Today, I met an Edward

Wake up later than planned, but still early. Head to the cafeteria closest to my first class and grab a banana milk (950₩) and a wrapped croissant(600₩). Breakfast for 1550₩, yay.


Get to class, and introduce myself to the guy sitting next to me, who is from Illinois and whose name is Edward. I then proceed to ask him, do you get a lot of girls asking you about Twilight? and he gives me a chuckle and an exasperated sigh, yes. I continue to go on about how eclipse is coming out in the states and I'm missing out on it.

Not much happens during the day. For lunch I went to the cafeteria (more about it in next blog) I tried to order instant noodles with egg, but somehow end up with sushi, or gim-bap. Meh, it was only 1,500₩. I also got to watch the very last part of the Japan-Paraguay game. so sad!



I easily exchange money at the Woori Bank on campus, at the student union building, and it's a really good exchange rate- definitely better than the airport.
*I suggest getting only a small amount exchanged at the airport, then finding exchange places otherwise. At the airport it cost ~$200 for 190,000₩. Baloney. versus here, it was $200 for 244,220₩. Much better.

Off to Korean I go, not willing, quite yet, to shell out 68,000₩ for textbooks, and Hangul is HARD. I took mandarin as a kid (but didn't study) so the writing came easy-- but what each part sounded like was pretty difficult. Plus, the fact that I've been learning romance languages doesn't really help. But they DRILLED us really bad. Ah, well.

Korean Language is from 15:20~18:00 with 2 10-minute breaks, split up into 3 parts so really it's 45min of class on a specific subject- reading, for example- and then a 10min break. It's really fast-paced. I believe it's reading, then grammar/grammar for the other periods. There are 3 levels of Korean, and within each level there are more levels. So, I am in Beginning I. There is also Beginning II, III, IV, then Intermediate I, etc.

Finally done with classes at 18:00, back at my apartment, drained from this new language, chill out for a bit, and grab dinner at Millenium Hall Cafeteria.

Too tired to do much else, I sleep. Yeah, there can be boring days in Seoul. :P




p.s. some silly person put this sign up by the elevators to try to build community on her floor. the sign was taken down a few days later because I don't think you can put up unauthorized signs.

On getting a prepaid phone in South Korea (pt2)

Today was the first day of class, and I wanted to walk up early just because I knew this would be the only day I'd be up on time for class.

Planning to wake up at 8:30am, I wake up by the sun at 7am, then 7:30am, then 8am, and 8:30am, finally getting up at 8:45am to shower/edit my class schedule (the system opens at 9am). Luckily my roommate Abby is a pretty heavy sleeper and seems to sleep through light. Take my time showering, happy that I have conditioner now and have mastered my weird shower system- picture to be shown soon- and unsign up for some classes. Walk to get my student ID/password for wireless connection, but the line is too long by 10:30am and I walk to class.



My first class is Psychology of Personality, which has similarities/is very much related to Social Psychology (helpful!). This class is from 11:00~12:40, and is my one actual class. No textbook required. :] My professor is Dr. EunKook (Mark) Suh. He was born at Yonsei Severance Hospital, went to Yonsei University, studied at BU and Illinois, worked at UCI and is now back at Yonsei- he says that he'll probably die at Yonsei Severance, to complete the cycle/circle. The topic is interesting enough, but the first day always gets me bored. I meet 3 new people today though, yay! Prof. Suh informs us that Yonsei is a very prestigious university. It is a competitive private school, founded in 1885 (and we're here for the 125th anniversary!), the best in the area (debatable: rumor has it that University of Seoul is better...) but it is most definitely the first. Huh. learned something today.

My next obligation is at 15:20, so I get my ID card and grab some lunch, which costs 3,600₩. Woot.



Spend some time in the computer room killing time, talking to folks since it's 10pm/11pm over in Cali, go to the Korean Language Institute at around 15:00 for my Korean Placement Test.

Run into Austin, who asks why I decided to go for Korean after all. Well, I'm in Korea, so why not? The moderator tells us that if we don't know how to speak, write, or listen in Korean, to stay where we are. They hand us a paper to tell us to assess our level of knowledge of Korean. I check NONE for all three categories. Get out at basically 15:40, Austin half begs me to take him to the place where I got my phone, so off to Hongdae we go.

In Hongdae, go to the first place, which is out of phones. 2nd place, same deal. 3rd place, Austin is able to get a phone, huzzah! It's 20,000₩, but has this cool camera flip feature, + 30,000₩ prepaid credit/charge loaded onto it. The rates, for some reason, were slightly higher at this LG Telecom than the one I went to, but according to one of Austin's friends, the rate isn't too bad. However, the phone is entirely in Korean- but with all phones, there is a general knowledge to how to works, so he'll figure it out. It starts to rain, so we get back to Sinchon and eat and McDonald's. Austin buys me linner for helping him out so, and how can I refuse a free meal- though I would have gladly just accepted fare for the subway. I get a coke zero, bulgogi burger, and fries. interesting indeed, as I've barely eaten beef and had McDonald's.



As it's drizzly and humid, we walk around Sinchon/Idae-ap (near Ewha Women's University) looking for various toiletries/items, and get back to campus. I've basically been at this computer for a really long time (I won't say how long) but I've been running around trying to find a computer that would upload all my facebook pictures correctly and such. I just saw a facebook message that invited Yonsei kids to a bar in Hongdae, which serves american drinks- harder liquor. I got the message 2 hours too late and wasn't wanting to go out by myself (safe decision). It's now 22:30pm and I should write up notes for my psych class, and watch some It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Tomorrow is possibly a full day of class, getting money exchanged at the local bank, and trying out a new cafeteria. Oh, and getting baked goods from a nearby bakery.

good night! [however you say that in Korean.]

The first few days.

I've told myself to keep a blog so I can remember everything, and so it's helpful for whatever I have to do when I get back to the states- that is, I'm a recipient of the Programs Abroad Office Scholarship (need-based) and they required lots of pictures and all sorts of stuff. I think I have to write something at the end of the program, but whatevs.

anyway, at this typing it is approximately 5:52pm, Monday the 28th (or 1:52am, Monday your time) and it is pretty sticky hot outside. I think even though it's cloudy/overcast outside, this is considered sunny (it is sunny, but nothing blue like back in cali)

On Thursday I get to stop Narita/Tokyo, as I've said, and blah blah blah, I make it to Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea, Thursday the 24th. It's approximately 9pm, and after going through so many stopovers I am lucky that my luggage is intact and there for me to obtain. I go outside and am hassled by many a taxi drivers, who try to convince me to spend 70,000₩ (~$70) for a taxi ride to school (Yonsei). I know better. I buy a bus ticket for 9,000₩ and hop onto the airport limosine, 6011, which will take me straight to school. Hah. The first thing I noticed at the airport is that people are definitely in a rush to get somewhere, talking fast, cutting in line, pushing through people (mostly) to get to where they need to go.

Get to my destination, getting off at Ewha Women's University Back Gate, am lost for about half an hour trying to find my dormitory, but eventually ask some folks passing by and find a building with my school's logo on it. There's one guy in there, who leads me to an area I passed by awhile ago (I have the address written in Korean, but in Korea, addresses don't really help much), and there's my dorm. woot. finally. by this time it's maybe 10:30pm. SK Global House. I get inside, they have given me a male roommate. fail. after much switching, much disorganization, definite rudeness from one of the workers, and general waiting, I am assigned a room, thanks to the help of the resident/student assistants (how can I be one?!?!?!?!) I'm in my room at about 12am throwing all my stuff everywhere, and meet my roommate for the next 6 weeks. Her name is Abby and she's from Hong Kong. Cool beans. So if she's ever talking about me in not english, I will definitely know what she's saying (she speaks Cantonese). I set up my internet (finding an ethernet cable somewhere, ahem...) and basically pass out at around 2am, after sending some e-mails to folks letting them know I have arrived safely.



The next day, Friday, is a bunch of orientations. Because I showed up so late on move-in day, it seemed that everyone has already formed their groups, so in the morning I am determined to wander to a few of the places I passed by at night and find some breakfast. I wake up later than I anticipated, sweaty from the heat, but I have the aforementioned hoarded sandwich and some tea leftover, so yay foods. Orientation for the entire summer school is at 10:30am, then a UCEAP-only one is at 12:30pm, with free lunch, huzzah. At around 2pm I'm pretty beat, so I go online, talk to some folk (it's 10am), then wander around Sinchon/Idea-ap, which is maybe 15min walk from my school. This area is filled with bars, restaurants, and tons of shopping. I show up at the 5pm orientation for housing, but it's silly-ly packed, so I leave. I pass out until maybe 10pm, woken up by a phone call to my room for my roommate, then get ready for bed and fall back asleep. Yeah, I'm weaksauce. I should have been out because it was Club Night, where you go to Hongdae, pay 20,000₩ for a wristband, and go to a bunch of bars/clubs with drink specials... but I hadn't met anyone yet. Even on my floor. As I've said, people have already made their groups. (which is why I'm glad for classes to start). My roommate is part of an exchange progam with HKU. How it works is that she spends a semester in Japan, then back at HKU (Hong Kong University), then summer here at Yonsei. It's pretty cool. But, throughout this exchange she sticks with the same group of people- so, she already has her friends.

I wake up at around 11am. Saturday is the big game. I buy what is known as a T-money card, which is 3,000₩ and is a subway pass, load 10,000₩ on it and I venture to a nearby neighborhood, Myeong-dong/City Hall/Namdaemun market, known for its shopping, but it's drizzly and def'ly starts to rain a bit. I buy what's known as a Hottek for 700₩, but only finish half of it because I realize there's peanuts in there. Fail. Well, no allergic reaction (maybe it's weaker in Asia) and then also realize that because it's Asia, they probably fry everything in peanut oil. Double-y fail. Oh well. I'll just carry meds around with me and a sign that says "I cannot eat peanuts or have peanut oil" written in Hangul (Korean characters). I buy things like a razor, soap dish, some groceries, and other random things like that. Basically I find a place similar to walgreens- known as watsons- and a place similar to dollar tree- known as daiso.

Get back to my dorm, meet up with Austin and the group he's made friends with, who are all fairly welcoming, and we go to the subway station, buy a shirt, get dinner, and head off to the game at City Hall. When we get out of the subway station, I'm surprised to see an actual patch of blue sky with some white clouds.


This makes me happy, and also that Korea has a chance against Uruguay. It is only 7pm, 4 hours before the game, and it is PACKED. so many people wearing red, there's a large stage with performers, so many people everywhere, so excited.

Around 9:30pm it starts RAINING. balls. We're all cold and such, so we decide to go back to Sinchon, find a bar/restaurant, and watch the game there. After much moving around, we find a place and just chill. Watching the game with people who love the team, love the sport is great. Everyone's so excited, and they clap after failed attempts, sorta like a "good show, we played our best." There was one girl who would shriek every time the ball almost went in, or whatever. It's about 1:30am, the night is young, we try to get rid of some military guys who've been following us around all night (and we met at City Hall) so we say we're going back to school and we hit up a noraebang (karaoke room). I'm fairly beat, but I follow and sing along anyway. Back at my room at around 3am, I talk to my roommate for a bit. She's a psychology major, too, interested in International Affairs/psych, is Team Jacob, and has been to San Diego once. She's insanely jealous that I'm 10 min from the beach, because she loves swimming and the ocean, and loves the weather there. I let her go to sleep after bugging her with these questions and I go and heat up some instant rice and eat it with seaweed- ah, college student life in Korea. I watch the USA/Ghana game for a bit, but am tired with how much we suck, and am glad that Ghana wins. Woot. Sleep at around 6am... I saw the sun rise and everything.

Sunday I wake up at around 1pm and go to Hongdae, which is known as the indie college area, with lots of different 'ethnic' foods- like Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, etc.

There is lots of shopping to be done, so I buy a waffle and walk around.





I really wish I was better at haggling. I gave a questioning/tentative "7,000₩?" for a skirt and the owner/lady told me in a stern voice, "7,000₩." then I tried to give a disapproving face, but I don't think it worked. What they say about sizes is true. Everything's a size 0. or -1, if possible. Try to find some semblance of food-stuffs, anything with pictures that I can point at, but not much luck so I go back to Sinchon and the guy is very nice about helping me order and how to do everything- I get sundobu (soup) with dumplings (mandu) at a dobu (tofu) house.

nom. I am gross and sweaty by the end because it's hot and spicy. I wander the streets at dusk for a bit, getting slightly lost in the alleyways and such, and get back to my dorm. Watch an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, make goals for Monday, and go to sleep.

Today, Monday, I go back to Hongdae after waking up at around 9am. I sign up for the upcoming field trip (it's basically already included in our fees) to Busan this weekend. I get slightly lost on the bus, so just end up walking most of the way to Hongdae. I find an LG store so I can get a prepaid phone. Thanks to google translator I was able to get a phone: it was 40,000₩ for the phone, then however much I wanted to add onto it for charge. I added 10,000₩ (1 text = 20₩, 10s of talk = 49₩; so essentially I have 500 texts), but I don't think my credit card went through, so the guy said it was just 30,000₩ for the phone- "Welcome to Korea!". That and I think he was drained from trying to speak english to me, and wanted me out. It's cheap enough, and I don't really need that many minutes or texts- just in case I get insanely lost. It only works in Korea, so no international calls or texts, but I have meebo and can get skype and have a webcam built into my netbook- infinitely better. :) I'm happy I got a phone for what I think is a good deal. I heard about a jjimjilbang (bathhouse) nearby, so I find it and the lady speaks mandarin/korean- they sound very similar, and she can tell instantly that I'm not Korean (I'm darker and my eyes are different). Undress, and sauna it up for awhile, looking around and other naked women and following their lead. Different saunas with different temperatures, eventually I dry off and am very sleepy, so I nap in B2 level. Wake up hot and sticky- the room isn't very well ventilated- and decide it's a good time to go back (4pm)- after I go around the shopping area and get myself a waffle, of course. Mmm, freshly made waffle with neopolitan ice cream for 1,000₩ is a win for sure.

Now I'm back here and will go eat dinner at a nearby restaurant that's down the hill for dinner. or eat instant ramen noodles.


About Yonsei: Yonsei is a Christian school. huh. we have a chaplain and everything. there was a prayer done at orientation. My roommate is quite Christian (she reads scriptures every day, and her favorite type of music is hymns). Its campus is similar to UCSC/Berkeley, in that it is very hilly and also kinda woodsy. I live in the SK Global House, which is like the International House next door but newer. It is very much like dorm-style, with a hall, but there's a bathroom in each room.

It's difficult for wanderers such as myself to handle the fact that everyone's always in a rush... plus I tend to walk and look up at buildings and walk into things.

I'm pretty sure I've lost weight so far, with the humidity and loss of appetite because of the humidity, and the walking up and down the stairs and the hills.

My saddest admission is that I have yet to meet some people. I don't really know who's on my floor, and am tempted to host a floor event so we can all get to know each other. Again, I am excited for classes to start so I can meet some folk who will go out to eat with me, shop, and hit up a jjimjilbang. It's been good exploring the area, and at least I can share some experiences with the people I meet. :)

I skipped the whole being a tourist thing, and prefer the 'I live here' thing, as I have in San Diego. I will be here for the next 6 weeks, and expect more adventures to come. :)


Some things I've noticed about Korea:
-the women wear heels and are size 0.
-EVERYONE has a cell phone.
-there are lots of hills and stairs. subways and buses are the way to go.
-if you own a car, you better be an aggressive driver.
-the motorbikes go when the people go, and the bikes go, and they drive on the sidewalk.
-buildings go up, and also down. there are basement levels that can range from B1-B6+.
-there are a LOT of smokers here. at 2,500₩, no wonder, but you'll see people taking a break from work for a smoke break.
-they LOVE their shopping here. I think it must be their biggest pasttime.
-no matter how humid it gets, people always look fresh, while I'm sweating up a storm.
-you can tell who's a foreigner by the fact that they wear sunglasses. natives have umbrellas with them at all times, through rain and sun.
-there are quite a few coffee bean and tea leafs, dunkin' donuts, 7-11/GS mart/FamilyMarts, and a handful of KFCs, McDonalds, and Burger Kings. I've also seen The Body Shop a couple of times, and a number of starbucks.
-basically everything is owned by LG, hyundai, and samsung
-cass is the beer of choice.
-CCTV is always watching you- it's kinda like a big brother sorta thing?

out, at 6:54pm

En route

It is currently 2:51AM in the states [specifically, PST] and I am on my way from Narita Intl Airport (in Tokyo, Japan) to Incheon Intl (in Seoul, South Korea- or more appropriately, Republic of South Korea).

I just ate a sandwich that was ham and egg (and took out the cheese) and, no kidding, there was a fishy and wasabi aroma about it. It was the weirdest thing. I half-expected wireless to be available, but I guess not.

Last night I was up packing and getting my stuff together. I definitely got stressed out for multiple reasons. My family was telling me to bring this and that, to do this and that, while I was finishing up stuff I could only do in the states (parking ticket, bill paying, making sure I made copies of everything and printed out all my forms, phone calls, money exchange, credit/debit card etc.) and I was/still am late on paying my UCSD bill because they charged me for summer session 3, and I have random charges, and my financial aid hasn't come in yet, and I certainly don't have enough money in my account to pay for it all. OH and the fact that I was leaving totally by myself to ASIA to a country where I don't speak the language (except for hello and thank you- I've been training myself) and am arriving there at night has really got my all stressed out.

Sleep at 3AM, wake up at 6:30am, wait impatiently in traffic and in line but finally make it to check-in. Get through it all, and 10:40am I am off from San Francisco to Seattle, napped on the plane and woke up for a coffee and to eat my sandwich, and in Seattle/Tacoma where I told myself I would buy a starbucks coffee because it's close enough to the original thing. But, realizing that it's still $3.50 for a 12oz coffee, I decide not to. Woot.

Quickly get through to the boarding, and I am b*tch-seat. STRAIGHT. UP. Note: Don't get that seat, aka middle of a 5-person row. The flight attendants always forget you and it's awkward handing down your trash, not to mention the inconvenience of going to the bathroom and really having 2 people have to wait for you (and you have to wait for them to wake up...). I nap- apparently you're not supposed to sleep on the plane so you won't get jet lag, but given the circumstances of 1. I am naturally a night owl, 2. I need to be functional to get to my school and 3. You can easily induce sleep with drugs, I nap for about 1.5 hour, wake up, snack, drink, nap again, repeat. I browse though the channels and Dear John was playing, but with scattered sound (sucks) so I watch It's Always Sunny in PA (which is HILARIOUS. omg.) and listen to music, looking at the map on the screen telling me how fast the plane is moving, what altitude, duration of flight, expected arrival. The trip from Seattle to NRT/tokyo is about 9+ hours. It was weird eating dinner, which I liked because it was all compartmentalized, at about 4pm PST,

then lunch at 10pmPST.

But there was hot green tea, and lunch was rushed as we were landng in Tokyo. Get to Tokyo, and it is HOT. so humid, even though it was maybe 73F.

I walk around the terminal, which has lots of shops and duty-frees, and a cartier/bvlgari store, use the bathroom (which had a bidet. haha.)

see a bunch of students in all their uniforms,

and exchange some money so I can use internet (note: 12AMPST is 4PM japan, and 100JPY is about 1USD, so I paid 1USD for 10min of internet use-- send quick emails and stuff) and buy a green tea just 'cause.

Now I am in possession of some Yen. blah.

Board for Korea. Woot! Idk, being at NRT got me really excited, I'm sure I looked haggard and little crazed.

trip total time:
SFO > SEA 2hr
SEA > NRT 9.5hr
NRT > ICN 2hr

I've been steadily hoarding food. I have 2 cookies, a snack-size kit-kat, a dinner roll, and half a sandwich. I think my new favorite thing is a sandwich and a cup of hot coffee/drink. So simple, filling, a good pick-me-up

What I'm most worried about: getting lost! I don't know ANY korean!!! losing cash, getting an allergic reaction, forgetting something essential.
What I'm most excited about: SHOPPING. I essentially have an empty suitcase for Korea/HK/China escapades. and STREET FOOD.

Now, if where my wisdom tooth is coming out would stop being sore/swollen...