Seoul searching no more

I apologize for being MIA these past 20 days. I have been busy with finals (FINALLY DONE MWAHAHA) and making the most of my last days here.

During the period when I was sick I got in trouble for sleeping in class. I actually have a confession to make. Ever since my 5^th grade teacher caught me sleeping in class as a result of staying up all night to read Baby-sitters’ Club books, I have managed to fall asleep in every single one of my classes ever since. Even gym classes. Whether it’s due to all-nighters, the time of day, or the fact that the material covered in class did not interest me, I end up falling asleep. I have only been caught a few times, miraculously, but it was really embarrassing.

Anyway, during lunch that Wednesday over ラーメン (ramen) my LE partner told me she broke up with her boyfriend because he was spending too much time playing World of Warcraft! Ironically, my sister and her husband have dates playing WoW…the rest of the week I slept a lot in order to recover. Dinner on Friday was fried chicken with a side of anime. My love for Ouran High School Host Club has no end. Saturday evening I met with Emily, the English teacher I blogged about previously, and had 부대찌개 (budae jjigae) and 호떡 (hotteok, or pancake filled with fatty goodness) while discussing Fulbright with my friend interested in the program. I have decided that my favorite Korean foods are 부대찌개 and 참치찌개 (chamchi jjigae, or tuna stew).

The following Monday it was back to 자넬선생님 holding the tambourine. Since this was the week leading up to finals, I mostly stayed in so I could actually get good grades in my classes. The most interesting things would be my meals: 육개장 (yukejang, or spicy beef stew), 김치찌개 (kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew), 돈까스 (donkkasu, or pork cutlet), 라면(ramyun), fried chicken, a lunchbox from 7/11, and leftover 잡채 (japchae, or noodles). Friday was the big CIEE farewell party. We ate genuine 한식 (Korean food), drank 막걸리 (makgeolli, or Korean rice wine) and saw JUMP, which was all sorts of awesome. All the male characters had very defined abs. Hehe.

Over the weekend I made a HomePlus run with my friend and somehow finished three papers, which I’m not how I managed but still did! One paper was about family life and adoption in Burma, another was a letter, and the last one was my big KE paper about the situation of native English speaking teachers in Korea. Since I finished editing that paper while I was at the airport I’m FINALLY DONE YAY!!!

Finals week. At my last day of volunteering the classes came together to put on a mini Christmas concert. The kids sang and danced to Christmas songs. I was recruited to dance twice for partner dances, and even though I had no idea what I was doing it was a lot of fun! Here's my class, I'm going to miss them dearly!

I basically studied and ate for the entire week. I did well on my Korean final – I ended up getting an A+ in the class! My Korean Social Welfare teacher gave in and allowed four international students to write a 3-page reflection instead of a 12-page research paper, something I will be eternally grateful for. Since we still had to take the final a group of us got together, ordered Korean food for dinner, and studied our heads off. I think the test went okay, I will find out grades next week!

Thursday was my last meeting with the program director and assistant – I will definitely miss them, they helped me with so much!

I also had one last meeting with my Filipino friends – meeting them has made me want to embrace my Filipino-American identity more. I have attempted to do this through studying the history and culture of the Philippines, but I know there's way more I can do, such as studying the language or listening more closely to my parents' stories. Since this was the last day of Korean, some classmates and I went to buy flowers and cakes for our 선생님. We then proceeded to party.

After that I went to dinner with friends, made a fruitless search for gloves, and participated in a mobile testing survey that got me money to spend over the weekend. That evening (I know, busy day) I went with my friend to stalk Super Junior’s radio show, Kiss the Radio. Even though it was freezing cold we decided it would be a good idea even though we didn’t know the exact location of the building. We, of course, ended up getting lost and getting directions from a nice subway guy. We knew we finally found the place when we saw a bunch of teenage girls clustered around a window underneath a tent. I took stalker photos. After that we stood outside in the cold for 30 minutes so we could see them leave the station, but we couldn’t take it anymore and got a taxi. The driver gave us Korean lessons. Even with my A+ in Korean I still feel horribly insufficient in the language. That’s why I have to study more, right? And here our the KTR boys, 은혁 and 이특.

Friday I met up with Korea friends at the coffee shop of an eye clinic, of all places. My friend had Lasik surgery done there and consequently got free drink coupons. Sidenote – I actually pay for coffee now! I have grown slightly more used to the taste. We then went souvenir shopping on Insa-dong street, I think I got some truly Korean things for family and friends back at home (kimchi chocolate, anybody?). For dinner we met up with my LE partner and ate delicious chicken dishes. Despite the fact they all knew my fail! Korean skills they made me order the food and pay for it in order for me to practice (or for them to tease me about my Korean).

Saturday was Lotte World with a friend I met in KSW and a friend who is an English teacher (who I of course interviewed). Lotte World (a world of magic and fantasy) was so much fun! We shopped at the little stores (I used most of my survey money) and rode various rides (my favorite has to be Pharoh’s Fury). We even went to a shooting range, and I was able to shoot a 9mm gun and get a passing score of 73.

Sunday I used my free movie ticket to watch Avatar with my friend (we agreed it gave off a Native American vibe and was a tad cliché but still a great movie), returned my cell phone, and went to mass for the final time in Korea. My last dinner in Korea was 참치찌개, a meal I will most definitely miss. I started packing at around 11PM. My whole life has been reduced to two suitcases, plus a backpack and a smaller suitcase. Here's my last Korean meal at 김밥천국 (Kimbap Heaven).

That smaller suitcase cost me $116! It’s all those Korean books. I didn't say goodbye to some of my friends (please don't be mad!) but I know we will stay connected via Facebook. I hung out at the airport for five hours, finished that huge paper, saw some famous people (I think?) filming a commercial, met up with my aunt (coming from Manila to immigrate to the U.S.), and boarded the plane. Asiana always has good food – I had 쌈밥 for dinner, which I fear might be my last Korean meal for a while…now I am back home, safe and sound. It’s good to be back but I am definitely going to miss Korea!!!

I just want to say 감사합니다 (thank you) to all my (silent) readers for staying with me despite my irregular updates and spazztastic posts. Even though I failed some missions I was assigned to while in Korea (buying a pig-rabbit, visiting the set of 무한도전, or Infinity Challenge), I had a wonderful time and am grateful that I was able to share it with all of you. If you have any questions at all, feel free to email or Facebook me. I think I will continue blogging about my life adventures, but Santos is most definitely no longer in Seoul!

Times flies...

...when you're studying abroad! Lame, I know, but true nonetheless. Here's an long overdue update from the land of the morning calm.

Last last Friday I went to 이태원 with my friend in order to check out the KC Philippine Store to see if I could buy mass quantities of Filipino food for my food project. Turns out it was a small family run store that seemed pretty cool but I was too embarrassed by my utter lack of Tagalog skillz to start a conversation. I ended up calling them a week later in order to have a backup plan for acquiring food. Lunch was an utter disaster because I know I ended up eating nuts of a sort at this vegan place, no matter how much they denied it. Never again. I knew I should have questioned the protein like substance...study abroad tip #1: learn the language enough so you can ask about the food, especially if you have allergies. Never assume anything. Question anything remotely suspicious. Or else you will end up throwing up in the bathroom of a subway station.

Moving on...in the afternoon I skipped Korean class (third time only!) in order to see Super Junior members sell cabbage. Mwahaha. Here are the members I saw.

From left to right: Shindong, Eunhyuk, Leeteuk, and Sungmin (신동, 은혁, 이특, and 성민)

Even though my favorite members did not participate (they were in China) it was a lot of fun being an utter fangirl along with the screaming middle and high school girls. There were some college girls there too, so no judging! The four boys (men?) were selling cabbage for charity. They were out in the cold for two hours, entertaining the crowd by talking in different languages, singing, dancing, charming older ladies who legitimately wanted to buy cabbage, and bantering between themselves. It was surreal seeing them so close - they're way to skinny. Even the supposed "fat one" is skinny! I ended up buying three heads of cabbage for $3.00 (just so I could walk past the stage to get a really good look at them). Since I was not going to carry the cabbage with me on the subway I gave them to a waiting 아줌마 who gave me about $0.50 in return. The things I do for Super Junior...

The following morning I woke up around 4:30 AM in order to go to the airport to see my parents! Everything went pretty smoothly, thank goodness! They were able to come back and see my place (and my mom proceeded to be thoroughly impressed by the toilet). I showed them how to use the bus system and gave them a mini tour of Yonsei's campus. My mom managed to talk for the entire time we were together, which is not surprising at all, but she also took my only Yonsei sweatshirt. In return they gave me and my roommates dried mangoes, candy, and ensaymada. Love you Mom and Dad!

That evening I watched the MAMA (M.Net Asian Music Awards) on my flat screen high def TV. Anyone else surprised by some of the winners?

On Sunday I went to a Korean movie theater for the first time! They're pretty classy. I watched Good Morning, President (굿모닝 프레지던트), a Korean movie that had English subtitles (certain movie theaters around Seoul are foreigner friendly in that respect). I thought it was a great movie and I recommend it to anyone, but especially those who are remotely interested in how the Korean presidency works. After that my LE partner and I went to eat lunch at 명동교자 (Myeongdong Gyoja), a very famous, very crowded, very fast-paced restaurant known for its wonderful 칼국수 (kalguksu, or knife noodles) and ridiculously spicy 김치, even for Koreans! You know a place is worth eating at when there's constantly a line out the door (or the fact that it's been mentioned in almost every Korean travel guide). When we were finally able to get a spot we had to order and pay right away, but in return the food came literally four minutes later. It was so worth the wait outside!

Special highlights from my volunteering last Monday include playing ball with one slightly shy yet adorable little girl and reading Goodnight Moon, a childhood favorite of mine. That afternoon I was interviewed about my love for modern Korean culture (for my friend's Korea through Ethnography project). In the evening I got together with my Korean Social Welfare group and worked on making our employment presentation. The native Koreans in the group are awesome people - their English is pretty much fluent and they're so much fun to work with and talk to! Yay for making friends with the locals!

I would kind of like to forget that Wednesday but I feel it is valuable to bring up. Ever since the beginning of the semester I have been in contact with a girl who wanted to start doing an annual speech contest for exchange students about their home countries and experiences living in Seoul. I thought, why not?, and signed up. Little did I know that she expected the speech to be in Korean. :o As a Beginning Korean 1 student finally learning the "informal yet still appropriate for speaking with older people" form I of course panicked and made my LE partner translate the whole thing for me in Korean a day before the speech was due. One problem - I was totally lost since I had no idea how to pronounce some things nor had a clue about the grammar or even what the (insert beep here) I was saying. I probably should have thought of that. So of course I butchered Korean in front of a crowd of Yonsei students and three judges.

For my participation I got a "study harder and come back to Korea" comment from the head judge as well as a Yonsei mug and pen. Study abroad tip #2: if you're going to be speaking in the host language in front of host nationals (in the form of a speech contest or something similar), for the love of (insert desirable thing here) practice in front of somebody who will correct you until you sound fluent . You can't wing things like this. I found that out the hard way. Don't put something like this off until the last minute unless you want to sound like you absolutely didn't care about what you were doing. This was probably the most embarrassing thing I have done while I have been here, but it was definitely a learning experience.

Thursday was my group's day to present about employment strategies in Korea and abroad. I think we did a pretty awesome job considering our professor only interrupted us three times (some of the other groups had to deal with the professor practically taking over their presentations). Thursday was also Thanksgiving in the United States, so that evening CIEE hosted a banquet that had classic dishes like turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, ham, peas, and rolls. I did miss Filipino food a little bit though. Come to think of it, this is the second time I've missed Thanksgiving with my family, the first time being in New York with my high school marching band. Anyway...a special guest, an English teacher through CIEE, joined us for dinner and of course I had to interview her for my class! She seemed a bit hesitant at first but I think it all turned out well. If there's an opportunity before I leave we are definitely going to hang out!

Black Friday (not so much in Korea) I read my friend's Statement of Purpose in order to look for any grammar mistakes or awkward phrasing. I didn't have to change much since she has pretty awesome English skills. She's a native Korean who wants to go to graduate school in the U.S. to obtain a master's in social work. How cool is that? Perhaps I should also start thinking about options for life after college outside of Peace Corps and possibly law school. Should I take the GRE, the LSAT, or forsake all standardized tests and become a missionary?

That afternoon four classmates and our professor, who is apparently the "mother of Korean social welfare" because of her work in the field, went on a field trip to Holt Children's Services. Holt started out as an overseas adoption agency but has expanded to encompass services for domestic adoption, foster care, single parent homes, multicultural families, etc. We were able to speak with the resident social worker and got a tour of the facilities. Maybe I should become a social worker despite the low pay? I do love being an idealist (sorry expensive education)! Here's a baby receiving physical therapy.

Saturday I was supposed to go make kimchi but my body had other ideas. I am currently sick, seeing how I've been hacking up grossness and using all the toilet paper on my nose. I stayed in to work on the food project. Disappointing but my body needed the rest. Study abroad tip #3: don't forget to take care of yourself by sleeping and eating properly. Sleep especially. I have been living off of three hours of sleep per day because of my own stupidity. Don't do that, especially in a country anal about swine flu. I hope I haven't been infecting everyone...

Sunday I met up with Filipino friends (I met another one!) and we all went to eat Filipino food and then browse the Filipino Sunday Market. There my food group was able to buy lumpia and pancit. We got service lumpia for buying a huge amound of pancit. How sweet is that? We then went back to DMC in order to watch Manny Pacquiao's latest victory on my lovely TV. In the evening after mass my food group scrambled to finish our presentation. I personally scrambled to make sure the paper was at least coherent and not overlapping itself. Here's what I ate for lunch - masarap!


Monday I read The Hungry Caterpillar again to the kids and received a group hug for my efforts. It was the cutest thing ever! I then went to edit the group paper, print it, warm up the lumpia using the I-House microwave, and then go to class. Our presentation went okay but it was lacking in creativity and happy fun times which our professor grades us on. I am personally afraid my individual grade will suffer since I spoke the fewest out of my group members, but we shall see. That evening I indulged on leftovers and episodes of Ouran High School Host Club.

I only have 20 days left here in Seoul! They will be filled with way too many essays and studying for finals but I still want to have some fun before I leave! Must manage time carefully!

Days go by (and still I think of you)

In honor of my Lola Sidra, who is now smiling down at her whole family from up in heaven. :)

So I am supposed to be summarizing Esping-Anderson's three welfare regimes, but of course I must procrastinate as much as possible (hence this blog entry). Such is life. I have discovered a new love for American and Japanese rock music while in Korea, whereas all I would listen to back in the states was K-pop. Such is life.

The past week was a relatively low key one for me. Monday night I ordered delivery from my favorite Chinese restaurant (in reality the only one I actually have the number for). I absolutely LOVE delivery, done promptly and without tip! Tuesday night I went to eat 삼겹살 with two absolutely fantastic (elastic) fangirls. Wednesday night I saw Cookin' Nanta, "Korea's best no.1 performance." It was a lot of fun, especially when two of my friends (and eventually the audience) got involved. Thursday I once again ordered out but this time with a friend, and we ate while listening to oldies music. Classic. Friday night I ate 라면 and the weekend I spent catching up on my favorite TV shows, taking breaks to do homework. No joke. This may be boring for some but I personally needed the time to just chill and plan what to do for my final month in Seoul! :(

Monday marked the return of 자넬선생님, resident tambourine holder and principle nemesis of little boys who watch way too many robot cartoons. The battles were epic. I read the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar to the children, throwing me back to when I was the one in the audience. A few of them have really gotten used to me since they even gave me kisses as their way of saying goodbye. Cutest kids ever!!! Monday night I was persuaded to eat out and go to, where else, 노래방, instead of do the very thing I am supposed to be working on right now. No regrets though since it was good times.

Tuesday night I ate dinner with a friend of mine who is currently having boy problems. It was amusing hearing her talk about the pros and cons of possibly pursuing a relationship when she only has a month left in the country. Hehe. Wednesday (yesterday) I finally bought shirts for my parents who I will be seeing this Saturday at Incheon International Airport (인천국제공항). I also bought myself a Korean style hat that is perfect for the increasingly cold weather. Lunch was 부대찌개 (budae jjigae), a thick soup that contains ingredients like hot dog pieces, green onions, kimchi, and even ramen noodles. Dinner was 제육덮밥‏, or pork fried rice. 맛있습니다! (a formal way of saying delicious). I apologize for recounting every meal I eat in Korea, but I want to savor Korean food as much as possible before I go back to the states and back to not getting kimchi with every meal!

Cooking with Nuns

Based on just my last name, somebody thought I was from Brazil. That's a first for me. Yay for Santos around the world!

On Sunday I went with my friend to meet the Southside Hash House Harriers, "a drinking group with a running problem." Basically it's a group of English teachers who meet up over the weekend to run in the morning and drink some sort of alcohol after they run. Is that even healthy? Anyway, I was on a mission to at least interview one teacher, and luckily I was able to get three! The teachers themselves were really cool people, having come to Korea for a variety of reasons but all making the most out of their time here. The Hash, as they call themselves, also got me to participate in one of their after run specials since I was the newcomer. This involved singing a little bit of "Chicago" (woot!) and doing an interpretive dance while wearing pirate gear and searching for the long lost penis. No, don't ask. It was good times, good times.

Side note: if anyone's interested in the findings of my anthropological research I can hook you up with results sometime in December (after the final paper is written).

On Monday I was able to go back to my regularly scheduled play time with little 3-year-old Koreans. They looked at me strangely after I spoke a little of my fail! Korean and instead decided to chase me around the gym. Monday evening my roommate and I ordered Kyochon Chicken, endorsed by the one and only Super Junior. My fangirling extends to keeping the bags the chicken comes in, no joke.

Tuesday and Wednesday were homework and chill days in which I was able to order delivery on my own. I love delivery. I was feeling a little sick - I suspect that I came down with something ever since the Everland trip. Water rides in the rain, not the smartest idea ever. Wednesday I also made my language exchange partner participate in an interview about how native Korean women view beauty. I think many Korean women think that having big eyes, a small face, white skin, long hair, and a slim body are necessary in order to be considered beautiful, as well as having an amicable personality and a killer sense of fashion. Which leads to all Korean women, with a few variations, looking exactly the same, or at least striving for the same ideal. Whether it's plastic surgery or the need to conform in order to fit in, all Korean women end up looking the same. Which they're perfectly okay with, and even want. What do you think?

Thursday evening I finally met the girl whom I have been in contact with via email ever since I came to Korea. She is planning an event in which foreign exchange/visiting students share their culture and experiences living in Korea to native Korean Yonsei students in order to facilitate intercultural exchange, or something like that. The catch is that the speech has to be entirely in Korean! As a Beginning Korean I student I don't think that is even possible but I will try, nevertheless, and get plenty of help from my native Korean friends. I got some delicious 불고기 and sweet potato pizza out of the meeting!

Friday I was finally able to meet up with my mentor after not hanging out with her for about two months. The cell, which consisted of nine people, went to go eat some delicious hotpot stew thingy that had meat, veggies, and noodles in it. After that we went to a board game room where loads of games were available for the taking, and we definitely took advantage of all the card games they had to offer!

Saturday around lunch I met with a Fulbright ETA who is also an alumni of the CIEE program and who thankfully was willing to be interviewed about her experiences as an English teacher in a rural area of Korea. Check out her blog located on the left if you're interested in learning her story! We chatted (well, I mostly made her do the talking while I was furiously scribbling down notes) over delicious bowls of 비빔밥.

Saturday afternoon I did my first activity with the Giving Tree Club of Yonsei - I helped prepare an authentic Korean dinner for the elderly living at a retirement home run by nuns. I didn't know it at the time, but the group I was in comprised of singles in their early 30's. I actually participated in cooking, such as washing and chopping up vegetables, adding tons of stuff to a big pot of stew, turning meat brown, boiling up cabbage leaves, and rolling plenty of 쌈밥 (ssambap), which is basically rolled up rice and meat in cabbage leaves. Since we were able to eat the meal we created, I felt proud that it turned out delicious and happy that the old folks seemed satisfied.

Sunday/Monday morning was dedicated solely to essay writing. I somehow turned out nine pages in the span of this time. I'm still not quite sure what I wrote and if I actually answered the questions...senioritis has come big time. Bleh.

Today I returned to the childcare center. I think the kids are getting used to me - I kept getting pummeled with hugs! THEY'RE SO CUTE!!! I had my own 자넬선생님 (Janelle teacher, literally) segment - I read out loud to them in English and the real 선생님translated what I said into Korean. This involved me making funny noises and the kids laughing and hopefully having a good time.

Well, in order to prevent future crises such as the one I had yesterday, I must actually go and do some homework. I graduate in less than seven months!

And if you managed to get this far...please keep my grandma Sidra and our whole family in your prayers as she is in currently in critical condition. Thanks and God bless! :)

Happy Halloween!

So I lost my little notebook in which I write everything I do, so this entry may be a little scatterbrained since my memory is not the best...

Last Monday I forgot to mention that I started to volunteer at Ewha Institute of Early Childhood Education and Care. I basically get to play with the cutest 3-year-olds! Since it was my first day I attempted to to introduce myself in my fail! Korea, and then the children showed me a little dance. :) After that we went to play at the gym where they basically ran around everywhere while have a grand time.

Tuesday evening I went with my language exchange partner and her friend from France to 청계천 (Cheonggyecheon) stream. It was very peaceful. And small. Very small. Here's a little bit of it.

Wednesday I studied for that KSW midterm, and luckily my friend called me at midnight to let me know that the professor posted the exact questions online! Is that even allowed? Regardless, I was able to study the right things and during the test I basically scribbled down everything I remembered. I also had the first part of my Korean midterm - the reading comprehension, where we read paragraphs and answered questions, and the listening, where all the beginning students (60 or so) gathered in an auditorium and answered questions that the teacher read.

Friday was the writing and speaking test. The writing portion involved a lot of little grammar points while the speaking basically required us to introduce ourselves, our family, and point out where objects were.

Friday night was a lot of fun. Since it was my friends birthday, we all went out to eat at an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place and then of course went drinking. Yogurt soju is dangerously delicious. I left early in order to go to, what else, a 노래방 with slightly tipsy (if not drunk) people. Good times.

Saturday I went to the Kimchi Love Festival. Where else would have an entire weekend dedicated to 김치? I arrived a little later because I was distracted by 교보문고, or Kyobo Bookstore. They have an entire section dedicated to foreign books, as well as sections for K-pop and 만화 (manwha), the Korean equivalent of manga. I found a book that my resident director wrote!
The kimchi festival displayed many, many types of kimchi. I initially went to the wrong palace, which can only happen in Korea...the kimchi was delicious. Here's examples:


Sunday after some plans fell through I decided to visit the Catholic Martyr's Shrine, known as 절두산 (Jeoldusan). I saw the hill where Korean Catholics were persecuted for their beliefs, as well as a museum with various artifacts such as letters and pictures, and a church that can be seen in this picture.

Since I had some time before I had to go to mass I decided to explore the infamous foreigner's district, 이태원 (Itaewon), because of an English language used bookstore. 이태원 is pretty cool, actually, since you can see more foreigners than Koreans! I think Koreans go there if they want to feel like they're in the States or something. I bought some touristy postcards so send me your address if you want one!

Monday my volunteering was canceled because of, what else, H1N1. I hope the kids are alright! Some of my friends are currently down with swine flu - I hope they can recover soon! Tuesday night I first went to eat delicious if overpriced Mexican food. I then went to Hongdae to meet with the first of my interviewees for my Korea through Ethnography project, English teachers. They were all young adults making the most of their time in Korea. I interviewed them over tacos and ice cream.

Wednesday I met my LE partner and we had Chinese for lunch. I learned that she lives in area where SM and JYP Entertainment are located, and she has even shopped with Sunye from the Wonder Girls! One of her group members in her law class is the Miss Korea of 2008! Pretty cool, huh? in a slightly spur of the moment decision I went to 동대문 (Dongdaemun) to shop for clothes for my Halloween costume. Ever heard of Teen Girls Squad? I was "so and so" which required me to buy a plaid skirt. It was relatively cheap so I didn't mind, but me actually buying a skirt? Wow.

Thursday evening one significant thing that happened was me being able to order delivery on my own with my fail! Korean. I was proud of myself. :) Thursday night was the Mentor's Club Halloween party, so I dressed up in my costume (I looked like a preppy school girl) and went to the club. The only reason I was there was for Rivers crew, the first b-boy crew in Korea, and they definitely did not disappoint! The international students were dressed in the strangest yet most hilarious costumes. I attempted to dance but it was just me moving back and forth to techno music. Actually clubbing, I have discovered, is not my thing at all.

Friday night I went with I-House people to eat cheap yet tasty pizza and, of course, 노래방. It's a weekly thing. I sang a lot out of the 10 people who were there, but I think everyone had fun. Saturday (today) I went to Everland, where every day is a holiday! XD I rode on the highest inclination wooden coaster in the world, the T-Express, as well as other roller coasters before it started raining! Boo. I loved riding one of the roller coasters in the rain! We mostly did indoor activities after that, such as playing games at an arcade and bumper cars!


One of the best games ever:

Tomorrow I'm off to meet more English teachers, which should be good times. I can't believe it's already going to be November!

Halfway done but still going strong!

I have LOTS to blog about concerning the last two weekends. I should be studying for my Korean Social Welfare midterm in three days...

So, JAPAN! We left from Gimpo Airport and arrived at Kansai International at approximately 10:30 AM. After a bus ride and delicious shellfish free bento we arrived at the Golden Pavilion, which is really gold.

I bought charms for my parental units, my language exchange partner, and of course myself. Hehe. The next stop was Nijo Castle, home of Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was pretty sweet. I couldn't stop thinking of Rurouni Kenshin (for those anime fans out there).

Next stop, the hotel and meeting my Technos buddy! Thankfully everything went according to plan and I met up with her and her roommate. I decided that I wanted to see the Gion district to possibly see a modern day geisha, and this worked out well since they were meeting friends there. I wanted something really Japanese so they took me to a sushi conveyor belt place that was all sorts of delicious.

While waiting for her friends to show up we chatted about life, studying abroad, memories of our first time in Japan...good times, good times. When we did find her friends they were a tad intimidating but overall pretty cool people. After finding them food we chilled on the riverside. One of the best things about Japan is the fact that there are so many rivers to chill on! I unfortunately had to leave (early start the next day) but I loved being able to see her again, back in Japan! Joelle, whenever you are in the Midwest, facebook me so we can go sushi hunting!

The next day was dedicated to the purpose of the CIEE excursion - the Korean diaspora. First on the agenda, though, was a walking tour of Kyoto, which in reality meant visiting various temples and shrines. We managed to observe a traditional wedding!

At Osaka we took a tour of Korea Town, where of course the largest concentration of Koreans in Japan can be found. Meat, kimchi, and various Korea foods could be smelt all around. I suppose I should say something meaningful here about what I learned...the number of Koreans is decreasing thanks to interracial marriages and those kids identifying themselves as Japanese. Since Koreans in Japan are third or fourth generation the language nor culture is not being passed down as much in favor of assimilating into Japanese culture. However, with the hallyu wave of Korean pop culture sweeping Asia I think more ethnic Koreans are taking pride in their heritage.

At night we were left to explore Osaka. Friends and I went to eat non-deadly okonomiyaki and of course go shopping. I ended up buying more Engrish shirts to add to my growing collection. I can't wait to wear them around IWU, hehe.

Sunday we left for the ancient capital of Japan, Nara, now the deer capital. No joke. Deer EVERYWHERE. We went to Todaiji Temple (largest wooden one in Japan) and Nara National Museum. We ate a delicious traditional lunch and returned early to spend our free time around Osaka. I bought legit clothing, surprisingly enough, and an art book for my 姉, which resulted in all my yen being totally spent!

For our final day in Japan, we went to see Osaka Castle, home of Hideyoshi Toyotomi. This was the dude who decided to invade Korea in order to prove his manhood or something. Yay Japanese history!

We then had to go to the airport. :( I loved being in Japan. I could actually communicate with people! But ultimately I am glad that I chose to study abroad in Korea - the food's cheap, my classes actually apply to my major, and I have met some pretty awesome people!

Back to routine. The week before midterms was full of people asking teachers for breaks and less homework. I had to work on a presentation for my Intercultural Communication class about Social Identity theory with a friend. I think we did fine - the class didn't seem too bored! Wednesday night I went to N Seoul Tower with my language exchange partner, adding to my list of towers that I have visited around the world (Tokyo Tower, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Sears Tower). At the bottom was this ADORABLE teddy bear museum and the view at the top was excellent. I could see Seoul in all its sparkling glory! Anyone recognize the 궁 bears?

What did I do after that...oh yeah, I basically studied the entire weekend, with generous breaks for a traditional music concert, watching One Piece, and a 노래방 jam session with people I should hang out with more often. Today I had my Intercultural Communication midterm - I think I knew everything on there, but the extent to which I knew those things is to be determined by the professor. We'll see! Well, this turned out to be a picture post more than anything - I'll update Facebook with photos come December. XD More blogging after midterms!

I think I broke my iPod...

So I should be sleeping now since I leave for Japan in approximately five hours, but I felt like I needed to update my lovely little blog. On my lovely laptop. The weather here is getting slightly chilly, but nothing a Chicagoan can't handle.

School's progressing, I'm procrastinating, it's all good. :) Last Wednesday some CIEE people went to a drama cafe, where we dressed up in traditional Korean clothing and posed for the camera. I actually had a lot of fun! Thursday I attended a Filipino dance performance entitled Bahaghari, hosted by the Philippine embassy, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Korea. Of course I went with my Filipino friends. See that I do have friends here! Hehe.


Over the weekend Koreans celebrated Chusok (추석), or Korean Thanksgiving. For me that meant Friday off! I spent my three day weekend watching Chusok specials featuring the biggest k-pop groups, eating 7-11 food, and sleeping. It was all sorts of amazing. I actually ventured out on Saturday and ended up visiting 3 museums and 2 palaces in the span of 3 hours, all for free! It was surprisingly crowded, with a lot of families taking advantage of the cultural activities such as playing instruments, creating masks, and pounding rice cake. It was quite the experience being amongst so many Koreans and everybody (including myself) thoroughly enjoyed being out and about. This is Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) Palace.


Monday was all sorts of disastrous. I was out with friends and we had Indian food. Little did I know that there were nuts ground up in the curry. One bite was enough for me to get hives by nightfall, despite taking 2 Benedryl and some Korean allergy medicine. Parental units, I have officially learned my lesson and will ask about everything I have even the slightest doubt about. And I think a gayageum is over my price range, yet would be ideal for that heavy metal band. Yes, this is my way of answering comments. XD I ended up not doing Honors Research by the way, since it would be too difficult to focus on a topic as well as my current studies while in Korea. I'll just work hard to find a job come spring semester.

Wednesday with my language exchange partner went to eat delicious shabu-shabu. I then had a presentation about Irish conversations. In the evening the ambassador from Sweden talked to the CIEE group about Kyoto for our upcoming Japan trip! I will definitely blog about it when I get back!

Happy Belated Birthday Mom!

In honor of my Mom. :)

So for the past two nights I haven't actually officially slept. I had two papers due back to back, one about nonverbal communication and the other a summary about the three important factors of social policy development in Western nations from 1850-1950. If you know anything about the way I write papers my stupidity does not come off as a surprise but to those of you who think I am responsible...definitely not the case. I am someone who puts off papers until the day they are do and stay up all night to do them. What do I do in the time I am not writing the paper? Well, I have recently been hooked on One Piece and I caved in and bought the season pass for Heroes from iTunes. I totally have senioritis...

Nothing terribly exciting happened this past week. On Tuesday I went to Red Mango and a DVD bang, where we watched My Girlfriend is an Agent, a really funny and well done Korean movie, and 300. SPARTA!!!

On Wednesday I met my Language Exchange partner for the first time and she's totally awesome! We ate lunch at this cute little place that served delicious Japanese food and chatted about my lack of Korean skills, her trips studying abroad, and our mutual love for learning languages (even if I totally fail at it!). Yay for attempts at befriending native Koreans! I feel as if the program is not beneficial at all for the Koreans except that they get to meet foreigners. For the exchange students, however, we get to become friends with someone who knows perfect English, can show you around Seoul, pays for your food, and can even check your Korean homework! To me this seems very unequal so I will do my best to assist my partner by practicing possible interview questions in English and the like. Wednesday night I was surprisingly productive!

Thursday morning I totally ignored my alarm and woke up at 8:17 AM. I have class at 9:10 AM on Thursdays. After having an "oh, snap" moment I practically ran to the bus stop and was able to make it to class at 9:17 AM due to a good amount of traffic. Thursday evening I hung out with cool Filipino people! Three were half (but all Filipino at heart), one was actually from the Philippines, one was the guy who organized the gathering, and me. We ate at this cute bibimbap place, got cheap yet delicious waffles, and sung our hearts out in true Filipino style at noraebang.

Friday on my way to see a play I experienced what a sardine must feel like on the subway. I had to literally shove myself onto the car and was squished between two guys in suits. The play I saw with my friend was called Hotel Splendid, which was (now I'm going to quote myself) "a very emotional and moving play about four comfort women serving Japanese soldiers during World War II. I knew very little about the 200,000 women who were forced to have sex with the enemy every night as a part of their “patriotic duty” so I was glad to be able to watch a play like this which gave insight into a little bit of how life was like for these women, made even better because of the English subtitles! All the women were portrayed as strong and courageous human beings despite everything they had to go through. One women remained faithful to the memory of her dead husband while another somehow remained optimistic about life. What struck me the most was one subplot involving one of the women and a kamikaze pilot, which seemed to me like a real love story in true Romeo and Juliet fashion."

Saturday I went to my music class for the second time (out of a possible four times). Here's a little blurb about it: "Through the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts I am taking a weekly music class specifically designed for foreigners. Taught in English by teachers who are truly masters of their art, I am able to learn how to play the instrument I thought was the most intriguing of the traditional Korean musical instruments, the gayageum, or the 12-stringed plucked zither. This class has already allowed me to experience more of Korea’s rich musical culture by learning how to properly pluck the gayageum in order to produce lovely melodies. Even when it is hard and I just can’t seem to play the instrument properly I appreciate all the more the knowledge and patience my teacher has in showing me the correct way to do it. I already know how to play some of Korea’s traditional songs and will be giving a final performance at the end of the semester to show off my newfound skills."

The whole week I had been planning on going to the R19 B-boy world championships but things just didn't work out, so I ended up going to a fireworks show which ended up being cancelled due to...swine flu. WHY?!?!? On the bright side, the area we went to reminded me of Chicago's Lakefront. A friend and I stayed there for a little bit before meeting her friend in Hongdae. We, of course, ended up going to a bar with delicious nachos.

Sunday was procrastination, mass, more procrastination, and finally working on the first paper.

On Monday DMC residents got free pizza and rice cakes in honor of the holiday coming up, Korea's own Chusok (Thanksgiving). After that I procrastinated some more and finally gave up to write the paper. That reminds me - I also turned in an application to be a part of IWU's Mortar Board, a new Senior Honor society yet I have not heard back from them. Hopefully that works out! Now should I apply for Research Honors or just enjoy my last semester on campus job hunting? Just in case you were wondering, my program has this "Cultural Reimbursement" program where I write a blurb and they give me money back for participating in things that enhance my knowledge of Korean culture. Yay CIEE!