I'm on a boat!

Since I have finished my Korean homework I feel justified in blogging about my past week. I have finally started classes and have had an extremely busy but amazing weekend!

Sunday night I went to a jjimjilbang (찜질방), the Korean equivalent of a bathhouse. I got naked in public for the second time in life - the first was at an onsen (温泉) in Japan - and dipped into the hot and cold baths. We also went into many saunas (cinnamon room, really hot brick room, pine room, cold room) and lounged around. It was so relaxing! A perfect way to begin the semester.

Monday I once again went to the Korean equivalent of Walmart, Home Plus, and finally finished shopping for essential things. We ate a very cheap lunch and then went on to explore Yonsei's campus, and specifically find where our classes are at. Side note - meals here can be incredibly cheap, with one example being a bowl of steaming mandu ramyeon and side dishes costing about $3.00! I love Korea! :) After that we walked around and I bought shoes to make up for my destroyed sandals. There is no turning back!

Tuesday was my first day of classes. My Korean Social Welfare class seems like it will be very interesting - the professor has done research comparing the social welfare systems of America, Japan, and Korea and tends to throw in her thoughts during lectures. The majority of students are native Korean speakers who are apprehensive of taking a class like this in English, so I think the professor will go easy on them (and thus easy on the international students!). My Korea through Ethnography class is going to be a lot of fun - we get to interview people for our final! The focus of the class is identity issues and migration, so I plan on either interviewing migrant workers or expatriate English teachers and discovering how life is like for them in this very homogeneous and proud country.

Ate, if you're reading this, please tell Dan the Man II that I finally finished The Name of the Rose and will be forever grateful for his recommendation. It was exactly the type of novel I enjoy - I even bought my own copy and brought it to Korea just so I could finish it! And my roommate's name is Joyce, just to let you know. :)

Wednesday I decided to check out the library - Yonsei has a system in which students have to reserve study spaces (up to 6 hours!) before you can study somewhere, probably because of the large amount of people who attend the school. It was quite intimidating, but I plan on studying there if I really need to get work done. My Intercultural Communication class is really big but I know it will be good - the professor is a Korean who grew up in Kenya and has the coolest accent! She is also very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, which is critical if you want your students to retain something after the class ends. I also had my very first Korean Language class - right away the teacher started to drill the alphabet into everybody's heads. She spoke very little English and forced everyone to repeat after her, one by one. I think I will learn a lot!

Thursday highlights include lunch with two fellow fangirls, dinner at a 삼겹살 place with a fun group of people and 노래방 to wrap the day up! That was a ton of fun - I ended up singing a few songs and even danced to the YMCA! Friday I only had Korean class so after that friends and I attended a B-boy show courtesy of CIEE. The show was so much fun - the dancers did some amazing stunts and throughout I was reminded of ABDC. There were guys in sparkly shirts imitating boy band members! To end the night we watched the movie version of Mamma Mia! while drinking soju and swapping k-pop songs.

Saturday was the first day of my music class. I am learning how to play a traditional Korean 12-stringed instrument (가야금) but I am hoping to switch and take lessons for the Korean bamboo flute (단소) since I have always wanted to learn how to play a wooden flute. However, that class is in Korean ... lunch was with my friend who attends the drum class - it's so much fun learning more about my fellow international students! And if you're wondering why I don't use people's actual names, I'm just too lazy.

Saturday afternoon/evening I was able to attend the Incheon Korean Music Wave Festival 2009 because of a friend I made who overheard me talking about my love for boy bands!!! Dinner was fried chicken and radishes sold at one of the tents and our seats were special seats for foreigners pretty close to the stage. I saw artists such as F.T. Island, SHINee, Younha, 2PM, Super Junior, and Rain live in concert. Everyone performed flawlessly and the crowd kept on going wild. I screamed like the fangirl I am when my favorite artists were on! Needless to say, this was one of the best experiences I have had thus far in Korea. This picture is of Younha, by the way. I have followed her music ever since she did the ending theme for the anime Bleach. Yes, she sings in both Japanese and Korean and has an absolutely amazing voice. I'm so happy I got to see her perform live!


Sunday morning I had to wake up early to go river rafting! With a tour group friends and I went to Donggang River to go rafting, life vests and helmets included. The scenery was beautiful even if the company was a bit annoying - on our boat were these two little kids who would not stop complaining/moving/asking if they could swim. Other than that, we had a great time taking in the geology (yay!), swimming, and of course rowing.

Monday and Tuesday of this week I have been getting into the groove of going to class and being a student again. I have spent so much money on books, minutes for my phone, Home Plus shopping trips, but now that I have a schedule I think I will be able to budget properly. I also think I am both gaining and losing weight - I keep eating so much delicious Korean food - tonight I had free BBQ (갈비) - but Yonsei's campus has so many hills I think I walk it off! I have pledged to stop buying unnecessary desserts and drinks but I have not yet reached the point of exercising everyday. I might have to though because the dryer keeps on shrinking my clothes ...