, I do wish my friends back home could be here to experience what I am experiencing, but otherwise, I am cherishing my time here with passion like a Korean. With tentatively three more months to go, I will use all of my energy to do well in school, play harder, explore deeper, and travel farther.

Happy one month Seoul!

Han River & Norabang Sarah Saturday, March 17, 2012

Hello Weekend,

Today, Master Kim, my taekwondo teacher had organized a Han river walking/biking trip for us exchange students. I was already quite sore from my first taekwondo class on Thursday (just shows how long I haven't worked out), but I still was up for it as it sounded like a wonderful idea.

I opted out of biking as 1. I haven't biked since being on a tandem in Taiwan a year and a half ago and didn't know if I could bike properly, 2. I was sore, and 3. I wanted to walk. Everyone rented a bike except Teresa, Pey and I, so the three of us went on an adventurous stroll. To our advantage, the sun was out and shining, the temperature had risen, and it felt amazing to be breathing into breezy, clear, non-smoke-filled air. Throughout the Han River vicinity, there would be stop points, similar to a park/play area for kids... but it was actually a place for the bikers and walkers to stop and stretch out or even work out! They had work out machines where instead of lifting weights, you would lift yourself or machines that help you twist your body side to side to relieve tension or any stress you may have. It was so fun, like an adult play park, and it was quite a sight to see all these ajussis and ajummas working out. Who needs a gym when you can go to Han River right?!

In the evening, after a dinner of four different flavors of samkyeubsal (fatty pork), we headed for our first Norabang (literally singing room) karaoke experience. We went to a place in Sinchon recommended by our friends as it has a aesthetically pleasing atmosphere and ice cream was included. However, the price was higher for the place being so posh and comfortable. For an hour, it was $18 hour (we went for two knowing how fast time flies) and we got a private room to ourselves lined with cushioned seats, two flat screens, and even a tambourine and a maraca for us to play and sing to. We pretty much sang our heart out to the hits of the 90s, danced to Kpop we couldn't sing to, and partied like we could hit all the high notes, long notes, and impossibly fast lyrics.

What a satisfying Saturday.

White Day Version 2.0 Sarah Thursday, March 15, 2012

White day is another spin on Valentine's Day a month later. Apparently in Korea, Vday is when the girl gives the guy a gift (supposely chocolate) to show her love to him, and the favor is returned on Wday where the guy gives a gift back to the girl (supposely candy). I had mentioned before that Korea is a walking Valentine's Day- everywhere you go, couples are spotted, some, even with a ridiculous sense of style and so not only couples were spotted that day, gifts of all sorts were too.

Since my first day in Korea, there were already advertisements regarding this event, so it was no surprise to see more and more of them plastering store fronts as this day came closer. The day of, booths had even popped up with bouquets of candy, boxes of chocolate, and giant teddy bears. My friends and I decided to do our own version of White Day and coined it Friendship Day. For dinner that night, we went to eat bulgogi cooked in a brothy soup with rice and delicious (what is not delicious in Korea?) side dishes- various kimchi, bacon-flavor-like lettuce, dried fish mixed in some paste, clear noodles and more. The bulgogi was seasoned to perfection and was mouth watering savory! It was a delight to eat it and spoon the broth over your rice, ahh so tasty!
So far, everything eaten in Korea is better than eaten in Canada, even western dishes. You may think that the Basket Robins franchise would be like any other in North America, but it's definitely not. We decided to treat ourselves to a cake to celebrate our friendship and also because we've noticed how people carry a BR cake in a styrofoam box. We found out that the styrofoam box includes a pack of ice to keep your cake fresh. The staff asks how long it will be until you eat your cake and this determines how much ice they give you. Also, candles and matches are free(BR is not cheap here like DQ back home). The staff actually thought it was one of our birthdays and asked how old that person was turning... we just wanted candles so I asked for five.

Happy March 14 Friends!

K-Collection: Fashion Concert Sarah Monday, March 12, 2012

Can I just say that Koreans know how to put on a show?

Amazing.

In no way am I a die-heart k-pop fan and I've been to a handful of fashion shows, but wow, this was utterly fantastic (baby!). Five sweet hours of entertainment made up for the brutally cold wait outside for our tickets with the icy wind blowing us nearly into icicles.

We were lucky enough that out of the six of us, three of us emailed early enough to get VIP seating, so the rest of us were their plus one (we ended up discarding our third seat tickets). Four rows from the stage, in a mob of foreigners-only designated seating, and a eagle eye's view of the stage, we were exhilarated for the show to begin.

Let's start with the music scene.

With our seats, and an event as such, you would be looking at paying at least $200+ in North America, but we got in for free! Three cheers to being a foreigner. Secondly, not to toot my horn, but I'm sure and know of many who would have been jealous of me haha.

There were really popular bands like SNSD and Big Bang in which the fans went nuts with just the mention of their names. Miss A, Infintie, and IU were also quite popular among the crowd as well. Then there were the ones that were fairly new to the scene such as 9muses (9 models scouted as a group... btw they weren't good at all), and some artists from older generations who were to my surprise, extremely talented and left my ears ringing for more of their astounding voices-especially this ballad group consisting of four males known as Noel. Personally, I thought SNSD did poorly with their performance. I had expected more energy and enthusiasm from their fame and popularity, but it seemed like they weren't trying at all. Also, they were missing two members that night. My favorite has go to be Infinite, boy can they dance and melt a girl's heart. Apparently they will be having a concert on April's Fools, how tempting.

In between, there were was a DJ hosting the show and presenting singers, duos, and trios popular from years before as well as up and rising artists. I think I may have converted to a kpop fan now having had such a privilege to sit through a dynamic array of Korean singers.

FASHION TIME.

Imagine my excitement upon hearing that there was an event as such, let alone incorporating the whole fashion aspect!

My expectations for the fashion side of things that there would be models walking down the catwalk showcasing different brands of clothing in between the concert scene. I've been to multiple fashion shows where models are suppose to be emotionless and just strut their walk as they are presenting the designer's clothes, not themselves, hence the lack of emotion in their faces. These ones were not the case though, and I loved it so much more. Each brand had a distinct style or theme to their clothes and would play on that theme with support from the backdrop, props, and the styling of their models. The models came out smiling and enthusiastic and you can tell that they were highly enjoying their act as well. They were absolutely exceptional, not only performing, but acting and dancing as well. Each show also had a famous celebrity modeling, be it an actress or singer from one of the pop bands.

One of the brands had a person miming in their opening and had their models cat walked down the stage with helium balloons, while another had a mini fencing performance to kick off their show; and yet another, my favorite concept of all, was a day to night transformation where the models would show their first look, and then head back to the middle stage to swap an accessory or piece so that it became an evening look. The creativity was endless, it wasn't just fashion, it was a fashion show!


I also adored the freebies! As if this entire event wasn't an enough of a freebie in itself, Skinfood gave out little packages of face masks, candy, and soaps. Other sponsors of the night tossed out teddy bears towards the crowd, and Kappa even threw basketballs to the audience. It was a night to remember and a great way to kick off the term.

Fashion & Concert, what a fabulous idea.

More please!

F is for Foreigners Sarah Saturday, March 10, 2012

Last night we decided to watch a movie to kick off our weekend from our first official week of formal education. We picked a Korean movie that was playing at the Megabox theater in Sinchon and looked forward to our first movie in Korea as we were told there would be English subtitles. As it was a Friday, we had bought our tickets that afternoon and in Korea, you get to pick where you want to sit prior to watching your chosen film.

After cheesy Korean style commercials and previews, we nervously waited as we were scared there was a chance there that we be stood up by the subtitles. A wild presumption, but it was true and we did initially freak out a bit. However, as it was a Rom-Com, the amount of laughter we went through made up for the lack of understanding. It was literally R.O.F.L. (maybe not the rolling part, but LOL), I couldn't believe how hilarious this movie was! It's called Love Friction (러브픽션), about an aspiring novelist who falls in love. Obviously, I'm not the one to give you a synopsis as it would be my personal interpretation of the movie. Though, humor is not a language barrier and I can guarantee you that you'll enjoy it too. After the credits rolled, us four foreigners bursted out laughing hard and non stop-regarding the movie, but also at our ourselves. Everyone walking out of the theater stared at us, but we were left so satisfied with the movie despite understanding the minimal and not comprehending how the movie ended that we could care less. I've never laughed so much in my life after a movie.

We can't wait for this film to come out so that we can re-watch it with subs and compare our mental plot with the actual storyline. What a hysterical amount of laughing we did, enough said.

Today, we spontaneously decided to go for a hair cut as we all seem to be desperately in need of one. Upon word of mouth that Juno Hair does a great job and caters to foreigners, we went. As today is a Saturday, we didn't think we would get in, but once we entered, an employee quickly sat us down where an ipad full of hairstyles was ready for us to look at. There was minimal English involved, but when I asked for the price of our haircuts, we went for it without thinking twice.

Chloe and I were seated upstairs while Ann and Teresa were downstairs. It didn't occur to me that I had left the two with the least knowledge of Korean to fight for themselves, but it turns out that they managed very well on their own. When I met my stylist, her introduction was in English, so I thought I had scored the language barrier issue already. However, my excitement was shortly lived as she broke out in Korean the remainder of the time. With my choppy Korean, and her broken English, I managed to get a haircut. I had to wait a bit as my stylist was finishing up with a client, but the whole process lasted about 40-50 minutes. I got my hair washed, head massaged, hair dried, cut and styled all for 25000won, and as I had my student ID, it was only 20000won ($20Cad)!!! What!! It was such a fun experience too, spontaneity at its best! I had some fear in me at the beginning, but I'm very happy with my first Korean haircut. The length is chopped, but I have more layers now and my hair is much thinner too.

When we paid, they signed us up for a VIP code where we can get discounts the next time we came. The four hairdressers who styled our hair also came to wave us goodbye as they sent us off to the elevator. They all seem to have an interest in us as we were not only foreigners, but exchange students as well. The treatment was way better than any service you can get in North America, and for that price, what a steal! We're definitely set on coming back.

What can I say?

Foreigners just have more fun.

As for Sunday, my friends and I were all lucky enough to receive tickets to K-Collection, a fashion show and concert hosted at the Olympic Gymnasium Stadium. Tickets were obtained by sending your email and nationality (only open to foreigners) to their website and the first 300 foreigners would get a pair of tickets. I didn't make the list at first, but thanks to crazy fans who complained, they opened another floor of seating, hooray! I'm not a hardcore k-pop music fan, but I'm so stoked for the fashion show and being able to see Big Bang, SNSD, and so much more tomorrow. It's going to be a crazy tiring yet fantastic day tomorrow!

Official Schedule Sarah Thursday, March 08, 2012

Decisions made.

Korean- got into beginner 3! I went to the office to inquire about it and so they looked at my test and said I actually scored in between two levels. I thought I sit through beg.2 class one more time just to make sure I wanted to switch, because once I switched, there was no turning back. However, half way through class, my teacher asked if I had wanted to switch or stay in class, so I took this as a sign and switched. I don't regret, beg.3 is already more challenging, but I rather work harder than sit in a class that is repeating grammar lessons I have already learned just so I could get a better mark.

Taekwondo- I got in with approval and the teacher, Master Kim, has taught in Edmonton before!!! Imagine how excited I was to find out that someone knew where Edmonton was! WOOT! I didn't have to tell him that it was 'next to Vancouver,' as I have told everyone who has been clueless about my hometown...not really 'next to' but close enough, how would they know anyways right? This class is only once a week and I'm quite nervous about it as I have never done anything like this before, but I'm sure it will be fun and there are locals in the class too!

International Business- keeper

Human Factors-keeper

I really like my schedule now. I only have one class Monday and Friday, which is Korean from 4-6pm as it is everyday. Yonsei's class scheduling is different from U of A; instead of a set block M/W/F and T/R, you can have two hours of classes on Tuesday and a one hour block on a Thursday, or three consecutive blocks back to back, such as my design class. Thus, the bulk of my work load is between Tues to Thurs. I'm more relieved now that my classes are set in stone.

Today is Friday and I'm ready for the weekend!

The Start Sarah Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Rain, rain, go away,
come again another day.

Seoul, why so gloomy?

I said it was official last Friday that school started, but this is official of the official. I finally have a tentative and debatable schedule.

Korean- got my hopes too high thinking I get into at least beginner level 3, but I got into beginner level 2, does that mean my 3 terms of Korean at my home uni was equivalent to beginner 1 here? That's just intense, but it does make sense since at U of A, Korean is only 3hr/wk, and here it's 10hr/wk (6crd. course)... so its three times as much work. Though, having gone to two classes, I realize I have already learned everything in the level 1 book...it feels repetitive and familiar, so I'm going to request to upgrade. (keeper)

Christian Ethics- prof is an amazing African American from Atlanta, Georgia, very G! but he talks to the class as if we all suck at English as this class has local students in it as well. SO slow. Topic seems very interesting though and the workload is an easy A for sure, though it requires a lot of expenditure on required texts (a debatable keeper or I can just audit this class for interest's sake)

Media Psychology- so hard to get in, sat in for a class and couldn't concentrate-miss. prof is just too soft spoken... don't need this course, just for personal enjoyment (most likely dropping)

Human Factors- 3hr consecutive design course/wk... workload sounds heavy, a group and an individual project, but I need this credit badly, so hopefully its manageable (must keep!)

International Business- with any business course, there's bound to be a group project, but I'm really interested in this class too even if my prof is close to 70yrs old (no lie!), he kept emphasizing the importance of networking all over the world as he himself has worked almost everywhere in the world. Smart man (class is a def. keeper)

Taekwondo- the idea came today; my friend is taking it and its only 1 credit (tho I won't receive any credits for this class), I could just take it for fun and as a workout, plus I always wanted to learn some self defense.. hmmm. debatable (maybe, I'll see how first class goes)

Dilemma: I need to at least receive three 3-credit courses from this term. I will get credits for Human Factors and International Business for sure, but I need an elective. If I stay in Korean beginner 2, I probably won't get the credits for it, and thus will need a fourth course. So either I go with Christian Ethics, which is easy, OR Media Psych, interesting too, but the prof puts me to sleep, OR hope I get into Korean beginner 3 and get credits for it. Darn you ALES for not pre-approving credits!

So I had signed up for the Language Exchange (LE) program where an exchange student is partnered with a local Korean student during the term to practice Korean together. I had requested a male because, as you probably have observed, I'm usually spend my time with females a lot, so I thought I take the chance to meet someone new and practice Korean with. Tonight was the orientation where we got to meet our partner. Some people had told me it feels like a 'blind date' because you get a number and letter and then you go into the auditorium to find your seat where your partner would be sitting either to your left or right. Jumping forward, my LE partner is an engineer in his 4th year and who had just came back from the military. He seems outgoing and friendly so far, but hopefully all goes well as this term progresses. He had asked to go to dinner (apparently we were suppose to do something with our buddies that night), but due to my commitment to Emmaus, I turned it down. Until lunch on Friday I guess, and I really hope he helps me improve in my speaking.

Tonight was also my latest dinner ever. Who knew that finding dinner after 9pm could be so hard? We didn't want to settle for instant noodles so we tried to hunt for an open restaurant. You would think that everywhere in Seoul would open late-not. We walked to all the restaurants around dorms, everything had closed or was about to close so they said no to us when we waved at them from the outside. Then we ventured further away from campus. Paris Baguette, a French inspired, Korean bakery chain was open-but it wouldn't have filled us up. We didn't want to head all the way to Sinchon, but we ended up being in between Edae and Sinchon anyways. Lots of restaurants were closed too, but we walked into a Japanese & BBQ place with their lights still on right before the clock struck 10pm. We didn't know if they were about to close, but the ajumma was happy to welcome us and serve us our donkatsu and udon upon seeing us.

What a night. I'm wiped out.

Going Downhill Sarah Sunday, March 04, 2012

(yesterday)

Finally. After four attempts since arriving in Seoul, we finally got seated at Ashelys', a popular western buffet restaurant in Sinchon. We arrived ten minutes before they opened to get a table for seven. There was quite a few people already waiting for a table, but less than the last time we came and were told to wait for two and a half hour, and it was 1pm, so by the time you got a table you would've been eating lunch at 3:30pm... yet there were people who were patient enough with their hunger to wait. For the price of a western style buffet, this place was considered cheap, but when compared to a usual meal in Seoul, it was three to four times as much. Lunch buffet on weekdays was $14.9 while on the weekends it jumped to $19.9. Was it worth it? YES! There was an area of assorted pastas, pizza, seafood, and other main dishes, a section of FRUITS, salad and soup bar, chilled appetizers, assemble your own taco and bibimbap station, lineups of desserts and even a make your own waffle area with icecream and drink dispensers nearby. We were stuffed and satisfied with all of our western cravings.

Today's purpose was to be reunited with our SVCC teachers, Jieun and Jennifer, so after lunch, Chloe and Alice headed back to dorms to take a break while the rest of us explored City Hall. We first stopped at Deoksugung Palace and walked around to digest while taking photos. On our way out there was a mediocre performance of men in traditional Korean clothing marching around. To our luck, there was a booth set up for foreigners to wear and take photos with hanboks for FREE! Of course Ann and I did it!! It was so fun, we felt like princesses ready to be married off HAHA.
We then walked to Insadong, which is more of a touristy area with many cultural shops where you can buy souvenirs and see how local delights are made. There was a 'dragon beard' candy (say it in Chinese) shop where these 'chefs' would show off their skill in making and stretching the candy while chanting and performing to us. Apparently they can do it in up to four languages, such talented and hilarious business making skills.

That night we were suppose to go to NamSan Tower for a evening view of Seoul with our mentor's group, but we were 1. too stuff with food still 2. too tired 3. not in the mood, thus turning it down and calling it a day.

(today)

Went to church with the Emmaus group, and the exchange student population tripled the amount last week (hallelujah!). It was designated a welcome college students Sunday so they prayed for us students and welcomed us to a brand new term. We had Korean BBQ (samkyeubsal) for an early dinner and I felt like I'm getting sick of eating it and it's only my third time. I guess you can say I'm not a fan of fatty pork meat.

Upon recommendation from my roommate, a few of us went to Emart by bus and bought groceries. The ride was closer than we thought, but our shopping took longer than planned. Emart is equivalent to a Tnt, and if you bought things in packs of two or more (such as juice or milk), the price would be even lower when split with a friend. I never felt happier to buy my own groceries and make healthy choices. Though, fruits are still expensive in general so my juice intake will make up for my lack of vitamins.

Everything is slowly winding down and I think I won't be posting as often no more as back-to-school 101 is not that exciting. However, this week will be a gong show running around for classes, adjusting to a set schedule, going to club orientations, and trying to get into specific classes.

Giggling through the first day Sarah Friday, March 02, 2012

First day of class and I didn't have class at all. My morning class was cancelled and I didn't find out until I arrived the building. As for Korean, it was the day of the placement test which designated which level of Korean you would take. I'm praying that I get into at least the first intermediate level as I don't think I will get credits for beginner levels having already took three semesters of Korean back at my home uni. I went up to the fourth page of the written test (6/23 questions) and my oral exam was alright, could've been better if I prepared myself more. However, I wouldn't want to be placed in a class I'm not ready or legit enough for as that would just backfire my learning since Korean classes here are intensive. I also got my student ID today, so now I feel like I actually belong on campus.

As it was the first day of "classes" the campus population increased and as such, lunch time in the cafeteria was busier than usual, with majority of the seats occupied by male students-where are all the females? For the first and many more times to come, we had our lunch within budget for $2.8 Cad, dirt cheap right? This is how universities should cater to student's budget and not charge triple as much in North America for a meal. I had a bowl of thin rich noodles with seaweed, egg, and broth. You can't expect it to be the best tasting noodle bowl in Seoul, but for that price, my hunger and wallet were satisfied.

Chloe was sick, so for dinner we walked to Edae and seeked out a place with ginseng chicken soup. Unfortunately, it was over budget and 4/5 of us opted for the alternative of congee. I had wanted to get Ann and my phone plan checked out to make sure we pay a month from the day we started our plan vs. the beginning of a new month, so we went back to the same place we got our phones. Thank God for Alice's presence because despite the guy "claiming" he new English-he didn't. He also got stressed from the five of us foreigners until we mentioned the guy who opened our account for us at this location. Luckily, that guy who opened our account was on his break and came back right at the point this guy was about to be stressed out of his mind. Seriously, Koreans have such funny and exaggerated expressions and yet, its so genuine. We couldn't help laughing when the familiar guy saw our faces at door. He waved his hands up, opened up his squinty eyes, and laughed as he recognized we were the girls who needed a translator (fay mah) to open an account with him. Man was it tough to get to the point through all the laughter. If you're still following me, that other guy had to go put on his black framed rectangular shape glasses and grab a drink of water to calm himself. He was so flustered with our speedy English speaking mouths and kept holding his head with his hands. It was hysterical! I can't wait to come back next time to pay our bill and see their reactions. Priceless.

So it's Friday night and we didn't want to head back to dorms so soon. Spontaneously, we did some back to school and window shopping in Edae and seeked out a cafe to chill at. There's a popular cafe chain call Cafe Bene (apparently better than Starbucks in pricing and taste), but we immediately changed our minds when we saw the Love Story cafe across the street and three floors up. Chloe had said she's been to a similar cafe where the servers are all males decked out in a nice uniform and we wanted to check the place out. Well, the servers were all males, but the only uniform thing they were wearing was an apron. It's not called a 'Love Story' cafe for nothing, when you arrive, depending on how many people you have your placed in a private room. There are no tables and chairs in an open area, just all rooms covered by a door or curtain. The five of us took our footwear off and sat comfortably in a cushion lined booth with a table in the middle. The menu was quite expensive, but our waiter absolutely made our day. There was a bell on our table for us to call the server, so when he came to take his order, our English was too fast for him and he actually spoke in English and said 'slowly please,' and it was very good English might I add. Anyhow, his actions and mannerisms were quite shy and cute at the same time so the five of us kept giggling when he took our order, delivered our drinks and desserts, and take our picture for us. Oh boy, we even left him a note... oh the things we do. HAHA!

Alright, enough said. I'm embarrassed.

Marching our way around Sarah Thursday, March 01, 2012

Happy National Independence Day to Korea & Hello March & Welcome Roommate!

The day started with class hunting around our beautiful campus. It was easier than we thought to direct ourselves with the campus map, minus all the hiking uphill and downhill and around buildings of course. However, it was a national holiday, so most of the buildings were closed and we weren't able to find the exact locations of our classes. I'm actually looking forward to hitting the books again having had such a chill and relaxing two months. I guess there's an extent to how much fun you can have before it starts to take its toll on you. I'll be living for the weekends and week nights though. Work hard, play harder.
Part two of shopping was designated at Dongdaemoon. I was jaw dropped at the amount of shopping complexes there were in this area. This place is typically known for their wholesale shopping, though they do have many boutiques and malls that sell at retail price. While finding our way around, we entered a building selling everything textile, fabric, and notions related; fabulous for Ann and I to keep in the back of our minds in case it was necessary to be revisited. Despite our initial excitement and yearning to round up some good deals, Dongdaemoon fell short of our expectations as there was so many people everywhere due to the national holiday (in general, there was going to be an extra large amount of people wherever you go on a holiday), the crammed boutiques had pretty clothes, but we were overwhelmed with the crowds and decided to come back on a quieter non-holiday day.

We rerouted and subway to Hongdae which was still busy, but much calmer as it was all outdoors. Teresa had never had the $1 waffle before so we started with that. We had planned to shop for about two hours before meeting back at school to go to dinner with the Emmaus group. However, fate was on our side and we ended up bumping into them while shopping. They had arranged the afternoon for the boys to play basketball and the girls to shop at Edae, which eventually lead them to Hongdae, what a coincidence! Due to the amount of people we had, it was easier if the group splited and ate at two different locations. My group went for Korean BBQ, and the other group decided on Japanese. The BBQ was more expensive than our usual dinners have been, but also one of the meals with more vegetables involved as lettuce was given to wrap our grilled meat.

School starts tomorrow and I have no school supplies. You know what that means!