Cheers and Beers

So it's been a week since my last post and I can't believe how quickly time is going by here.  It's crazy as the days just seem to fly by, it actually makes me think this year will be over before I know it. 

So apart from general school stuff last week, I did a fair bit of socialising.  Last Friday I had a get-together with my language exchange partner Hyun Cheol.  The Andy Warhol exhibit is on in Seoul at the moment and I'd been wanting to go for ages as it ends this coming weekend.  Luckily for me, Hyun Cheol was happy to go see it, so on Friday we met up at City Hall (along with one of his friends, whose name I cannot remember~I'm normally bad with remembering English names, so given how difficult and unfamiliar Korean names can be, i'm even worse than usual here!).  The exhibit was amazing.  He was just so cool.  I loved it, and I didn't know that he'd met the pope.  There's a fantastic photo of him in Vatican City with John Paul II.  It was quite amusing.

Earlier in the day, Yeojin and I went and had a free follow up conditioning treatment at a hair salon in Edae, followed by shabu-shabu for lunch (it's Korean hotpot ~ so delicious we went and had it again today!).  It was also Yeojin's '200 day anniversary' with her boyfriend (everyone 100 days is an important anniversary type of date here) so she wanted to make a cake for him.  In Sinchon, there's a cake shop where you can decorate your own cake.  So we went and I provided some 'artistic input' along the lines of: "wow, miniature teacups! So cute, you have to put them on".  It was a lot of fun, and i've decided I want a Korean boyfriend, so I can make him a cake.

  Chocolate tiramisu - the blank canvas

Work in progress

The finished product - so cute!

On Friday night, after the exhibition I went out for dinner with Angie, Vanessa and Catherine at Yaletown.  We went back for burgers and beer as it was so good last week, and it was good again this week.  I think it's going to be a once a week hangout place, as it's ladies night Thursdays (free shots thank you very much) and free beer for students on Friday nights.  Plus, the guys who run the place are nice and it's got a laid back vibe to it which I like.

On Saturday it was the International Yonsei Club's MT (member training) weekend.  MT weekends are a Korean university institution, and is basically a night away drinking and socialising.  So about 50 exchange students and 25 Korean students packed up and travelled about 2hrs out of Seoul for the night.  On the way, we stopped off at the Hite Beer factory for a tour and some free beer.  The tour was kinda boring, but the free beer at the end was good.

The girls getting ready for a drinking contest.

After the beer factory we headed to our accommodation to get settled in for a night to party.  And well, I have to say it, the place we went to was terrible.  I'm not sure whether it's because the IYC organisers were not at all organised, or whether it's because the owners of the place lied about the standard of accommodation, but whichever way you look at it, the place we went to was not great.  The room they hired was too small for our group, and there was nowhere for people to sleep later in the night (we started drinking at 4pm, so to think people would make it through until 11am the next day was crazy).  They managed to hire another two small rooms for people to sleep in, and I was fortunate to grab the last free spot at around midnight.  A lot of people left at 5am to catch the first train back to Seoul as there was nowhere for them to sleep.  It wasn't a great weekend, but it wasn't all bad.  I got to meet a couple of really great people and some parts were fun. 

A bit of a squeeze

Dinner - the girl who had our food for dinner was out partying till early Saturday morning, and so didn't make it to the accom until 8pm.  This is what we had to make do with until she showed up.  It was pretty sad!

Cheering - Inge, Chris and Carlos getting into the Yonsei spirit and waving the IYC flag and doing the college 'cheers'.  It was quite amusing, and involved chanting/cheering and synchronised dancing.  Not something that happens in Australian unis.

Miyo, Angie and Vanessa

A different uni also had an MT there that night, and they had a little fire thing going on.  

The cold light of day - it wasn't pretty

The area next to the place was actually quite nice

So, as you can see, it wasn't that great, but it wasn't too bad a night.  I was very happy to get home on Sunday for a shower and a sleep in my own bed.

This week has started with a bang.  Yesterday I had my placement test for my Korean class, which starts on Thursday.  My speaking test was ok but not great, however the reading test was pretty good.  I'm thinking i'll definitely be put in Beginners 2 though, as my speaking ability is so bad, and I've forgotten so much these last 8 months.  It's ok, it'll help to go over things again I think.  I get my result tomorrow as we also have orientation at 3pm.  I'm kinda nervous though, as I need to let my teacher in Australia know what level i'm in - I have a feeling she's going to be disappointed!

Last night I went out for dinner with the Korean students in my English language class.  I had such a great time, I hope we all hang out again.  We met up and had samgyeopsal (Korean pork BBQ) for dinner and then went to a chicken and beer place afterward.  

L to R: Mun Hwee, Hyeon Shik (David), Jun, Gyeong Dok (Diane)

Se Won: Hard at work cooking for us

Chicken and Beer

As for the rest of my week, i'm not too sure what's on at the moment.  A few of us were talking and we're going to try and have a group language exchange night this week, where we all bring our LE buddies and have dinner together.  Other than that, not too much on the agenda as I have to do some school work! And tomorrow is Vanessa's birthday (Happy Birthday!!!) so we might have dinner tomorrow and then go out either Thursday or Friday night to celebrate.  But no tequila!

Beauty tip

As a quick side note, I went to Itaewon today to get a sports massage as my neck has been killing me (it was an ok massage, but too expensive).  When I was walking to the subway station from the massage place I saw a shop that i'd heard of, but didn't believe existed.  It's a womens' clothes shop, with normal Korean fashion style clothes but the name of the shop is:

"MAKE YOURSELF FUCKING LOVELY"

Hilarious! I didn't have my camera with me, but stay tuned for a picture as i'll take my camera next time I got to Itaewon.  Solid gold.

Say cheese!

So the past week has been super busy.  School's in the swing of the things and I had a presentation last Thursday which went ok (I think).  It's kind of hard as the Professor didn't really give us much of a guideline, so we'll see.  Next Monday i've got a report due for my China class which I haven't started, but which I plan to do tomorrow and Friday.  It's only 3-4 pages (double spaced thank you very much), so it'll be fine.  I've also got my Korean Language Institute test next Monday.  In all honesty, despite the fact i've been studying Korean for 2 and a half years in Australia, i'm expecting to be put into Beginner 2 Intensive class.  I haven't studied Korean since July last year, i've forgotten a lot, plus, in Australia we only did Korean for 4hrs a week which isn't much, and my speaking ability isn't great.  I'm functional, but that's about it.  So I feel like I need to go over everything I learned in the last 2 years this semester.  So we'll see how I go with the placement test on Monday.  I really need to study this weekend!

So last week I was feeling a bit homesick on the Tuesday, but my friend Grace and I went out for dinner (Indian again - love it) which made me feel better.  There's a great Indian place in Shinchon, just near the uni main gates.  It's cheap and so good.  Man i love naan bread.  We also had samosas and lassis which were very tasty as well.

On Friday, after discussing hair with Yeojin earlier in the week, we decided to go get our hair 'did' Korean style.  We both got our hair permed, and before some of you recoil in horror, i'm not talking poodle perms, but loose curls.  We went to a place in Shinchon train station and they were pretty good (plus there's a 30% discount for Yonsei and Edae students!).  I even had a hot Korean hairdresser, who was really nice and we had an amusing conversation in both English and Korean about problems when learning a language.  So my hair turned out pretty good, i haven't really taken pics, but you'll see it no doubt in my next blog.  I'm actually heading back there on Friday, as they've got some special thing happening and asked if we wanted to go back on Friday for a free hair treatment, so we said yes (of course! If it's free, we're into it!).  I'll try and take some photos then.

Afterward we got a bite to eat in Edae and did a bit of shopping, before heading back to the dorm.  I'd gotten a message from Angie and Vanessa that they were keen for burgers for dinner, so after meeting up we went to Yaletown in Shinchon for what we'd heard were good burgers.  And they were, plus they came with all you can eat curly fries (though the amount they give you on the first serving is crazy - so much, couldn't eat it all).    Plus, we got a free pint of beer, so of course I immediately rated the place highly.  It's a cool place, mostly a sports bar really, with a big screen for sports and bar-type food, but the manager/waiter guys are cool (and attractive! hahaha) and it has a good vibe.  Will definitely go back for more!

After dinner Vanessa and I said bye to Angie, then met up with my mentors group for a quick drink before heading to a bar called Barfly.  It's a bit of a dive, but all the people from my dorm go there regularly as drinks are cheap, along with a bunch of Korean dudes wanting to pick up foreign chicks and some other random older Western dudes.  It was actually a really fun night, but $1 tequila shots are dangerous. Hahaha

 
I didn't think to take any pics until we went to another bar, and the next morning this is the photo I found: Vanessa doing the traditional Korean photo symbol and Saki asleep on the table.  It was a fun night, but I paid for it the next day.

Saturday I met up with Trang and HyoJeong from the program I did here last year.  We went out for dinner and had a great night catching up.  There was also a crazy yellow dust storm on Saturday - here's a link about it - http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/03/117_62750.html - Koreans call it Hwang sa.  It was really bad on Saturday, the sky was orange, and visibility was terrible.  I really need to get a mask I think, as I woke up the next day with a sore throat and a bit of a cough.


Sunday saw me take a trip to Lotte World, an amusement park in Seoul, that is pretty much a miniature rip-off of Disneyland.  My friend Angie joined the Yonsei Photography Club and they were going to Lotte World to take pics (and ride rides) so Vanessa and I tagged along.  It was actually a really fun day, and most of the students were really nice.  They also have the giant drop (called the Gyro drop and Melba it was as terrifying as the one at Dreamworld) and also the Giant Claw, which is also terrifying, but a lot of fun.

 

I've realised that while I enjoy taking photos I really hate getting my photo taken!  But I like this club, and I'm going to go to the meetings on Wednesday nights.  They meet each Wednesday, then  go out taking pics on weekends.  It's fun, and it's a good way to practice my Korean and meet Korean students.  The group I was with, three of the guys were really nice and friendly (the girls not so much - one was actually a rude little cow, but anyway), and later when we all had dinner, I met another two girls who were really lovely.  So, most of the people were nice, so i'll see how it goes.

This week is going to busy again.  I've gotta get some work done tomorrow, but i'm also going to get a sports massage in Itaewon, as my neck has been hurting me and i'm getting headaches.  I blame the pillow from the dorm as it's about a foot high.  I really should invest in a proper pillow but anyway.

Ok people, got to do some uni work.  See yas.

Get in my mouth!

So the weekend saw me take a trip to other side of Korea, to Yeongdeok, an area famous for it's snow crabs (also called Bamboo Crabs - 대게 in Korean).  There was a festival on celebrating everything crabby, and it's on the north east coast of South Korea (where the ocean is named, depending on your nationality, either the Sea of Japan or the East Sea - you really don't want to say Sea of Japan in Korea, Koreans get a little touchy about it).  The group I went with was organised through the university and seems to have been sponsored by the Korean fisheries department, as there was an official with us, and we did lots of 'foreigner promo photos' and were asked to recommend the festival to other foreigners and Koreans.  Here are some photos I took:

 Vanessa - late, running onto the bus.  She's notorious for lateness, and we were laughing the night before about all the things she's missed because of her sleeping in through her alarm - and she swore she'd be on time for the bus.  It was funny, but she had to run from the dorm to the bus which would have really sucked.  But she made it!

We went boating when we got to Yeongdeok. It was meant to be about where the fishermen catch the crabs, but really it was just an excuse to go out on the water.  I was lucky as I went on the speedboat (on the left) while two other groups went on the yachts.  The yachts were nice but kinda boring, as the people on the speedboat got to hoon around instead of slowly sail.  It was a lot of fun, but I do recall thinking to myself, that in Australia, if we did the kinds of speeds and maneuvers we did on the boat, someone would be arrested for endangering lives.  That said, it was a lot of fun.  

At the festival - so many crabs for sale.  You could either buy them to go (alive and kicking) or they'd steam them for you then and there and you could eat inside the tent (and have a little drink while you're at it).  My friend Yeojin and I were walking around in a daze and were pumped about the 'crab party' that had been organised for us later that night.  We came to eat to eat a lot of crab.  Below is a picture of a man doing tradition calligraphy with a giant brush (aka mop).  He was really good.

So there was an acupuncture stall at the festival (for free) and so Yeojin, Vanessa and I all decided we'd get acupuncture (on the provision that I went first of course).  The lady who did it was lovely and spoke no English, but I managed to understand in Korean that all the points on the hand related to various parts of the body, and that she said I had bad circulation as my hands were so cold (though I have to say, it was cold, therefore my hands were cold, but anyway).  She also mentioned something about a man, but I didn't fully understand her.  After getting the needles put in, we had to wait 10mins then have them removed and then had little heated metal disc things with incense on them put where the needles were.  Overall it was an interesting experience, but I can't say for sure if it helped my circulation, though it was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing a foreigner getting pricked with needles.

In order for our 'crab party' to take place that night, we were told we needed to first catch some crabs. So around a big pool in the middle of the festival grounds, people had flimsy fishing rods to try and catch as many of the crabs thrown in their direction as possible.  Being that we were foreigners, we were given a bit of special treatment (to the annoyance of many locals!) and lots of crabs were thrown our way by the organisers.  Three people from my group were also told that they'd get a box of crabs each if they got in the water and helped throw the crabs, so a couple of the guys took one for the team and did it (it was freezing cold water).

After the festival we did a quick trip to a park to check out the view and then headed to our accommodation for dinner and to get ready to party.  And party we did.  We ended up with about 100 crabs for 38 people, and Yeojin and I did Australia proud.  We definitely ate our fair share, along with help from Vanessa, who was representing LA.

So we had a great time eating crab, and then drinking.  A lot.  I have realised that soju makes me feel really hot and flushed (and not in a good way) and also results in a major headache the next day.  It's a dangerous drink, but it's so cheap and everyone drinks it here, so i'm just going to have to learn to tolerate it.  After our crab party, we all went across the road to a noraebang (aka karaoke) and partied for awhile.  It was good, though they didn't have Sean Paul or Beastie Boys or Run DMC, so I went with Wham, but by that time our time had run out and we had to go.

The following morning, I woke up to see how close we actually were to the ocean.  It's weird but the air didn't smell like salt, more like seaweed.  The place we stayed at was the first crab fishing village in Korea.  they were the first to figure out you could eat crab and many still fish it for a living.

I like this last photo.  The pavillion in the background, before the crab season, fisherman come from all over and pray for a good crab harvest and safe sailing.

So it's back to school.  It's week three already and I've suddenly got a lot of work to do.  I have a presentation on Thursday, plus a heap of readings, one essay due in a week and a half, plus I'm now taking an English conversation class twice a week which I have to prepare for as my students are quite good and I need to be organised.  Very busy! I'm out for dinner tonight with my Singaporean friend Grace.  One of my Korean mentors told me about a good Indian restaurant in Shinchon so I think we'll go check that out.  Tomorrow night Yeojin and I are going out for Greek food.  We were both talking about foods we missed from home, and the kebab came up (along with real meat - a solid steak as well as proper cheese and bread, plus cheap fruit and vegetables).  So it should be good! 

Isn't it Spring??

So this week saw a return to freezing cold weather and on Tuesday night, light snow turned into mega-snow.  Have a look...

I'd been out that night for dinner as I signed up for a Free Language Class at the Global Lounge.  I was hoping to join a Korean class, but it turns out that the one class that fit my schedule was for beginners so that was a no-go, however it turns out they needed another English teacher for an English class, so i'm now going to be teaching English twice a week for one hour.  Should be a good way to meet students I think, I just hope I can teach them!  So after our meeting, we all went for dinner to a Chinese restaurant in Sinchon, and afterward had to walk home in mega snow fall.  Snow is very pretty, but it's also very WET.  Luckily, being from Melbourne, I've gotten into the habit of always carrying an umbrella with me.  Here's the view from my room and the lounge the next morning:

Apparently it's very unusual for it to snow this much in March, people are putting it down to that crazy El Nino/Nina phenomenon.  I didn't actually venture out that day until about 3pm as I had a class on the other side of the campus.  Here are some pics of the forest and the grounds out the front of my building:

I really like this last picture, especially the way the light is coming through the clouds.  So, while the snow is beautiful, it's now all melted and it's just plain cold.  Today was the first day I've really wished the cold weather would bugger off as it's super windy and icy cold.  Bring on Spring I say!!

So this week has been quite busy.  Monday night I met my Language Exchange (LE) buddy Hyun Cheol.  He's 22 (24 in Korean age), plays the drums in an indie band, likes good music (established this early on, he likes indie/rock stuff eg Radiohead etc, he's not into K-pop, very good), likes to party but also seems to study a fair bit too, and seems like an all-round cool guy.  We had lunch together today, and it was good.  I liked speaking to him, his English is pretty good, and by combining my Korean and his English, we seem to understand each other and can share a laugh.  So I think i've gotten lucky.  Plus, he's going to Australia for a working holiday in July, so he's pleased i'm Australian.

My workload for classes is starting to increase.  I have to give a presentation on Thursday for my grad class.  It should be ok.  I figure if I get it out of the way before my Korean classes start, I'll be less stressed and less under the pump.  My 'Political Economy of China' class is great.  It's really interesting and I really like the teacher.  He's switched on and entertaining.  My grad class is ok.  The teacher is nice, but he's a little like the crazy professor.  We start talking about something, he gets excited about something someone says, and then goes off on a tangent without fully discussing the key point.  So, it's a bit confusing, but I'm going to stick with it as he seems quite flexible, and because i'm an undergrad student, he seems to have lower expectations for me, so I think getting a good grade won't be difficult! 

So tomorrow I'm off on a trip for the weekend, to a snow crab festival on the other side of Korea.  It should be really good, I can't wait to eat lots of fresh crab!  We have to meet at 7am in the dorm lobby, so it's soon off to bed for me.  Good night!  (Quick side note, I've been reading David Sedaris' book, 'Me Talk Pretty One Day' and finished it last night.  Loved it, some parts were so hilarious, I laughed out loud, and it was usually when he's discussing things his sister Amy Sedaris has done.  I'm definitely going to read some more of his books and would recommend him, very easy to read.)