tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23759889116573358802024-02-07T00:03:39.711-08:00South Korea Study Abroad!Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-27457603821646851272017-08-17T06:53:00.002-07:002017-08-17T23:04:44.048-07:00Departures, Arrivals, and Bunnies<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last Tuesday I had my last tutoring session with
Sunny. We ended up just talking the whole time. She spent the first hour
opening up about how she was bullied at school and I didn’t have the heart to
stop her. When I noticed we only had a half hour left, Sunny said “Well it’s
the last session anyway” but she picked up a pencil anyway. But I thought she
was right and said “screw it” so we just chatted for the last half hour. I’m
quite sad about not tutoring her anymore. I told her how grateful I was that I
got her as a student and she said she had fun talking to me. We exchanged
goodbyes, hugged three times, and sent long farewell texts. It was a bit
dramatic. If I were to tutor more middle school kids, I’d like them to be just
like Sunny. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, I had my interview! It was definitely different
from how interviews go in America. I managed to find the place alright and the
first thing I did was take a test, along with four other candidates. The test
was about editing and proofreading and it was actually quite difficult, even
though I’m an English major. After the hour-long test, I waited for my exam to
be graded before going in for an interview. The interview was the oddest part.
We didn’t talk about the job at all. We just chatted about Korea and
translation and other such things. I think maybe he was just getting a feel for
me and my personality but it felt weird leaving the office after that. The
hiring manager was worried about my low level of Korean and the fact that I
won't have my documents for at least 2 weeks. But I think that I still have a chance
because I killed the exam, my writing samples are strong, and everyone I talked
to seemed to like me. We’ll see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday Jihye sent me on yet another TVXQ mission,
this time to Gimpo Airport. Yunho is the representative for Jeju Air and I
guess there was some promo with a free poster that she wanted me to get. I took
the train all the way to Gimpo and, alas, all the posters were gone. Do we
still say sold out if they were free? I felt a little bad because this was the
first time I didn’t get what Jihye wanted but I had to move my plans to go do
that and it took a big chunk of time so I didn’t feel too bad. I was
disappointed that I didn’t get a Yunho poster. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I went to the Dongdaemun Craft Mall. I’ve
been wanting to buy the stuff to make a DIY phone case since I returned to
Korea but no one would go with me. It just kept being pushed off so I finally
just decided to go by myself. I’m so happy I did. The Dongdaemun Craft Mall is
huge and has four buildings so I actually went into the wrong one first but I
figured that out pretty quickly and made my way to the right floor in the right
block. The phone cases you can make are basically where you pick out cute
charms and then glue them with colored glue to a blank phone case. I just went
all out and picked every charm that I thought was adorable. I realized that I
had too many charms for one case so I decided to buy two cases and two colored
glues but when I handed my stuff to the vendor, I started to freak out about
the price. The vendor took a long time tallying the total up because each
individual charm has its own price and that process gave me time to panic. I
didn’t even look at the prices for all my charms and I didn’t hold back either.
I started thinking about if it went over 50,000 won and how I would be okay as
long as it wasn’t more than that but then the vendor looks up and says “25,000
won.” That’s it? Can you believe that? I was so happy. I paid him his money and
practically skipped out of the building. I’m very happy with my purchase and I’m
saving the craft for a day when I have nothing to do. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Dongdaemun</div>
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All the stuff I got for 25,000 won</div>
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layout for character case</div>
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layout for food case</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday, I met up with Soojung for the first time
since she bailed on me for the Mud Festival. Neither of us mentioned it, which I
thought was a good idea because I probably would have blown up if she tried to
make some excuse. Anyway, we met up to tried Hwo Gwo, which is the Korean name
for a Chinese hot pot dish that I don’t know how to describe. It’s the Chinese
version of Shabu Shabu, in a yinyang-like pot. It’s a dish that has multiple
soups/sauces that are boiling and you put the ingredients in. Soojung’s really
been wanting to try this dish and at this particular store in Hongdae so we
went. It actually wasn’t that good. I think part of it may have been that the
tastes were incredibly unfamiliar. Like, I can’t even tell you what it tasted
like. And I think I’m allergic to something that was in it because my left hand
swelled up and felt numb and I got a rash for two days. I actually liked the
middle sauce the best but it took me like halfway through the meal to figure it
out. I also got to try lotus root and lamb, which I was happy about, but I
wouldn’t have to go eat Hwo Gwo again. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Afterwards, Soojung and I walked around a bit. There’s
a quiet, little park with a walking path and a stream that we walked about but
it was such a change from Hongdae that it was hard to adjust. When we turned
around, I mentioned that there was a bunny café in the area and we decided to
go there. I love bunnies; I raised one for eight years and adored him. We found
the place with little difficulty and paid for a half hour with the rabbits. There
were maybe twenty rabbits there in cages and two pen areas. The rabbits were
rotated between the pens and the cages depending on how tired they were.
Soojung and I put on aprons and sat on cushions and played with maybe seven
rabbits. I bought some food to bring in so the bunnies would love me and that
worked pretty well. I really liked it but my only criticism is that they don’t
clean up after the bunnies as much as they should so the bunnies’ feet were all
wet from stepping in their own pee. That was gross but if you come prepared and
don’t let them touch you where the apron isn’t, it’s fine. The employees were
nice and spoke English and the bunnies were super sweet. One of the bunnies
actually peed on Soojung though so we left after that.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We then made our way, around 10, to some bakery that
Soojung had been to before. The cake there was really good. Soojung picked a
chocolate ball with honey cream inside and I picked the tropical cake, which
was mostly mango with raspberry highlights. It was amazing. I love raspberry so
I would 100% go back and get that again. There was a Nutella cake that I want
to try too. The honey one honestly wasn’t as good but that’s because the
chocolate was too rich. I also got an incredibly strong cappuccino smoothie
which was responsible for me not being able to sleep that night. I never used
to be affected by caffeine but I guess I’m getting old. After chatting for a
while, we parted ways for the night.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I met with Byul so that we could plan our
trip for this weekend. We went to Garosugil to have lunch first and then went
to a café to plan. Byul wanted to go to a hamburger place but I don’t eat
hamburgers so we ended up going to a Mexican restaurant called Gamsung Taco. It
was fantastic. I can’t emphasize that enough. I was like moaning with every
bite. We order shrimp fajitas and the plate came out with two kinds of shrimp,
one chili and one with a cheese sauce, and tator tots. The tator tots were
actually so good. There was also multiple sauces to put in with the fajitas. It
was so, so good, although a touch expensive. Definitely recommend. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, we moved to a café to plan. We hadn’t
picked a city yet but I quickly found out that Byul basically had her mind set
on Tongyeong and she wasn’t going anywhere else. If I suggested a place, she
talked about all the negatives, despite the fact that her suggestion is 5 hours
away and we’re only going for one night. I honestly think it’s ridiculous to
spend that much time traveling something to stay such a short time and it’s
incredibly expensive too but I couldn’t pull out of the trip without throwing a
fit so we’re going. We bought bus tickets and reserved a hotel and thought out
the activities for our first day. I’m trying to be excited because it looks
beautiful and we picked some fun activities like yachting and luging, but I get
severely motion sick so that could ruin it all, on top of draining me of my
little remaining funds. Planning took a long time so we could have eaten dinner
together but I needed to save money and I was honestly kind of pissed at Byul
for not thinking of me at all so we parted ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I skyped my family. My brother’s birthday is
coming up so we talked about that, in addition to what we did over the week. My
sister moved up to her college so she wasn’t there. I’ll have to set aside some
time to skype her and my other brother separately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday night, Jihye flew back to Korea so I went
over to Ehwa to help her with her bags and bring her the TVXQ things I had. It
was ridiculous. I got caught in the rain without an umbrella because I didn’t
think I could carry an umbrella in addition to her stuff. Then, Jihye’s bus
didn’t go where she told me so I had to walk all the way back to the station,
where I had just walked from. Finally, I see Jihye and her friend, who also
flew in that day. Jihye had three bags and one of them was a piece of shit. It
was honestly the worst bag I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Picture a
duffle but with wheels on the bottom so there’s no solid structure to hold the
bag up. The wheels went all way they wanted and you couldn’t pull it by the
straps because it would pull over. You had to just grab the material and try
your goddamn best to not let it fall over. I was elected to handle that bag
because I was the shortest and could just pull the main part without bending
too much. It was an absolute joke. I ended up just dragging the thing through
hard sections of the sidewalk because it wouldn’t move a feet without falling
over and I was sweating like a pig before we made it to Jihye’s place, which
was like a mile away by the way. We decided that I was the bag whisperer though
because Jihye tried to take over for me for a little bit and she made it maybe
ten feet in a minute before I took it back. It’s one of those memories that you
know you’re going to laugh about later but we were laughing then too because it
was either laugh or cry and give up. And to think, we could have just taken a
taxi for 5,000 won.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After that long trial, the three of us went out for
dinner at a kimchi chigae place. I’m not too much of a chigae person but it was
pretty darn good. Plus, I got to know Jihye’s friend Norma, whose name I only
asked as I was panting in front of Jihye’s door. Norma is interesting and she
seems nice. After dinner, I went home because the time was nearing the last
subway train. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday, I met Jihye again. We were originally
supposed to go to the Hangang Summer Festival, which had an International Food
Festival and a Fire Performance that day but, just my luck, it rained all day
and those outside events were cancelled. So our Plan B was to have Jihye come
to Konkuk and we would go to a meat bar and maybe noraebang. Well, Jihye took a
nap and slept through her alarm so we had to make a Plan C. I took the train to
Ehwa for the second day in a row and we ate a very late dinner at her favorite
Korean BBQ place. There’s always good food there but the chairs are
uncomfortable. Given how late it was, dinner was all we got to do before I had
to take the subway home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, Jihye and I went to the SM Town Complex to
get some TVXQ cheesecake at the SUM café. I also bought the TVXQ flavored tea,
which was mango flavored. Both items were good but expensive, as is anything that
SM releases. They certainly know how to make money off of fangirls. We happened
to run into someone Jihye knew named Jade so she hung out with us for a while.
The three of us went to dinner after chatting for a while and checking out the
other floors of the SM Town Complex. Jihye knew a guk-bab (soup with rice in
it) place nearby so we walked there. The gukbab was actually really good. I had
no expectations whatsoever but the meat was very tender and I think I might
have to check out gukbab more often. There were some awkward pauses in
conversation and I got the impression that Jade and Jihye didn’t really know
each other very well. After dinner, we went home a bit early, like 10, which I
was incredibly glad for because I got a cold or the flu or something on Tuesday
and everything hurt. The pressure in my sinuses was so bad Tuesday night that
it hurt to close my eyes. It was a relief to go home and be able to blow my
nose in private and cower beneath the covers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Changmin's countdown til he's released from military service</div>
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TVXQ tea, cheesecake, and Yunho</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is Thursday and nothing has gone my way today.
The company I interviewed for wants a second interview which is super great and
I’m excited for but there are two problems. 1) the timing is bad and 2) they
want a Skype interview for some reason. The timing is bad because I have a
cold, which doesn’t give best impression. Also, I had planned on spending
Thursday and Friday running a bunch of errands that I had to do, recovering
from my cold, and applying for jobs. Having the interview via Skype also puts
me in a bad position. Do I do it in my goshiwon where they can see my room but
the internet is good or do I do it in a café where it might look more
professional but the internet might be bad and there could be noise from other
people? I decided to add ‘scouting out cafes’ to my list of errands. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I went out to run errands, I thought to myself
that the most important things were to withdraw money from the bank and buy my
CDs. It was supposed to rain all day but it hadn’t rained a drop and it was
sunny outside so I left the goshiwon in flip flops and without an umbrella. I
went to the bank first to withdraw the money Sunny’s mom paid me for tutoring,
which was my primary task to help pay for this weekend’s trip with Byul.
However, the lady at the bank tells me I need my passport to do a withdrawal,
which I didn’t bring because I didn’t need it last time. It was total bullshit
and she was wrong but she didn’t speak any English and my Korean wasn’t good
enough to argue with her. So I left the bank pissed off at people who can’t do
their job. I then went to the mall to buy some CDs that I’ve been meaning to. I
went today because Taeyang’s album was released yesterday and I wanted to put
the songs on my iPod for the trip. I was originally also going to go to Auntie
Anne’s pretzels and Taco Bell to get dinner as rewards to myself but I was so
pissed off that I decided to skip those in the mall. I went to the CD store,
something and Bundi, and guess what? They didn’t have Taeyang’s album yet,
which was the entire fucking reason I went today. So I didn’t get my money or
my CD, which were my main tasks. But, I bought the other CDs I wanted and left.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I went outside, it was raining. Of course. It
was just a little mist so I thought it was fine. I had about a mile to walk to
go pick up dinner and scout out cafes for tomorrow. So, on my walk, it starts
pouring. I make it to Subway to pick up food for dinner but when I leave the
store, it’s become a complete downpour. And I’m wearing a white T-shirt. I
couldn’t run home either because I was wearing flip flops that got slippery and
difficult to wear in the rain. On the way home, my CD bag broke open from all
the rain but that was fine because I clutched the CDs to my chest to cover my
cleavage. My shirt was so soaked through at this point that I looked like a
contestant in a White T-Shirt Contest. I was so distracted trying to cover my
chest and trying not to break my shoes that I forgot to look for cafes. On top
of all this, I realized that my rent was due tomorrow and I hadn’t gotten money
from my Korean account so I had to go to the ATM to withdraw money from my
American account. I eventually made it home, completely soaked through, and
hung up my clothes to dry. I also asked a friend to call my landlord and ask if
I could stay for two weeks and only pay half-rent. He told her that I couldn’t
do that but she told him that I would still leave after two weeks. Sigh. I can’t
really be mad because I asked her for help. I really need to just do things
myself. So now I have to try and explain to my landlord, who doesn’t speak a
lick of English, that I will actually stay a month unless he can give me some
sort of discount, in which case I still want to stay a couple more days than
two weeks. It’s just so complicated. Oh, I also have no phone service now
because each time I go to try and pay for more minutes, they tell me something
different. I'm sure there are a lot of things missing from this blog post, details mostly, but I'm so done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, I have my interview tomorrow and a bunch more
chores and things to do. Then, I’m going on my super expensive trip to
Tongyeong this weekend. It all seems so exhausting so hopefully I’ll get the
job and my trip will be fun. Wish me luck. Hopefully I used up all my bad luck
today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-89973580830967425752017-08-07T05:07:00.001-07:002017-08-17T23:07:11.545-07:00Chilling + Small Jobs<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last Saturday I did absolutely nothing. I was going
to go see the puppies but it was so damn hot outside, I decided to just stay
inside and read. I finished the fourth section of <i>Please Look After Mom </i>so that all that was left was the epilogue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I went to the COEX mall with Byul. We were
originally going to see a movie, either Spiderman or Dunkirk, but Byul didn’t
reserve the tickets so they were all sold out. We were there at noon and the
earliest showing with seats next to each other was after 6. So we decided to
just skip that and went to go get lunch. We ate at an Italian place in the
mall. It was good food, a cream pasta and a spaghetti with cheese, but you can
literally eat that anywhere in Seoul. Italian food is so popular here and
somehow, it all manages to have the exact same flavors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, Byul wanted to check out the new
library that they put in the center of the COEX. They call it a library but I’m
pretty sure you can’t check the books out. I’ve actually seen it already but
she was excited so we checked it out. There was a triplet playing in the
performance area of the library, two cellos and a piano. It was really cool,
actually. When we got there, they were playing the theme song of <i>Howl’s Moving Castle</i>, which is my
favorite Studio Ghibli movie. After that, they played some French and Korean
songs that I didn’t know so Byul and I left after a bit to look at the books. There
are no English books in the entire thing so I picked out some magazines and,
after hunting for a spot, we sat down and read for a while. After finishing our
magazines, Byul and I left but not before listening to the triplet playing the
theme song of <i>Titanic. </i>All the feels.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, we just went shopping a bit and checked
out some places. I almost bought watermelon scented soap but I need to spend my
money on more important things for now so I walked away. Then Byul and I
stopped in a coffee shop and got some cheesecake and coffee. Byul called it
dessert but it was 5 o’clock at that point so if it was dessert, it was
pre-supper dessert. The cheesecake was good and Byul and I talked about the
plan we’ve been planning a bit. After talking for a while, we decided to split
so we’d both get home at a decent-ish time for supper. On my way home from the
station, I stopped at Aladdin to buy a new book since I was almost done with my
Korean one. I actually found, believe it or not, the book that the TV show I’m
watching is based off of. In a Korean used book store, of all the places it
could be. So I bought it, of course, and now I’m reading and watching the story
at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I skyped my family. We decided on a plan for
my documents and my parents told me about the presents they bought for my
sister’s birthday. She’s moving into an apartment for the first time in a
couple weeks, so they mostly got her things she wanted for interior design. I
finished <i>Please Look After Mom</i> that
day too. It’s honestly not my style. The book is all about family and familial
sacrifice of mothers. Of course, my mom sacrificed for our family too but
there’s just such a cultural difference that I really can’t relate to the
family’s situation in the book. The husband cheats on the wife but she never
once thinks about leaving him and she literally dedicates her entire life to
the family. She doesn’t have any hobbies or friends, it seems. I know it’s
supposed to seem honorable but it just seems unhealthy to me. So, overall,
definitely not one of my favorite books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday and Thursday, I tutored Sunny. I also faxed
out my request for a new apostilled diploma, since they lost the first one. I
was worried about where I could find a fax, because that would be quicker than
mailing the form, but the print shop right underneath my goshiwon actually had
an international fax. It was great. As for Sunny, we worked on writing
introductions and we started another essay. This upcoming week is my last week
with Sunny but she’s very busy with preparations so it might be difficult to
meet. I just hope that she actually retained some of the strategies and rules I
taught her. I also gave her the Taemin sign that I was given after taking a
picture with a Korean fangirl at the SM Town Complex. I get approached all the
time by people who want to survey foreigners about traveling to Korea or people
whose homework is to interact with a foreigner. They usually give me gifts of
some kind afterwards, like candy or a bookmark. This particular girl just
needed a picture with a foreigner and then she gave me a sign of Taemin from
SHINee. Super random but then I was in SM Town. I don’t care about Taemin but
thankfully, Sunny absolutely loves him so I gave the sign to her. She was
pretty darn stoked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, I went to a meetup. It was with the
crafting meetup that I joined but didn’t go to last time because it was too
early. For this meetup, the organizer was like “I’m on break and I’m bored.
Anyone want to hang?” So I figured I might as well go and meet some people in
the group. The dance class this week about Big Bang’s “Bang Bang Bang”. I love
that song but I actually know the dance so I didn’t need to go to dance class.
We didn’t really have a plan so I tried to suggest something fun and new but
the organizer’s friend (who was the first member of the meetup group back in
the day) wanted to go to Myeongdong to see the new Diaso. So I got out-ranked.
I met Lucy and Kitty in Myeongdong; there were supposed to be a couple more
people but apparently, people don’t show up all the time without changing their
RSVP, which drives Kitty nuts. We decided to go to Johnny Rocket’s for lunch
because Lucy was craving a burger. It took us a while to find the shop in the
Shinsegae mall but we got there eventually. We don’t have Johnny Rocket’s in
the Midwest so I didn’t even know it was American but apparently it is. I
thought about getting the chicken club sandwich but I figured I could get that
at Korean delis so I decided to order the chili cheese dog because where else
can you get that? It was pretty good; tasted like an American dog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Lucy and Kitty seem nice. Kitty’s American but she
literally knows nothing about Minnesota, which she tried to ask me about. She
was like “Minnesota’s flat right?” Nope, that’s the Dakotas. “But you have a
lot of corn right?” That’s Iowa and Nebraska but sure. They’re both married (to
Korean husbands) so we’re in different stages of our lives but I like them.
Lucy was talking about how she, her husband, and his family are going on
vacation – get this – on an abandoned island. How adventurous is that? They
just bring a tent and then hunt for clams and such and cook them on the island.
I’m not sure I have the constitution for that, but it sounds really cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, we went shopping and started at the
Diaso. The new one is 8 stories tall and just opened so it was absolutely
packed with people. We had some expectations because it was so big but instead
of having more variety, it was just more of the same things every Diaso has.
But still, we found fun things that we wanted. Kitty especially found some
stuff for her house and her nephews. I found a scratch off picture that I could
bring to the next crafting meeting so I don’t have any supplies with me. I
really don’t have much interest in scratch off pictures but they are a small
trend in Korea right now and I figured I might as well. However, we got to the
first floor and there were probably 50 people lined up at the cash registers so
we just gave our basket to the information desk and walked out. We then went to
Artbox, which had many of the same things, and a couple cosmetics stores before
we realized that it was getting late and our feet hurt from all the shopping.
On our way to the station, Kitty and I stopped at ABC Mart to get her some
shoes for a wedding she’s going to. Overall, I didn’t buy anything and all we
did was shop but they seem like nice people so I’m excited to go to the next
crafting meetup that I can and get to know everyone better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I went to a focus group done by CJes to help
their food expansion in America. I saw it on craigslist and decided that since
people approach me all the time for these surveys, I might as well get paid for
it. This focus group was an hour long and we got 30,000 won. It was actually a
bit of a struggle to find the headquarters but I got there alright and met the
two other people in the group. The focus group ended up being specifically
about seaweed so it wasn’t quite what I was expecting but it was fine. We
answered all sorts of questions about our snacking habits, what we thought of
the packaging, how the taste was, and what we thought could be done to heighten
the appeal to American audiences. They had some seaweed crisp things they were
trying to produce but the regular flavor was disgusting. I can’t even describe
it because it was difficult to isolate one taste but let me just say, when I
accidentally licked my fingers afterward out of habit, they laughed at my face
for like 30 seconds. The other flavor of the seaweed crisps was honey and corn,
which I expected to be disgusting but were actually really good. I almost asked
to take the rest of the bag with me when the focus group was over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh, and get this! One of the two Korean women who
were running it went to school right next to the city where I went to college.
What a coincidence. When we were finished, we got 30,000 worth of CJes
certificates, which I will probably use at Tous de Jours or Twosome place. The
other Americans and I chatted amicably while we walked to the subway station
before parting and going home. The certificates are different from the ones in
America so I have to figure out how to use them now. Whereas in America gift
certificates are plastic cards that can be run like credit cards until the
balance is gone, these are literally three pieces of paper that say 10,000 won
on them. So if I buy something that’s 5,000 won, do they take the whole
certificate? I’m not quite sure but I’m going to try and use one tomorrow so
we’ll see. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday, I met up with my friends, Joohee and
Jinseong. I haven’t seen either of them in over a month. Joohee lives in Wonju
now and rarely comes in Seoul and Jinseong was home in Busan for a month.
Jinseong just returned and Joohee had a dentist appointment in Seoul so we
decided to meet up. I really wanted to do something fun so I made all sorts of
suggestions. There was an exhibition and two festivals going on Saturday but
apparently, my friends are incredibly lame. They were like, why don’t we just
hang out in a café and chill instead? I finally convinced them to make it a dog
café after much struggling instead of a regular café so that it would be a
little less mundane. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We decided to meet up in my area for lunch and
Joohee suggested that we eat jjukkumi (</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">쭈꾸미</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">),
or webfoot octopus, for lunch. Koreans have all sorts of correlations between
seasons/weather and food. They have summer foods and winter foods and spring
foods and foods for when it’s raining and foods for when it’s hot. We don’t
really have that concept in America, which I tried to explain to Jinseong when
he asked what Americans eat when it’s hot out, but either way, Koreans like to
eat spicy things when it’s hot out. They fight fire with fire. I think it’s
stupid because if I’m sweating outside, why would I want to go in the A/C and
eat something that will also make me sweat? So, I said that I did not want to
go but if they wanted to go, I would. Now, back home, that’s actually phrasing
it pretty strongly that I don’t want to go and whoever I’m with would normally
say “No, let’s find somewhere that we all wouldn’t mind.” Joohee and Jinseong
were literally like “Okay, we out-vote you.” Blew my mind a bit. It reminded me
that Midwesterners seem to say things really politely and we have lots of rules
for interacting with people in a polite way that the rest of the world doesn’t
seem to have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I walked to the octopus place kind of put out.
There were legitimately two things on the menu and I let Joohee decide since I
was already eating what I didn’t want. I was pacified pretty quickly when the
food actually came out though. We got rice with seaweed flakes in it and some
salad but, most importantly, we were also given acorn jelly in a kimchi
naengmyun broth and pumpkin porridge. This is important because both of those
things are foods I wanted to try but hadn’t gotten around to yet. I’m always
stoked to try new things so I was happy again. The pumpkin porridge was sweeter
than I thought. I expected it to taste like squash, which my family eats with
salt and pepper, but it was sweet pumpkin that they had added sugar to. It was
good but just a bit sweet for me at the time. The acorn jelly didn’t taste like
anything. I said that to Jinseong and he asked what I expected, it’s from
acorns. He said that most Koreans eat acorn jelly because it’s healthy and low
calorie, not for the taste. The broth the jelly was in was super nummy though,
so I ate a lot of it. The actual octopus was basically cook like dakgalbi,
which I liked, so that was good too. After we paid, we could pick an ice cream
treat from the freezer as dessert – to combat the spiciness, I imagine. I chose
a cookies and cream ice cream treat which was delicious but melted all over my
hand as we walked outside. We got all that food and it was only 8,000 won. Can
you believe it? So cheap for so much food. I wasn’t expecting anything when I
walked in the door but I would definitely go back. It was called Jjukkumi King
for anyone who’s in the Konkuk area. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, we walked to my favorite dog café,
Hirit. It always has lots of fun dogs and I like the layout. I knew Joohee was
a cat person but I didn’t realize how much until we went to the dog café. There
were five or six dogs playing and they were chasing one dog, a bulldog, around.
Joohee was like “aren’t they bullying him?” I told her that they were playing and
if the bulldog didn’t like it, we would know. There’s a difference between play
barking and a snarl that they mean. But Joohee didn’t look convinced and kept
muttering under her breath. I’m pretty sure she thinks dogs are the center of
evil now. There was a cute Husky mix that would sit next to me on the bench and
I said “kissies” and he licked my nose. Joohee’s face was completely horrified.
I think the Husky liked me because I wasn’t afraid of him. A lot of Korean are
afraid of big dogs and he wasn’t small. On top of that, he kept barking at
people who withheld treats and his eyes were two different colors. So he kept
running back to me, which I was totally okay with; he was beautiful. There were
also three Corgis, a couple energetic Shelties, a bunch of miniature poodles, a
golden, a Border Collie (who should never live in Seoul), a sweet Rottweiler, a
beagle, and a bunch of other dogs that I can’t think of right now. There was
also a Maltese and a Chihuahua that I held for a while, because they were adorable
and kind of looked like my dogs back home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a while, Joohee left for her appointment,
which was just as well. I don’t think she pet a single dog while she was there.
Now I know not to take her to dog cafes in the future. Jinseong and I hung out
a bit longer and pet more dogs but it got pretty chaotic as more and more dogs
were dropped off so we left. As I was walking him to the station, he asked what
I was doing next and I said market so he said “I’ll go with you, I’m bored.” So
we went and he helped me pick out things. And by helped, I mean he brought me
the most expensive things in the store. I caught most of them but the package
of peaches that were $2 each passed my scrutiny. He did recommend some chips
that were pretty good; they were basically Fritos but nacho flavored. After
shopping, Jinseong left to go home and I put my groceries away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I skyped my family in the morning. My mom
started the ridiculously huge puzzle we got her for her birthday and it’s going
pretty well I guess. My dad spent the week in Connecticut and my sister leaves
for school in two weeks, which she didn’t seem excited or not excited about so
we’ll see. My family move her into her apartment today. It’s too bad I couldn’t
be there to help. We ended our Skype session early because I had to eat lunch
and get ready for another focus group thing. This one I found on Facebook the
same day as the seaweed one so I decided to apply for both. It wasn’t quite a
focus group, it was a survey and interview about shopping in Korea for a
tourism organization. The KTO building was easier to find and the interviewer
bought us all drinks at the café. The survey actually took more than an hour
and then the group interview was about 45 minutes, so it ended up being about
two hours instead of one. I didn’t have anything else planned for the day so I
was fine but it would have been cool if they had paid us double since it took
double the time. They asked us all sorts of questions about where we shopped,
what we bought, what could be improved about the shopping experience, etc. I
don’t actually shop that much so I’m not sure if I helped much but I answered
as thoughtfully as I could. They gave us 35,000 in cash afterwards and I went
home. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiln5OP7CSltPWf2lx4H8DhFGvz74TFxFrCix8-jBBLKECSeYa1TlSlDT0A2eSJKEjEw5LB0rKE1Q4s6_MnpqqDvbf3pRULM-X9d76zlQsJKEntiPM4HILhrN8__j_MEI7Zj0BIF2_4as/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiln5OP7CSltPWf2lx4H8DhFGvz74TFxFrCix8-jBBLKECSeYa1TlSlDT0A2eSJKEjEw5LB0rKE1Q4s6_MnpqqDvbf3pRULM-X9d76zlQsJKEntiPM4HILhrN8__j_MEI7Zj0BIF2_4as/s320/IMG_0208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sculptures that were on my way to KTO</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBWLxZOfj2_IKOhZBtSNNZuP6_Cxt_0PmNQRRikr-3731EKQw0CA1ox_f7bxtAqLYBOInFuc2te7J2apK4gHZ2BCa5OOixeSuxCHZXTx7VIZl0XYaguxwgMGYM8Og2-ULqQOyE794w8g/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBWLxZOfj2_IKOhZBtSNNZuP6_Cxt_0PmNQRRikr-3731EKQw0CA1ox_f7bxtAqLYBOInFuc2te7J2apK4gHZ2BCa5OOixeSuxCHZXTx7VIZl0XYaguxwgMGYM8Og2-ULqQOyE794w8g/s320/IMG_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is Monday and I’ve been doing my laundry and
typing this blog since I got up. I also got an email from one of the places I
applied for asking for an interview today so I’m stoked about that. I want to
stay and continue trying new things so hopefully I will get the job, or a
teaching job. I haven’t done an interview since I got to Korea so I’m a bit
nervous but it should be fine. If I don’t get the job, I don’t get the job. I’m
going to start my new book today too, after I make supper. It’s been a pretty
good week and I’m looking to continue that positivity through this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-11964865913924882452017-07-28T06:28:00.002-07:002017-07-28T07:03:00.864-07:00Weird Korean Snacks + Loneliness <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Well it’s been a lonely past week and a half since I
last wrote. I knew when I came here that my friends have their own lives and
jobs but I didn’t realize just how little time they were going to have for me. Plans
got moved around a lot too, with some disappointing results. Things aren’t
going well with preparing my documents for applying for a work visa either so
this week was the first time in a while that I just wanted to go home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On that happy note, let’s talk about last Wednesday.
I went to dance class that day, like I mentioned in my previous post. It was
the first time I went in three weeks but the secretary lady still recognized
me. We learned the dance to Astro’s newest song, Baby. I like Astro’s music so
I was excited but the dance was more difficult than I expected. I made some
friends though! We bonded over how difficult the dance was. I met a girl named Mayuri
from India and a girl from Indiana named Mykah. Mykah is here in Korea on an
H-1 visa (working holiday), which I didn’t know was a thing so now I’m looking
into that for me as well. We exchanged Kakaos and got some of that ridiculously
tall ice cream on our way to the station. It melted like crazy all over us so
we washed our hands in a fountain before parting ways. It’s only been a week
but I already forgot the moves to Baby. It was just complicated and the
instructor rushed through the chorus. But I was excited to meet some foreigner
(not Korean) friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday, I tutored Sunny. Nothing too extraordinary
there. She talked even more than usual because EXO made a comeback last week
and she’s super stoked. Sunny is a SHINee fan so she told me she shouldn’t like
EXO because they (SM really) are ruining SHINee’s lives but she really does
like EXO underneath it all. So we got even less done than usual. She hadn’t
done her homework either so we actually just did that. When I got home, I
outlined my plan for the next three weeks to make concrete goals for us. Oh,
and I got paid that day by her mom. In cash. </span><span style="font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">J</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I did a little voice recording job for some
money. This was posted to Facebook in a group for job-seekers of non-teaching
jobs. Basically, this company just needed a bunch of foreigners to record some
sentences one day, and it would be 50,000 won for 3 hours. I thought the
company was an education company but it ended up being a media/technology
company. They’re making some sort of technology like Alexa or Siri for homes
where you can issue voice commands from anywhere in the house and it’ll do it.
For example, “turn on the AC” or “open the garage door.” The night before, I
was told that there was actually a typing component too and that recording was
taking longer than they expected so the time estimate was now 4-5 hours and the
pay was 100,000 won, would I still like to participate? Hell yeah, I would. The
studio was far away from my place, but so is Sunny’s so who cares? The typing
task was just writing different commands in as many different ways as possible
so the technology would be able to identify the request. Then, I recorded 150
or so phrases. They had actually labeled them “utterances” which I giggled at
because who uses that word? I have actually recorded before, when I studied
abroad at the very end of December, for a friend who was making a travel app
about Korea. So I had learned some things, like that the sound booths are crazy
hot because of the lack of ventilation so bring lots of water. The mikes pick
up everything too, like the noises of your lips and tongue when you open your
mouth so water can help with that. After recording for a while, these noises
occur anyway because your mouth dries out so I started pausing after opening my
mouth to speak so that the noise wouldn’t be too close to the actual sound bite.
*proud* I actually ended up finishing in almost exactly three hours; I like to
think because of my little know-how about recording. So I got paid 100,000 won
for three hours of work! Yipee! That was pretty exciting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh, I forgot! I got a ticket to Taeyang’s solo
concert on the day after my birthday!!!!! Yay! Tuesday, I realized that people
had returned some of their tickets so instead of buying from a reseller, I
could just buy one from the official site. Now, that didn’t go too well for me.
You could only use a Korean credit card on the English site (go figure) so I
had to register for a Korean account to do the bank transfer. To register for a
Korean account, I had to download the app. I downloaded the app and registered
for an account just fine but then when I got to the ticket page, you had to do
like another register with more information. That’s where I got stuck because I
entered the information correctly but when I submitted it, it just reloaded to
that form. No error message, just the same page I had been on. I gave up after
a while and starting texting everybody I knew, both friends and people in
ticketing. Byul offered to reserve the ticket Wednesday. I’m so stoked. She got
me a 2<sup>nd</sup> floor ticket! I don’t know how because like 99.99% of all
the returned tickets are 3<sup>rd</sup> floor and the 2<sup>nd</sup> floor ones
get resold right away but she reserved me <i>a
second floor ticket in the section I wanted</i>. I couldn’t believe it. She
must have logged in right as someone returned that ticket. So she reserved it
Wednesday and then Thursday before tutoring, I want to the bank and did the
transfer of money. The tickets will be mailed in August and I’m super excited!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the other extreme, Saturday was a really crappy
day. Originally, I was supposed to go to Dongdaemun with Byul and make phone cases.
Dongdaemun has a craft mall where you can buy or do all sorts of DIY things.
Some of the vendors are stations where you can make your phone personalized
phone case by choosing and places a whole bunch of super cute charms. This is
high on my list of things to do because they’re adorable and I love DIY stuff.
Byul and I were going to go Saturday but she backed out last minute because she
needed a rest day. I totally get that; she works very long hours and, for the
first time in 25 years, her parents bought her a bed to sleep on so she doesn’t
have to sleep on the floor. The bed also means that she had a lot of cleaning
and re-arranging to do. So I was fine with it but that meant I had to figure
out what to do with myself. There was a craft meetup that I wanted to go to but
the café they were meeting at is pretty far from my house. It’s far enough away
that, to be there on time, I would have had to get up at 8 AM on a Saturday. I
made a deal with myself and said I would set an alarm for 8 and I could decide
then whether to go or not. So, of course, I woke up at 8 and promptly went back
to bed after changing my RSVP. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I woke up again later, I was faced with the
same problem of what to do with myself. I decided to maybe try going to the
Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain. There was some rain in the forecast but I would
check again later and see. So first, I went to the market. When I got home and
started putting away my provisions, I noticed that the marinated meat I bought
had broken open and spilled the marinade all over everything. The sauce was on
the floor where I had initially put the bag, on my cloth desk chair where I had
moved the bag too, all over everything in the bag, all over the bottom of the
cloth bag itself, and on my shorts where the bag had touched them while I
walked back. It was a complete disaster. I spent about an hour trying to clean
everything up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a reward for my hard work, I decided to try the
cereal I bought at the market. I bought an Oreo cereal that’s pretty famous
among foreigners. It’s famous because it’s an American cereal that’s only
produced in Korea now. It used to be sold in America too, of course, but
production stopped when Post’s parent company sold it to a different parent
company. So now it’s only sold in South Korea. I had to buy a little carton of
milk to go with it (Korean don’t drink cow milk all that often and it’s not
very good quality here) but I was excited. It was pretty good. It didn’t blow
my mind away or anything and the marshmallows all melted into the milk but it
did taste like something from home, at least. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJ1xRkdaBEgZBv6eLZtRaO9HsUfNghqIpq2NXHJ3A1XWn-oD8TZsnnddT20Ml0gHcs9mmd-Wy9mA1heGrHdlvxyYVXMI4wKa1mMXVuYeiZgbPVS26fRNMFFaIkSx9hADiEtlhZ5pHLkU/s1600/IMG_0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWJ1xRkdaBEgZBv6eLZtRaO9HsUfNghqIpq2NXHJ3A1XWn-oD8TZsnnddT20Ml0gHcs9mmd-Wy9mA1heGrHdlvxyYVXMI4wKa1mMXVuYeiZgbPVS26fRNMFFaIkSx9hADiEtlhZ5pHLkU/s320/IMG_0174.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb652E6eICYpTdpGndSWI8qzv5n-nTEooCZc32FpVs8tef44pfDW9tF66c7xmyF8IGWnOjofkhOvpwvTrLIrT6sPvLKQbtgd8aRd-K7v7CI1F7nJWXuSPqOKNh4zwEJz-T5tuhE3kT_g/s1600/IMG_0176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb652E6eICYpTdpGndSWI8qzv5n-nTEooCZc32FpVs8tef44pfDW9tF66c7xmyF8IGWnOjofkhOvpwvTrLIrT6sPvLKQbtgd8aRd-K7v7CI1F7nJWXuSPqOKNh4zwEJz-T5tuhE3kT_g/s320/IMG_0176.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was so exhausted and disheartened by my marinade
fiasco that I thought about skipping Banpo but, empowered by my Oreo cereal, I
decided to check the weather again. The weather had been updated to show a 0%
chance of rain for the rest of the day. Perfect. If there’s even a chance of
rain in the forecast, the Rainbow Fountain won’t operate. I learned this when I
tried to take my brother there, who visited me my second semester of study
abroad, and it was a complete disappointment. So, I thought this was finally my
chance to see the Rainbow Fountain. I took the train to the Express Bus
Terminal after dinner and walked to the Banpo Bridge Hangang Park. Zero percent
chance of rain, the forecast said. You know what it did? It fucking rained. I
didn’t even bring an umbrella because it said ZERO chance of rain. So after
waiting for like an hour in case they decided to run the show, because it was
more of a sprinkle really, I gave up and left. I had hoped the rain would
lighten up but, as I was leaving, the rain got heavier. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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There was this nice sign to guide me on my way though. The cafe must've gotten tired of people coming in to ask. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, I had a plan for this. I knew that even though
there was zero percent chance of rain, because there had been like 20% chance
earlier in the forecast, they might not run the show the whole day. Because
they’re dousches like that. I figured that, in case the Rainbow Fountain didn’t
show, I would go to Yunho’s 85<sup>th</sup> Street café that was nearby and get
myself a real strawberry and yogurt smoothie, which is my favorite smoothie in
the entire city of Seoul. But hey, it was raining hard and I didn’t have an
umbrella because there was zero percent chance of rain. Bitter. So, I wasn’t
willing to go to 85<sup>th</sup> Street because it’s pretty far from the
station. I took the train home, drenched with rain and sweat, in different
shorts than I had started the day in, having achieved nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a consolation prize to myself, I decided to get
some ice cream from a convenience store on my way from the station to my
goshiwon. I was deciding between a mango ice cream treat and a chocolate bar
when I saw a tomato ice cream treat and figured “why the hell not?” I have to
explain something first. Earlier in the week, I bought some weirdly flavored
potato chips. They were labeled Hawaiian and, after I got home, I noticed the
little sub-label that said “Garlic shrimp pineapple.” What the hell right? Who decided
garlic shrimp and pineapple went together anyway and then who made that a
potato chip flavor? Korean snacks are weird. But, I already bought them so I
decided to try them. And they were good! I couldn’t believe it. It was
certainly an odd combination to my flavor palette (I’ve been watching
MasterChef lately) but the more I ate them, the more I wanted. They were really
surprisingly good and I looked for that flavor the next time I went to the
store. So, emboldened by my victory with the garlic shrimp pineapple potato
chips and the Oreo cereal, I decided to give the tomato ice cream a try. They
can’t sell something that doesn’t taste good, right? Wrong! It was freaking
awful. I was so excited to be surprised by the flavor and then the first bite
literally tasted like tomato in an ice cream form. They hadn’t tried to sweeten
in up at all or add other flavors. After a few more bites to confirm that it
was disgusting, I let it melt in my sink. Think about that. I let ice cream, my
favorite dessert, that I bought when I don’t have much money melt in my sink.
It was that bad. So basically, everything sucked Saturday and everything I
tried to do failed. Jihye woke up in America to like 20 texts from me
complaining about everything at various stages of my day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I skyped my family and recounted my terrible
day Saturday. My sister’s birthday was the next day so she opened the presents
from me and my brother. I gave Bryn a recipe book for homemade cosmetics and
household items, like shampoo, laundry cleaner, and lip scrub. Like I said
before, I love DIY projects and she’s gotten really into environmental
responsibility (so proud) so it’s the perfect thing that we can do together. My
brother Andy got her a book about the show <i>Supernatural
</i>from the cast and crew’s point of view. She and I both like that show so he
wanted me to see her open it. I don’t know what my parents got her yet but I’ll
find out this weekend when I skype them. We ended up talking about movies and I
mentioned <i>Happy Feet</i>, which I had recently
watched, and Bryn got all excited so my family watched it together after I
signed off. I pretty much like anything with Robin Williams in it. I, on the
other hand, spent the rest of the day doing laundry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I was going to run some errands. Koreans don’t
have dryers for the most part so I also spent some time checking the hanging
laundry and folding or hanging up anything that was dry. At 4 in the afternoon,
I was getting ready to go out and do my errands when I realized that I had
screwed up. I had purposefully put off running errands so I would be done
around suppertime and could pick up some dinner. Plot twist! Korean banks close
at 4. American banks close at 5 so I hadn’t thought anything of it but
literally, as I was putting my shoes on, I remembered that the bank would be
closed. Going to the bank was the main errand I had to run, so I decided to
just skip it and stay home and recover from Saturday. It’s so hot and humid
here every damn day, it’s honestly hard to convince myself to go outside when I
don’t have to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday I was supposed to tutor (see, this is a week
of “supposed to”s, “going to”s, and “was planning on”s) but I woke up to a text
from Sunny saying that she couldn’t make it because she was in Jeju. I don’t
know if her family ended up staying longer than they expected or if they missed
a flight, but there was no way she was going to make it. So I went back to bed
to sleep another hour or two. I sleep really late here, like until noon or 1:00
if I have no plans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I woke up and after I ate lunch (of the
marinated bulgogi that ended up being delicious despite the trouble), I ran the
errands I was going to Monday. I started by going to the copy shop to print
some worksheets I wanted to use with Sunny, about brainstorming and writing
introductions to essays. Then, I went to the bank to withdraw the money I had
been transferred Sunday for my recording work Friday. Yay for money. Since I
don’t have a Korean credit card (because no Alien Registration Card), I have to
do everything at the actual bank. Then I went to the Daiso to pick up shampoo
and conditioner since I ran out. I also bought headphones there because,
literally on my way, the right speaker blew out. I thought the Daiso headphones
I bought were broken too but it turns out that they just have some technology
in them that I don’t have activated in my iPod (like voice recognition). So my
headphones and my iPod had to fight it out. I think the headphones won because
they're working fine now but my iPod is still freaking out a bit. Then I picked
up some dinner at Subway and headed home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, I had nothing else to do so I decided
to retry Banpo. The weather was literally perfect. It was a sunny day, few
clouds, and absolutely no rain on the radar at all. This was the day. Third
time’s the charm. So of course, I get there and the stupid Rainbow Fountain show
doesn’t go on again. For the third time. The only thing I can think of is that
it was much windier than normal for Seoul. Maybe they were worried about the
water spraying into the other streams? I have no idea. At this point, the Banpo
Bridge Rainbow Fountain is either a complete myth or it has to be the most
fucking perfect day ever for it to work. I was pissed and I had a decision to
make. Do I keep trying because it’s a personal vendetta at this point or do I
give up because it’s wasted too much of my time? I think I’ve basically settled
on giving up but we’ll see, I can be pretty vindictive. I really don’t
recommend going to the Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain on your vacation unless
you have time to spare because it probably won’t show. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Banpo Bridge</div>
<br />
That night I also watched the Nu'Est-W V Live. They had a little mini concert with a live band and streamed it live on V Live. As with every K-pop group I like except Big Bang, I'm not actually a fan of the group: I really like one member and so, to support them, I support the group. With Nu'Est, it's Jonghyun. I was really hoping he'd make it into Wanna One and, although he should have, I'm less bitter than I was before. The mini concert wasn't anything too exciting. They didn't perform any of their dance songs and they did some ballad songs I didn't know but I'm still glad I watched it. Jonghyun looked wonderful in pink and he rapped beautifully. I learned that he would want the same super power as me if he could have one and that the other members agree that he's the best dancer in the group. I'm really happy too because they released a special single earlier in the day and it's been doing really well in the charts. Like, beating EXO and getting number 1 well. I'm very proud of them and happy that their talent and hard work is finally being recognized. Jonghyun actually almost started crying when he was thanking the fans so, of course, I almost cried too. It was a good mini concert and I can't wait for their full comeback. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, I went to dance class again! This week
was Red Velvet’s new song, Red Flavor. Now, I’m not really a Red Velvet person
but I really like this latest song and the dance looked like a lot of fun. I
was pretty excited. Neither of my new friends came. Mayuri was busy and couldn’t
go that day. Mykah actually tried to come but got hopelessly lost and
eventually gave up after 50 minutes. I felt bad, she kept texting me but I was
in the middle of dance class at that point so I didn’t check it. I gave her
pretty clear directions so hopefully she’ll be able to find it next time. It
was okay though, I made new friends. Being friendly at dance class is easy
because we learn the dance pretty quickly so you often ask someone else what
that move was again or just laugh at everyone’s failure. The dance was really
fun and I think I’m going to remember this one because it’s less complicated
than Baby and I’ve been practicing a bit. I actually still remember Chungha’s
Why Don’t You Know but we’ll see how long that lasts. Overall, it was fun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also tried watermelon juice on Wednesday. Koreans
love watermelon in the summer. I don’t quite get it because, to me, there are
better summer fruits but Koreans just love watermelon. They always say how
refreshing it is. So, in the summer in Korea, you see watermelon everything.
This summer and this year, there are juice places everywhere, especially Juicy
and Juice King. Now, there have always been juice stores in Seoul but it seems
like they’re the current trend so they are positively everywhere. Byul
recommended the (what else?) watermelon juice to me and there’s a Juicy right
underneath my goshiwon. Watermelon juice seems odd to me because we don’t
really have it in America. In my opinion, watermelon doesn’t have *that* much
of a flavor so the juice would mostly be water. It was actually quite good! I
think the biggest thing is that, it’s called juice, but it’s really just
blended fresh fruit and ice. So it’s very fresh-tasting. It was, actually,
quite refreshing. It was also quite flavorful so I think it must have been a
really good watermelon that was blended into my drink. Maybe it’s a different
species of watermelon from the ones in America? I know the grapes are definitely
different so I wouldn’t be surprised if the watermelons were too. Off topic but
I really don’t like the Korean species grapes. You know that artificial grape
flavor that they use for candy? I’ve always wondered where they got that because
the grapes in American certainly don’t taste like that. Well, I found out
because Korean grapes taste like that. It’s disorienting and kind of gross.
American grapes are more refreshing. But back to the watermelon juice. I also
tried the mixed watermelon and pineapple juice (smoothie) but I didn’t like it
as much. The pineapple adds a tangy flavor that doesn’t need to be there. But I
do recommend the watermelon juice. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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look at the nice Block B models</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday I tutored Sunny. We worked on the
brainstorming activities I had planned and, although Sunny complained, I hope I
gave her some tactics for when she’s stuck on an essay. She leaves in about two
weeks now and she’s really worried about Jeju. I love Jeju. I went with my
brother when he visited and it’s a wonderful and beautiful place full of things
to do but Sunny’s a city kid and she doesn’t like nature. She actually said to
me, “I like tall buildings and gray skies.” I’m hoping she adapts well though
because it’s a place that I have very fond memories of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is Friday and Jihye sent me on another
mission. The TVXQ wet wipes sold at the SUM store in the SM Town complex in the
COEX mall were on sale today. They had been marked all the way down from over
20,000 won to 4,000 each. She asked me to go buy a pack so that she could hand
them out with her TVXQ tattoos at the next TVXQ concerts. I had a plan for
today but I just moved it to Saturday (tell you why in a bit) and decided to go
get the wet wipes. I’ve been to the SM Town complex before in my second
semester (which I didn’t blog about. Bitter) but I had planned to still look
around a bit, see if things had changed. Afterwards, I was going to walk to
Jaejoong’s café which was nearby and get a drink. I wanted to buy the tissues
first though because TVXQ goods are super popular and sell out quickly. Their
fans are dedicated. I took one look at what Jihye wanted me to buy and realized
I wouldn’t be doing any of that. The packs were much bigger than I expected and
heavy on top of that. There were only five boxes left and I bought two; one for
me and one for Jihye. I also bought the TVXQ popcorn because Jihye recommended
it. The boxes weighed 10 pounds each, which doesn’t sound like much but it was
rough. 20 pounds is fine on your back or in your arms but I had to carry these
awkward, un-stackable shapes from their strings in my fingers. It was actually
really heavy and the strings dug into my fingers. I just went right home and
dropped them off. But hey, now I have 296 TVXQ wet wipes in cool-looking
containers and TVXQ chocolate popcorn and Jihye has her stuff. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8TFGQoeklBR0p2dwXzjRL6WUzqkC7JxnFSdGPhpPPo_nMczZy_pDv4gtvo3hlbq8NzBiE69prOWqZWuwuT3hDnCCWqt0fC0RWb2-ORf5M_gHKv9mU8Xr-xEt71Mj3uCtL5Ga_-wPRsg/s1600/IMG_0198+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8TFGQoeklBR0p2dwXzjRL6WUzqkC7JxnFSdGPhpPPo_nMczZy_pDv4gtvo3hlbq8NzBiE69prOWqZWuwuT3hDnCCWqt0fC0RWb2-ORf5M_gHKv9mU8Xr-xEt71Mj3uCtL5Ga_-wPRsg/s320/IMG_0198+%25282%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Pretty popcorn</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvqlIW02jRw5RTdmQGlq_YG5ngo8wE-eF_TsaiIeyLFp8tXoNTg4vmBqshuyxad48oq8CqU9gDHP4BEY1iX58wqeV3ERrzctzitEi8-mzu7t1KaO8RWQvKrxAqiIMS7gZ6pFS7bORQ0Y/s1600/IMG_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvqlIW02jRw5RTdmQGlq_YG5ngo8wE-eF_TsaiIeyLFp8tXoNTg4vmBqshuyxad48oq8CqU9gDHP4BEY1iX58wqeV3ERrzctzitEi8-mzu7t1KaO8RWQvKrxAqiIMS7gZ6pFS7bORQ0Y/s320/IMG_0199.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I especially liked Red Velvet's design</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSsJqYLszDNM15XC-dl0oEz0Fexr_kglFIC9D65dxDBD39BK4wSBJ6bwt-K_xhLL5hZLJDsxq79qNYlaJPyvzXN3wX2VLhlVCDwFH5VLhkPJTkIBPLLgJO45K5U2Cilwk-CO7A__twmA/s1600/IMG_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSsJqYLszDNM15XC-dl0oEz0Fexr_kglFIC9D65dxDBD39BK4wSBJ6bwt-K_xhLL5hZLJDsxq79qNYlaJPyvzXN3wX2VLhlVCDwFH5VLhkPJTkIBPLLgJO45K5U2Cilwk-CO7A__twmA/s320/IMG_0202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My goodies</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa7SNLxj8g5x-CfdBbppCQQpXIlXgPGlX6wk-meaUspJTFnjksvJjNZIImo5frhuB-hYgJSvs5SP1iGedew6Rb4ibQNrLFeL_ukO_ONFGJzFCrLYlFxWg-Pjv-4BMCEAPs_g2BArrfY4/s1600/IMG_0203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMa7SNLxj8g5x-CfdBbppCQQpXIlXgPGlX6wk-meaUspJTFnjksvJjNZIImo5frhuB-hYgJSvs5SP1iGedew6Rb4ibQNrLFeL_ukO_ONFGJzFCrLYlFxWg-Pjv-4BMCEAPs_g2BArrfY4/s320/IMG_0203.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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the wet wipes come with photocards too</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Afterwards, I went to the market and stopped by
somewhere to get dinner. At the market, I decided to pick up little melon chocolate
pies and lemon tart potato chips. See, I’m fearless with the trying of weird
snacks now. The melon pies are alright. The melon flavoring isn’t all that
strong but it’s in there enough to be weird. I bought a pack of 12 so I better
like them. I don’t think I’d buy them again though. I don’t even like Choco Pie
so I think that’s why I don’t much like these. The textures of the crumbly part
and of the chocolate outside feel much to processed to me. I just tried the
lemon tart potato chips. I don’t like them. They really taste exactly like you’d
expect. They’re very lemon flavored and very sweet and then the end taste like
a potato chip. Eww. Koreans seem to make most of their snacks sweet whereas
Americans prefer salty snacks and this is a mix of the two that is just unforgivable.
Thankfully, I bought a small bag. I like the garlic shrimp pineapple potato
chips much better. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAYCe5jpj2YqZTFTP9m9HsFlj_VRRoONOkrwOEDAVCDHCBr_YDOFQNPRIRuHVpDBp9e2vXOcU3gUPQgzVUucZgdu-ZVmpJ_vnDv4Ui_pCSc-xRy7uNjreFq1xk-bq_Xd_5uvfB7qISRM/s1600/IMG_0200+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAYCe5jpj2YqZTFTP9m9HsFlj_VRRoONOkrwOEDAVCDHCBr_YDOFQNPRIRuHVpDBp9e2vXOcU3gUPQgzVUucZgdu-ZVmpJ_vnDv4Ui_pCSc-xRy7uNjreFq1xk-bq_Xd_5uvfB7qISRM/s320/IMG_0200+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gnWxi923m005KtLr58vk86tYDzv6xjsLCz8p6D5lsaT-oU4V-iJix2TnpWaj_mO8nyJTQWngkpzAp9h84kIYxMjhuqD6sehLq3kGsUBYP04h_je2UQONebX7GJmXdDCocVIP0RWCMxs/s1600/IMG_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6gnWxi923m005KtLr58vk86tYDzv6xjsLCz8p6D5lsaT-oU4V-iJix2TnpWaj_mO8nyJTQWngkpzAp9h84kIYxMjhuqD6sehLq3kGsUBYP04h_je2UQONebX7GJmXdDCocVIP0RWCMxs/s320/IMG_0201.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now, the reason why I could just shift my plans from
today to tomorrow. I was supposed to go to the Mud Festival in Boryeong with Soojung
this weekend, which I was super excited about. She's been kinda sketchy about
it though, like not really responding to my texts much and won't book a hotel
or bus tickets. So finally on Wednesday, when we've been planning this for
three weeks, she texts me to say that she can't go. She says it's partly work
and partly that she had a huge fight with her mom. She told her mom she wants
to quit her job (you know, because she works 12 hour days and sometimes get called
back even after she gets home and she works every other weekend or more and
she's being harassed by her boss's boss) and her mom called her a loser who
never tries at everything. Her mom also said some really personal, mean things
that I won’t repeat here. So Soojung's basically grounded and she can't quit
her job until she has another one lined up. So I can't even really be mad at
her. But she's known she couldn't go for a while now! On top of that, there was
a meetup of foreigners going to the festival last weekend that I could have
gone with but I didn't because I thought I was going with Soojung. That's what I’m
upset about. I wish she could have gotten up the courage to tell me sooner so
that *I* could go. I sent out an SOS to my friends Wednesday night but none of
them could go to the festival. I'm just really disappointed because it ends
this weekend and now I can't go again for another year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On top of that, I’m having some trouble with getting
my documents ready to apply for a job. I’m looking into the H-1 visa that my
friend has but I think I’d prefer to apply for a teaching job because it’s more
stable and the schools are very willing to sponsor work visas. The problem with
that is that my apostilled diploma is apparently lost in the mail and I’m
losing it. When my housing fell through, I sent my university an email
requesting that the address be changed that the apostilled diploma would be
sent to. I know they saw that email because someone responded. But the State
Department charged me for the apostille a month ago now and I still haven’t received
the diploma. My mom called yesterday and they said they mailed it to the hotel
in June. They didn’t fucking change the address when I requested it, despite
not having mailed it yet at that point. So I texted the hotel which was extremely
awkward given that the boss screwed me over and then I walked out on them and
the nice manager checked their mail room and records for me. He looked through
every record they have of mail and deliveries and they don’t have my diploma
either. So it’s either still coming to the hotel and I’ll go pick it up or, the
far more likely option, my apostilled diploma that I need to get a work visa
has been lost in the mail because the State Department didn’t bother to put a
tracking number. At this point, it’s most likely too late to request a new
apostilled diploma because I have to send in the request to my university who
then has to make a copy and sent it to the State Department who then have to apostille
it and send it to my parents (because I damn well don’t trust them to mail internationally
again) who then have to mail it to me. The process will take weeks. So I’m basically
screwed. However, I’m going to send in the request and be charged for it anyway
because I want to stay in Seoul really bad. I have to try. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tomorrow, I’m going to my favorite dog café because
I need puppies to forget about the disappointment and stress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-48137753421985657002017-07-18T06:27:00.002-07:002017-07-18T07:01:05.237-07:00Lazy days, good food, and the Crystal Universe<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last Saturday was a busy but good day. I woke up
early (for me) so I could eat an early lunch and get to the SM Town concert
area at a decent time. The arena was over an hour and a half away (which I didn’t
know when I agreed to do this) so I left my goshiwon around noon and got there
around 1:30, which was later than I wanted. Thankfully, none of the goods had
sold out yet. I think SM figured that since all the goods they were selling
were super cheap to produce, they would just make a ton and still have a huge profit.
So I stood in line, which moved much faster than I expected, and got the DBSK
light-stick and towel that Jihye’s friend wanted. There were tons of EXO
fangirls there. I tried to find some DBSK fans giving out fan-goods but I only
saw SHINee, Henry, and many EXO fan-goods. I left pretty quickly, having
achieved my mission, and took the train to Jamsil, where I was meeting Soojung
at 4. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I got to Jamsil about an hour early so I walked over
to the Gyobo bookstore. I looked at some Korean books teaching English to
compare to how I was tutoring. My way was much better; some of those worksheets
in the books totally sucked. Then I looked at some books about teaching
foreigners Korean and those looked much better. I can’t really afford to buy
anything I don’t need (or really want) right now, so I determined to buy one of
those books if/when I get a job here in Korea. I really want to improve my
Korean. Next, I moved on to the point of this visit, which was to find Korean
novels translated into English. I can’t really say that in Korean but I went to
the information desk and asked for “Korean books but the language is English”
and the guy understood what I meant. They only had two Korean translated
novels; <i>Please Look After Mother </i>and
some book about life advice from a Buddhist monk. I’ve heard good things about <i>Please Look After Mother </i>so I bought
that one and left for my meeting place with Soojung. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Soojung and I met up a little late because she was
waiting inside the station and I was outside but we figured it out eventually.
After finding each other, we went through Lotte World to try and find the
TeamLab interactive digital art exhibit. It took some searching but we finally
found the darn thing. Admission was 16,000 won and they gave us each a pack of
crayons. The first room we walked into was all flowers and butterflies. It was
very pretty and you could scatter the flower petals or kill the butterflies if
you really wanted to. The reaction time between your touch and the screen
responding was a bit slow but it was still cool. The next room had an ocean
scene showing on the wall. Visitors could color one of six water animals and,
once you were done, the drawing would be scanned into the computer and the
animal would show up on the display. This kind of activity was repeated twice
more in the exhibit, with a jungle display of frogs, lizards, and flowers, and
a city with buildings and cars. There was also a display with floating symbols
that, if you touched them, would grow a plant or animal. That one was very
interesting and was hard to walk away from. There were other displays, like a
table with colored blocks which could make a city and fairways depending on how
you arranged the blocks, and a digital hopscotch board that you got to create.
It was all very cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Towards the end of the exhibit, was a more serious
display that wasn’t interactive. There were two rooms where all the walls
showed land masses and the ocean. The plaque said that it was based on the
predictions of the ocean level rising over the next 10 years, due to global
warming. It was actually a very serious and ominous display but most people
didn’t read the sign so they were all talking about how pretty and romantic it
was. There was a seating area where you could watch the 10 minute cycle so
couples were sitting together like a picnic. I think the people who hadn’t read
the signs finally understood that it was supposed to be meaningful and
dangerous when the water reached the top of the screen, lightning flashed, and
everything faded away. Lastly, there was the Crystal Universe room. It’s hard
to describe just how beautiful this display is with pictures or words so you’ll
just have to go. It’s literally just a bunch of lights on strings but it’s just
stunning. Once you walked through the lights, you could use a website on your
phone to send stars out into the universe that would change the color,
patterns, and movement of the lights. This room really left a positive
impression on me and I understand why it’s one of TeamLab’s signature displays.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibit. There were
lots of kids there but it was equally enjoyable for adults and teens, I think.
I was really touched by the message of the exhibit as well. Before we went in,
there were signs (that few people read) explaining the goal of the artists. It
talked about how, typically, other people are a hindrance when viewing art.
Like, for example, if I went to see the Mona Lisa, I would want to go when as
few people as possible would be there with me. So they wanted to make the
presence of others a good, enjoyable thing, with their art. It would matter
which people had been there before me and how long it had been since they had
been there. I felt like they achieved their goal. In the displays where your
drawings were scanned into the displays, I laughed at some creative drawings,
smiled at the children’s scribbles, and “aww”ed at messages couples had written
to each other. Like they wanted, my experience was enhanced by the presence of
others, not hindered by it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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My colored seahorse</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_j-goqXiA27enU9nspI6ejVCsuHp10KX4Mtdf0VkyZB54RG9_MH64sXIzC_wcLYmAbbFXnxVXJHsGMNz72JAjyN1ou-M4fK4XHn-uQYIUmnPO53314KSgGeRz20EPuSO7dulkMeabJpo/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120810069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_j-goqXiA27enU9nspI6ejVCsuHp10KX4Mtdf0VkyZB54RG9_MH64sXIzC_wcLYmAbbFXnxVXJHsGMNz72JAjyN1ou-M4fK4XHn-uQYIUmnPO53314KSgGeRz20EPuSO7dulkMeabJpo/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120810069.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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My seahorse on the screen by a silly squid</div>
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The symbol screen</div>
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Soojung</div>
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My flower</div>
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My building drawing</div>
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My building in the town</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9__80hrRbH1PJEq8ZR9pMIwKInxNzTQGkquZacgmmRkPYRuB0hb2EWJP2fYncvlrSnNxMzpYQj8YoqaGgSapj2T5dHK1rxjO826uOQtxk2z7bjRxwYV_7n4h6SlJrAokbxLa3OX8aZ8g/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120801156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9__80hrRbH1PJEq8ZR9pMIwKInxNzTQGkquZacgmmRkPYRuB0hb2EWJP2fYncvlrSnNxMzpYQj8YoqaGgSapj2T5dHK1rxjO826uOQtxk2z7bjRxwYV_7n4h6SlJrAokbxLa3OX8aZ8g/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120801156.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The whole screen</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIHW4CJ5kAL3QQH9gomc7fxKHFnODCZQHbzg-s2WqGhgySc_pFYwUHYjMuX1IvtJo3jVsHPFaBL3gwzecQ7lqmTAjUsYXExORkxd6Mt6CPDfVz_3t7J7Wjmi5TMeO_PzR8kwz5do6eTA/s1600/20170708_175753.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIHW4CJ5kAL3QQH9gomc7fxKHFnODCZQHbzg-s2WqGhgySc_pFYwUHYjMuX1IvtJo3jVsHPFaBL3gwzecQ7lqmTAjUsYXExORkxd6Mt6CPDfVz_3t7J7Wjmi5TMeO_PzR8kwz5do6eTA/s320/20170708_175753.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Crystal Universe</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZDLhJYObVWHKK31OT176QMKL_1mFZIWCY5OOZVJgOAm_aHypmPWxs5kI3fmv1qs5AVYFhvd-CpJOv7ZPlSATASFicROb6i9QhXqMno1rVDU51Usc_LrZ4geLPlVH6BwdAMHPccrl8BQ/s1600/20170708_175813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmZDLhJYObVWHKK31OT176QMKL_1mFZIWCY5OOZVJgOAm_aHypmPWxs5kI3fmv1qs5AVYFhvd-CpJOv7ZPlSATASFicROb6i9QhXqMno1rVDU51Usc_LrZ4geLPlVH6BwdAMHPccrl8BQ/s320/20170708_175813.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After leaving TeamLab, Soojung and I went to a blind
restaurant by Konkuk. Everyone else was in couples but this isn’t the first
time I’ve done couple-y things with friends and it won’t be the last so I wasn’t
affected. The staff walked us up to the room and then we put our hands on the
shoulders of those in front of us and they lead us into the darkness. The
waiters had night vision goggles on but we couldn’t see a darn thing. There was
not a hint of light in there. I told Soojung right away, “I don’t think I like
this.” It’s actually a very disturbing thing, not being able to see your
surroundings even a little bit. I calmed down after a couple minutes but it was
uncomfortable at first. We had a five course meal (for 35,000 won): there was a
meat/salami appetizer, a salad with a fruity dressing, seafood fried rice,
steak, and some sort of fancy ice cream. I couldn’t see any of it so I’m going
entirely on my taste-buds here, for description. It was all very delicious.
Before we had gone in, the host told us not to eat with our hands and we all
laughed but I did actually touch my dishes with my hand to make sure I was
finished. Cutting the steak was especially difficult. Soojung and I had some pretty
deep conversations while we ate as well. I think it’s like when you talk at a
sleepover when the lights are at; not being able to see each other’s face makes
it easier to open up. Overall, it was a really interesting experience and I’m
glad I went. We started dinner quite late so, afterwards, we split up for the
night because Soojung had to get home. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHbwyIzAL09A6ANb2D4BxLkM2mxtR76bLZEV4r1SbL5R1cEvKuu3_l0ICXTMSOHrKDMBIfgy3eXlAnc9e0HM0SmWHEpZJ2KPkLVF4mpzeve1dCO684DpPuHLSLdubNQv_tQkUftH5GYk/s1600/IMG_0018+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfHbwyIzAL09A6ANb2D4BxLkM2mxtR76bLZEV4r1SbL5R1cEvKuu3_l0ICXTMSOHrKDMBIfgy3eXlAnc9e0HM0SmWHEpZJ2KPkLVF4mpzeve1dCO684DpPuHLSLdubNQv_tQkUftH5GYk/s320/IMG_0018+%25282%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Extremely blurry picture of us after being released from the dark room (feat. the note we wrote to each other in the dark)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I skyped my parents and then lazed around
the entire day. Like, I literally put on normal clothes at 7PM after debating
if getting take out for dinner was worth taking off my pajamas. It was
wonderful. I also started <i>Please Look
After Mother</i>, which has four sections instead of chapters. I’m not sure I’m
going to like it. It’s just not quite my style but I paid 7,000 won for it so I’m
going to finish it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I met up with Byul for dinner. We were
originally going to go make cute phone cases at the Dongdaemun craft mall but
we found out that day that the vendors close before Byul’s finished with work.
So we decided to just get dinner in Gangnam instead. We went to a dakgalbi
place named </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">장인닭갈비</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> that was fucking fantastic. Excuse my
language but holy crap. We ordered the dakgalbi with cheese and added in rice
cakes and sausages. So the chicken, cabbage, rice cake, and sausages were all
mixed together in a sauce and then the mozzarella (?) cheese went in the
center. They also had lettuce so you could make wraps if you wanted to. It was
so, so good. I didn’t actually like dipping my other food in the cheese so I
ate all that first and then ate the cheese separately, which ended up tasting
amazing. I’m definitely going back to that restaurant. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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dakgalbi~</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBjHkSj_7nvJd3cv-p_JL2vvWoieajSxyOnt6ZSr1JFk6GCD0q2t-_TyqhehzZvMOeeV3_EKRYnMLOmrxnzX9vRU5fSJN7Vi-VfqcIjDpwiLM9JWqxN5KSaj0AQx7THxHKxBzLFDsZ7A/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_001626569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNBjHkSj_7nvJd3cv-p_JL2vvWoieajSxyOnt6ZSr1JFk6GCD0q2t-_TyqhehzZvMOeeV3_EKRYnMLOmrxnzX9vRU5fSJN7Vi-VfqcIjDpwiLM9JWqxN5KSaj0AQx7THxHKxBzLFDsZ7A/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_001626569.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Byul and I</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, Byul and I went to Solbing for some
dessert. I let Byul decide and paid because it was her birthday a couple days
before. She wanted the green tea brownie bingsoo so we got that. I don’t much
like green tea but it wasn’t too bad. It was definitely pretty, that’s for
sure. We talked until we got kicked out because the store was closing. Byul,
like Soojung, has a job with crappy conditions but Byul doesn’t want to quit
for some reason that I don’t comprehend. I think she wants to stick with it for
at least a full year (she’s at 8 months now). So she told me all about that and
eventually we had to go home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EVjVoNsSzTTM89ugRJjs2AUP1nRBKqkDj1REqF41iUota5mANFBJJ14U-gmycrGGStBfV45dcEWsqsS-NRuUB8fBNWaKT01rwWJK6M2I2tdQxdL_ovgffJx1DK5xEmzHezkRqyC_vpg/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_001559018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EVjVoNsSzTTM89ugRJjs2AUP1nRBKqkDj1REqF41iUota5mANFBJJ14U-gmycrGGStBfV45dcEWsqsS-NRuUB8fBNWaKT01rwWJK6M2I2tdQxdL_ovgffJx1DK5xEmzHezkRqyC_vpg/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_001559018.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Green tea brownie bingsoo</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday and Thursday I tutored, like usual. We just
worked on essay writing those two days but I think we’re going to be doing more
work on that. The security guy and I know each other so we just nod at each
other and he lets me in. Oh, and the family’s nanny wanted to chat with me
Thursday after the session when Sunny went to do her homework. It was extremely
uncomfortable because she wanted to complain about the family and I didn’t
really know what to say. I held my own on the Korean front, didn’t do too
poorly, but it did remind me how much I still have to learn. I got out of there
after about 15 minutes of chatting, as soon as there was an appropriate
opportunity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, I had a sort of lazy day. I was
originally going to go see the Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain show that night by
myself, because no one could hang out. However, Tuesday, my bathroom sink
plugged up. It’s been slow to drain since I moved in but Tuesday, it completely
plugged and refused to drain at all. So I spent most of Wednesday fixing that.
I consulted everyone on the best equipment and products in Korea and made a
list with the Hangul. Before I left for the store, though, I found some bleach
in the goshiwon bathroom’s closet. So I took the water out of the sink as much
as I could and then I just poured some bleach in the sink and down the shower
drain. The sink still didn’t seem to be draining but I decided to go to the
market closer to dinner so I went back to my laptop for an hour or so. After
the time passed, I checked the sink again and the water was all gone! The
bleach had eaten away whatever was clogging the sink enough to drain the water.
So then I poured more bleach down both drains to try and make them completely
clean. I did several rounds of this and now it drains right away, like it’s
supposed to. I’m honestly really proud of myself. It’s such a simple thing but
I figured it out on my own with minimal help and no purchases so I’m quite
happy. If my efforts had failed, I was going to have to try and explain the
problem in Korean to the landlord, which would have been a struggle. I also
went to the market while the second or third round of bleach was sitting. So
after all that, I honestly felt too tired to go out again. When I went to the
market, it was extremely hot and humid, even more so than usual, so I decided
to just stay home and continue with the bleach treatments for the night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I went to a meetup through meetup.com. I’m
trying to make some more friends, especially international friends, since my
Korean friends all have jobs so meetup.com is perfect. I’m in three meetups
that I’m really interested in; a book club, a women-only club, and a crafters
club. However, none of those three have any events planned for this month yet.
So I’m also in a volunteering club and several groups just for foreigners in
Korea. Friday’s meetup was through one of those clubs, for an international
group. Yeouido Hangang Park is doing an event this summer where there will be a
dance team performance and movie every Friday and Saturday throughout the
summer. So the meetup was to go to that. Of the 20 people signed up online,
four of us showed up. The organizer had backed out because of a sudden work commitment
and it was forecasted to rain, so I think that drove a lot of people away. It
ended up being me, a French female translation student, a Korean female
kindergarten teacher, and a Korean male baker. And get this; because it was
forecasted to rain, even though it wasn’t raining, the performance and movie
were cancelled without notice! I’ve had this happen in Seoul before, where
things will be cancelled without any sort of notice for weather predictions,
regardless of actual weather. So the four of us just sat at the venue and
talked for like four hours. It was nice to talk to everyone from different
walks of life and learn about them. The translator especially is in a field
similar to mine, so that was cool. It was hard though because the three girls
got talking about books and one point but the Korean guy kept saying he didn’t
read so I had a hard time trying to include him in the conversation without
completely changing the subject. At the end of the night, despite an enjoyable
time, we all separated without exchanging contact information. I would have
gotten the translator’s Kakao and maybe the kindergarten teacher’s too but I
couldn’t do that in front of the baker without asking him too so I just didn’t.
None of us super hit it off anyway. I’m looking forward to my next meetup; I
want one of my favorite three but I might also volunteer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday I had, guess what, another lazy day!
Because I didn’t go to the Banpo Bridge Wednesday, I was going to go Saturday
but then it rained <i>all</i> day so I knew
the Rainbow Fountain wouldn’t run. Since it was continuously raining, there
wasn’t much else I could do either so I just stayed home. I tried a new place
for dinner though. It was a bagel café that’s kind of far from my goshiwon. I
ordered a hot chicken bagel sandwich. It wasn’t premade and they assembled and
cooked it in front of my so that was impressive. The cashier guy was also very
nice, although not as hot as the Subway guy, so that was a bonus. The sandwich
was pretty good but it was expensive for what I got and farther away from my
goshiwon so I probably won’t go back. I also read another section in <i>Please Look After Mother </i>so I’m more
than halfway through now. I particularly didn’t care about this section but I
heard from the kindergarten teacher at the meetup that the last section is especially
good so I’m going to keep going. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday was a good day. Through the prior events in my
crafting meetup, I found a DIY pottery place in Insadong underneath the Ssamziegil
mall so we were going to do that. Before pottery, we went to lunch at a place
famous for Pyongyang naengmyun, which was on my list of foods to try. It’s so
popular, when we got there, there was an hour wait and at least 100 people in
the huge waiting area. We decided to wait and we were seated after about 30
minutes; I think a lot of people got discouraged and left after leaving their
name but it worked for us. The Pyongyang naengmyun was alright. It’s North
Korean naengmyun and the difference is supposed to be that it’s meatier and
blander but I also found it sweeter. I wasn’t super impressed with the
naengmyun for such a popular place but it just might not be my taste. The
restaurant, Woo Lae Oak if anyone wants to try, has really good kimchi though!
It was kimchi made the same day, not fermented, which is usually not to my
liking but the cabbage was ridiculously fresh and tasty. I was very impressed.
They also served us buckwheat tea, which I hadn’t had before, and it was very
calming. I will probably be looking for that in stores and on menus in the
future. So, even though I didn’t like the naengmyun, I was impressed by the restaurant.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Pyongyang naengmyun</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, we walked through Insadong. We looked
at the products and eventually made our way over to Ssamziegil. The pottery
place was in the basement so we went there. You could pick your dish; they had
all sorts of bowls, cups, plates, and platters. I went for a cereal bowl because
it was big and I have too many mugs and Byul went with a tea cup. You then
sketched your design in pencil and transferred any stamps you wanted. After
that, you could begin painting. I decide on a love concept on put a heart with
dots, the shape of Minnesota with dots, and Korea in Hangul on the outside. On
the inside, I had my stamp in red and I wrote some of the things I love in
Hangul. Byul painted a bunny with glasses (adorable!), a guitar, and some
flowers. After painting, the owners will kiln the pottery again and glaze it.
The finished works can be picked up in a couple weeks. Byul and I noticed a
bunch of old pottery left behind from months ago. When Byul asked the owner,
she said that when couples break up after making their pottery together, they
don’t come and pick them up. Byul and I stayed much longer than anyone else; we
took maybe three or four hours to finish the process and, by the time we were
done, the basement was beginning to clear out and we were the last ones in the
pottery station. As we left, Byul and I noticed that there were a ton of other
stations like bracelet making, soap making, matryoshka doll painting, etc. It
was really cool. I love crafting so this was right up my alley and Byul and I
really enjoyed it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Mid process</div>
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painting</div>
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Minnesota</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDN7nfo0YI0RGg7_SEPQsMLTDiSLwuQxEbthmU-Vkdiw7x6wpQHpphBQ2LOzYC0yom6TNCyV96tqaP3hVnlFQMvteaiwfpWzEnVrROdLTSG4EPxKga3ZLhRF5aM33gEZmle8s6iezj2Y/s1600/IMG_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDN7nfo0YI0RGg7_SEPQsMLTDiSLwuQxEbthmU-Vkdiw7x6wpQHpphBQ2LOzYC0yom6TNCyV96tqaP3hVnlFQMvteaiwfpWzEnVrROdLTSG4EPxKga3ZLhRF5aM33gEZmle8s6iezj2Y/s320/IMG_0144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Heart</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XpvZpZHAiaTm9sAAt-brcEuyJAoVqAxxDytHdjcI6zbH-mlj5fMOm5XW_2Ily58N_0ffsiHKqTa_yXkTwdbrdwiKqAk1UoKreF2-X2IiiqJRnKns9Bk41ktAfAvt_WsV1nuw8FbfS5A/s1600/IMG_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XpvZpZHAiaTm9sAAt-brcEuyJAoVqAxxDytHdjcI6zbH-mlj5fMOm5XW_2Ily58N_0ffsiHKqTa_yXkTwdbrdwiKqAk1UoKreF2-X2IiiqJRnKns9Bk41ktAfAvt_WsV1nuw8FbfS5A/s320/IMG_0145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Top view</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOkIbnggnZ-ga8Recnxt1bvk06WZZtwcT6lgXAN6KCB9p2fnJXmjqzpsNyEI0rKaGqvx4gi78c8kwojbJPFJvezYcl9vX6C59CAal7I64jXG_0HNX7ZplRD_2O3Ef68SvO5-2mh75wzM/s1600/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsOkIbnggnZ-ga8Recnxt1bvk06WZZtwcT6lgXAN6KCB9p2fnJXmjqzpsNyEI0rKaGqvx4gi78c8kwojbJPFJvezYcl9vX6C59CAal7I64jXG_0HNX7ZplRD_2O3Ef68SvO5-2mh75wzM/s320/IMG_0148.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bunny!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXqlUzHPXyFvW4_0x3_SA5LYaLcaQRdxqi8HDuLB914nMbR4bWTq29HLkR497u9aLG6QhDn5Wr4nMkKGAmj3CpXeB2PZ9vZIPU7V8HIMbbA6ni-oi0GTVBQhJPVYkUdHL99oZnaIum7Q/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXqlUzHPXyFvW4_0x3_SA5LYaLcaQRdxqi8HDuLB914nMbR4bWTq29HLkR497u9aLG6QhDn5Wr4nMkKGAmj3CpXeB2PZ9vZIPU7V8HIMbbA6ni-oi0GTVBQhJPVYkUdHL99oZnaIum7Q/s320/IMG_0151.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finished</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We then walked around Ssamziegil again. I honestly
wasn’t too impressed with Insadong last time I was there, it felt like too much
of a tourist trap, and, while it does still feel like that, I at least enjoyed
the DIY basement and the atmosphere. Byul and I also had poop-shaped bread so
there’s that. Oh, and I found a new Korean artist I really like at one of the
shops. It was selling notebooks with her artwork so I wrote her name down. It’s
Kim Minji and she works with fairy tales, which I love and have studied. I’m
hoping to buy some of her products, like notebooks, somewhere cheaper. We had
dinner after leaving the mall. I probably should have gone home to eat because it
would have been so much cheaper (Insadong’s an expensive area) but it was late
and I was having fun. We had seafood jeon and mackerel for dinner. It was
nothing special but it was alright. After dinner, Byul and I went home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ssamziegil</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I skyped my family again. There was a music
fest in my hometown this past weekend that I have always gone to so I was super
bummed to miss it. It sounds like they had a lot of fun though, so I’m glad. My
little sister’s birthday is coming up too so I wished her happy birthday. My
mother and brother basically shaved one of my dogs so he looks completely
ridiculous but in an adorable way. I miss home still sometimes but I’ve
adjusted so much the past three weeks or so. I also went to the market again
but this time I tried the one across from the one I usually go to. It’s so much
better! I can’t believe I never walked across the street before. It’s much
bigger and cleaner and it has a wider variety of food. The only downside is
that it doesn’t have the yogurt I like but I can still go to my old one
sometimes. It was a good discovery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That night, I went to dinner with Gilyoung. She’s
pretty poor right not so there’s not too much we can do but we went to get
seolleongtang which is A) on my list and B) cheapish. We went to a place in
Anam, near Korea University, so there were a ton of foreigners there for the
summer program. The seolleongtang itself was alright. Of the three foods I tried
in this blog entry, it was the best. It basically comes without much seasoning
and then the customer adds however much garlic, green onion, salt, pepper, and red pepper
flakes as they want. So it just tasted like beef stock at first but once I
added some pepper and garlic and a lot of salt, green onion, and red pepper flakes, it was
actually pretty good. It was addictive. While I couldn’t say it was amazing, I
found myself compelled to keep eating it. I finished the entire bowl, down to
the last spoon of broth. I wouldn’t pay a lot for it but it was good. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Seolleongtang</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, Gilyoung and I walked around the area
a bit but my legs were chaffing so we took refuge at (where else?) Solbing!
Gilyoung wanted me to try something new so we got the Mango/Cheesecake bingsoo.
It was pretty good. I’m not huge on chunks of mango but the pureed mango was
better and the cheesecake was delicious. Gilyoung and I ended up arguing about
strawberries for a while lol. Apparently, strawberries are a winter fruit in
Korea and Gilyoung just would not believe me that they’re a summer fruit in
America. We ended on a tie because we accepted each other but we have no idea
why it’s like that. It was good to see her and talk with her. Of my five
mentees at UND, Gilyoung and I get along the best and she’s really easy to talk
to. I was also blown away by the prices in the area. I expected it to be around
the same price range as Konkuk because they’re both universities but it was
super cheap! Apparently, Konkuk is just an expensive area; fuck my life. Oh, and an old lady tried to compliment me on
my subway ride home but I had major trouble trying to understand her pronunciation
so it didn’t go too well. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Mango cheesecake bingsoo</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s Tuesday so I tutored again. Sunny leaves in
less than a month now but it feels like we have so much left to do! She’s actually
fun to talk to though because we’re interested in a lot of the same things. I’m
going to miss her when she’s gone. Tomorrow, I have dance class so that’s
exciting! I didn’t go to the one two weeks ago because I had plans with
Jinseong and I didn’t go to last week’s because it was Mamamoo and A) I don’t
like them much and B) they don’t dance anyway. But this week is Astro and I
love them so I’m going. I don’t think this title track was their strongest but
the album is golden and I’m excited to learn the dance anyway. We’ll see how it
goes~ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-6323799468888376902017-07-08T06:02:00.002-07:002017-07-11T05:15:10.771-07:00New Foods (and other experiences)<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last Thursday, I met up with a former mentee of mine
from college. It’s kinda funny because everyone else I haven’t seen in a couple
years but I saw Gilyoung about a month ago when school ended. So our meeting
wasn’t as dramatic as some of the others. It was more just like “Hey. How’s
your month back been?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anyway, we met in Hongdae for lunch and went to a
place called Hongdae Donburi. It has Hongdae in the name but it’s actually all
over Seoul (and Korea). It serves Japanese food and I got the mixed donburi
with don katsu and shrimp. It was really, really good. It was just onions,
rice, the meats, egg, and some sort of sauce but it was absolutely delicious. I
definitely recommend going to Hongdae Donburi if you have the time. It was
about 10,000 won, so not too terrible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, we decided to wonder around for a bit
before going to the bakery because we were both stuffed. There’s always a lot
to do in Hongdae so I wasn’t too worried. Seoul is a place for trends and one
of the current trends is the claw machine. The claw machine is literally
everywhere right now. There are entire stores just with claw machines in them.
It seems silly to me; like, this fad can’t possibly last so what are you going to
do with your business then? I bring this up because we found a three floor
arcade in Hongdae. The whole first floor was claw machines. The second had
shooting and driving games, with darts near the front, and the third floor was
more familiar games to me, like basketball, air hockey, and Dance Dance
Revolution. We played a couple games, and totally sucked at all of them, before
leaving so we wouldn’t go broke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gilyoung and I walked by some tarot card readers and
she asked if I had ever gone. When I told her that I hadn’t (because my Korean
wasn’t good enough) but I wanted to, we walked right into one of the stores. I
paid 3,000 won to ask a simple question. I asked if I would get a job that I
liked within three months. The tarot card lady had me pick out three cards that
represented my past, current, and future job luck. Guess what card I managed to
draw for my future? The death card. There are 56 cards in a tarot deck and I
manage to pick the death card for my professional future. But my past and
present looked fine so hey. Gilyoung then asked the lady if my fortune would change
so I chose three more cards. According to those, my fortune will change for the
better in one month. So the tarot lady recommended that I just stay still and
not apply for too many jobs for a month and then try again after that. We left
the store with Gilyoung feeling bad and me a little surprised at my own (bad)
luck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the way to the bakery, we also looked for some
clothing for Gilyoung because she wants new dresses. That is another current
fad in Korea. Women are wearing spaghetti strap dresses with white T-shirts
underneath. That in itself isn’t so surprising because Koreans generally don’t
show cleavage but what’s driving me insane is that the women are purposefully
making the adjustable straps too long. So instead of the dress fitting like
it’s supposed to, it cuts across too low on their boobs or falls to the side or
below their chest. It looks absolutely ridiculous and not cute at all. Jihye
and I actually talked about this before she left and she says it’s supposed to
make them look young. Like, clothes that are too big will make them look
younger. I sorta get that, even though it’s a bit creepy, but this doesn’t even
look good! I shake my head every time I see a woman with the chest of the dress
in the wrong place. Gilyoung actually wanted to buy a dress like that but I
vetoed it. She probably has enough sense not to wear the dress with the straps
too long but I didn’t want to even risk it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After shopping, we finally made it over to the
bakery I wanted to try. Yay! It’s called Aoitori Bakery and I saw it on a show
called Battle Trip. The show was totally boring (I watched because IOI was on
it) but the bakery looked delicious! We ordered four buns; a green tea melon
bun, a yakisoba bun, a butter-red bean paste bun, and a typical cream bun as a
safety net in case the others sucked. We tried the green tea melon bun first.
It was pretty good. You couldn’t really taste the melon underneath the green
tea flavor and I’m not really a green tea person so even though I enjoyed it, I
would try something else next time. We then went for the yakisoba bun, which
looked the best on the broadcast. It was so, so good. It’s kinda like someone
took a hotdog, removed the sausage and stir fried it with yakisoba, and then
put it back in the bun. That sounds really strange but it was super good, I
promise. The ginger didn’t blend with the other flavors as well though so, next
time, I’ll take off the ginger. Next time I’m in Hongdae, I plan to buy two of
the yakisoba buns and bring them home for dinner. The butter-red bean paste was
Gilyoung’s favorite. It actually tasted much better than I expected but it’s
hard to get past the visual. It looks like they put a small stick of butter in
there with a thick line of red bean paste, which dries on the outside and looks
even less appealing than usual. Despite all that, it was pretty good. After
sharing three buns, Gilyoung and I were full so I took the cream bun home to
eat later. We eventually parted ways so Gilyoung could have a late dinner with
her brother. I went home and tried the cream bun. It was nothing special but,
overall, I was very happy with my Aoitori experience and would go back. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ftq_k479GkdUGH6IQqme723nFyXnEJeJCa-jbaXY7KRJfe44Md0U0AxKGQ2lL32p56xVycy-MLBv0yznBaKDvuDtlLEx__l1aZAHhEEl3tS5s2O6XPdTzq5KxjjhEwNt0vCH7_asxuw/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121123789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ftq_k479GkdUGH6IQqme723nFyXnEJeJCa-jbaXY7KRJfe44Md0U0AxKGQ2lL32p56xVycy-MLBv0yznBaKDvuDtlLEx__l1aZAHhEEl3tS5s2O6XPdTzq5KxjjhEwNt0vCH7_asxuw/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121123789.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Gilyoung and I + creme bun</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTnXCT1t78hxhqMSGJAC_Bq2BEGbE29QS4YEsiVxGtAK2Bb-lZICGqM2jpMsTWi5bo9DCd0WsoPV_V-1EeB7k7U0u4Cm3pePnguGGJh3SHD-LwIbHsyxnyWlp0I7rL1Il4BQgPzNXaV4/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121124272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTnXCT1t78hxhqMSGJAC_Bq2BEGbE29QS4YEsiVxGtAK2Bb-lZICGqM2jpMsTWi5bo9DCd0WsoPV_V-1EeB7k7U0u4Cm3pePnguGGJh3SHD-LwIbHsyxnyWlp0I7rL1Il4BQgPzNXaV4/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121124272.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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butter + red bean paste bun</div>
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yakisoba bun :D</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgz2OEIg3m6LASdjrKkkjZind3a0ANksdk0uDwMtK1y2Lj90RUvFZUE2XCPUT6SYDpdys98nrrv4TT8NuFXPdUQOT_EXPwaH_7wR5VMs42AamxxtfzvozBAovlwNAgyebTcnDKzEEEYY/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121128963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgz2OEIg3m6LASdjrKkkjZind3a0ANksdk0uDwMtK1y2Lj90RUvFZUE2XCPUT6SYDpdys98nrrv4TT8NuFXPdUQOT_EXPwaH_7wR5VMs42AamxxtfzvozBAovlwNAgyebTcnDKzEEEYY/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121128963.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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green tea melon bun</div>
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inside</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I didn’t do anything too exciting. I wrote
up my ad to put up, offering tutoring over the summer break to college
students. It was Byul’s idea and it sounded like a good plan. I later found out
that a lot of the colleges offer free tutoring as part of the tuition so I
can’t post on the college sites like I was planning to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also mailed a package all by myself! Let’s hear a
round of applause. It was not without struggle. I mailed my forms to an FBI
channeler to get my background check sent back to me sooner. I think background
checks are only necessary for the E-2 (teaching) visa but I’d rather have it
just in case. The people at the post office and I worked together to figure the
whole mailing process out. It was actually funny because their English was at
the same level as my Korean and that meant that we both knew how to say the
same phrases in each other’s languages. So, for example, we couldn’t figure out
how to say things like “travel insurance” or “customs form” but he would say
“this will take 2 weeks” and then I’d repeat that in Korean back to him and
then we’d stare at each other trying to figure out the right wording so the
other one would understand. It was great. I felt very accomplished after my
long trial and promptly texted most of my friends so I could be praised. They
mostly teased me about it but I’m still happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday, I had lunch with someone I met on the
street. Literally. The past Monday night, there was a woman in my subway car
that got off at the same station. We walked up through the station together and
walked to the same exit. She then went the same way as me and we walked near
each other all the way from the station to my street. It was getting extremely
awkward so I was getting ready to speed up to pass her when she, Jane, turned
to me and said “Hi” in English. We talked for a bit and exchanged Kakao IDs
before turning in for the night. Turns out we live like two minutes from each
other. After texting, we decided to meet for lunch on Saturday at my favorite
dakgabli-bokkeumbap place, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">샘터골</span><span style="font-family: "malgun gothic" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">.
</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
was excited about making a new friend at first but then I remembered that there
are a lot of Christian fanatics in Seoul that very actively try to recruit
people. I dealt with this a lot two years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I went to our meeting place with a little
trepidation but still looking forward to talking and finally eating one of my
favorite dishes. I’ve tried to replicate it in America but we simply don’t cut
up chickens that way, so that there’s “chicken ribs” (it’s really throat and
shoulder meat). Sure enough, about ten minutes into our meal Jane brings up her
church and starts talking about how dedicated she is. It wasn’t anything too
crazy; we talked about other things too and I told her I wasn’t religious. She
would find ways to bring it up though. Like, when I told her I studied editing,
Jane said that she knew some people who edited that I should meet but I could
tell from her tone that they were from her church. However, we talked about
other things and when I told her I love dogs, she said we should go to a dog
café together. So, I thought I got through to her that I had no interest in
going to her church. After we finished (delicious), Jane offered to pay and
even though I said no, she said I could pay next time so I let it go. As we’re
leaving though, she said “My church is actually just this way a bit, if you
want to check it out.” I wonder if she thought I’d feel like I had to go since
she paid but I have absolutely no intention to get roped into something I don’t
want to do. So I said that I was actually going to the market, which was in the
other direction. I like her so I’ll still hang out if she wants to but I can’t
tell if she just wanted to recruit me. So, for now, I’m going to wait until
Jane texts me and we’ll take it from there. It’s almost been a week and she
hasn’t texted me so I suspect that’s the end of our relationship. Oh well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I went to the Seodaemun Prison Museum. It
was a political prison during both the Japanese colonial era and the
dictatorship that followed. It’s not exactly a tourist spot so it was 95%
Koreans there. I think the older gentleman who took my ticket was excited to
see a foreigner interested in Korean history because, as I’m walking away, he
suddenly yells “Hi!” very brightly and waves. I laughed and waved back; he was
adorable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The prison was interesting. It was interesting in
the same way the Holocaust Museum is interesting; it’s not fun but it’s
important to remember history and the people whose lives were taken. I also
learned my word of the day for that day: </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Malgun Gothic";">고문</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(gomun),
which means torture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is of note that the museum had much more
information on the Japanese era than the dictatorship era. I don’t think it’s
because the Japanese were worse to the prisoners (although I learned some new
ways to terrify and hurt somebody), I think it’s just easier to see others as
the bad guy instead of your own people. What information there was about the
dictatorship era (which was maybe 20%, if I’m being generous, of the exhibits)
was not translated into English. All the signs and explanations about the
Japanese colonial era were translated into English but none of the stuff about
the dictatorship era was. I thought that was a very deliberate decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a bit surprising to me who Koreans call
patriots and heroes during the Japanese era. Many of the prisoners are what we
would today call terrorists. There were two signs in the entire place about
peaceful protests, one about a labor strike and one about a newspaper. All of
the other protests were violent, either robbing or assassinating people. I
would honestly understand if it was the Japanese they were murdering but some
of these “heroes” killed Koreans who supported the Japanese. That was what
surprised me. I can’t imagine praising someone who murdered our own people just
because of their way of thinking. However. I also can’t imagine being forbidden
to speak my language, being forced to change my name, and seeing my countrymen
and women carted off to labor or sex camps. I can’t imagine someone trying to
systematically destroy my culture so I don’t get to judge. I didn’t live then
and I will never be in the same situation so it’s not my place. I was just
surprised, that’s all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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Entrance</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-b6dV-BCn-gRf8f80VROv2Wp2Ov97qB_Tuh3x1kr8Q09Qb1Ikg1A2UTQ2hUPwuwDYG7Pf6ReqcsZ1OZJsHbJOhLe2CUIvENpApcyU96efHMFN9NCpt0qsJ34QRD4lwOWgMi_luidfyo/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121112131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ-b6dV-BCn-gRf8f80VROv2Wp2Ov97qB_Tuh3x1kr8Q09Qb1Ikg1A2UTQ2hUPwuwDYG7Pf6ReqcsZ1OZJsHbJOhLe2CUIvENpApcyU96efHMFN9NCpt0qsJ34QRD4lwOWgMi_luidfyo/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121112131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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View from lepers' building</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlB7CrGnEUmSrjDC79weyYy03LGt4exr5zmn-a_mX77RDZUlUVi3c_cMvYFMhZiSTKAykbdQ5I1PhGq9eJDRETWqAIHkpBQ4beytM6c64JouRmFVDL_sg1ymVYQxmjDCNs8i2NYShusQ/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121021587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBlB7CrGnEUmSrjDC79weyYy03LGt4exr5zmn-a_mX77RDZUlUVi3c_cMvYFMhZiSTKAykbdQ5I1PhGq9eJDRETWqAIHkpBQ4beytM6c64JouRmFVDL_sg1ymVYQxmjDCNs8i2NYShusQ/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121021587.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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"exercise facility" what bull</div>
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Prison cells</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWMXtu3w4n0Vs5L99g9GIddiu6XgNvF6Jg1iVa8ISq6fP6a-yuHvLGWYS89cR43lQXtJn3xaSuvuuTjX6BMIPI1bGsxA3VmUjqDYhQ2XnjzU36FoE8IJg2WyaVRG-Ol8hwcknPqqvpwI/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121114787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggWMXtu3w4n0Vs5L99g9GIddiu6XgNvF6Jg1iVa8ISq6fP6a-yuHvLGWYS89cR43lQXtJn3xaSuvuuTjX6BMIPI1bGsxA3VmUjqDYhQ2XnjzU36FoE8IJg2WyaVRG-Ol8hwcknPqqvpwI/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121114787.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Torture box so you can neither stand nor sit comfortably</div>
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Building underneath gallows where dead bodies where collected (reconstruction)</div>
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Pictures of victims</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxncoCj_DR2vs9dAedsaiMTYmRqQZiHdlHsz9eV-4WgU7hcdDs7v6y6yBQr4MPoj1i6PwVz1hyAJ1zQ3SOYM3-ThZ1y5FNaJ5Nol07hvxmoEH8RSJmus84Dgr846s_MT4E8zivd50E6s/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121121980.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxncoCj_DR2vs9dAedsaiMTYmRqQZiHdlHsz9eV-4WgU7hcdDs7v6y6yBQr4MPoj1i6PwVz1hyAJ1zQ3SOYM3-ThZ1y5FNaJ5Nol07hvxmoEH8RSJmus84Dgr846s_MT4E8zivd50E6s/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121121980.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After walking through the prison cells, the torture
rooms, and all the facility buildings, I left the museum. I happened to see a
map as we left and I’m glad I looked at it because there was a 3.10 memorial
and the Independence Gate just a couple blocks away. There was no information
online about those so I got lucky that I looked at the map. After looking at
those too, I went home.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThMMdMTR1LZE2S3AbeJuTZbi-pwpgGlHVMJVrOS3SwAEH5P591BvEaMqxNT16Wr_ONBHkGew5f0V31l6QXGpO5N0WiXsi12ZtE5dyn3DuR2YxGjnHLNVWkuNbGK01OhU6JaITbGcAeLs/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121020156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThMMdMTR1LZE2S3AbeJuTZbi-pwpgGlHVMJVrOS3SwAEH5P591BvEaMqxNT16Wr_ONBHkGew5f0V31l6QXGpO5N0WiXsi12ZtE5dyn3DuR2YxGjnHLNVWkuNbGK01OhU6JaITbGcAeLs/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121020156.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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3.10 Memorial</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMFe_e5ubi5Wj0NCeCdF2CturijHJuoD7iN9lj3rJrJavEs7KJ5ePNXxIQ9TxOIjXv16FiTlMvqU1ZZnTjPP6-VX4wd19LKP7fVp00nY0FEwrSSObJSJHCXmbZUtmk0N5hBCsK7_xjzE/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121019073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMFe_e5ubi5Wj0NCeCdF2CturijHJuoD7iN9lj3rJrJavEs7KJ5ePNXxIQ9TxOIjXv16FiTlMvqU1ZZnTjPP6-VX4wd19LKP7fVp00nY0FEwrSSObJSJHCXmbZUtmk0N5hBCsK7_xjzE/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121019073.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Way to Independence Gate</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmMbJ1SuQWS_4bcUl_NPvVp6328NelvjJQxhL3NjHdfxqVG2aDWVTtNdxtnoQYJxQsfI6KB3N0zDeu1e8pVhh_9MXrmEMIz_DHjWuuT2YJgiCvfg_2blbFaSPxC1_fuE_9ag9l5s86nw/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121017881.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmMbJ1SuQWS_4bcUl_NPvVp6328NelvjJQxhL3NjHdfxqVG2aDWVTtNdxtnoQYJxQsfI6KB3N0zDeu1e8pVhh_9MXrmEMIz_DHjWuuT2YJgiCvfg_2blbFaSPxC1_fuE_9ag9l5s86nw/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121017881.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIlM8d6WkdU5wCW1tUjH3nFNdcJgqoCsuT0TwdYeOVFFVY-fsxJyroUk5BplG4nnSZ356amo3-cxvmQfTyxGGFXPg3pA_KZnD8Mav8twXjserIDYBLspyB56EF-DhyhndHWknCwKtOOo/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121016831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIlM8d6WkdU5wCW1tUjH3nFNdcJgqoCsuT0TwdYeOVFFVY-fsxJyroUk5BplG4nnSZ356amo3-cxvmQfTyxGGFXPg3pA_KZnD8Mav8twXjserIDYBLspyB56EF-DhyhndHWknCwKtOOo/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121016831.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I skyped my parents in the morning. After
lunch, I went to see the new bears on K-star road. I actually went to K-star
road during my second semester but, hey, I didn’t blog then so I’ll put those
pictures here as well. I went back because they added new ones after I left. I
like these because they look like giant Mustoy dolls and they’re adorable. I
was surprised; while I was taking pictures of the bears, I passed like 10 other
groups doing the same thing. I didn’t realize they were so popular so good job
Seoul government, I guess. There’s even a tiny gift shop now where you can buy
miniature versions of the bears.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>2015</b> (feat. friends Brandon, Emily, and Yubi)</span></div>
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Psy</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc6kXo7HZ0mRv6nWGvEZZ6xTYCn7UT0GmW97HpPp7fZad3maCzHomyZDOPZMnz7TWt7kmPPhCzRCVA3Xy8LBdtIcDdHst5icbX1bBGx5y54VYSXvYedc19msqMFND8Znma4qJRgFflz8/s1600/4minute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="717" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjc6kXo7HZ0mRv6nWGvEZZ6xTYCn7UT0GmW97HpPp7fZad3maCzHomyZDOPZMnz7TWt7kmPPhCzRCVA3Xy8LBdtIcDdHst5icbX1bBGx5y54VYSXvYedc19msqMFND8Znma4qJRgFflz8/s320/4minute.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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4Minute</div>
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2PM</div>
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SNSD</div>
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Super Junior</div>
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FT Island</div>
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SHINee</div>
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Miss A</div>
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CNBlue</div>
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EXO</div>
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TVXQ</div>
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<b>2017</b></div>
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BTS</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHatFXDfMa-3-WQWQaaPDWPsX4Q4FaruY-B4H36bkowgK6BHs7oSoMgX0U2kXZyzqIZnraLIhl52EwjLRbHfriTt-4xdtX5FJW7tNG-fN-4h4YG9GMP6BGovDUtvn2M6LgwCbz66MchoY/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120822591.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHatFXDfMa-3-WQWQaaPDWPsX4Q4FaruY-B4H36bkowgK6BHs7oSoMgX0U2kXZyzqIZnraLIhl52EwjLRbHfriTt-4xdtX5FJW7tNG-fN-4h4YG9GMP6BGovDUtvn2M6LgwCbz66MchoY/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120822591.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Poster of Halo while on my way. I will never forget one of the boys running over to me with a poster of himself from his fan club and saying "This me!" It was so freaking adorable; I will always support them just for that.</div>
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B1A4</div>
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The new ones were very clearly less planned out than the first 10. The original ones are all very close together and actually have a pink and blue path painted along them. The new ones were much more scattered and had random intervals between them. They just fit the bears where they could. So one might be by a bus stop and then you don't see another for like 500 feet until there are two in front of a shop. Luckily, they have this little tile on the path so you knew you were still going the right way and it hadn't ended.</div>
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VIXX</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwTY0S1rR4iTt_AEyc5A5hFIK-aKZo4JVllcj-_sPt4EviYW9-dmTxQwCQoio1c1j0ckshRUsBaH_PAk0HsSA-59zLX_-SCEkvfutw_9z_Uenz1OR2IqX9h8a0nIusyqNfjmj0bH76kA/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121007421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwTY0S1rR4iTt_AEyc5A5hFIK-aKZo4JVllcj-_sPt4EviYW9-dmTxQwCQoio1c1j0ckshRUsBaH_PAk0HsSA-59zLX_-SCEkvfutw_9z_Uenz1OR2IqX9h8a0nIusyqNfjmj0bH76kA/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121007421.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Infinite. I don't really like Infinite but I really like this design. It was probably my favorite.</div>
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KARA</div>
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Block B</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodlh1sABz0nVUXRm65qgq8nwkxbNDcsASGrQHknCHxcxUt6W8oHv6LX3Q9nXMpz8PAeEJN45LEgk6FRHCmb8bRzej4sWKThZaHtiVNWX_1tPsa5Agj6dHFBINnx3J29vl8noYd5JjbYY/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121011359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhodlh1sABz0nVUXRm65qgq8nwkxbNDcsASGrQHknCHxcxUt6W8oHv6LX3Q9nXMpz8PAeEJN45LEgk6FRHCmb8bRzej4sWKThZaHtiVNWX_1tPsa5Agj6dHFBINnx3J29vl8noYd5JjbYY/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121011359.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwampFIZLkYGdWMwV24WfzuLqh6sSuKvqn6rLF8lVhxHUNLMgVi1ID28UiYhK5lyuZpPKujpcLJAPRcSjPsHtI-YyJX7BPCzlXRdftliWe-ys0oaoTlam0-k6Hm5yge1YbvkBTMeBJRs/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121014935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivwampFIZLkYGdWMwV24WfzuLqh6sSuKvqn6rLF8lVhxHUNLMgVi1ID28UiYhK5lyuZpPKujpcLJAPRcSjPsHtI-YyJX7BPCzlXRdftliWe-ys0oaoTlam0-k6Hm5yge1YbvkBTMeBJRs/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121014935.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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AOA</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcdUnY3VZ4lG-hyeaNMuwxjo_GhhA2mz7vVc_hsNNkVTPR5SlinXKpYIFdUSAWnJWGSFr0BwU_HA4-VI7SvibFURc_F6QN0FnzsTTIB2E2imvEkBo1qtLt1yDQoe7LQd3vcRC1W7epdo/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_121013853.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcdUnY3VZ4lG-hyeaNMuwxjo_GhhA2mz7vVc_hsNNkVTPR5SlinXKpYIFdUSAWnJWGSFr0BwU_HA4-VI7SvibFURc_F6QN0FnzsTTIB2E2imvEkBo1qtLt1yDQoe7LQd3vcRC1W7epdo/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_121013853.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The bears are by Apgujeong Rodeo street in Gangnam.
If anyone tries to tell you that Apgujeong is a popular area, they’re lying.
Apgujeong has some cool things, especially K-pop related, but it certainly
isn’t filled with people or activities like Hongdae, Sinchon, Myeongdong, or
Gangnam would be. The station itself is K-pop themed, though. They always have
some sort of exhibit going on with lots of posters. Last time I was there, it
was AOMG (Jay Park, Simon D, etc) and this time it was GOT7. Many companies
have buildings in the area so it’s good marketing for them.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZRlbw81Fp4gXwmhXnug-fNVzFJA8Kx3C7wgUCM7wVJXtQ05tfX94vy-1NfaMS5cT4k7Meaetnl8EQVvhMX8cl1fMVjMQn0bW1nLEmYNtLNoW-zVGxH9FAA5ZyIgWKoAvbpSMcKwNH34/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120813731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIZRlbw81Fp4gXwmhXnug-fNVzFJA8Kx3C7wgUCM7wVJXtQ05tfX94vy-1NfaMS5cT4k7Meaetnl8EQVvhMX8cl1fMVjMQn0bW1nLEmYNtLNoW-zVGxH9FAA5ZyIgWKoAvbpSMcKwNH34/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120813731.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You could take pictures behind GOT7.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyIBpiYDoq2FaKcm-li3C5E29m2wgbmSxZp1Ir7qzpC0QbcKWb6lT9vE0dJ8B7RAqIXdDjsc8rz87VRcLXTdwhtP_l1ZKkz0LI4E63OmBXL96VLVjYhwA4QzJjqOz5sLH4y3iLWAU-4M/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120814953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyIBpiYDoq2FaKcm-li3C5E29m2wgbmSxZp1Ir7qzpC0QbcKWb6lT9vE0dJ8B7RAqIXdDjsc8rz87VRcLXTdwhtP_l1ZKkz0LI4E63OmBXL96VLVjYhwA4QzJjqOz5sLH4y3iLWAU-4M/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120814953.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Or with each member individually. I thought about taking one just because but I was kinda embarrassed and I don't actually like GOT7 anyway.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IlkZUe1UIrdX7Oj9Ffz7L8PT9uExfvtKwrnILkcRvJA9MobQb4CqhpslasiLotosJ18PbpG7ShtvRflMaHS5uWwdDqf5Q8pEvNwTZb44jK03XeSMbpFnTNRn8C6nMtJ-77G2CffMoUI/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120816091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IlkZUe1UIrdX7Oj9Ffz7L8PT9uExfvtKwrnILkcRvJA9MobQb4CqhpslasiLotosJ18PbpG7ShtvRflMaHS5uWwdDqf5Q8pEvNwTZb44jK03XeSMbpFnTNRn8C6nMtJ-77G2CffMoUI/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120816091.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopj3zQPUIQSx7z_e5J3dg_XpkZSqJZ7Zuam6Ce3kFTmsc9FcN4RmXdaVlKVylRoh_Ih5nkPUEN3o0FEmipaPRpQINGMPaZVAuTh6qpxSXQ1NB-dKdvy1m29bIYgGj_gcGEXDROO6aFq8/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120817198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopj3zQPUIQSx7z_e5J3dg_XpkZSqJZ7Zuam6Ce3kFTmsc9FcN4RmXdaVlKVylRoh_Ih5nkPUEN3o0FEmipaPRpQINGMPaZVAuTh6qpxSXQ1NB-dKdvy1m29bIYgGj_gcGEXDROO6aFq8/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120817198.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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List of the exhibits.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsltQyUGkfqHi3dgzs2FBtJkmydLKs-bfdZ6Si4YHEK93mgvmOZ3qbsJu-P1ew_A19LDIRNLz7RCsaIzo_4DT39qnTVjiYqeURXKaMqssaKMTl3omP0dt2TUV7antE3aY_mzRxEEJwb8/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170711_120818389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTsltQyUGkfqHi3dgzs2FBtJkmydLKs-bfdZ6Si4YHEK93mgvmOZ3qbsJu-P1ew_A19LDIRNLz7RCsaIzo_4DT39qnTVjiYqeURXKaMqssaKMTl3omP0dt2TUV7antE3aY_mzRxEEJwb8/s320/KakaoTalk_20170711_120818389.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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List of sponsors. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was actually a bit sad looking at the dolls,
though. Of the original 10, 4Minute and MissA have disbanded and many of the
others are nearing the end (Super Junior, FT Island, SNSD, and 2PM for
example). Even in the new ones they just installed in 2016, Kara has disbanded
and AOA is in crisis. Infinite is also in contract talks so we’ll see what’s
happening there. There’s been a big shift in K-pop this last year or two and
it’s not over yet. For someone who’s been a fan since 2009, it’s sad and it’s
taking some getting used to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday and Thursday, I tutored Sunny and didn’t do
much else. She lives an hour away by subway from my place so it’s an event
going to tutor her. We continued working on prepositions, spelling, expanding
her vocabulary, and essay writing this week. We worked on the on/in/at
prepositions this week and she had a little more trouble with them so I’m glad
we went over which one to use in which situation. She needs more help writing
essays, from brainstorming on, than I expected so I might do an essay a week
with her; we’ll see, that might be too much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday, I met up with Jinseong, who I did the
escape the room with last week. Joohee wasn’t there this time because she
started her job in Wonju this week! I’m proud of her but it also sucks because
she’ll barely get to hang out now. Jinseong and I were going to meet for lunch
but we switched it to dinner because there were heat warnings out (there should
be heat warnings every goddamn day). We went to a samgyetang place because it’s
on my list of food to try. Samgyetang is like a healthy soup with Chinese
herbs, a whole chicken, jujubes, and garlic. I was actually disappointed in the
samgyetang. It looks so healthy and interesting that I expected the taste to
match the visual but it was actually bland. It tasted like chicken noodle soup
but without the MSG or the noodles. We drank ginsaeng shots with it, which are
also supposed to be healthy, but that tasted disgusting. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Samgyetang </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, Jinseong wanted to go to some bar that
he heard was really good so we walked there. He said it was kind of far, which
I assumed meant like 15 minutes, but actually meant like three stations away
and more like 45 minutes. We got there eventually, after walking through a
sketchy factory neighborhood. Even if I remembered the name, I wouldn’t tell
you because it was pretty unimpressive. The interior design was nice and all
but the beer wasn’t that good. I don’t drink much, actually. A) it’s expensive
B) I don’t like the taste and C) I’m not a fun drunk; I just get tired. So if
Jinseong was looking to get turnt up, it didn’t happen lol. We just talked over
some beers. Jinseong is having a bit of a hard time in his life right now but
he’s one of the few guys I understand and have fun talking to so I was glad we
met up. He left Thursday to go to Busan to get a surgery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once I finished Jinseong’s second beer (it tasted
like coffee and he didn’t like the bitterness), we went to get ice cream.
Jinseong wanted to get Baskin Robbins but, like, is Baskin Robbins ever good? I
vetoed that and then we couldn’t find a different ice cream place so we went to
get bingsoo at Solbing. At Konkuk, there are two Solbings right across the
street from each other but they were both completely packed. We managed to get
a spot at the slightly less popular one. Jinseong wanted to get the melon
bingsoo but I hate melon so I asked for anything else. (I’m realizing a trend
here). He eventually ordered the injeolmi (bean powder?) bingsoo, which I was
fine with because I like that one lots. We eat bingsoo in the same way – yes,
there are different methods – and I was glad to find someone else who uses all
the condensed milk. We talked some more but his girlfriend was starting to text
him constantly about why he was still out (it was like 11) so we left right
after we finished our bingsoo. He offered to walk me home but I’m a big girl so
I told him to go home before his girlfriend tries to track him down. She wants
us all to hang out sometime, I think to check me out, so I’m hoping we become
friends. But that won’t be for like three weeks because Jinseong has to go to
his hometown. Another one of my friends is leaving me~! *dramatic wailing and
self-pity* On an unselfish note, I hope his surgery goes well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday is today and I mostly did chores and adult-y
things. I went to the market, did my laundry, applied for three jobs, and wrote
this blog. So it’s been a pretty productive day. I was originally supposed to
meet up with Byul today but she has her license test tomorrow so she wanted to
go to bed early. We’re going to meet on Monday instead. That’s okay because I
needed a day to do my laundry. It was also extremely hot and humid today so I
was happy I didn’t need to go outside much. The humidity added more than 10
degrees to the Real Feel temperature. Nasty. Anyway, it’s been a pretty good
couple of weeks and I’m adapting much better. I feel really good. Tomorrow,
Soojung and I are going to an interactive art exhibit put on by TeamLab and
we’re going to a restaurant where you eat in the dark. I’m also hoping to pick
up some Korean novels translated in English in Jamsil. Oh, and I have to go to
a concert area to pick up some goods for a friend’s friend. What an awesome
person I am. </span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-35458614015804324082017-06-28T07:09:00.001-07:002017-06-28T07:09:20.356-07:00Second Week: Adventures and some Misadventures<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So last Wednesday, I had my first tutoring session
with Sunny. I was actually 15 minutes late because I confused the lines that I
needed to transfer to and ending up going the wrong way. When you look up “Seoul
subway map” in English, the maps are a bit outdated and the city has added or
extended some lines since then, so be wary. Anyway, I thought one of them had
been extended but it ended up being a different line so I had to turn back. I
had previously reached out to a teacher friend of mine, Lanai, to ask her for
materials. She sent me the entire Oxford Grammar Practice Book and a bajillion evaluation
tests. I had Sunny take the evaluation test I liked best but she got bored
after three pages. I made her finish six pages total and then I told her to
finish the rest as homework. Sunny likes to talk a lot and I don’t discourage
it too much because talking in English is also practice. We then did a lesson
on prepositions, which her former tutor said she needed help with, but she did
just fine with all of the position prepositions (like under, over, between,
etc). The next lesson is on in/on/at, which she had mixed up a couple times so
I think that will be good for her. Our session went overtime because of all the
talking but I went home feeling pretty good about the whole thing and excited
for our next session. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, I spent a couple days with just myself
because my plans fell through. Most of my friends have real, adult jobs, so
they’re much busier than I am. I wanted to check out Costco one day but Joohee
told me that, in Korea, you can’t even get into the store without a membership
card, unlike America where you can go in but you can’t buy anything. I was
pissed so I won’t be getting a membership unless I get a job, which has looked
pretty bleak this past week. I did my laundry too but I still feel like Korea
really needs to jump on the dryer-wagon. I promise, life would be so much
easier if we could just dry our clothes instead of having to hang them out to
dry. My clothes always come out stiffer too, when they’re finally dry. I also
ran into some intense exhaustion. I thought it was jet lag but my parents don’t
think it could occur that late. My mom was actually worried that I might have
an infection or something but I think it may just be the heat. Either way, I
slept for 12 straight hours one day and I’ve been having trouble getting myself
out of bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I was supposed to meet Soojung for lunch at
a place called Dialogue in the Dark. It’s an exhibit about experiencing life in
a different way and I was really excited about it. So, of course, I slept
through my alarm and wake up at 11:30 when I was supposed to meet Soojung at
11:15 and our reservations were for noon. We tried to switch our reservation,
which really isn’t that difficult of a request, but the company refused to
cancel or move our reservations, even though we called half an hour before the
scheduled time. Not impressed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So, Soojung and I just decided that I would come to her
(an hour subway ride) and we would figure it out together. When I finally get
there, Soojung is nowhere to be found. I looked for her for a while before
deciding that she probably got pissed and went home. But, I figured I owned it
to her to wait because she waited longer for me. So I just sat down by our
designated meeting place and waited, thinking that our friendship was probably
over. After 45 minutes, Soojung actually showed up! I was surprised. She said
she thought it would take me longer to get there so she’d gone shopping. I paid
her the 60,000 won for our two tickets since I’m the one that screwed up (what
a waste of goddamn money) and we went to a café for lunch. She and I talked for
a couple hours, mostly her complaining about her job, which she should really,
really quit. Soojung is expected to work every other weekend and, during the
weekdays, not only does she stay late, but sometimes they call her back in
after she’s home. On top of all that, her boss is a jerk to her (made Soojung
cry on her birthday) and her boss’s boss hits on her. Nope with a side of extra
nope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After eating, we walked to Samcheong-dong, which I’ve
heard is a pretty street. It’s the street that runs alongside Gyeongbokgung and
it has a lot of cafes and small art galleries. I actually really liked the area
but I learned that day that Soojung isn’t into art at all so she didn’t want to
go into the galleries. Without the galleries, the street isn’t all that
interesting. There were some graffiti and murals around though, which I really
appreciate. Overall, the street isn’t anything mind-blowing but, if you happen
to have time someday and like art, it’s worth checking out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I started out the day Monday with my friends Joohee
and Jinseong, who I both met at UND. We went to an Escape the Room that I was
looking forward to. I really like Escape the Room; I’ve done four in America
and I wanted to see how Korea was different. The biggest different was that the
ones I’ve been to in Minnesota and North Dakota have multiple different rooms
and escape doors that you have to open. Perhaps because space is so expensive
(and rare) in Seoul, this was literally just one rooms with like twelve
different locks that you had to open to get the lockpad combo to get out. That
was another difference; in America, they really stress that the door isn’t
actually locked and you can get out if you’re feeling panicked or if you have
to go to the bathroom. I’m pretty sure the room we were in was actually locked.
Lastly, the room we went to didn’t have a video cam watching us so instead of
simply asking for a hint and having them type one on the screen, we had to use
this telecom/phone thing to ask the attendant a specific question about a
specific thing we were having trouble with. However, Jinseong said that might
just be because the one we went to was cheap (16,000 won as compared to the
usual 30,000 won). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We didn’t make it out in time, although we got more
than half the locks opened. I think it’s because we went with only three
people; I get every time I go with 5 or 6 people but 3 seems difficult. I’m
also slightly bitter because they asked for hints that I didn’t think we needed
and I actually had figured out what we had to do for the last clue but they
both thought that was ridiculous and laughed so I gave up. I’m actually not bitter;
it makes me feel better than I was on the right track when they weren’t.
Afterwards, we went to an Indian restaurant nearby that they wanted to go to. I
prefer Thai curry to Indian curry, personally, but we didn’t have too many
options since Joohee is a pescetarian. The food was pretty good actually. I
really liked the naan with the curry and the lassi was super nummy and sweet.
The curry only came with three shrimp though and it was still 10,000 won. I
liked it but I might not go back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, Joohee had to leave to meet another friend.
She’s moving back to Wonju so she’s saying goodbye to everyone. Jinseong
volunteered to talk me to the police station to get my fingerprints taken. You
only need an FBI background check for the E-2 (teaching) visa, I think, but I
decided to get that process started just in case because it can take a long
time. I’ll probably pay for expedited service though, just to have that ready.
To get into the building, Jinseong had to give them his identification card (it’s
like the American social security card but they actually carry it around) in
exchange for a guest pass. Once we got in though, the policeman who took my
fingerprints spoke English. The process took longer than I thought but now I
have two forms with my fingerprints on them so I’m happy and prepared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For dinner, I met up with my friend Byul. I heard
about this neighborhood in Seoul that houses like 50% of the entire French
population residing in Korea. It’s famous for French restaurants, bakeries, and
cafes. It sounded unique and interesting so Byul and I decided to go. This was
the first time I’d seen her since I got back to Seoul so it was super fun to
see her and catch up. We walked to Seorae Village and began our search for
food. I was actually a little underwhelmed. I think I was expecting to see like
European architecture and everything but it was just another neighborhood in
Seoul with some French flags and French restaurants. We finally found a place
that Byul had looked up online that was somewhat famous. The atmosphere was
very romantic, darkly lit with candles and large wine glasses. Byul and I were
both staring – she gets off work late so it was like 8:30 – so we ordered a
ravioli pasta that would come out quickly and a French pork dish with cheese,
eggplant, and asparagus that the owner recommended. The ravioli came out
quickly as promised but it was literally six tiny raviolis. I lifted up the
greens on top to get a good look at it and Byul said “Where is it?” For 20,000
won, we both expected more food. The ravioli was alright, a touch spicy, but
then the pork dish came out. Again, there were only four pieces of meat. For 30,000
won, mind you. But it was delicious! Oh my goodness. The meat, cheese, and the
eggplant just melted in your mouth. The asparagus on its own was good but I ate
it with the meat and that was even better because it added a new texture. So,
so good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After dinner, we decided to go to a dessert café. We
also ran into a market really quick so Byul could show me where nurungji was,
because I mentioned that I wanted to try it during dinner. By the time we were
looking for dessert, many of the cafes and bakeries had closed but we found one
near the end of the street. We ordered a hard chocolate ball thing with whipped
cream and a berry cake. Holy crap, they were good. The chocolate ball was
almost too rich at first, like you needed coffee or milk with it, but there was
Nutella in the center that really balanced the whole thing out. The berry cake
was even better though. I can’t even describe it. It was sweet without being
too sugary, the fruit was delicious, and the texture was just perfect. I would definitely
recommend. Byul and I caught up and she told me she got back with her old
boyfriend, whom I hate and think isn’t good enough for her. But whatever, he’ll
either screw up again and underappreciate her or he’ll be a better boyfriend
and they’ll be happy. Byul was also really interested in getting me more
students, possibly college students so they’d be near me, to tutor but I don’t
want to get too involved in case I get hired somewhere. Byul is really touchy and
we walked back to the station with our arms around each other the whole time
but I don’t really mind because none of my other Korean friends are touchy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tuesday was a weird day. I skyped my parents in the
morning. It’s always good to talk to family. After lunch, I headed out to have
my second tutoring session with Sunny. This time, I had her gone over her
incorrect answers on the evaluation test and try to pick the right answer.
After knowing her first answers were wrong, she picked the correct one on all
of them, which is a good sign for her English and maybe a bad sign for her
test-taking skills. We also worked on spelling and expanding her vocabulary. I
wanted to do another preposition lesson too but I maybe let her talk too much.
Too soon, our time was up and I left for home. There’s a convenience store by
Sunny’s apartment that has some foreign products because it’s by an American base
so I went to check it out. They did have some products that will be useful to
me, like Cream of Mushroom soup, but most of their foreign products were super
expensive. I’m talking 14,000 won for a 20 ounce canister of Tang that would
maybe be like $4 in America. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I took the train home and went to Emart to buy a new
pillow because the one I bought at the Daiso is like half as thick as it was
when I bought it and it’s only been a week. I got some bananas too because I
ran out of clementines. I walked home
from Emart and stopped at the Dos Mas to get a burrito for dinner and the print
shop to print out the forms for my fingerprints too. Altogether, I made it home
around 6:30 or 7 and was pretty happy with my productive day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I fire up my laptop and notice on Kakao PC that I
have lots of calls from Byul and a message from Jihye telling me to call Byul.
I was thinking, “What’s going on? Byul and I didn’t have any plans today that I
could have been late to.” And then there’s a knock at my door. I figure it’s a
neighbor coming to tell me my music’s too loud so I go answer the door with
trepidation. The person at the door isn’t a neighbor but in fact, the goshiwon’s
owner who tells me that Byul reported me missing to the police. Let me repeat
that. Byul reported me missing to the police. What the hell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The owner asks me if I know this phone number so I
go to get my phone, which has been on silent all day because I was tutoring. I
have 80 missed calls. Mostly have Byul but some from the police too after she
reported me missing. So I have to talk to the goshiwon owner and the police and
Byul and all of my friends that she called to let them know I was totally safe
and not missing before I could eat my cooling burrito. I’m touched that she was
concerned but I’m honestly kind of pissed and a bit cautious about Byul now. Apparently,
this all started because I didn’t answer my Kakao. I texted her when I got home
Monday night. She responded much later but I didn’t reply because I was
sleeping. The next morning and afternoon I was busy so I didn’t even check my
Kakao and apparently, she started panicking around noon. She then called all of
my friends she knew asking if they’d contacted me and called every goshiwon
around Konkuk until she found mine. Around 3, she reported me missing to the
police. They even tracked my phone and everything. It was all resolved when I
got home and told everyone I was okay but Byul had the gall to be angry at me!
We’ve known each other for three years! I sometimes take days, <i>days</i>, to answer my Kakao and she
absolutely loses it when I don’t respond for twelve hours. So I don’t really
know what was going on in her psyche and why she was so freaked out but I’m
curious and a bit scared to see how our next meeting will go. She thinks I’m at
fault because I didn’t answer the phone and I think what she did is totally
crazy. So we’ll see how it goes. Eventually, I’ll probably laugh about this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, I went to dance class at the Seoul Cultural
Center in Myeongdong. I had emailed them, basically asking for an exception to
the new ARC rule, and they responded by telling me that I couldn’t do the other
activities but the dance classes on Wednesdays were temporarily open to
everyone. Yay! So I went today and learned how to dance to “Why Don’t You Know”
by Chungha. Yoojung is my favorite from the first season of Produce 101 but
Chungha was my second favorite, plus I love her debut solo song, so I was
excited. I had a really good time, actually. I forgot how much I love to dance
so I can’t wait to hear what song is for next week. I tried to practice the
choreography in my goshiwon but there’s not enough room to move so we’ll see if
I remember the choreography. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That’s it for today; I got home after class around
6:30 and ate dinner. I’ve been researching visas and writing this since. Oh! I
also signed up for some groups on MeetUp.com so I can make some international
friends too (all mine from study abroad are in their home countries </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">).
Overall, I’m pretty happy. The job market hasn’t looked too good this past week
but hopefully, with time, a position will pop up that’s perfect for me. Tomorrow,
I’m meeting with one of my past mentees from UND to try a bakery in Hongdae
that I’ve heard really good things about. I was also supposed to have a session
with Sunny but she wants to reschedule so I don’t know if I’ll see her this
week. I’m excited for the Japanese bakery~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Random Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though it’s like 90 degrees outside, a lot, and
I mean a lot, of Koreans still wear pants. Even if they’re not going to work,
students and people during their free-time and everybody wears long pants. I
really can’t understand it but Joohee said to me once that she thought she was
too old for shorts. She’s like 24 by the way. So I wonder if it’s a cultural
thing of finding pants more adult-ish? I’ve seen Korean adults wear shorts on
variety shows but shows do not reflect reality so I just don’t know. It could
be that people in Seoul care a lot about fashion and pants look more
fashionable? Whatever the reason, I probably won’t be wearing pants until
September because it’s just too damn hot here. I tolerate heat much less than
Koreans and sweat much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-54612596456664709622017-06-20T07:08:00.001-07:002017-06-20T07:40:29.324-07:00I'm back!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6/18<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I came back to Korea exactly one week ago, on the 11<sup>th</sup>.
I really regret that I didn’t blog my second semester studying abroad so I
decided to write through my experiences this time. This blog is going to be a
little bit like my diary so it’ll probably be updated totally randomly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I graduated last month, on May 13<sup>th</sup>
with a degree in English, a minor in German, and a certificate in Writing and
Editing. I decided after much, much thought to just fly to Seoul after
graduation to visit all my friends from university (and maybe look for a job
while I’m here). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The first thing I had to look for was housing. Through
Craiglist, I found a guesthouse (King Kong Motel) where, if I worked there 12-15 hours a week, I
could stay for free. That sounded wonderful because I won’t have a source of
income for a while. I contacted the owner and, after many vague responses, I
thought we had it all figured out. Well, I get to Seoul on the 11<sup>th</sup>
(I have severe motion sickness too so I had thrown up twice on the planes and I
hadn’t eaten in 48 hours), a friend picks me up from the airport, and we take
the airport bus to Myeongdong. We get to the guesthouse where the manager tells
me that the employee accommodations are a dormitory and are 15 minutes away. It
had been my understanding that I would have my own room and it would be at the
guesthouse. We go to check out the place and, are you ready for this? It was
one room with six girls in it and three bunkbeds. There were no windows, no air
conditioning, and no furniture other than the bunkbeds. One of the girls
happily told me that she had been living out of her suitcase for two months
because the other girls had taken all the places to hang things (like the
window blinds). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I walked right back out. I told the girls that I
needed some air and my friend, Soojung, and I would go get some lunch, despite
it being 3 o’clock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We didn’t really need lunch but I needed a place
with Wifi so I could figure my next step out. After brainstorming for a while,
I decided to just go to a motel for the night because I was utterly exhausted
and I would send out an SOS to all my other friends there. Soojung looked up a
motel but she didn’t want to take a taxi so we walked for 45 minutes with my
50lb suitcases to the motel. It was 5 when we got there but check-in wasn’t
until 7. Okay, I thought, this is okay, Soojung and I can get dinner. And then
Soojung left me. She said something about having to get home and got in a taxi.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So I was alone in Myeongdong without a working phone
and all my luggage. I saw a foreigner sitting outside a convenience store at a
picnic table and decided to copy him. I just went and sat at a table and read
for two hours until I could check into my motel. Eventually, I made it to the
motel and everything was fine for the rest of the night. I was very happy with
my decision. The motel (Only For You 온리포유 ) was nice and clean and was only 35,000
won a night. I sent out my SOS and one of my friends, Joohee, responded. We
decided that I would stay at her house until I could figure housing out and I
would leave the next day. Plan made, I could calm down and go to bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next morning, the motel owner was an absolute
wonderful person and, not only helped me get a taxi, but carried both my bags
from the motel to the main street and made sure the taxi driver was going in
the right direction so he wouldn’t rip me off as a foreigner (a common
experience in Korea). I’m seriously forever grateful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My friend Joohee lives in Jungnang-gu, which is on
the east side of Seoul, so the drive there from Myeongdong took a good 45
minutes or so and, in that time, I learned how truly limited my Korean is. The
taxi driver and I would talk for a couple minutes and then fall silent while we
both tried to figure out what words we could use that I would understand. It
was so frustrating; I wanted to say “Wow, the traffic’s really bad” but I don’t
know the word for traffic so all I could say was “Wow, there are a lot of
cars.” Eventually, we made it to Joohee’s, where she has proven to be a
complete angel sent down from heaven to make sure I’m not homeless or wandering
around Seoul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We put my stuff in her small basement apartment
before going to go get lunch at a Kal guk-su place, one of her favorites. It
was the first full meal I had eaten in over three days and it was absolutely amazing.
The flavor was actually a bit bland but it was perfect for my upset stomach and
the owner was a major sweetheart. She told me my eyes were beautiful and
compliments make me like you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Afterwards, we hung out and talked for a couple
hours before I went to meet another friend, Jihye, at Konkuk station. Jihye is
one of my absolute best Korean friends, along with Soojung, Joohee, and Byul,
but she was going back to America, where her parents live, for two months in
the summer. Jihye left today actually so we had decided to hang out as much as
possible before she left. So you’ll be reading a lot about her this post. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jihye and I went to a meat buffet near Konkuk that
was alright; she likes it a lot because it has duck but I think the meat was a
bit much for me. I’d say we caught up but we text almost every day so we just
talked like normal. After the buffet, we went to the Mouse Rabbit café that I
talked about in my last post (why did I stop??) on this blog. Since I went last
time, they have renovated the basement so that it’s this retro area. There are
Micky Mouse posters, disco balls, and a lot of little nooks and crannies for
people to hide in. All the seating was on the floor so it’s not the best for
elderly people or children but for college students, it’s not bad. With the
renovations, I really recommend the Mouse Rabbit café as a trendy café,
especially if you’re a SuJu fan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next day was Tuesday (trying to remind myself
here) and I pretty much spent the entire day with Jihye. We had lunch at
Jihye’s hasukjib, or boarding house, because there was an available room there
and I was thinking about staying there. At Jihye’s boarding house, the ajumma
cooks one meal a day, six days a week, so I went to check out her cooking. She
had made bossam, which is boiled pork with kimchi, and side dishes. The food
was pretty good, I liked the area, and the place was clean so I was looking at
staying there very positively. Aftewards, Jihye and I decided to go to
noraebang, or karaoke, which is like my favorite thing in the whole world.
Jihye is a big TVXQ fan so we also sing a lot of their songs but we also sang a
variety of K-pop songs (especially Big Bang) and pop songs over a 150 minute
period. I like noraebang. That is all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s finals week in Korea so then Jihye had to go to
class but we were meeting again in two hours so I didn’t want to go home.
Jungnang is about an hour from Sinchon so it would have been useless. Instead,
I listed about, looking at all the tourists and the stores for a bit. Then I
went to Shinhan Bank to figure out why my card hadn’t worked when Joohee took
me to an ATM. I was told that because I hadn’t used my card in over a year (it
used to be two years but they’ve made regulations stricter), I had to close the
account. However, I couldn’t get a new checking card because I didn’t have my
Alien Registration card yet. So I said “Okay, let’s close the account.” And
then the nice banking man who spoke English spent 20 minutes doing paperwork. I
was like “this is a lot of paperwork for an account with 5,000 won in it” but I
didn’t interrupt him. When he was finished, he wanted me to sign something and
when I asked, he said it was for a new account. That was what he had been doing
all that time; making me an account that I can only use to put money into but I
can’t get a credit card. But I felt bad that he had put all that work into it
and so we transferred by 5,000 won from my old account to my new one. So I
guess I have an account ready for when I get my Alien Registration card. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">6/20<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After the bank, I took the train to the transfer station
that Jihye and I agreed to meet at and mostly wasted time listening to music
while I waited for her. Eventually, she showed up earlier than I expected and
we went off. Jihye has been tutoring two girls for the past two years and while
she’s in America, I’m going to be their substitute tutor. Jihye and the girls,
Sunny and Hyeri, were going out that night for dinner and to pick up some
English books. It was decided that I would join to meet the girls in a casual
setting. So we went to pick up Sunny from her apartment near Seobinggo station.
I was surprised with what a nice apartment it was and decided that the families
must be quite well-off. Sunny basically speaks fluent English and really only
needs help with writing and grammar, which is perfect because I worked at a
writing center for two years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We took the bus to Gangnam – I absolutely hate
Korean buses – and met with Hyeri there. We went to a nice Italian place in
Gangnam that Jihye had been to before. It was good but I’ve been to very
similar places with better pizza. We got two cream pastas, a Cajun risotto, and
a margarita pizza. Both pastas were very good but the risotto and the pizza
were both meh. Despite my worry over the age gap, Sunny and I got along fine,
talking about K-pop and books. Hyeri is a very quiet child who isn’t confident
in her English so I don’t really know if she liked me or not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We then went to a bookstore called Kyobo to pick up
some English novels for them to read and practice. After getting their books,
Hyeri’s dad picked them up for the night. Jihye and I then went to 85<sup>th</sup>
Street Café, which was very close by. The renovations since two years ago have
made it much more open and I really liked the feel. My strawberry yogurt
smoothie was as good as they have always been, which pleasantly surprised me. After
talking for hours, Jihye and I went home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next day, Wednesday, was the only day last week
that Jihye and I didn’t hang out. She had finals and tutoring to do in addition
to preparing to leave for America. I planned to spend the day with Joohee but I
didn’t account for the fact that she also had lots of studying to do for
finals. We made a lunch of octopus mixed rice with the groceries we had bought
previously then I settled in to do some research on places to stay. I wanted to
look at goshiwons although I was leaning towards Jihye’s boarding house, just
in case. Joohee eventually went to a study café and I finished my research then
watched TV. For dinner, we went to a dakgalbi, or chicken ribs, place because
dakgalbi is pretty much the only kind of chicken I like. It was really good but
not as good as the place near the back gate of Konkuk. Joohee says it’s a lower
cut of meat there but I don’t care; it’s delicious. Before going back to
studying, Joohee and I went to a cat café. She loves cats and it was on our way
home. I’m more of a dog person so the cats pretty much ignored me. The owner
actually asked me if I owned dogs and when I said yes, she said the cats could
sense it. No shame. The café also had board games so Joohee and I played a game
called The Da Vinci code. She totally kicked my ass like seven rounds in a row.
After being thoroughly beaten, I went home to surf the web while she went back
out to study. So basically, I just lazed around Wednesday. Oh, Joohee and I also
got my phone working with a new SIM card and a pre-paid plan, which was really difficult
without an Alien Registration card, so that was good. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thursday I can’t really remember what I did for
lunch. I think I just had cereal, which was a granola that was way sweeter than
granola in America so be warned. I met Joohee at Konkuk around 2 to look at the
goshiwons I had found the previous day. I decided to look at goshiwons around
Konkuk because it’s home base and an area I’m familiar with. We looked at five
different goshiwons with a vast variety of cleanliness, pricing, and options.
The one I stayed at two years ago didn’t have air conditioning to help me get
through this hot Korean summer so I vetoed it. The other four had air
conditioning but two were in out-of-the-way locations. So I narrowed it down to
two; one big room with an outside window and a cleaner room with a shower. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After our long quest around Konkuk with sweat and
sunburn, I left to meet Jihye at 4. We went to Jaejoong’s JHolic café, which
has moved to a location near Bongeunsa Station. I actually like this new
location better. The space feels more open and it’s on the first floor so
random people can wander in, even if they know nothing about Jaejoong. The
drinks are okay and the atmosphere’s good. Plus, I guess sometimes Jaejoong
visits, although it’s much less often than Yunho visits 85<sup>th</sup> Street.
Once again, she and I talked for hours about a variety of things from DBSK to
professors to politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We left to go get dinner because I was starving and
wandered into the COEX mall to see what the food court had. There was a little
Japanese place that we decided to go to because I was craving don katsu and
Jihye wanted something fried. I got the don katsu with kimchi and cheese on top
because I wanted to be adventurous. I do not recommend it. The cheese didn’t really
go with the kimchi which didn’t really go with the don katsu sauce so it was
just a mess of disappointment. Afterwards, we did a little shopping for souvenirs
for her family and found out that the COEX mall now has a library in it that
they installed like a week ago. It’s actually really cool looking, although
some of the books don’t look like they can be reached. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We then went to Gangnam again because Jihye has an
ice cream cocktail place there that she likes. So, of course, as in all things
in my life, it was closed for renovations. We didn’t really know what to do
then so we went to a drug store to get some stuff for Jihye’s mom and I ended
up buying cute little Kakao band aids because they’re freaking adorable. I
think I might get some for all my high school friends when I go back. Next, we
went to Gong Cha because you can never fail with Gong Cha. Our last activity of
the night was to go to Lush, which is one of my favorite stores and, more
importantly, was blasting Big Bang music. Two of the sales people were standing
out front dancing and rapping like crazy to the music and I knew they were my
people. Jihye bought a bath bomb and I was tempted by the face masks but
daunted by the price. We stayed for four different Big Bang songs and rocked
out with the people. It was everything I wanted it to be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later that night, Jihye texted me that she found out
the room I would get at the boarding house had no air conditioning. I just
could not catch a break. So it had to be a goshiwon, at least temporarily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday, I met Jihye for lunch at a sandwich place by
Ehwa University that she really likes called Lord Sandwich. I’ve been there
before but it’s pretty good. Somehow, I managed to order the same thing I
ordered two years ago, which I didn’t realize until I took my first bite. I got
the Salami and Jihye got the Salmon, which was superior to my sandwich. Next
time, I really am going to try something new. That morning, I also realized
that I hadn’t taken any pictures yet, perhaps because Korea wasn’t new to me so
I didn’t feel like I had to document everything. So I took a picture with Jihye
outside the sandwich place, for the photo album I might make one day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMp3X58sduOY35RYxcYpepTGxEGyU7Ko_dDiuYuVhVoketsV1e-kn99aGeuhVhjk2BSHs5dh4iuKokGgku46XUQixxQTnUc6ocOIkKWBaY8MIVGMVNAptCfR4dmtAm8yJ2-ZFTiVz59Q/s1600/20170617_030119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1600" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMp3X58sduOY35RYxcYpepTGxEGyU7Ko_dDiuYuVhVoketsV1e-kn99aGeuhVhjk2BSHs5dh4iuKokGgku46XUQixxQTnUc6ocOIkKWBaY8MIVGMVNAptCfR4dmtAm8yJ2-ZFTiVz59Q/s320/20170617_030119.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jihye and I outside Lord Sandwich</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCMw__sUl8ub9TSDC1IVV9-EhTuOkImLUuKYjHyEGbLC0QS4paXZ8rsosebECjwF-3KJutUOzD0KkcrnjrLSjUMqmCP9iFijTWls-u0zC_bk_IoV_LASEvhrRrugo52dNzWkD8G85YSo/s1600/IMG_0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUCMw__sUl8ub9TSDC1IVV9-EhTuOkImLUuKYjHyEGbLC0QS4paXZ8rsosebECjwF-3KJutUOzD0KkcrnjrLSjUMqmCP9iFijTWls-u0zC_bk_IoV_LASEvhrRrugo52dNzWkD8G85YSo/s320/IMG_0200.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Random Unit Black (Boys 24) Poster</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After lunch, I went home to Joohee’s apartment,
which was empty because she had gone home for the weekend because she thought
that would “be more comfortable for me” (angel). Jihye actually had a party
that night that she invited me to but I decided not to go because the way she
described that group sounded like a hell of a lot of drama. Even as she was
inviting me, Jihye was like “but you might not like them.” Nah, I’ll stay out
of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kim Jonghyun</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFp20ZUvajd6ZMuJ4hKB7gvqTAz-1gDijeMTIpEWjHA-5MTMk5eVHgEWWTMC9kIsiugnLkxry3VnBBgDeY0xxkcuWVFHlQaX38aZK5icdgb9ti4ACeUYaisFbRLEcVtoe2CP8QKnYQeg/s1600/IMG_0198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibFp20ZUvajd6ZMuJ4hKB7gvqTAz-1gDijeMTIpEWjHA-5MTMk5eVHgEWWTMC9kIsiugnLkxry3VnBBgDeY0xxkcuWVFHlQaX38aZK5icdgb9ti4ACeUYaisFbRLEcVtoe2CP8QKnYQeg/s320/IMG_0198.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sweaty selfie with bae</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Before I went home, I actually went to Hapjeong
Station to get a picture of the Kim Jonghyun (of Produce 101 and also JR of Nu’Est)
poster there. I have loved Jonghyun since he debuted in 2012 and I am super
proud of how well he did in Produce 101. I had hoped to see the bus painted in
his honor there too but alas, it must have been on rounds. So I went home and
bought provisions for dinner. I caught up on my emails and Twitter. I also
watched parts of the live broadcast of the finale of Produce 101 Season 2 that
night. Spoiler. My boy did not make it even though he had ranked #1 previously.
Even though he was the most deserving person there. Even though he was within
the Top 11 without live voting. Jonghyun didn’t make it when he should have and
I actually cried for like 30 minutes off and on. I’ve only cried about anything
in K-pop like three times but never this intensely. My friend compared it to
the feeling when Trump became president, that moment when the wrong people win
and you feel like you can’t trust anyone any more. After watching the failure
of the public and Mnet to recognize true talent and goodness, I tried to calm
myself down enough to sleep but didn’t end up falling asleep until about 5 am. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Saturday, I called a friend back home in America who's planning to come to Korea soon. We talked for like two hours about all sorts of things having to do with Korea. It's nice to have someone who knows a lot of what I'm going through and someone who I can go to with questions and ideas. I'm excited for her to join me here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was supposed to meet Jihye at 4 to watch
the finale of Produce 101 but I texted her and told her I couldn’t possibly
watch that tragedy again. So we tried to find something else to do and I was
reminded of the fish treatment for your feet that we had wanted to do two years
ago, but never did for various reasons. She said that sounded fun and I called
to make reservations at The Foot Shop in Myeongdong at 4. I also made myself
lunch and finally chose a goshiwon. I chose the cleaner one and asked Joohee to
call the owner because my Korean just isn’t good enough. Thinking about
Myeongdong, I remembered the Myeongdong Culture Center that I went to for dance
and cooking lessons my second semester last year. I thought that was a
wonderful idea and that I could go to a lot of their activities since I didn’t
have school. So I looked the website up only to find out that their policies
have changed and all of their activities (art, dance, cooking, hanbok, speaking
classes, etc) are now only available if you have an Alien Registration card.
Fuck my life. But at least, I still have the Heritage in Korea programs if the
site ever updates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Jihye + Potato Tornado</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ypxVyHQsNNF3HW51x-vYQ_FFDbbz8KUvLt5s6xrBRgS8S2YyRd1ThjYyR1GKOeDSRSfLM2V-UhC21d20HLu0TkhsHon8o_w3tR-8_HGlHDVItTej4BK3zD_sMx5qe8w2Fxq4a0BC_cg/s1600/20170617_172502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ypxVyHQsNNF3HW51x-vYQ_FFDbbz8KUvLt5s6xrBRgS8S2YyRd1ThjYyR1GKOeDSRSfLM2V-UhC21d20HLu0TkhsHon8o_w3tR-8_HGlHDVItTej4BK3zD_sMx5qe8w2Fxq4a0BC_cg/s320/20170617_172502.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Us + Potato Tornado</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I met Jihye at 4 at the Euljiro Station where we
walked to The Foot Shop. The front desk lady spoke English and told us it was
15,000 won for about thirty minutes in the foot bath. We washed out feet and
then put them in the bath with the fishies. It was a weird experience at first,
kinda ticklish at moments, but I actually was really interested in it and would
definitely go again. We ended up staying for an hour because no one else came
and the lady didn’t kick us out. We were hushed by another spa goer once for
being too loud though. While getting ready to leave, Jihye was really impressed
with how smooth her feet felt. My feet didn’t see that much of a different but
I have a lot of dead skin lol. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Selfie with fish</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXtUGwQCmpZwUMepcx-yND23sACruW8eeQI-PhMYFc9-qATpdVDimDxksu7K7Y9JOpxie1s35rFSjCCruEMpIddEInJ2HHdZn2kYZkcyvIAFQR7ECT5V4gu34Bt1cJfBvse6FtGXRsTU/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170617_234921243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXtUGwQCmpZwUMepcx-yND23sACruW8eeQI-PhMYFc9-qATpdVDimDxksu7K7Y9JOpxie1s35rFSjCCruEMpIddEInJ2HHdZn2kYZkcyvIAFQR7ECT5V4gu34Bt1cJfBvse6FtGXRsTU/s320/KakaoTalk_20170617_234921243.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fishies!</div>
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Nice lady took a picture for us</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cxFp2DWl09VKz2UqmSfbtSzvkslvkb-zwHH0qRGOWuMygLxzzySbxImbDrKGYk54OCzo1Abex61Jh-8INQYRDLYCncSQXYiSnvzakgq1PaYHSLogwCR6vTKkUyf7c1oPxoN6zFwv8ho/s1600/KakaoTalk_20170617_234920885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cxFp2DWl09VKz2UqmSfbtSzvkslvkb-zwHH0qRGOWuMygLxzzySbxImbDrKGYk54OCzo1Abex61Jh-8INQYRDLYCncSQXYiSnvzakgq1PaYHSLogwCR6vTKkUyf7c1oPxoN6zFwv8ho/s320/KakaoTalk_20170617_234920885.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Foot Shop</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We left the mall area and walked around Myeongdong a
bit. I forgot how very many people are there. Jihye got a snack of fried shrimp
with a spicy sauce that was absolutely delicious. We also both bought freshly
made juice and I bought a potato tornado stick, which I’ve seen pictures of but
never tried. It was hard to eat and didn’t taste that amazing. Jihye’s shrimp
were more memorable. I also bought some earrings and perfume there to give to
Joohee for being so amazing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Next, we went to Ehwa station to meet some of Jihye’s
friends for dinner. When her friends arrived, one Norwegian student and two
Canadian teachers, we went to Jihye’s favorite samgyeopsal place in the area.
Again, I’ve been there but I forgot how good it is. The meat’s really fresh and
the kimchi is some of the best I’ve ever had out. We also had some peach soju, which
wasn’t as disgusting as soju usually is to me. I liked her friends; they were
all loud and friendly. One of them was a little too vulgar to me (thoroughly Minnesotan)
but later, Jihye told me that she’s like that in groups to get attention and
she’s better in smaller gatherings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For dessert, we went to get bingsoo at Solbing. We
happened to run into some street concert and we stayed for a bit but they weren’t
performing songs with words so we got bored. We got my favorite bingsoo, berry
yogurt, and it was thoroughly delicious. We talked about all sorts of things,
learning about each other’s lives, and then it was time for all of us to go
home. This was the last time I’d see Jihye in two months so I tried to do a
lengthy, teary goodbye but Jihye sucks at hugs, so I told her that and that I
loved her and I’d miss her and then I walked away. It’s been weird going from
seeing Jihye every day to not seeing her at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sunday, I skyped my parents back home in Minnesota. We've skyped on Sundays for the past four years or so, so it felt pretty normal. It was good to see them because I've been missing home a bit. We told each other about our weeks and we talked through some things. I think they've been a bit worried about me but I'm okay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After that, I mostly just waited for Joohee to come home
because I wanted to be available to hang out if she wanted to, since it’s her
house after all. I made it to the grocery store and back and the bank and back
without her. That’s like five turns! I was actually really, really proud of
myself when I was walking back without getting lost at all. It’s a wonderful
feeling to learn a new area and feel like you can stand on your own. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Joohee came back around 4 and we hung out before
going to dinner. We went to a Japanese sushi place nearby. Joohee is a pescetarian.
The sushi was okay but the rice kept falling apart and I almost choked when one
of the pieces of fish had a hard part in it (bone or cartilage, I don’t know). So
while I didn’t hate it, I wouldn’t recommend it either. After dinner, we hung
out before she went back to studying and I read the book I started that first
day by the convenience store. My high school friends are doing this book
exchange where the six of us brought our favorite books with some message in
them and we’re all rotating the books, while writing our reactions in them,
until everyone has read every book. I finished my friend Helen’s book Sunday
but I won’t be able to exchange with someone until I return to America. It was
a nice story though and I love my friends and our nerdy ideas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday, I moved into my new goshiwon for two months.
Joohee had two finals Monday so she helped me move in and then she had to go. I
took a taxi from her place to my goshiwon because I still have my 50 lb bags
with me. I was really excited to finally be able to unpack and, when I was
finished, I was so exhausted from the past week that I fell asleep on a pile of
clothes. When I woke up, I knew I had to go out to buy hangers and a pillow and
get myself food for dinner. As a foreigner, I get a lot of stares in Korea. Any
foreigner in Seoul can tell you that you never forget that you don’t fit in
when you go out. When I’m with my friends, I don’t get as many stares for some
reason, or at least, I don’t notice. When I’m out by myself, I receive a lot of
stares and it’s actually really hard for me. There’s this paranoid feeling that
they’re always judging you. It’s one of the things that really started to
bother me my second semester but I was determined not to let it get to me this
time around. I’ve actually started chanting “thick skin” to myself in my head
when I feel self-conscious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With this prepared but vulnerable mindset, I made
the trek to the Daiso where the cashier, who packed everyone else’s stuff in
bags, didn’t pack mine. I don’t know why. But I had to frantically try to stuff
everything in the one bag he pushed at me so I wouldn’t be in everyone’s way.
While I was doing that, he gave me my change but our hands didn’t quite connect
before he let go so the coins fell everywhere. I was completely and utterly embarrassed.
I picked up a couple of the coins after finally getting the packs of hangers in
my bag before rushing away. Then the girl behind me called me back for a 100
won coin I had missed. She was being nice but I couldn’t care less in that
moment and all I wanted to do was get away from that guy. So I hiked home with
my stuff wondering why he had done that and why I wanted to come to Korea
again. The hangers didn’t really work for my clothes either so I had dinner and
went to bed a bit unhappy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today is Tuesday and I met up with Joohee for lunch.
She had her last exam late in the morning and then we went to an early lunch at
one of my favorite restaurants, a Chinese restaurant run by Chinese migrants
near the Konkuk back gate. I got a spicy pork dish I’ve had before and Joohee
got an egg noodle dish. Both of our dishes were amazingly good but Joohee was
unimpressed with the number (2) of vegetarian options. Then we went to
noraebang, which is actually why we met. We sang for two and a half hours,
doing SS501, Frozen, Big Bang, Ed Sheeran, and many more. It was much more of a
variety than I usually do out so I really enjoyed it, although we both hurt our
throats when we did “Let It Go” as our last song. Afterwards, we went to E-mart
so Joohee could look at shoes and so I could buy good quality hangers. Then, I
gave Joohee my gifts and we parted ways. I took my hangers and went to the
local market to buy fruit, the one food I will never live without, no matter
who expensive all fruit is in Seoul. I’ve been in my goshiwon since, eating and
writing this blog. I also applied for my first job since coming here so I’m
feeling pretty good! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I actually regret coming to this goshiwon. I stayed
at a goshiwon two years ago when I studied at Konkuk but that’s exactly why I
don’t feel well. It feels like I haven’t gone anywhere. Two years later and I’m
still in a tiny goshiwon by Konkuk, after having a nice apartment back in
America. I’m in an area I feel familiar with but I don’t go to school anymore,
I graduated, so I don’t quite feel like I fit. Hopefully, if/when I get a job,
this feeling will go away as I move into my own apartment and my own space. Right
now, I’m having a hard time as I try and remember why I wanted to come to Korea
again and why I decided to stay here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, tomorrow is a new day and I’m starting tutoring
with Sunny and meeting up with an old friend. I’ve held off on contacting some
people until I got settled into my place but now that I’m here, I’ve started
sending out messages so I look forward to seeing everyone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Random Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I cannot believe how quickly thing change here! I’ve
only been gone two years but a whole bunch of businesses have closed and a
whole bunch of others have moved in. New buildings have been built and some
have been torn down. I was walking the main street by Konkuk and it blew my
mind how many stores I knew were gone. Thankfully, my three favorite
restaurants by the back gate (the Chinese place, Dos Mas, and the dakgalbi
bokkeumbap place) and my favorite dog café are still open, although some have
moved. </span></div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-82568559571412887092014-12-08T21:47:00.001-08:002014-12-08T21:47:36.829-08:00TVXQ and Many Other Idols<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So that next Friday, Soojung and I went to Mustoy to try out Korean Doll Painting. I heard about this through a video done by Simon and Martina at Eat Your Kimchi and I've been excited to do this since I got to Korea. Basically, you go to the cafe and then pay 15,000 won to decorate a porcelain doll and keep it. It's a Japanese company with materials made in China with a cafe in Korea. The full Asian experience! Anyway, I made a Lorax for my father and Soojung made one of the characters from Kakao Talk. It was super fun and honestly, I might even do it again next semester. I wanted to buy one of the ones that people left behind (10,000 won to decorate and not keep) but that was expensive so I restrained myself. Super awesome experience though!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPQNZK-d2XH5zpMxVhhc22J3xkV55H8uz02G1GQiFS0GMNcWgVzoc6Y3tPmJx2xFpl9cdZvyY-oO1OX4ZqSn2AFb1-Xwu-9HQzjF5FBBuW9j2zajE_bfMDMTURuWIeL1qqS-Qju9Xlao/s1600/10749977_10205995671477997_994433337867031294_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPQNZK-d2XH5zpMxVhhc22J3xkV55H8uz02G1GQiFS0GMNcWgVzoc6Y3tPmJx2xFpl9cdZvyY-oO1OX4ZqSn2AFb1-Xwu-9HQzjF5FBBuW9j2zajE_bfMDMTURuWIeL1qqS-Qju9Xlao/s1600/10749977_10205995671477997_994433337867031294_o.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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The cafe</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU_zPKmkPNM8YO5dFPcJBqbtKOu0MeYM9BWR9pvqW5uv-hy679vxZvLTZb01Zg82Yx7S3rBA5VXgqxhK2lfxs7lRVD4GOMlynLIlWQmFBGb6IpZs_4SC7jajDtKt5tzFYC9tzJ-HRi1s/s1600/10847980_10205995670357969_2241324317322478054_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU_zPKmkPNM8YO5dFPcJBqbtKOu0MeYM9BWR9pvqW5uv-hy679vxZvLTZb01Zg82Yx7S3rBA5VXgqxhK2lfxs7lRVD4GOMlynLIlWQmFBGb6IpZs_4SC7jajDtKt5tzFYC9tzJ-HRi1s/s1600/10847980_10205995670357969_2241324317322478054_n.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really wanted that blue and black one in the middle.</div>
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That same weekend I also went to Jaejoong's bar - creatively called Holic J - and a cafe owned by a friend of Yunho. It was rather disappointing though because no one in Korea goes to bars until like 11 and one of my friends has a midnight curfew (Ehwa, ew). So we just ate out and decided to go back in a couple weeks when she can apply for a night out. As for the 85st. Coffee Shop... well... it was closed. I went with Hemi, who is also a TVXQ fan, and she said she's never seen it closed before. Oh well. Excluding the dolls, I just struck out that weekend. But you miss every ball that you don't swing at! (or something inspirational like that)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5V5l43NStU04CLF9UN8S2QgKKgbbkPBQB4caKi_8cxcjd1BnAWGIslUBLhhVYUL0dx3N6X1bA6jRsNHuq1JD7m9jXX5YRTu6bUnk40AZUf0BeKlvLe7muscZthjCsuMz7hSrVNldvZM/s1600/10734116_10205995665677852_7031957702397662186_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5V5l43NStU04CLF9UN8S2QgKKgbbkPBQB4caKi_8cxcjd1BnAWGIslUBLhhVYUL0dx3N6X1bA6jRsNHuq1JD7m9jXX5YRTu6bUnk40AZUf0BeKlvLe7muscZthjCsuMz7hSrVNldvZM/s1600/10734116_10205995665677852_7031957702397662186_n.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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85st Coffee Shop where Yunho sometimes decides to work as a barista. </div>
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During the following week, there was the End of the Year Foreigners Festival. Soojung and I decided to hang out at the Mouse Rabbit Cafe while we waited for it to start. The Mouse Rabbit Cafe is right by campus and owned by Yesung's sister but I hadn't gone before because I don't really care for Yesung. But then I heard from someone that the cafe is just super cute so I decided to go. It's adorable! I can't even take how cute it is, it's ridiculous. The festival afterwards was pretty cool too and my friend Stephanie won first place in the talent show and won 500,000 won! Wooh!</div>
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The outside of the cafe.</div>
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How cute are these drinks?</div>
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A couple days later, Summer and I finally got to go ice skating at Lotte World. I haven't skated in six years and I forgot how hard it is! Ice skating is exercise people! But we had a ton of fun as I attempted to skate around the rink and Summer held my hand most of the time so I wouldn't fall. Like a boss. The skates were actually super crappy; they were too big for me, not very sharp, and didn't have a stop. But despite the conditions, it was a ton of fun and I would recommend it for those coming from warmer environments especially, who haven't skated before. I'm used to lakes so it was a little strange but still awesome.</div>
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The rink.</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvOqSn9JX36dV3OzXmSTZ-kTTvysXWl332wt_j5pwuKQO5ZoXggX3X3q1d6PkB6Hm5-lnOSTRUs2UkoLhtviJZefsg9R2r8ljhnS2SfLcz4bOsAkikh0W5w1YBS6lK-JKzUA-NIUN-SA/s1600/10838197_10205995694238566_5054881154617339558_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcvOqSn9JX36dV3OzXmSTZ-kTTvysXWl332wt_j5pwuKQO5ZoXggX3X3q1d6PkB6Hm5-lnOSTRUs2UkoLhtviJZefsg9R2r8ljhnS2SfLcz4bOsAkikh0W5w1YBS6lK-JKzUA-NIUN-SA/s1600/10838197_10205995694238566_5054881154617339558_o.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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Summer and I blocking the flow of people.</div>
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Me trying to be cute while still keeping my balance. It's harder than it looks.</div>
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The next day, Amy, Stephanie, and I went to the Studio Ghibli Exhibit. It's only in Korea until March 1st so I was super happy we got it done. The exhibit itself was absolutely amazing and worth the 15,000 won (although some other friends didn't think so). The official gift shop, however, is aimed at the country the exhibit is in so it only had products from the top three movies in Korea; Spirited Away, Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service. However, there's a store in Hongdae that sells Ghibli stuff too so I might go there. The exhibit is stunning though. Some of the exhibits move and just the way it's presented, feels magical. After going to the exhibit, I really want to go to the museum in Japan too. That would be fantastic. </div>
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Howl's Moving Castle. And yes, it did move.</div>
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Porco Rosso! Chillin like a villian</div>
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The iconic Spirited Away bridge.</div>
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Yes, sometimes I hang out with No Face. What can I say? </div>
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The day after Ghibli, I went to the TVXQ T1ST0RY concert in Seoul. I can't even talk about it like a normal person. My mind hasn't exploded but it was amazing anyway. Yunho was so silly and beautiful and Changmin's voice was stunning and it just all meant a lot. It was also their 4000th day since debut (WOW) so the energy was really good. I can't. I love Yunho and Changmin so much. I didn't cry, I thought I would. My eyes got a little misty a couple times when all 15,000 people were chanting for TVXQ but I held myself together. And some random fans also just gave me merchandise which was super awesome. WE ARE T!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijm6k4gLA4ahlMHWzOQsP_0osTS34qLfV__fBeH8rlwpo7g2u8MediULnnx4Q6FT1up8baZu1wdCFuEtD8yMjuM3neuTRxN8dKp3pOlBgqDn-6oKxwSW-xW9OUlMKcDTRb0K9x2WeZpNA/s1600/10527286_10205995713679052_5884008932383692278_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijm6k4gLA4ahlMHWzOQsP_0osTS34qLfV__fBeH8rlwpo7g2u8MediULnnx4Q6FT1up8baZu1wdCFuEtD8yMjuM3neuTRxN8dKp3pOlBgqDn-6oKxwSW-xW9OUlMKcDTRb0K9x2WeZpNA/s1600/10527286_10205995713679052_5884008932383692278_n.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxpVS9tF59A2hwJAdFyXxgX1CKUuZOXGDMrcqfZB_a0JZSnQ-XEvCHh54roaFHyySXSnEam5nf29OF6VE2R4vP35QcG_UEL5Xi5_j5uKnOg_q2N1YSNX7gjsSP0jSmeu_sxcObzais-o/s1600/10644387_10205995662637776_3329640850444018860_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxpVS9tF59A2hwJAdFyXxgX1CKUuZOXGDMrcqfZB_a0JZSnQ-XEvCHh54roaFHyySXSnEam5nf29OF6VE2R4vP35QcG_UEL5Xi5_j5uKnOg_q2N1YSNX7gjsSP0jSmeu_sxcObzais-o/s1600/10644387_10205995662637776_3329640850444018860_o.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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Tour merchandise~</div>
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And then yesterday I skipped school like a good student to go to a Arirang TV Simply K-Pop recording. I was at the studio for 13 hours and saw 19 different acts, because I went to all the pre-recordings and the main recording. The interaction of the idols with their fans was awesome but it made me sad how exhausted and hungry the idols looked. Stephanie and I also were given the chance to introduce an artist so I'll be on TV! Mom, look, I made it! I'll post that link later. Overall, it was an utterly exhausting day (and weekend) for me but it was totally worth it. I got to talk to a bunch of K-pop singers and learn who sings live and who doesn't. HALO made a special impression on me out of everyone I saw because I wasn't a fan of them before but they were so friendly, I think I shall have to support them in the future. We weren't allowed to take pictures so we'll just have to wait for that video~</div>
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-49406183783729486302014-11-25T01:01:00.002-08:002014-11-25T01:02:56.058-08:00Art and Entertainment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So that Wednesday we finally, finally, went on our culture trip. The students were given three choices and we got to pick which trip we would go on but they were all in Seoul so I was pretty disappointed. All of the trips had two locations, with one interesting and one uninteresting in my opinion, so I would have been okay with all of them. The trip I ended up with was the Seoul Museum of Contemporary and Modern Arts and the Seoul Grand Park. The museum was extremely interesting and I wasn't ready to leave after the hour and a half they gave us to explore ran out. I'm not usually into art museums but this one had a couple very interesting exhibits and I especially appreciated the sculptures. The Grand Park was pretty boring in comparison because it was mostly a zoo and since it was November, all the animals were either sleeping, hiding, or shaking. And, as I said previously, the conditions for the animals are absolutely terrible here. We spent most of our time in the botanical gardens because it was warm and there weren't sad animals. I would definitely recommend the museum, however; it was very beautiful. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwaPTVEWPQ6hE1xfv626CLOBYqg-7peaSQxuSf8OKXiF0EOynsTCPgb5Bgf7AJXWjud5E97VNnFmw2pKjg46IItGpJv5V2woHES576VPZDsMv1UKcsTdj0DJVj39sfhw7YcZpa-Z-AIs/s1600/934875_10205892819986774_5550709401332536471_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjwaPTVEWPQ6hE1xfv626CLOBYqg-7peaSQxuSf8OKXiF0EOynsTCPgb5Bgf7AJXWjud5E97VNnFmw2pKjg46IItGpJv5V2woHES576VPZDsMv1UKcsTdj0DJVj39sfhw7YcZpa-Z-AIs/s1600/934875_10205892819986774_5550709401332536471_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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This honey sculpture was Lena's favorite.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7EL0mZtLTeRCWy9p417BnpxiZHitp4Pyrm2JMaFxkvw0P_uK8yRDRDtrs6EzXrub2QNG2cMeSp6ylexBjI3gcUwUGVECBR0odNQhg89RxLY0Y4jESgwnUhTG3lQm2PaG8oEXvQbH-wQ/s1600/10422590_10205892820386784_654182921540378072_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7EL0mZtLTeRCWy9p417BnpxiZHitp4Pyrm2JMaFxkvw0P_uK8yRDRDtrs6EzXrub2QNG2cMeSp6ylexBjI3gcUwUGVECBR0odNQhg89RxLY0Y4jESgwnUhTG3lQm2PaG8oEXvQbH-wQ/s1600/10422590_10205892820386784_654182921540378072_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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There were a lot of hidden details in there. </div>
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This was one of my favorites just because it brightened the room. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQur9UrPexmy-A-KPwX3m-MWFmRkw6UMwq88DfP6iPcQkK6uicmY1BYl2FAL7lSz1lbmpD7xj5htWPks6frDIJMPFWWEYtQ1-JNXy9znbvFDFOi5Tljzqv-ERHKwvQQfzPIAWZW5StAtU/s1600/10257919_10205892821106802_3689694451753399694_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQur9UrPexmy-A-KPwX3m-MWFmRkw6UMwq88DfP6iPcQkK6uicmY1BYl2FAL7lSz1lbmpD7xj5htWPks6frDIJMPFWWEYtQ1-JNXy9znbvFDFOi5Tljzqv-ERHKwvQQfzPIAWZW5StAtU/s1600/10257919_10205892821106802_3689694451753399694_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was another favorite of mine. It's difficult to see in the picture but this entire thing is made up of Korean papers folded into triangles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne4_u-Vdom_Xn3-PvUX1l6_xpwM8VQ45ldohUNydhbaRA5APPPRz3w77MnhViN287eGmrHX2a-KypAljY5cXfBj48QJDpoOWP1PzxQrVkmnos_9c5-yn9zMT__C4tm9ZtgDxUNf6Mtrs/s1600/10311759_10205892816906697_8018341638181037672_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhne4_u-Vdom_Xn3-PvUX1l6_xpwM8VQ45ldohUNydhbaRA5APPPRz3w77MnhViN287eGmrHX2a-KypAljY5cXfBj48QJDpoOWP1PzxQrVkmnos_9c5-yn9zMT__C4tm9ZtgDxUNf6Mtrs/s1600/10311759_10205892816906697_8018341638181037672_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Twisted Furniture. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1u1NlKz4ijk0l_EZE45U_NW6xgXUE1Bg5q8WaV5_QLlGY131GbqkkixVUXGJKIF0HG0Fttvvpl-N1t58-2JC2bQ2ZK3Tj-zSe78FMALwRi0Br9vHni08mRTKTHt1gp9QtvnQdGjv1TtA/s1600/10390070_10205892817866721_7237965591623315387_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1u1NlKz4ijk0l_EZE45U_NW6xgXUE1Bg5q8WaV5_QLlGY131GbqkkixVUXGJKIF0HG0Fttvvpl-N1t58-2JC2bQ2ZK3Tj-zSe78FMALwRi0Br9vHni08mRTKTHt1gp9QtvnQdGjv1TtA/s1600/10390070_10205892817866721_7237965591623315387_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'm not even sure what this is but I like it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgR702_y8LUfLxj_N_PWDbHEzorNFacYctwEbIP6jW3fEztJUEfDwePROGRX6Iy5-3PFIqPGhvKFa49f9iDtEK9BYOcaQeBB2BrLMk2etI7f_oukHNEgk3GwtlSUjOAs9TFvbECEzbs/s1600/10625118_10205892829227005_6994458919366368106_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXgR702_y8LUfLxj_N_PWDbHEzorNFacYctwEbIP6jW3fEztJUEfDwePROGRX6Iy5-3PFIqPGhvKFa49f9iDtEK9BYOcaQeBB2BrLMk2etI7f_oukHNEgk3GwtlSUjOAs9TFvbECEzbs/s1600/10625118_10205892829227005_6994458919366368106_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a><br />
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The beautiful botanical gardens.</div>
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That Friday, a couple of the people I met on the cruise, Soojung, and I all went out. Before meeting the others, Soojung and I went shopping in Myungdong and got me a winter coat for $50. Winning. After connecting with the others, we went to a Japanese bento place for supper, which was alright but not worth the hype. Then we went to Kim Jaejoong (of JYJ)'s cafe J Holic. All the tables were shaped like J's and the drinks weren't ridiculously priced, which was a surprise. It was actually a pretty comfortable cafe and I really enjoyed the styling and their music. After the cafe, we went to karaoke. Honestly, noraebang (karaoke) is one of my favorite things here. It's just so much fun! </div>
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The next day, a Chinese friend, Summer, and I went to go visit some entertainment companies. Actually, four of the big companies in Korea are all in the same area so they were pretty easy to find. Cube Entertainment also has a cafe so the fangirls and fanboys can drink something warm inside while they wait for their celebrities, which is an incredibly intelligent decision on their part. They must be racking in the dough while the other companies just leave the fans outside, or in an unrelated cafe. We didn't see any celebrities but I wasn't really set on it anyway so I just had fun seeing the different companies. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC8jzvbu0cW3NI393CAWpKB-APCCd9l9c2ggJdDmmcMfNLZ0oM3cZaPEIa-VfWMfXZQnuT05bXNRvrl9zETRJj3rLAFFNKEqyOKP9nJXd94128GCeOM4Ib05gFkP9kEwRBlk7PVvyhpI/s1600/10441044_10205892918709242_8520321424064892023_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVC8jzvbu0cW3NI393CAWpKB-APCCd9l9c2ggJdDmmcMfNLZ0oM3cZaPEIa-VfWMfXZQnuT05bXNRvrl9zETRJj3rLAFFNKEqyOKP9nJXd94128GCeOM4Ib05gFkP9kEwRBlk7PVvyhpI/s1600/10441044_10205892918709242_8520321424064892023_n.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
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J Holic's symbol.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEvZ9UUnJ3k7xF3204MXrLB-PxomHT9U3MXwifhciIap3bqumXGdjoQOV9EPrp66SCepITe0V6yeoGuRrQd9oU_06fSChaQGfERAtMSBGLni6Mq81IPhN9SWcmaIRBE1jB85mquPAdQs/s1600/10397051_10205892916589189_4736220213398318002_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAEvZ9UUnJ3k7xF3204MXrLB-PxomHT9U3MXwifhciIap3bqumXGdjoQOV9EPrp66SCepITe0V6yeoGuRrQd9oU_06fSChaQGfERAtMSBGLni6Mq81IPhN9SWcmaIRBE1jB85mquPAdQs/s1600/10397051_10205892916589189_4736220213398318002_o.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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The receipts come with Jaejoong's signature. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStBbreXpldtgvUqRTce8t9Wtr0ifUgyInl28dJUnilWGLBsv505_MzlpBo0y1AiQnJ0H9gcd884venoawlflZGqum-NjRns4gi7f-xDQtkrZYmOf4pVDT973rRGsVQ-No9Sz48ByyUSY/s1600/10750497_10205893020791794_1264740684852653031_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStBbreXpldtgvUqRTce8t9Wtr0ifUgyInl28dJUnilWGLBsv505_MzlpBo0y1AiQnJ0H9gcd884venoawlflZGqum-NjRns4gi7f-xDQtkrZYmOf4pVDT973rRGsVQ-No9Sz48ByyUSY/s1600/10750497_10205893020791794_1264740684852653031_o.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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Cube Entertainment (Beast, 4Minute, BTOB, A-Pink, G.Na, etc)</div>
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Mr. Chu~ by A-Pink</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrC13Vd0CeuLNVKdxeE45X-zx3zlTJ2bBHeEERwqdq-s2_RwS4jg-km4HhosHgAdetMdMJvkNUGC_BwILxOXwbxL1MdASFv-9NdPct7yCWhMe4eGrye_Ckb14CxweNhaeCck0cdLxMoo/s1600/1271282_10205893020671791_2350201983425468150_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrC13Vd0CeuLNVKdxeE45X-zx3zlTJ2bBHeEERwqdq-s2_RwS4jg-km4HhosHgAdetMdMJvkNUGC_BwILxOXwbxL1MdASFv-9NdPct7yCWhMe4eGrye_Ckb14CxweNhaeCck0cdLxMoo/s1600/1271282_10205893020671791_2350201983425468150_o.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></div>
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The best cafe mocha I have ever had in my life. Like, I might go back to this cafe just for the drinks and be that one person not facing the windows. </div>
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The Cube Cafe had a bunch of signed merchandise and hand prints of all their artists. </div>
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JYP Entertainment (2PM, Wonder Girls, Miss A, Got7, etc)</div>
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10 Points Out of 10! by 2PM</div>
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SM Entertainment (TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), EXO, etc)</div>
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Sorry, Sorry by Super Junior </div>
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Gee by SNSD</div>
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FNC Entertainment (FT Island, CNBlue, AOA, etc)</div>
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The next week I made homemade Mac n Cheese for my friends at my goshiwon. It's pretty difficult to make recipes from home here because the ingredients just aren't in Korea. I couldn't even find butter so I had to use margarine instead. There's probably butter somewhere but all I could find was margarine and I Just Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Despite the hiccups in ingredients, the pasta turned out pretty well and my friends liked it so hey, success!</div>
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That Wednesday, I went to Interstellar with Soojung at the Lotte Cinema. Korean movie theatres aren't that different to be honest but I enjoyed the movie although Soojung liked it much more than me. The music was composed by Hans Zimmer so it was outstanding of course. I cried three times and Soojung cried four times so it's a bit of a tear-jerking. I regret that I didn't get squid there (the one snack at the theatre unique to Korea) but I had some at Caribbean Bay so it's not a big deal. </div>
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On Friday, we had a class field trip for my globalization class to Arirang Tower. Arirang tries to spread Korean culture to the rest of the world through TV shows and radio stations broadcasted to 55 different countries. The tower was pretty cool to look through as people are still working during the tour. I also got to meet Sam Carter from LunaFly! He was there recording his radio show and I had to get a picture with him because my best friend back home loves him. A couple of us are going to try and win tickets to be in the live audience so we can see the recordings live. After the tour, Ana, Stephanie and I went to the Seoul Arts Center, which was pretty much across the street. It wasn't that interesting in comparison to the Seoul Museum of Contemporary and Modern Arts but the complex was just huge. After returning to the university, I went to my second movie in three days as part of a program put together by our university and the Korean Movie Administration or something like that. It was a big deal and the point was to spread Korean movies to the international audience. So we saw "We Are Brothers" with English subtitles. It was actually super funny and I would really recommend it. </div>
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That Saturday, Sonnet, Stephanie, and I went shopping at Gangnam Station and the Express Bus Terminal. I got a couple souvenirs, including a sweatshirt I had been looking for since I got here. It was pretty fun and both of those stations have huge underground shopping centers that were just never ending. And the Express Bus Terminal is uber cheap. </div>
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Lunch with an off campus friend, Byul.</div>
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Arirang Radio in the Arirang Tower.</div>
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Sam Carter!</div>
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Random Thoughts</div>
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I do get pretty homesick actually. Now that I know I'm coming back for the second semester, it's like I feel free to miss home, like I don't have to be guilty. I have four weeks and on one hand that scares me because times flies so fast but I'm happy on the other hand because I miss my family, my friends, my pets, my bed, and most importantly, food. I miss food from home so, so much. I love Korean food, I really do, but I also have a list of food I need to eat while I'm home, Cereal is on the top of the list <3</div>
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-65778663202091033802014-11-12T07:21:00.002-08:002014-11-12T07:21:38.118-08:00New HomeSo in Korea, they sort of celebrate Halloween. They don't do trick-or-treating or make Jack-O-Lanterns but the clubs and amusement parks still have Halloween themes and some people do dress up, especially in Itaewon. Because we're foreigners, Sonnet's Korean friend, Sofia, asked us over to her house for dinner. It was the first time in two months I had eaten a home-cooked meal and it was absolutely amazing. Her mother made us pumpkin porridge, bulgogi, don katsu, chapchae, and tteokbeokki. I can't even write about it without salivating, it was that good. The conversation was a little awkward at times because it was the first time most of us were meeting them and their mother didn't speak any English, but it was still a ton of food. We had great food and good company so it was a good Halloween. Sofia's mom was super funny (she compensated by using a lot of body language) and her brother was also pretty fun to hang around. After we were done eating one of the best meals I've had in Korea, we played a couple Korean drinking games and then a couple traditional Korean games as well. All in all, an amazing night. Their whole family came with us to the bus stop and we actually almost cried leaving them because they were so affectionate and kind to complete strangers. Her mom even told us that we could come crash any time we wanted to. I totally plan on taking her up on that.<br />
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Sofia's family and the foreigners eating our feast. :)</div>
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The next day was Saturday and also the day I moved out! It took me a couple hours to completely pack everything and transport it to the goshiwon but I did it all myself. A ton of couple offered their help but I didn't want to make it a big thing so I could carried everything. My room is super tiny but I kind of love it. Like, it's so tiny it can't help but be adorable. My dad said it would be a good exercise to see just how little room I truly need and I like to think of it in that positive way. I get my own room and then we all share one kitchen, one bathroom, and one shower. But if the bathroom is full, then there are two more right outside the goshiwon doors. So it's actually pretty good. I got to know some of the girls here and we cook together sometimes so it's really fun. I don't regret my decision. :)<br />
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My little room. Isn't it just the cutest?</div>
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The day after I moved, a Korean friend and a Chinese friend and I all went to Gangnam for the Gangnam Tourist Center. We also went to the Hyundai department store and the Apgujeong Rodeo Street. Now, the GTC was supposed to be like an interactive K-Pop museum but that's a lie. It was super tiny and not very fun, to be honest. I didn't tell my Korean friend that because she was the one who suggested it but it was very disappointing. The Hyundai department store was absolutely huge and mostly filled with designer brands. But there's an entire floor dedicated to food! It was amazing; I only took pictures of all the food that day, Apgujeong Rodeo Street wasn't very interesting either because it was all designer brands too and I'm just not rich enough to afford that. So it was a rather boring day but it was still fun to hang out with my friends. No time is wasted when it's spent with good people.<br />
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After that came the school week and that just sucked. Let me say that we're all working hard here. College is just as challenging as always. However, on Thursday my Korean Culture Club went out on a cruise on the Han River. It was actually super boring because after about ten minutes of excitement you realize that you're on a really slow boat on a river for another hour and a half. But the KCC has members from all over Seoul so I got to meet some brand new people and we went out for dinner afterwards which was wonderful. We're actually going out this weekend too (with those new people) so I can't regret the boring, and freezing, cruise road.<br />
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Then, on Friday, Soojung and I went to My Chi Chi, Hong Seok Cheon's Italian restaurant. Hong Seok Cheon is pretty much the only gay celebrity out in Korea right now and he has done so much in the past ten years to change Korea's opinion of homosexuality. Most celebrities trust him with their deepest secrets and he hasn't done anything to betray that trust. He's just a man to admire and he also happens to own like eight restaurants all in the same strip of Itaewon. The food was rather expensive, as it always is with celebrity restaurants, but it was really good too and we now have a map of his restaurants if we want to try them all. If I have the money, I'd like to go to all of them but we'll see. Twelve dollars for a cone from his ice cream shop (his newest addition) just seems like a bit much to me. Still, the Margarita pizza and Bacon Gorgonzola Pasta was amazing. I definitely recommend trying it out. In fact, just go to Itaewon to eat. They have so many unique, delicious restaurants there, it makes you want to eat there for hours.<br />
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That Saturday, I left on a trip to Pyeongchang with the UNESCO branch in Seoul, called Heritage in Korea. I didn't think I would make the application process because I was only a student (and their goal group is ambassadors and teachers) but I did and I'm so happy about it. Forty foreigners total went on the trip and I made a ton of new friends. The goal of this program is to provide foreigners with a FREE opportunity to experience Korean culture and at the same time, add to their network of people. I love it and I'm so glad they're continuing it next year (and one of the destinations for 2015 is Jeju Island! For free! I can't even hold in my excitement and now I have more of an opportunity to get in because I'll be returning as an invitee). Anyway, the goal of this trip was to participate in kimjang, which is making enough kimchi for the winter. We went all the way to Pyeongchang for this trip, which took about five hours by bus. Pyeongchang is supposed to host the Olympics in 2018 but I'm worried about them. The whole area is just little country towns and there isn't any construction going on. But who knows, if anyone can get it done that fast, it's Korea. The first day, we went to a temple in Pyeongchang, made our own kimchi under the guidance of a strict ajumma in hanbok, and had a bonfire. The second day we went to a market that's been on that street since the Joseon Era and also explored a nearby park before returning to Seoul. It was all very amazing and the food was delicious. I can honestly say I look forward to all the programs after this and I'm so glad to have met so many new and amazing people.<br />
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New friends!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyNwpTgCszRRTKbhMdgsQv9iVCz4662E6OZZxFzk5N4e1jWWz9efEUAb17tPSCuasDR46hA9ayhNFdXbXu1x5sqC5jqmVUwcgcXkvhV6NLYHW11VVzNaHoCnkC85TK8o6uRKiTgGK-Mk/s1600/10749963_10205788485778484_3087384851583726110_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSyNwpTgCszRRTKbhMdgsQv9iVCz4662E6OZZxFzk5N4e1jWWz9efEUAb17tPSCuasDR46hA9ayhNFdXbXu1x5sqC5jqmVUwcgcXkvhV6NLYHW11VVzNaHoCnkC85TK8o6uRKiTgGK-Mk/s320/10749963_10205788485778484_3087384851583726110_o.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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This pagoda was in the temple we visited and is the only thing there that wasn't burnt down during the Korean War and then rebuilt. It's actually rather amazing because the pagoda is from the Goryeo Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Era, making it almost a thousand years old. The temple was actually built around the pagoda and the pagoda was the only thing left standing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5W87IplHWOn-BiiHrVHHm367Mg3lK5M5eFBukWWdc95TpdHlRxm_7EUOiwtviLLqbY7y-fsDaUGuNSnV7KyFDFQ5oWsBltd2Yv9mW_kjCjRpyVAqcHZjhnHZqyCuxvozxtAiHOR5SVU/s1600/10671314_10205788487738533_7241573456695188395_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5W87IplHWOn-BiiHrVHHm367Mg3lK5M5eFBukWWdc95TpdHlRxm_7EUOiwtviLLqbY7y-fsDaUGuNSnV7KyFDFQ5oWsBltd2Yv9mW_kjCjRpyVAqcHZjhnHZqyCuxvozxtAiHOR5SVU/s320/10671314_10205788487738533_7241573456695188395_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also stayed in a traditional Korean house, called a Hanok. It was awesome! The whole resort was absolutely stunning. The hanoks didn't have Western style beds, only Korean mats and blankets, but it was so comfortable, I slept the best I had in like two weeks. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa6EMbFIdCSFHztr8bJ0Ci6hqwFnkp1E3-VadCzAWqf43b9iGEKhPN9A1aD0mraZdlQlYmzs6LKyqwMqgDE74vI_zHm4nfbx2aRb75FlSb75c31nrEvYaW3jcItEIZpfUglU4UpkYWWo/s1600/10402539_375673769249680_2731486490359436703_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxa6EMbFIdCSFHztr8bJ0Ci6hqwFnkp1E3-VadCzAWqf43b9iGEKhPN9A1aD0mraZdlQlYmzs6LKyqwMqgDE74vI_zHm4nfbx2aRb75FlSb75c31nrEvYaW3jcItEIZpfUglU4UpkYWWo/s320/10402539_375673769249680_2731486490359436703_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The whole group together. I couldn't tell you everyone's name (I'm terrible with foreign names unless they're Korean or Japanese) but I could tell you their nationality and I also talked to each and every one of them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIX29W8eHFCewA6owRH6VJ3LuV6xDgvNeVOQ7Ey-ajZvp2Qf5Z2_ZdXzLvq4ky7D6ZoJPLdYxTIVDS_5S6LNzJjwcOORx6EUJ5z4EqCIxnDM69xjoozlCFMtecs1ulZKG_jebuJbJy5c/s1600/10402977_10205788485498477_5119503571794925271_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIX29W8eHFCewA6owRH6VJ3LuV6xDgvNeVOQ7Ey-ajZvp2Qf5Z2_ZdXzLvq4ky7D6ZoJPLdYxTIVDS_5S6LNzJjwcOORx6EUJ5z4EqCIxnDM69xjoozlCFMtecs1ulZKG_jebuJbJy5c/s320/10402977_10205788485498477_5119503571794925271_n.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Look at my awesome kimchi! Our teacher came over to yell at me multiple times about me making my kimchi so spicy but in the end, mine was the prettiest and best shaped. So there! It's in the fridge in my goshiwon right now and I hope the others help me eat it because I can't possibly finish all that by myself. </div>
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Today's Wednesday and I actually finally went on my culture trip with the International House here but I think I'll talk about that next time. My friend had a better camera so I let her take all the pictures and she hasn't uploaded them online yet. And I'll like to have pictures to illustrate, especially so we went to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts. Til next time~<br />
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Autumn on campus is absolutely lovely. However, the reason it's lovely is because of these stupid ginkgo trees. Apparently, there are two different types of ginkgo tree and one if going extinct so Konkuk University is trying to save them by planting them everywhere on campus. I honestly couldn't care less if these trees died out. The reason they're endangered is because the two kinds look exactly the same but one kind has these horrible stinky berries. You might think I'm exaggerating but these berries literally smell like dog poop and they fall from the trees for almost eight weeks straight. It's absolutely horrid. I'd just prefer the other kind please.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkD1jmsDqqY25Dd8_d2AutF7DK8YUBxCE_UUXZvn9djwrlDfuwOF8whfP29bZYIMkdNx0fZsFs7UwfZTOVkYf03ch9mSR32roptVz2r6CgEuiqByZ1PwD5DFvxVd0_QG3MdlfhIPaXNI/s1600/10365979_10205788462977914_8682346498922016427_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkD1jmsDqqY25Dd8_d2AutF7DK8YUBxCE_UUXZvn9djwrlDfuwOF8whfP29bZYIMkdNx0fZsFs7UwfZTOVkYf03ch9mSR32roptVz2r6CgEuiqByZ1PwD5DFvxVd0_QG3MdlfhIPaXNI/s320/10365979_10205788462977914_8682346498922016427_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pretty yellow trees are the ginkgo trees. Unfortunately, their pretty autumn colors aren't enough to make me forgive them for their berries. Dreadful things, I tell you.</div>
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Secondly, Korean teachers are scary. I think this is just an Oriental thing but in Korea, teachers are right. Always and absolutely. If you have a different opinion or a contradicting question, you keep it to yourself or the teacher will destroy you. As an American student who has always been taught to question knowledge and that debate is one of the best tools of knowledge and perspective, this is incredibly difficult for me at times. However, I keep telling myself that it's just their culture and that it's a good thing to experience new ways of life. This was one of my biggest examples of culture shock for me and it's still ongoing.<br />
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-75664128285328578212014-10-30T04:29:00.001-07:002014-10-30T04:29:15.102-07:00Mid TermsSo that weekend was just as boring as I expected it to be. I spent both Saturday and Sunday in a study cafe, desperately attempting not to fail my classes. Remember when I talked about how Korea has this obsession with themed cafes? Well, this is what I'm talking about. A study cafe is a cafe where you buy ridiculously expensive drinks and then you get to study. No joke. Depending on the study cafe, sometimes there is an hour limit you can be there. Also, the accommodations change depending on the cafe; the first one I went to had a talking floor and a non-talking floor and a smoking floor. In the non-talking floor, where I was, there were at least four different types of sitting areas so you can be the most comfortable while you study. There was normal tables, individual desks set into the wall so you won't get distracted, couch like seats down below the floor and then a little raised area where you had to talk off your shoes and sit on the ground. It was very interesting, overall. That cafe was in Gangnam though and had been recommended to me for being very diverse. On Sunday, I went to one closer to my university and the drinks were cheaper, there wasn't a time limit, but it was smaller. The second study cafe only had one floor and there were much fewer seats, if you didn't buy extra for a study room. Either way, I studied my butt off. Oh, and I was the only foreigner both days.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0waw0G5zrH0hHsiJwXB7ahGzYBfsxAnl0zTnKDHTuyybysRrVZQ0GZFRmIs7SZlDxv1XPNdeK5L9Uorxr4NIR2QYZzj0AzbbxzkqMlZ3uX1ZADpVB94qHKb2_katfJ7nzurXO41VIdSA/s1600/May+Island+Cafe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0waw0G5zrH0hHsiJwXB7ahGzYBfsxAnl0zTnKDHTuyybysRrVZQ0GZFRmIs7SZlDxv1XPNdeK5L9Uorxr4NIR2QYZzj0AzbbxzkqMlZ3uX1ZADpVB94qHKb2_katfJ7nzurXO41VIdSA/s1600/May+Island+Cafe.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mayville Cafe. This one was in Gangnam and I really enjoyed the various places to sit. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFd-dh4c884I6SxTT1_jB6NMUlUWy-2qYzpGaIBSUbTG7FBNiFkewvdksWIidpYm30ZuDNc_DT_E4qA5wFDd5uJT_Dkgl7Wz636WFEI-YtD3NLZWqtQpfl4fojfm9yaYIHKf-fEVVUok/s1600/Pobu+Cafe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFd-dh4c884I6SxTT1_jB6NMUlUWy-2qYzpGaIBSUbTG7FBNiFkewvdksWIidpYm30ZuDNc_DT_E4qA5wFDd5uJT_Dkgl7Wz636WFEI-YtD3NLZWqtQpfl4fojfm9yaYIHKf-fEVVUok/s1600/Pobu+Cafe.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pobu Cafe. This one is super close to my university and I think I'll stick with this one because it was much cheaper. </div>
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After all that studying, you'd think I would ace the exams but no, no, no. I had a tough time with three of my exams because the teachers told us what to study and then they put other stuff on the tests. Not cool. I actually don't know my scores yet because they have until midnight tomorrow to upload them. So here's hoping~ Honestly, most people were pretty stressed but it's not like there was anything we could do about it so I don't worry about things like that. Why invite stress into your life? But when Friday came, a couple of the Americans decided to celebrate by going to a noraebang (karaoke room) and I was really looking forward to it. We drank a bit (the drinking age here is 19, and the 19 is in Korean age) and then went to karaoke and drank some more. I didn't get drunk but everyone else did so I tried to get everyone home in time for curfew but three of them really wanted tteokbeokki so I just let them go. They're adults, they can take care of themselves. Honestly, noraebang wasn't that fun because a couple people hogged the book and kept playing songs only they knew. Whatever. Saturday, my roommate was supposed to go to Everland with a big group but she got too drunk the night before and accidentally slept it. I almost cried. I had looked forward to that Saturday for weeks because I could just have a me day and write if I wanted to (it's my hobby) but then she was in the room and it messed with my concentration. Oh, and I didn't go to Everland because it was a Halloween special and we have Valleyscare like twenty minutes from my house. </div>
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Sunday, I was supposed to go hiking with a group of four but then one of them got sick and the other two had gone to Everland the day before so they said they were too tired to go hiking for three hours. So I went by myself. It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't give up the opportunity. It was absolutely amazing. I went to Bugaksan, which is actually a military zone because of it's proximity to the Blue House. Because it's a military zone, you have to register to be allowed in and in the fall, registration ends at 15:00. So I gave myself two hours and fifteen minutes to get there and still almost didn't make it. Why? Because the tourist information lady gave me incorrect directions and I ended up on the wrong mountain! Instead of Bugaksan, I hiked the mountain next to it, in Samcheong Park, for an hour and a half before I finally made it to Bugaksan at 14:57. The registration people almost didn't let me because I didn't have a Korean phone number but I think I looked pretty pathetic (I was drenched in sweat and desperate to get in) so they let it pass. The soldiers laughed at me as I skipped up the stairs but I didn't care; I made it. Again, because it is a military zone, there are soldiers in look-outs along the Seoul Fortress Wall and then there are even more soldiers to make sure you don't take any pictures facing the direction of the Blue House. It's super funny though because the soldiers that watch for cameras don't wear uniforms. They all wear the same sweatpants, Columbia orange and purple jacket, purple hat, and goggles. It's kind of hilarious. Because they're all dressed the same and look similar with their goggles covering half of their face, I actually thought the first three soldiers were the same guy. 'I must look suspicious or something' I thought to myself while I tried to figure out how he always got ahead of me. I felt so stupid when I finally figured it out that I burst out laughing. Now, most people take between two and threes hours to hike Bugaksan (and it is NOT an easy hike) but I did it in an hour exactly. This is because I was so excited from finally making it that I pretty much jogged up the mountain, which turned out to be a terrible idea from my sweat. I looked so terrible but I was smiling the whole time. By the end, my knees were actually shaking when I stopped moving because the stairs going down (and the whole way down is stairs) were steep and uneven so I literally had to jump from stair to stair and then stop myself from falling forward. And there was no railing. Honestly, it was just awesome, even though I looked nasty and I couldn't take many pictures. There's so much history in the location; from the 1.21 Incident Pine Tree, to the North Gate that goes back to Joseon times, to the Seoul Fortress Wall. It was amazing to take it all in and I can't wait for my next hiking adventure. </div>
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One of the few areas I could take pictures in,</div>
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Here's my pass! "I Made It" was pretty much my theme song for the day.</div>
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Here's part of the Seoul Fortress Wall!</div>
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After Sunday, my first week of classes after mid-terms started, although I did actually have my last mid-term yesterday. Today's Thursday and the day before Halloween and I can't wait for the weekend. I'm moving out of the dorms this weekend into a goshiwon. My roommate and I have been having a lot of problems lately and I just don't want to deal with it anymore. So I'm out. Of course, this means I can't live in the dorms next semester and I lose a lot of money but I'm alright with that. Packing didn't actually take that long and I'm ready. My goshiwon is pretty cheap because I lost so much money from moving mid-semester but I can deal with it for two months. Next semester I'll get a more expensive one that will be bigger. :) </div>
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I got TVXQ tickets! I'm so excited it's ridiculous. I still haven't won any Inkigayo tickets but I'm going to so many concerts, it should make up for it. TVXQ is one of my two favorite Korean groups so I'm pretty much dancing with happiness every time I think about it. </div>
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The international house also hasn't told us when our field trip will be or where to but I really hope it's to the DMZ. I'm going to the DMZ no matter what but it would be nice if someone else organized it since it might have to be an overnight trip. </div>
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Korean McDonald's taste almost exactly the same as American McDonald's. It's great. I've been missing food from home lately (not that I eat McDonald's that much at home anyway) and McDonald's is the cheapest option out there. Keep in mind that I can't cook in the dorms and the ingredients would be incredibly expensive here anyway. The biggest difference I noticed wasn't in the way the food tasted but in the service. In Korea, you can't get your own refills, ketchup, or napkins: you have to ask for everything, which is kind of annoying. But hey, McDonald's delivers here so that's something. </div>
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-815602620928005822014-10-17T08:51:00.002-07:002014-10-17T08:51:15.809-07:00Busan Vacance~<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">So the Seoul International Fireworks Festival was absolutely amazing. Soojung and I got there about three and a half hours early (only) and we still got really good seats in front of the fireworks stations out on the river. There were a ton of people there and it was just insane but I loved every minute of it. I waited in line for the ladies room for over an hour, that's how many people there were there, to give you a hint. I almost missed the start of the fireworks because while I was in line, literally all of the empty spaces between the blankets on the ground had been filled up by other people. We were all squished in there pretty tight. I made it back to Soojung in time though and then we watched the most amazing fireworks for over two hours. There were four teams there; Japan, China, Italy, and Korea. I expected China to dominate since they invented fireworks after all but it was Italy and Korea that truly impressed. Japan and China were good, for sure, but the ones following them showed them up. The Italian team was very impressive with their coordination of their music (which was mostly classic American rock and K-pop) and their fireworks while the Korean team won on their sheer scale. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205478957680475&l=6875058511780652683">https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205478957680475&l=6875058511780652683</a> Just two minutes of the Italian Fireworks Team.</div>
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The day after that, I went to a free JYJ concert. I repeat. Free. JYJ. Concert. It was amazing. We waited for over six hours and I could still barely see the boys but I'm so glad I went. This concert was their last before they all three enlist (as Yoochun revealed) and Junsu started crying. I was trying not to cry too. I bought their new album and I have been listening to it constantly for over a month to prepare for this concert. It's super great; I would really recommend giving the entire album a listen. The concert organizers had predicted that 33,000 people would show up and over 50,000 people came so it quickly got crazy. JYJ fans are nuts. And I say that with love in my heart. But anywhoo, I saw JYJ live. Just saying.</div>
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My JYJ wristband. :) They sold out of official merchandise before I could get to the stand so this is all I have left. </div>
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So the concert was Sunday and then came the school week. Fortunately, we had Thursday off for Hangul Day and we decided to skip Friday to go on a trip. Which leads me to the title of today's post: Busan Vacance! That's right, Soojung, Ting Ting, Reyhan, and I went to Busan! Busan is the second largest city in Korea and it's a port city so it's known for it's beaches and seafood. If you don't understand the reference I'm making, there's a Korean song called Busan Vacance that pretty much talks about the scenic areas of Busan. The music video is pretty lame but the song was super popular and I love it. I'm including the link here.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q3k-96dqRM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q3k-96dqRM</a> Busan Vacance by Skull & Haha</div>
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We had a planning day on Tuesday and then we left campus for Busan Thursday morning at 5:00 AM via a taxi and then the KTX. The KTX is pretty nice and before we knew it, we were in Busan at 9:30. We went straight to Jagalchi, the largest seafood market in Korea, and ate lunch there after wandering around. I've never seen so much seafood in my lunch but the image that stuck with me the most is that of the live eels that had been skinned before they were killed. They were squirming around and in pretty obvious pain. I'm not sure how that's not animal cruelty but it was disgustingly fascinating. After lunch, we went to the Trick Eye Museum. After about an hour or so of taking awesome pictures, we looked around one of the displays for the Busan International Film Festival and ate hotteok. Hotteok is available in Seoul as well but it's famous in Busan, plus the Busan version has nuts. Hotteok is delicious. I may or may not have gotten it three different times in so many days. Then we went to go check into our guesthouse, the Cube Guesthouse, which had an amazing location and was super cheap. That whole process took a while and then we headed over to Dadaepo Beach. Dadaepo Beach itself isn't famous (but it should be because it's stunning) but it is famous for it's fountain; the Daedaepo Sunset Fountain of Dreams, which is the largest flat fountain in the world. This fountain show, complete with music and lights is gorgeous. It went for twenty minutes and I could honestly see myself going there every other night if I lived in the area. After the show, we ate at Lotteria to save money and headed home.<br />
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Jagalchi Market sign.</div>
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Soojung and I as angels. </div>
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Scary!</div>
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Dadaepo Beach at sunset. </div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205571010421736&l=578194062715789422" style="text-align: start;">https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205571010421736&l=578194062715789422</a><span style="text-align: start;"> Just three minutes of the Dadaepo Sunset Fountain of Dreams. </span></div>
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On the second day, we spent most of the day in the cliffs. We started the day at the Haedongyonggung Temple, which is a Buddhist temple located in the cliffs. It was just gorgeous and I loved the architecture. I'm not religious myself, but I think Buddhism is a really interesting religion. We also ate lunch there after exploring the temple and drinking water for the mountain. There was an area to make a wish to Buddha and if you could throw the coin in Buddha's bowl from the bridge, then it was granted. I actually hit the bowl but didn't make it in so every time something little went our way after that, we said it was Buddha helping out where he could. There were many sculptures and statures and also the twelve zodiac animals had majestic statues. After the temple, we went to Taejongdae, which is another cliff area known for it's lighthouse, dinosaur discovery site, and the fact that Japan can sometimes be seen from there. Taejongdae was just gorgeous and we went down the cliffs to the area where dinosaur fossils were discovered too. I have never gone up and down so many stairs in my life. At the bottom, though, the wind was ridiculously strong and we had to hold each others' hand to keep from blowing over. Literally. I was afraid one of us would blow over and then trip on the rocks. After we went along the 4.3 kilometer path at Taejongdae, we headed over to Nampodong to eat and shop a little before going to a tower nearby that lets you look out over Busan. It was super beautiful but we were happy to get back that night and just sleep. </div>
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The temple.</div>
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A pure gold Buddha.</div>
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Taejongdae Lighthouse.</div>
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Me down by the sea near the dinosaur site. It reminded me of the Bad Hills, with how careful you had to place your feet, but I'd done that before so it was a lot of fun for me. </div>
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On our last full day in Busan, we mostly stuck to the Haeundae area. There was actually some drama because one of the girls was upset with our planning although she was there when we planned, so she left a day earlier. The last day was the best though, in my opinion, so she missed out. There were things I loved about the first and second day but the third one was the best as a whole. First, we went to the Busan Aquarium, which is just an aquarium to be honest but it's the biggest one in Korea so it's still a big deal. Afterwards, we walked along Haeundae, which is the most famous beach in all of Korea. When it's summer, you can't even see the sand from above because there are so many umbrellas. Right next to Haeundae is Dongbaekseom, which is called an island but is actually a peninsula. From Dongbaekseom, you have a perfect view of Haeundae. Dongbaekseom also has small cliffs, walking paths, a temple, many statues, and the APEC building. It was super pretty and I would want to exercise there every day if I lived in Busan. The APEC building was interesting in a political way, plus the building itself is unique. After Dongbaekseom, we went to Spa Land, which is a spa/sauna in Busan that's pretty famous. It's amazing. I can't even stress how much fun it is. There were over twenty different themed sauna rooms, outdoor foot baths, massage areas, naked baths for each gender individually, both indoor and outdoor, and so much more. We had a bunch of fun playing games to escape the hotter sauna rooms and just relaxing. It's Korean tradition to eat eggs and bingsoo in saunas so we did that too but it was super delicious, despite its less than pretty appearance. I had to leave my phone in my locker, which I super regret, but my friend made a video so hopefully she'll send me that soon. After four perfect hours of greatness, we went to check out the main building for the Busan International Film Festival. It was a building, not going to lie. But hey, famous people had been there. We then headed back to Haeundae for supper and to walk in the ocean. Meat is cheaper in Busan and I had the best meal I've had since I came to Korea in a little place where we got three different kinds of meat and a billion side dishes for only $7 each. I can't even think about it without my mouth watering. When we could walk again, we wandered along the full stretch of Haeundae. The others wouldn't go in but I rolled up my pants and walked in the ocean. Waves are a problem. I don't get how anyone can swim in the ocean. Reluctantly, we went home the latest that night and tried to get some sleep for our trip home. </div>
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A cut off view of Haeundae from Dongbaekseom. </div>
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Sunday morning, we took the slow train (Mugunghwa) home and watched the countryside go by for about five and a half hours. I've never seen so many rice fields in my life but it was lovely. As a whole, Busan reminded me a lot of Duluth, with its cliffs and beaches. I adore Duluth so I had a lot of fun in Busan and I honestly wouldn't mind going back at all. Like now. I want to go back now.</div>
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Next week is mid-terms so it's been pretty busy since I got back. Today's Friday but I had an extra make up session for Korean class today and this weekend won't be much fun either since I'll be studying so much. Mid terms are more serious here because they use a different grading system. Grades here are competitive. You can get a 94% and still not get an A because if 40% of your classmates did better than you, you get a B. Personally, I think that's ridiculous but there's nothing I can do about it but study harder and hope I'm in that top 40%. We'll see how this goes. My scholarship is GPA-dependent so I can't do poorly. </div>
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Random Thoughts</div>
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I made my decision. I am officially staying for another semester. It was a really difficult decision and I spoke with all of my friends and loved ones, and made two pros and cons charts before I decided. It pretty much came down to money, which is what made my decision for me. I'm going to be in debt anyway, why not be in even more debt? I freaked out about it for a bit after I sent my adviser the email but I'm happy about it now. This decision aligns more with my future goals. However, now I have to try and find housing for next semester because I refuse to stay in the dorms again. No. Just no. I've been looking into staying at a 고시원 (study room that's super small and pretty cheap) or a 하숙집 (pretty much the same but with food included) but all of the sites are in Korean so I'm having a little bit of trouble. I think I'm going to have to ask a Korean friend for help but my friends all don't want me to do it because the rooms are so small. Oh well. At least it would be my own and I could do what I want. </div>
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Oh, I also got my alien registration card on Wednesday. I road the subway for about two and a half hours in total and was in the Seoul Immigration Office for less than two minutes. No joke. I walked in, they didn't even look at my passport, they took my fingerprints, and gave me my card. That was it. And guess what! It expires next year before I leave so I get to do it all over again next semester. That's what I get from deciding so late. On the plus side though, I can go to the DMZ and variety shows now! I've already signed up for Inkigayo so hopefully I'll win tickets. </div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-65463732906435568432014-10-03T21:30:00.000-07:002014-10-03T21:31:36.046-07:00Picturesque Scenes and Poop Bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Remember the WAPOP concert I went to a couple weeks back with the dance crews, Nu'Est, and Seventeen? Well, that was held in the Seoul Children's Park, which is actually only a couple minutes from campus. It has it's own personal subway station but it's faster to just walk from Konkuk. Now, this park is not just a park; it's freaking huge and has not only an amusement park in it but also a zoo, a botanical garden, a creative museum, acupuncture paths, and a rainbow water fountain show. I'm super disappointed that I couldn't get pictures of the fountain for you guys. I was just really amazed the first time I saw it and then it shut down the next day for the change in season, despite the fact that it was still 80 degrees out. I went back to the park to explore some more and was just amazed at how far the darn thing went. </div>
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Acupuncture path, You're supposed to just walk on the rocks with only socks and it'll improve your circulation or something. I just think they're pretty.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8hspdu4OZ-6Zrvf6sy3yI0Pri45Y9_51gwqrgmyzAgHxXkov60CqxgSEa-1h-fs7aeNGuI-182Ygv5YlFnL7HUtVArV4vW9HpJw5LS8kWJoDOylmGEXVgPrk7mEzuWlUn-kR-iPX1lE/s1600/10448516_10205445219037030_8685523411443938426_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8hspdu4OZ-6Zrvf6sy3yI0Pri45Y9_51gwqrgmyzAgHxXkov60CqxgSEa-1h-fs7aeNGuI-182Ygv5YlFnL7HUtVArV4vW9HpJw5LS8kWJoDOylmGEXVgPrk7mEzuWlUn-kR-iPX1lE/s1600/10448516_10205445219037030_8685523411443938426_o.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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Amusement park. It's more aimed towards children but it's still rather large.</div>
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Elephants! Now, the zoo was a full-on zoo but it was really depressing to me because the conditions for the animals were terrible. No zoo is good for animals but these ones had tiny little rooms to live in, The lions maybe had 1,000 square feet, which is just no big enough.</div>
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Botanic gardens! I actually wasn't super impressed with this one because I'm used to the one at Komo but it was still rather lovely.</div>
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Little path outside the botanic gardens. Now, this would have been super pretty if it weren't for the smell of manure coming from the ponies right behind it. </div>
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Most tourists are told that Insa-dong is the place to go for traditional wares. A Korean friend of mine and I went together and, while it was interesting, I think this place is a tourist trap now. There were some traditional things but a lot of it was the same generic crap over and over again. I don't regret going because the traditional Korean restaurants were very interesting to see, but the area as a whole is not as traditional as I was lead to believe. There are other areas of Seoul, like a lot of the markets, that are much more traditional than this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIZfb3kX0vTekVyMEA2gxgG0v3zwykdT6WgpRzMAt01krZOi8Ac_b9X755Pa-Lu3P4udE0EIhczwQCXlAO8jzO_sGq23CjHjL-DJHRJnOVx9yb7T5pox8751OE9SiIySW4KfBIjEz8uM/s1600/1932515_10205445238717522_3257927881148206535_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIZfb3kX0vTekVyMEA2gxgG0v3zwykdT6WgpRzMAt01krZOi8Ac_b9X755Pa-Lu3P4udE0EIhczwQCXlAO8jzO_sGq23CjHjL-DJHRJnOVx9yb7T5pox8751OE9SiIySW4KfBIjEz8uM/s1600/1932515_10205445238717522_3257927881148206535_o.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Open air mall. It was super cool because there weren't stairs, you just kept walking up in a progressive circle.</div>
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Ddong bbang, literally poop bread. I was fooled yet again though. Anything you think is chocolate is probably red bean in Korea.</div>
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Traditional masks and such. This store was the most traditional looking out of all of them, along with the calligraphy stores. </div>
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There was a pathway lined with these cute little circles that couples wrote their messages to each other on. My friend and I were having fun guessing who was still with each other.</div>
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Sonnet and Serena also had their birthdays last week so we went to the Han River and bought them cake to celebrate. The Han River is super beautiful at night, especially with the city lights, but it's also lovely during the day if you bike along the multiple bike paths,</div>
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Han River with the bridge.</div>
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Sonnet and Serena's birthday cake from Baskin Robins. Those things are everywhere here!</div>
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I also went to my first Korean Noraebang (karaoke) with my friend Yosung. She and I each had an hour before our next appointments so we ran to a noraebang. Our room was super awesome and had laser lights along with a disco ball. We didn't get any service (free things, which are super common in Korean and especially noraebangs) but the photo booth was super cheap. Oh, and you couldn't wear shoes in there, you had to put slippers on.</div>
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The photo booths here are so epic; you get to edit your pictures and add stamps and words and frames.</div>
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I also joined a new club, the Korean Culture Club. It's super fun because each week we get a mission, like visit this monument or eat this food, that we have to fulfill in teams and take a proof picture. I'm still in ECC though so I'm making a lot of new friends and trying a bunch of new things. In KCC this week, we just ate together then played traditional Korean games together. In ECC, we played the mafia game, which is super fun when you understand the rules. I won on my first game :) </div>
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After ECC, a group of us went out to eat and then we got lemon ice cream beer afterwards. Yep, you read that right; lemon ice cream beer. It was weird but surprisingly good. </div>
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Yesterday, I went to Cheonggyecheon, which is a man-made stream that runs for a couple kilometers through Seoul. It's absolutely beautiful and filled with people constantly. It's a very popular dating place but there were a lot of families and friends there as well. It seems like the perfect place to sit down and have a picnic. We also went to the Kwangjang Market nearby which is both huge and very traditional. This was the first time since I've been in Korea that I said "How can they eat that?" It was an interesting experience and the Hanbok section was absolutely stunning. </div>
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This is near the start of the stream, which flows out of fountains. There was some charity event going on so the stream was covered by "floating" umbrellas.</div>
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Further down the stream is more nature; less concrete and more plants.</div>
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There are multiple places to cross the stream via rocks along the way. These areas are popular for picture taking and kids. I don't think it had any particular meaning, it's just fun.<br />
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Today's Saturday and I'm going to the Seoul International Fireworks Festival later so I'm super excited about that. </div>
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Random Thoughts</div>
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So there are two programs here right? The exchange program then the ISA program where their school doesn't have the exchange system up. I'm in the exchange but the ISA program is so much better. They pay more but they have organized trips to Busan, Jeju, and the DMZ, their program took care of the paperwork, and not only do they have internships here but they also have a volunteer English teaching program. I'm so jealous, it's ridiculous. </div>
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<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-28211445513821067422014-09-21T07:58:00.000-07:002014-09-21T07:58:10.581-07:00Cafes, Concerts, and Chocolate (Or Not) A lot of foreigners who come to Korea have at least heard of EatYourKimchi, which is a business and YouTube channel run by two Canadians who live in Seoul. Their segments include Wonderful Treasure Find (strange products of Korea), TL:DR (discussions on different topics), Food Program For Awesome People (pretty self explanatory), and Wonderful Adventure Now Korea (exploratory field trips to sites in Korea) as well as many others. While they weren't detrimental to my personal desire to go to Korea, a lot of their tips were helpful and they seem like cool people so a couple friends of mine and I decided to go to their recently opened cafe in collaboration with Talk To Me in Korean, the You Are Here cafe. Simon and Martina weren't actually there, which was rather disappointing, but the atmosphere was very fun. Most of the customers were foreigners, some even studying, but there was also a decent amount of Koreans present. I was a bit frustrated with their pricey drinks. They must know that most of their audience is college students but I paid 7,000 won for a small Oreo milk shake. It was delicious, no doubt, but 7,000 was a bit much.<br />
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A mural outside.</div>
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While we were inside, I spotted a girl sitting by herself and decided to be my nosy self and walked over to make friends. She was from Brazil and we hit it off pretty quickly. After we left the cafe, we decided to just walk around Hongdae a bit, which is where the cafe is located. As we were casually shopping, we happened to pass a lady selling Bobbki. Now, this is ridiculously exciting because I was literally just reading about how difficult these were to find nowadays. Bobbki, which is just made up of burnt starch, used to be incredibly popular but they've been dying out as old-fashioned lately. There was no lady there, just the Bobbki and a box to leave your 1,000 won for one cookie in. I thought that was incredibly trusting. I bought one with a ducky on it and went home that night happy. The taste was very similar to that of a burnt s'more, which I like, so that was a pleasant surprise. </div>
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Bobbki! (Oh, by the way, I do write and read Korean but it's a huge hassle to switch my keyboard every time I want to write a Korean word, so I've just been romanizing it.)</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Chuseok holiday ended that Wednesday and Thursday we had to go back to school. The two days quickly passed, though, and then it was the weekend. That Saturday, I went to the Brave Concert, which had Jay Park, MBLAQ, Nu'Est, Halo, Crispy Crunch, <span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dynamic Duo, Orange Caramel, Teen Top, 4Minute, AOA, Topp Dogg, San E, Girls' Day, BTS, IU, MC the Max, Baechigi, Dick Punks, Geeks, DJ Chunja, DJ Hanmin, and the Brave Concert people. It was possibly one of the best nights of my life because I absolutely adore Jay Park, MBLAQ, and BTS, and I'm a casual fan of most of the rest of them. Getting to the concert venue, Yonsei University, was a fiasco however. First, one of our friends was 45 minutes late, then we got off at the wrong Shinchon station (why are there two in the first place?!), and lastly, we were almost killed by the subway doors. It was pretty funny, both then and now. After the subway doors, the three of us just stood there hugging each other for about two minutes while all the Koreans laughed at our silliness. As for the concert, a lot of the people were surprise guests (including Jay Park and MBLAQ) so every time someone's music started that we didn't know, we screamed like banshees. Oh, and Mir and Thunder of MBLAQ waved at me and Jay Park was less than ten feet from me, But whatever. No big deal. </span></span><br />
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None of the pictures of the artists on stage turned out well but I really like this picture of the audience during a slow song by MC the Max. </div>
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Sunday was a pretty chill day but we did go get bingsu at night. Bingsu is a Korean desert that has cream or ice cream on bottom, then a ton of shaved ice, then whatever topping your order had, which you then mix together with condensed milk. It's absolutely delicious. Expensive, but delicious. The most popular/common bingsu is pat bingsu, which means red bean bingsu. Korea loves their red bean. I finally broke down yesterday and went to buy some super expensive Korean chocolate to fulfill my craving but when I opened the package, it was literally bars of red bean jelly. It ruined my whole life. So be careful because the package didn't even say red bean on it!</div>
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Berry yogurt bingsu. Ridiculously delicious. No regrets. </div>
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The next week had the Konkuk Fall Festival on Wednesday and Thursday. Honestly, most of it was eating and drinking but there were some really fun parts. I had my face painted, eat cotton candy, a waffle, and a chicken shish kebab, and watched a ton of performances. I saw a historical reenactment fight mixed with modern movie references, an amateur rock band competition, a concert by Wamma Family (the Konkuk hip hop dance group), and stages by Park Myung Soo, Nine Muses, and NS Yoon Ji. Of all of those, Wamma Family was my absolute favorite because each number was different and all the dance crews were very impressive. It made me miss dancing. </div>
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My Totoro face paint. Try not to be too jealous.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNtMc-EAgCw3eh26Av-vQ7Nbq0dkdA4sygGSngvP37t1xmVt40XL0ucQB7gmVqXEljaM0BiJIpR2AJu_1iPK6AJyyKVhlo5AIXNe1YSz8Qfq7n1tR3_3M9h5B8em_Ft-Q71XAemmn0xc/s1600/10571973_10205358696354017_902670216804904849_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNtMc-EAgCw3eh26Av-vQ7Nbq0dkdA4sygGSngvP37t1xmVt40XL0ucQB7gmVqXEljaM0BiJIpR2AJu_1iPK6AJyyKVhlo5AIXNe1YSz8Qfq7n1tR3_3M9h5B8em_Ft-Q71XAemmn0xc/s1600/10571973_10205358696354017_902670216804904849_o.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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A green tea waffle with apple honey and whipped cream inside. </div>
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Both Friday and Saturday I just hung out with my friends here and we ate out, shopped, and played card games. Saturday, though, Sonnet and I tried to go out on eat and ended up wondering around for an hour and a half. It's amazing the things you'll find when you have no place to go.</div>
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The Norunsan Market. No one knew this was here and yet it was less than a fifteen minute walk from campus. </div>
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A store that makes homemade Hanbok, tailored for each customer. If I had the money, I so would have bought one.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwy2CStQ5kNB7mwKy28d_PMhLQ6xW_AhTUrDqSKIbPYwxaOEDDlumfqVnrkTM_u7tW3R4dhbJ98-pVBcATmlEvApbhcTU9n226-tU3zEidk8iPXS7LocsfBl9mtdSEJkanTGQ1tA9Pxvs/s1600/10504999_10205381246237750_4943064172470231633_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>Our first market purchase completely in Korean! Now, of course we've bought things before but the vendors always try to use their limited English. This one didn't so we can finally say we spoke entirely in Korean. Yay for songpyeon~ I wanted to buy some delicious bread too but we decided to actually eat supper first. </div>
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Today is Sunday and I just got back from a dog cafe. Korea has this interesting cafe culture where many of their cafes are themed and both cat and dog cafes exist where you can play with the animals. Admission is usually free but you have to buy an over priced drink. Totally worth it. The one we went to was only 10 minutes from campus and there were about 20 dogs there the whole time. Now, these cafes often double as doggy day care, so there was some changing of pets. I really enjoyed it though and I can totally see myself going back in the future. </div>
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View of the cafe.</div>
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This little guy just climbed up unto our table and fell asleep on top of it. </div>
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The one behind me was my baby the whole night :)</div>
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There was a special section for the little dogs only because some Koreans have a fear of big dogs. </div>
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Random Thoughts</div>
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I've actually been sick the past three days and it totally sucks. I have a cold here and it's still 80 degrees outside. How is this even possible? </div>
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I haven't actually decided yet if I'm going to stay for a semester or a year yet and I only have until October 8th to decide. I can't believe I've been here for four weeks already but now I have about two weeks left to choose. On one hand, Korea is amazing but on the other, study abroad is super expensive and I do get pretty homesick. I don't know what to do but by my next blog, I should make a decision. </div>
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The college books are much cheaper. Like super cheap. I'm used to spending about five hundred a semester on books and I haven't even hit a hundred dollars yet. It's amazing. </div>
<br />Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-36352397368168434762014-09-08T04:27:00.000-07:002014-09-08T04:27:13.008-07:00Couple Weeks InHoly crap I've done a ton since I last blogged. I'm not even sure what all I want to talk about. Let's just follow the pictures because hopefully they'll help me remember.<br />
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Let's see... the last time I blogged was Wednesday so we'll pick up on Thursday. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were our last days before school started. Mostly, we explored the area around our campus. We found the busiest street alleys and tried street food. Nothing too exciting happened that weekend, excluding Friday. We mostly just tried to familiarize ourselves with the area and wandered around. It was a ton of fun simply stumbling into restaurants. We don't usually know what we're ordering, we just pick and then see if it works out.<br />
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Alleyway businesses</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwhI-ZHHWHFBIYH4frKsnxFMw_KHis1DrmsrOTgwrM5j1Wzbrmd0a0UjtLqOZbnnwQswhT6Yuiq36NPZLES9N-MUY-vVBygBwM1ZyBuSMB9QsLgDI41m7C8Z0bmwPrxDJTzdX1EOXbj8/s1600/10668878_10205213735490086_396720845572196705_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwhI-ZHHWHFBIYH4frKsnxFMw_KHis1DrmsrOTgwrM5j1Wzbrmd0a0UjtLqOZbnnwQswhT6Yuiq36NPZLES9N-MUY-vVBygBwM1ZyBuSMB9QsLgDI41m7C8Z0bmwPrxDJTzdX1EOXbj8/s1600/10668878_10205213735490086_396720845572196705_o.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fruit market! Korea is lacking in a couple food groups in their diet; I'm mostly missing meat and fruit. Meat is easier to find, although in little quantities, than fruit so we were really excited to find these vendors. The ladies were super nice and taught us the Korean word for all the fruits they sold. I got six nectarines for 3,000 won, which is much cheaper than at the stores where they sell three apples for 12,000 won and six kiwis for 19,000 won. </div>
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We also tried Korean fast food that weekend, at Lotteria. It was actually pretty similar to American fast food. The fries tasted pretty much the same. The only differences I noticed, was that the ketchup was more tomato-y and the spicy chicken burger was much hotter than in Minnesota. Oh, and there was a shrimp burger on the menu. Like, a patty made of shrimp. It was actually really good. </div>
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Friday night, some of us went to Hongdae to club. We got free Mageolli, Korean rice wine, and danced a ton. It was actually super fun but, due to our curfew, we had to leave at 11:30. The curfew is one of the worst things about living in the dorms. We have to be back by 1 AM or we get penalty points. Each student is only allowed 10 penalty points per semester. Of course, you can apply for a night out but then you can't return to the dorms until 5 AM. It also took us forever to catch a taxi, which we needed because the subway stops around 11:30. Overall, really fun night. </div>
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On Monday, our classes started, which was a big mess. Some of our classes were only taught in Korean, despite their listing as English, some were only for seniors, and some had pre-requisites that weren't listed. It was all incredibly frustrating. I ended up with Theories of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Teaching English Reading & Writing, Korean Language, Understanding of Global Cultures, British Novel, and Japanese Politics (which was actually listed as Main Diplomatic Figures in History but they changed it with no notification). I'm thinking about dropping one of the last two, though, because I don't really need or want either of them; they were just the only classes left. The Korean students are incredibly nice, though, and are always trying to help out. </div>
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The Konkuk Language Institute. This is where I will learn Korean. I haven't had class so far because we had a placement test on Wednesday. They asked you if you could read Korean and if you said yes then you were supposed to take the test. When I got the packet however, it was entire passages in Korean and then you had to answer the Korean comprehension questions about the Korean passages in Korean. It went from zero to sixty in ten seconds and I ended up just turning the test back in. </div>
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We also joined a couple clubs from the Club Fair. The English Speaking Club meets every Wednesday and Thursday and is made up of about 50% foreigners and 50% Koreans that want to practice their English. We went both nights and it was actually a ton of fun and we met a lot of new people. After the club meeting, the whole club goes out to eat. I'm definitely going to stay in that one because the people were super nice. </div>
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After a long week of rearranging classes and getting paperwork filled out, the weekend finally came and it was pure awesome. Today's actually Monday but I'm including it in this section because this week is Chuseok. Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving and, because of it, we get Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week off. I'ts great but mot of the businesses are also closed for Chuseok. We stocked up on ramen and rice to make it through. </div>
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Friday night, Soojung (a Korean friend), two Chinese foreign exchange students, and I all went to a free concert in the Seoul Children's Park. First off, the park is absolutely beautiful. It has a colorful water fountain show, a stadium, and a petting zoo.Secondly, the concert was absolutely amazing. I just can't even describe how cool it was. There were two dance crews, a vocal duo, Seventeen, Topp Dogg, and Nu'Est. The dance crews combined special effects and dancing to make an incredible combination. Seventeen was a group I'd heard of before but never paid attention to but after their covers of Mirotic and Sorry, Sorry, I can say they have a new fan. Topp Dogg was also pretty good and what I expected. Nu'Est closed the night and I just died. They were so good. I learned that JR wears red boxers and Minhyun waved at me. But after the concert, Ren stuck his head out of their van as they were leaving to look me in the eye and say "I love you" in English because I was the only obviously foreign person there. I almost died it was so great. </div>
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Sometimes we hang out with EXO. Whatever, no big deal. </div>
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Nu'Est on stage.</div>
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And after the concert, when we went out to eat, the restaurant owner asked if he could take our picture and have us sign it. Then, he put it up on the wall. That was the first, and probably the last, time I have been asked for my autograph. It was awesome. </div>
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Saturday was actually pretty tame. We went to Itaewon (the foreigners area) but it was pretty empty. We did get Turkish ice cream, which came with an awesome show. We then went to Hongdae afterwards and watched a couple buskers. Buskers are always so interesting. I could just camp out at the park in Hongdae and watch them perform all day. </div>
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Sunday was absolutely amazing. Soojung, Stephanie (American exchange), and I went to Caribbean Bay, which is the world's largest indoor-outdoor water park in the world. We went on a bunch of rides and swam a ton. The prices for food weren't ridiculous like they are at parks in America so we had peanut butter fried squid for snack. My first culture shock moment happened in the locker rooms when we were done. All the women just walked around naked. Not just in the showers (which are completely public), everywhere in the locker room area. I saw more female body parts yesterday than I had before in my entire life. Not that that's a bad thing but it was for sure different. Oh, and a lot of Koreans wore clothes over their swimsuits in the park; not that it mattered, since Caribbean Bay requires you to wear a life jacket. Super awesome day, all in all, even though the ride there and back took about two and a half hours. </div>
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Today we went to Gyeongbok Palace for the first day of Chuseok. Because it was Chuseok, there were a ton of activities going on and admission was free. I wasn't sure I wanted to go because I was so tired from the water park but I'm glad I did. The palace itself isn't all that interesting but it's one of those places you should go while you're in Seoul. It's about the history. That palace was built in the 14th century. Just thinking about all the people who've passed through there can give you chills. We also made poop-shaped soap (I don't know why that is considered Korean), watched a children's puppet show, and tried on Hanbok. Hanbok is traditional Korean dress and it was one of the things on my to-do list that I wasn't sure I'd get to. Normally, Hanbok is incredibly expensive but it was free to try on because it was Chuseok. Yay!</div>
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Random Thoughts:<br />
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Korea is super duper hot. Maybe it's because I'm used to Minnesota having just one week that's super hot and humid but this is ridiculous. Korea isn't hotter or more humid than Minnesota gets, but it stays there longer. My hair has been up every single day.<br />
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Everyone always says that Korean don't show public displays of affection. That's a total and complete lie. Koreans may not kiss as much in public but couples are literally constantly touching each other. And if they aren't touching each other, they're probably wearing couple items so you still know they're together. I have seen the most unique positions in Seoul; like, how are they even walking? And why must you always touch each other?! It's actually a little ridiculous.<br />
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The spiders here are ginormous. Enough said. They scare the crap out of me.<br />
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I was told before I got here that my study abroad experience would be an emotional roller coaster. I thought I would have good days and bad days. While that can be true, I've also experienced days where my emotions have drastically changed moment to moment. It's rather exhausting actually. Sometimes I'm fine, sometimes I think Korea is the coolest place ever, and sometimes I just want to go home.Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-12330200499897478212014-08-27T07:34:00.000-07:002014-08-27T07:39:44.878-07:00First Impressions<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm here. This is actually my third day in Korea and it's about 11 P.M. now but everything's been so crazy, I didn't have time to blog.</div>
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The flight was absolutely insane. I got transferred to a Delta flight so at least that wasn't too terrible. But I threw up five times on the first flight, which totally sucked. I spent most of the second flight in a state of semi-consciousness so I wouldn't be sick. When I finally make it to Incheon Airport around 4:30 (two hours later), I'm completely exhausted and still sick. I couldn't figure out where to go from the signs so I just followed the crowd and eventually made it to customs, via train. Customs was terrible because the lines were uber long and it took forever. When it was finally my turn, he took my fingerprints and I was on my way. Then I went directly to the McDonald's to meet the Konkuk students. (which I later found out was a mistake because I should have gotten currency first.) We then waited for more students for another two hours. I was in a group of about 40 students and, of those, 37 were Chinese. Then there was me, a British guy, and a German guy. The bus ride from Incheon to Konkuk took about an hour and a half but I slept most of the way. After another long process of checking all of us in, I was dropped off at my dorm with a key card. You need the key card to get in the dorm and into your rooms so no guests can come in. I also met my awesome roommate, Serena, that night but I don't remember too much of it because I was utterly exhausted. </div>
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My room. I'm on the left.</div>
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The bathroom doesn't come with toilet paper.</div>
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The shower doesn't have a curtain or a drain. All the water just flows to the one drain in the room, by the sink.</div>
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The second day was a free day for us but neither Serena nor I slept well so we were up pretty early. Apparently, I also slept walked for the first time in my life. We met up with a friend that Serena met, Mara, and the three of us walked around campus a bit before eating at a kimbap place. I tried to ask the owner in Korean if there was a bathroom but I ended up putting the past tense in there so I literally asked her "Was there a bathroom?" Oops. I still wasn't feeling well so I didn't eat very much but I ended up throwing up right before I ate and a couple hours after too. It was bad. Oh, and Tuesday was also my birthday. Then, we met Mara's roommate, Nicki, and the four of us walked around off-campus for a couple hours. We just wanted to see Seoul but we ended up entering the residential area instead of the shopping areas. I enjoyed it though because I recognized a bunch of the Korean celebrities on the advertisements.</div>
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The view of Seoul from across the lake on campus.</div>
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After our hot walk outside, I took a two hours nap because I was feeling pretty bad still. It felt like I'd never be healthy again. When I woke up, it was time to go meet my Korean friend, Soojung. She had ridden the bus and the subway for an hour and a half just to come visit me because it was my birthday. Soojung's pretty much an angel. She even brought me a delicious blueberry cake that we ate with Serena. I couldn't have more than a bite but it was delicious. Soojung also helped me get money from a different bank because I hadn't been able to withdraw money from the ATM on campus earlier and I was completely panicking. She also took us to the mall and asked about a Ethernet chord for poor Serena, who has a Mac computer. We couldn't find one anywhere and Serena still doesn't have internet but Soojung tried. After cake and shopping, we went to a Japanese place for supper. Soojung wanted to take us to different, better, one but it was pouring and I didn't have an umbrella. The food was really good and I could eat a bit more. Overall, the day started out rather crappy but Soojung pretty much saved the day. </div>
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The delicious cake Soojung brought me. </div>
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All three of us. I couldn't take the picture because my arms are too short so Serena had to take over.</div>
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Just me with my cake. I don't look too terrible in this picture but don't be fooled, it was hot and humid out.</div>
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Today was my first orientation. It went from 10:00-16:00 but we read the sheet wrong and Nicki, Mara, Serena, and I were ready at 8:30. That whole thing was a mess because all of the buildings have been renumbered here so all our maps were wrong. Eventually, we were directed to the correct building but we met a couple cool people on the way, including a hot French man that we're calling for Serena. The orientation was just a lot of information thrown at us at once but I tried my best to absorb it all. Serena probably got it all anyway; she's more OCD than me. Serena says she's worried about me finding my own way since I've just been following her around but I believe that getting lost is an adventure of itself. There was also a super attractive Korean photographer there so that was cool. Honestly though, the guy that ran orientation was really good at English and he was super funny. The orientation process was really long but necessary, I guess. </div>
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Orientation room. </div>
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Banana milk! Orientation provided us a Coke and sandwich, which tasted funny so I only ate the meat, but I got banana milk during a break. I've seen it in a bunch of dramas and commercials, so I wanted to try it. It wasn't great but at least I can say I've had it.</div>
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After orientation was over and we had our pictures taken for our alien registration, the four of us headed to the mall again to buy some necessities. I got to use my Korean to ask the workers where the hand soap was. I was super proud of myself. We got a bunch of stuff, and I spent a ton of money, but we needed it all. We got sunscreen, hangers, toilet paper, etc. After shopping, we ate at the same kimbap place for supper and I just got a thing of rice because I'm still recovering but the pork cutlet kimbap that we all shared was super good. I'm used to eating at 17:30 at home but everyone here eats around 20:00, it's totally crazy. Another American foreign exchange student, Sonnet, joined us for supper which was awesome. </div>
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I'm back in my dorm now, blogging, and we're going to bed soon because we have class registration early tomorrow. Final thoughts? Well, it's been difficult so far (especially without my phone) but I'm excited for everything that we get to do soon. </div>
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Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375988911657335880.post-10571691881430669832014-08-23T22:16:00.000-07:002014-08-23T22:16:04.425-07:00Night BeforeWell. I'm irritated. I can't think of an easier way to say it so I'm just going to put it out there. I'm so irritated, I want to pull my hair out.<br />
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I've been pretty calm the last few days. It'll come out later so I'm just going to say now that I have some issues with anxiety and, as such, have been freaking out basically the whole summer. But the last few days, I've been calm and not panicking at all. My mom and I got all my stuff packed in one checked suitcase in less than two hours, which is absolutely amazing. I finished working at both of my two jobs. My sister and I got our nails done and then she painted my mom's and my toe nails. The Vikings even won their third pre-season game.<br />
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And then I got an email from United Airlines informing me that my first flight to Denver had been delayed by two hours. Two hours! That would mean that I would miss my connecting flight to San Francisco and then my flight to Seoul. Great... That's the mood I'm in right now. I may or may not have to spend the night in the San Francisco airport as I wait for the next flight to Seoul 24 hours later. I'm not very happy. But I am trying to calm down because, although I might not be able to meet the Konkuk students at Incheon because of this major inconvenience, I'll make it to Konkuk some way or another. My father is also flying with me all the way to San Francisco to make sure I get on that international flight so at least I'll have him. </div>
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I leave in about four hours so I'm going to nap for a little bit. I won't get a lot of sleep but I think I'll need a little re-charging. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep on the international flight but we'll see. I've never been able to sleep on a plane before. Night everyone~ </div>
Alihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08208572597585803127noreply@blogger.com0