May 2012
2 posts
Postponing my trip.
So after much procrastination and plain forgetfulness I’ve decided to postpone my trip to Busan. The problem I encountered with waiting for so long to try and book my trip was the fact that all the train tickets were gone and all of the hostels, guesthouses, and reasonably priced hotels were all booked. I am, however, going to Gyeongju (a city about 90 minutes by bus from Busan) with two...
Midterms are over.
So midterms are over. I feel like I did pretty well on all of them. I haven’t gotten any of the grades yet, but they should be fine. I lied, I got my Korean midterm grade. I got an A. Anyway, now is the time of year at Yonsei called AKARAKA. What it is is a big celebration, like a spring festival. They have a bunch of events that you can go to to really see what the school is about....
April 2012
2 posts
Midterm time.
So this week at Yonsei (and most other schools, from what I can tell) is midterm week. Although my midterms are fairly easy, the only one I’m really going to have any trouble with whatsoever is the Korean midterm. Mainly because it’s split up into several different parts. My Modern Korean History midterm is just 5 simple identifications and two one-page summaries. My Intro to...
New friends and stuff.
So lately I’ve gotten into the daily lifestyle here in Korea (I think I said that last time). But anyway, I’m pretty much settled into life here, and it feels like I’ve been here for a lot longer than just over a month. I order stuff in Korean now, I speak Korean as much as possible, I try to observe all the cultural norms that I know. I’m even comfortable going out on...
March 2012
5 posts
Watch
Update.
Hey guys. Not much to report in the last few days. I haven’t really been exploring and whatnot. Mainly because I have no motivation. But now I have a new friend that wants to show me around all of Seoul, so I think I’ll be having many (mis)adventures soon enough to report to you! So what have I been doing? Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just going out, eating, going to...
Nothing much has changed.
So nothing much has changed since last time. Nothing too exciting has happened. I’ve just been going out and finding random places to eat, taking a few pictures, etc. I did get to experience a little bit of the Korean drinking culture. Two nights ago I went out to dinner with my friend I met through the Language Exchange program. He wanted to introduce me to his girlfriend so we went to...
Haven't updated in a bit.
Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, this week has been so hectic that I haven’t really had time. I’ll just get right into it. I’ve been exploring more and more of Seoul as time has progressed. Most of my adventures are with Sawyer and we go to random places via the subway. Places like Myeong-dong and Seongsu-dong. One of the places we went to in Myeong-dong was Lotte...
Clubbing and Dongdaemun.
Last night we went to a club called Club Level in Gangnam. It was pretty fun, although somewhat lame, and EXPENSIVE, but other than that it was pretty good. It was my first experience on the subway. It’s very simple, I was afraid of it for nothing. It’s not even bumpy either, you don’t have to hold onto anything and you can remain on your feet. So far I haven’t been on...
Going to the stadium.
I’ve been to the stadium twice before, but this time it was different. We went there to watch a World Cup qualifying game against Kuwait. The atmosphere was AMAZING. Korea won 2-0 with goals from Lee Dong-gook and Lee Keun-ho. The stadium was electrified during the goals (separated by just 6 minutes), it was hard NOT to get on your feet and cheer. On this journey I discovered that...
February 2012
13 posts
Exploring the city.
So Saturday and today I explored the city on various tours. The one on Saturday was just a tour of Gyeongbok Palace. That place is gorgeous, definitely a must go if you’re ever in Seoul. Other than the palace I didn’t really see much else. Today, however, I saw much more. I started off by going to the Seoul World Cup Stadium (which I’ve already been to, briefly). We went to...
Welcome Week.
Welcome week is in full effect. I’ve been here for a few days now and I’m pretty much over the jet lag (I never really had any to begin with). Today was pretty interesting. We started off walking ALL OVER trying to find out how to make a copy of our passports because we needed them to submit our Alien Registration applications. So we finally found where we needed to go. We also...
I've been here.
Sorry I haven’t posted in a little while. I’ve been here for a few days and it’s been so hectic. I’ll try to describe everything that I’ve experienced so far. So, the flight was alright, it wasn’t as scary as I was making it out to be in my head. Incheon Airport is amazing. The hotel was kinda small but it got the job done. I got adjusted to the time...
2 days.
I’m leaving in just under 33 hours to go to the airport. Nothing’s really changed in my head since yesterday. However, today I met with a friend of mine who helped me with some things in the culture that I had questions about. So I feel like I’m ready to go out into Seoul and be immersed in the culture. We discussed things like food culture, the age hierarchy, and the...
3 days.
Today I went shopping. I got to spend a great day out with my mom and sister. Got some winter clothes for Korea since I know it’s cold over there right now. All of the clothes (6 items, totaling ~$135) were bought at American Eagle. This brought me to a big thought. What kind of clothes do they wear in Korea? Am I going to fit in with them? Or will the fact that I dress the way that I...
4 days.
I turned in the last of the papers I needed to turn in today. So, barring some freakish health issue or someone blowing up Yonsei or all of Korea, there’s no way I’m not going now. Like I said, I’ve come to a few conditional decisions, so I discussed them a littler deeper with my mom today since this is the first time I’ve been home since Thursday. I started packing...
5 left.
There’s five (5) days left until I’ll be leaving this country. I just picked up my visa today. It’s officially real now. There’s no way I’m not going now. I just need to get my feelings sorted out about coming back. I’m definitely coming back at SOME point. Whether it’s in 4 months, 6 months, a year, or eighteen (18) months. The amount of time I...
6 days.
So I’ve talked with my mom (on the phone) about things that I was concerned about in yesterday’s post. These are decisions that I’m going to have to make very carefully as the will most definitely have a HUGE impact on the rest of my life. Seeing as I need to finish school, if I can’t find a loan or a scholarship or financial aid here at home, then I’m going to have...
One week from today.
In one week from today I will be on a plane over the Pacific Ocean on my way to Seoul. My emotions are becoming heightened. All the anxiety I’ve been feeling has been multiplied tenfold. All the excitement I’ve been feeling has also been increased exponentially. As I get closer, I’ve become more concerned about my future (something I don’t normally do as I’m a...
8 days now.
So I’m just over a week away now. I’ve talked with my mom tonight and the whole situation just became EXTREMELY real now. I’m leaving for KOREA in EIGHT days. In just over ONE WEEK I will be in a country with no way to get home for FOUR months. I may never see some of my friends ever again, seeing as a good number of them are graduating. This doesn’t mean I’m not...
9 days.
So there was a going away party at work today. It made me even more excited to go now. As I approach the one week mark the giddiness is just almost too much to contain. Although there are a few things on my mind. Whether they’re good or bad has yet to be determined. I’m still on the fence about some of the decisions I have to make. Is it alright to be selfish? Sorry if these...
10 day countdown.
So I have 10 days until I leave. I don’t know how to feel. I have a great life here and I have a bunch of people and things that mean a lot to me in the States. But I’m really excited about this new opportunity. So on one hand I’m pretty nervous about going it alone (seeing as I was supposed to have a friend going with me, but it was more beneficial if they stay here at...
