Simon and Martina!

I met Simon and Martina and they were so cool! Martina was beautiful as always and Simon looked exactly the same (which is a good thing!) I took the taxi alone because my friends were too slow and walked into Cafe Lua. They were in the back at a small table and were talking to 3 of my friends already (I wanted to be first!) We ordered some ridiculously expensive drinks and just talked which was cool. They let me film some of their long-winded stories too which was nice of them. They are EXACTLY like they are on youtube in real life. I love when people don't change! They were so impressed that around 14 of us showed up in the end. They didn't think they were THAT popular, but they are! They put up with a photoshoot and an autograph signing session (where most of us didn't have paper, so we had them sign a 1,000 won bill :p ) We also learned what the music Monday would be before they did it that night. We all said goodbye to them (and I got to hug them both!) and I went off to meet my Bucheon friends for dinner and Noraebang! Inhyop and Yechan are so good at singing it's unbelievable. (We probably made them look 10x better though because our group was just terrible). The next day, I went out with Ellen to Ewha/Idae and we went shopping. This was the best trip yet! I got 3 shirts for 5 bucks each and a dress for 10 that is absolutely beautiful. I don't have any souvenirs for people yet because i'm clueless what to get. Traditional Korean souvenirs are kind of lame. Just traditional bags you can keep makeup or pens in, or like cell phone charms (which american phones don't have). I've also never found a shirt with korean on it yet and it's really disappointing! I'll find you guys souvenirs sometime though! (No chocolate mirror yet for Jen =[ ) After I went out with Ellen, she and I met up with some Korean friends and went bowling and then out to dinner. Then Junyeong took me to Namsan tower at night and it was especially beautiful because it was foggy. I had a great night and it made me never want to leave Korea! Today I go to a traditional village and will probably get to try on Hanbok!

Official Mosquito Bite Count: 27

So I've still been getting eaten alive by mosquitos, but it seems like I'm the only one haha. My family has been Mosquito-spraying my room every night...but it doesn't seem to be helping at all. Yesterday I went with 준영 to guanhamoon (sp?) and it was really fun but sweltering hot. I saw statues of General Lee and his boat (and was explained the whole story behind him and why he's famous). He basically was a genius when it came to predicting weather and forming strategy. He made his boats to look like turtles after he saw one crawling past one day. It had a completely covered top, the top had spikes to prevent being boarded, they were made strong enough to fight off cannon fire, and the front of the boat had a dragon head to spit fire on the Japanese enemy. He won and became famous for his genius. I then saw a statue of King Sejong (sp?) who created Hangul and was a great ruler. There were also some astrology statues as well. We then went to the gates of a sort of fortress. The gates were guarded by traditional-looking guards and the fortress was backed by mountains. The Koreans believed that this was the best way to protect a city. Funny fact though: this fortress/wall was burned down three years ago by a man protesting against the government. I couldn't even tell though, because it was so beautiful. We got to go inside and see a demonstration of a sort of changing of the guards I suppose. It was really cool and the weaponry they had was like nothing I'd seen before. I was really tired from such a long and hot morning, but school was actually the best class I've had in Korea yet. The language is now starting to click. We're onto our third different teacher and this one is definitely the best. She knows a bit of English, so I can ask questions. She also knows Japanese...so when I mix up Korean and Japanese words, she knows what I was trying to say and corrects me :p I just went home yesterday and had dinner with my host grandparents at a restaurant. I had black bean noodles for the 4th time in Korea and supposedly that's pretty often because my host mom laughs at me every time I have them. Supposedly they're old-people food? I love their grandparents though because they always smile at me and feed me yummy things. They treat me the most like an adult than anyone here. They give me coffee (which is a real "adult" drink here) and just offer me adult food which is actually kind of icky but also flattering to be offered. Anyway, today I'm meeting Diane and people in Ewha and then headed out to Bucheon! I meet Simon and Martina at three and then Bucheon friends afterward! I'm excited and hope they bring Spudgy! <3

Record Breaking Weather!

Yesterday I had a test and school as usual. The test was really hard and took me a while because it was memorization of dialogues we did in class and I don't memorize them because I just memorize how to use the words differently. I also have trouble spelling in korean and always mix up the ㅓand ㅗ sounds in words =[ After school I came straight home and I'm glad I did! It started POURING and no one had umbrellas. I had to call my host mom to pick me up from the subway station! We went to this really hip Asian fusion restaurant and had tons of different things that were chinese, vietnamese, japanese, and korean. I even ate buffalo chicken wings with chopsticks (which is so difficult!) Today we had another test in school that went better. Class started late too because the teachers' former classes ended late. It was nice starting a half an hour later! The lesson really confused me, so I called up 준영 to help tutor me. We went to a nice chinese restaurant, and to get coffee and ice cream and he paid for it all! I think he likes me because he's doing all of this for free and he also gives me hand massages to keep me paying attention haha.

The main news though is about all of this rain! It is horrible and feels like you're taking a swim in the Han River! My host mom said that it is the most and hardest rainfall she has ever seen in her lifetime (44 years). The Han River overflowed and is completely flooding Subway Stations. The streets are like rivers in some places, and in most others there are impassable puddles. It is crazy how much water can come from the sky! Supposedly 6 died in a landslide and so far 13 are reported dead. It's also the first time I've seen lightening and thunder in Korea. Usually it just rains. At least this is another first I get to experience in Korea! Tomorrow our supporter meetings were cancelled because it's so dangerous. I'm sort of hoping school will be too because I need a break! 6 hours of studying today! And I want to learn a traditional Korean game that I saw my family playing!

Great things can happen in a subway!

Today I was just minding my own business on the subway and an old "blind" begger came up to me and kept tapping me for money. This Korean boy came up and helped to get him away and was really sweet. He told me that he'd studied in Iowa for a year and had studied English a lot and very dilligently. His English was perfect...no accent...and he even used slang! It was so cool. We talked more and I ended up even missing my stop because we were talking on and off in Korean and English (and maybe a little because he was cute...) He asked for my number to maybe meet up later and I gave it too him because he seemed like a great guy. He texted me later and asked me to dinner. I wanted to feel safer and more comfortable so I had him bring a friend and I brought Caroline and we double dated. They took us to this awesome Korean steak place in Ewha and then out for smoothies. They paid for dinner and we paid for the smoothies. We talked a lot about Korea and its culture, and the differences, and some language things. I really did learn a lot. He took me to my station and we got a quick ice cream before parting. He was real sweet and offered to tutor me any day for free or take me anywhere I wanted to go. They offered to get us into a military camp or into the UNICEF headquarters. It was really nice  =]

Korean games hurt!

I can't believe I haven't gone over this yet. One of these times I'll just devote a post to things different between america and Korea, but for now, just games. There are all sorts of games, and i'll just mention them briefly, but all of them end with some sort of pain haha. There is Kai Bai Bo that is just like rock paper scissors...but the punishment is more than just losing. From what I've seen, they will either flick your forehead (which is painful!), slap your wrist with two fingers, or slap your hand as hard as they can. They also will Indian Bap....which is hitting you on the back basically :p The point is to keep playing until it is too painful to go on. Other games are like a sort of thumb game. One person calls out a number of thumbs up and if there are that many thumbs up, they get to smack the others. Another game is sort of like Hot Hands that we play in America. You keep slapping each others' hand until it is so red and painful you give in. I haven't seen ddibiddibidip played in Korea yet which makes me sad, but i'm sure there would be pain as well :p That's about it for games. I'm sure there are way more and more pain methods, but that's what i've seen here :p

Bucheon Camp!

Over the weekend from Saturday to Sunday we traveled to Bucheon for a camp. (Surprisingly on the same street as Cafe Lua where we'll meet simon and martina next week). We all got on a bus at 8:20 in the morning and traveled to a hostel. My room was intermixed with Korean girls and was the only one without beds. We slept on mats on the floor, but I really didn't mind because I'd always wanted that Korean kind of experience. We went to a big room and learned who our intermixed groups would be. We all got bandanas and mine was blue. My group was actually really sweet (and had cute guys!) We had a bonding game to learn each others' names, and also one where we had to think of a creative way for us all to have our feet off of the ground. We made a human hamburger :p We all had lunch in our groups (just some bbimbap) and went on a mission. The first step was to make a team cheer. We used the song fire and adapted it to our team four...and we also said urichechalaga (sp?) translating to we are the best :p We were the first ones to pass that step and went on for our mission at a museaum. Lucky for us, there was a comic book/anime convention happening at the time and many people were dressed up (which was sooo cool). There were lots of exhibits that we saw, but the main one we were to see was a brain exhibit. It was a big inflatable room that was a "brain" and it was the brain of an airhead. (get it? haha)  It had airplanes and lots of other daydreams and was fun to bounce off of. Our next part of the mission was to make our own brains. We made a head on a piece of paper and passed our heads around and wrote one first impression about everybody in their respective brains. When mine was done it was really sweet. People said that I was a good dancer, "have big eye", that I was beautiful, and that I was "so beautiful I thought you was movie star". It made me happy. We had presentations back with everybody and ours was sort of a fail. We didn't really know we had to do one, so we just made it up :p The prizes were pretty good though! They gave out neckrests and shower/makeup kits. We snuck out and went to noraebang with our group and it was awesome bonding time. The guys were great at singing! That night we all stayed up and bonded until 2 in the morning. There was truth or dare, and after I hung out with Caroline and Dean talking to inhyop, yechan, and a few others. They were so sweet :p We had talent show practice for the talent show the next day. It was full of cool people singing, dancing and lip synching and lots more. It was cool. No one was amazingly talented which made everyone feel better. Caroline and I did a dance to a mix (it was weird not dancing with Kayla =[ ) The highlights were a large group that did a dance to Roly Poly, a Taekwando group, and Tom who shaved his beard on stage :p We went for a final meal together at a Chinese restaurant and I ate a quail egg! I was also given a fork -_-"  But it was cool because they had a room for the korean students and a room for the american ones...but we just ignored it and bonded with the Koreans. I think i'll be meeting with some of the girls I met next weekend! Leaving was really sad because I won't see most of them ever again =[. And even after all of this I went on a date with Dean :p  We went to see Harry Potter, and went to Pizza Hut. We did this because we got foreigner cards and at certain places the cards give you a major discount! It was a sweet night and made me very happy =]

Hottest Days Ever!

So I haven't blogged in a while because I've been really busy with school studying, family, and supporter sorts of things. On Tuesday we all went to a palace and it was really beautiful except for how sweltering hot it was outside! There was supposedly a warning that people shouldn't be out more than a half an hour without shade or there would be a risk for skin cancer...whoops...lol. The palace was great, but they wouldn't let anyone go inside. They could just look from the outside, and every building was essentially the same in color, size, and architecture. We had homemade kimbap there and headed off to school. It's hard to remember 5 days ago actually! I can't remember doing anything extremely interesting for a few days except a bit of shopping with the family. Once again, it is really depressing to be a normal sized american in Korea because nothing fits! What's worse is the fact that most stores don't let you try things on before you buy them. I bought a romper the other day and I really don't think it suits me at all and am definitley regretting it! I also went out another day to Namdaemoon to shop. I got cute 7 dollar sneakers, a 10 dollar dress and cardigan set, and some basic tee-shirts and a skirt. I'm making out pretty well! I had to withdraw money for the first time and it really killed me inside. I had to use 20 of it for T-money as well because the initial 35,000 won was definitely not enough. (T-money is put onto a card that can be used in subways, convenience stores, and taxis). More and more school happened. (I can now use my new grammar rules to form sentences!) And yesterday we went to the Dragon Jimjilbang and it was amazing! Supposedly the nicest one in Seoul. We went out with a group of the guys, young-min, me, ellen, gwen, and nhi. It wasn't nearly as awkward this time! We went out afterward and I also had my first taxi experience! It only cost 5,000 won (5 bucks) to be taken home from Hongdae in a nice taxi! I can get used to it here :p Today we had our mid-evaluation and it made me really sad. We only talked about the funny things that happened to us in korea, but it's sad that in just 3 weeks it'll all be over. I want to come back desperately. Many times I wish I had chosen to do the semester or the year program. It would be really difficult, but I feel like I've only just gotten started here and there are so many more things to go do and see! It asked us to reflect on ourselves and I actually did. I think I've grown more mature and independent. I feel like a college kid with real freedom, and it will be so depressing to go home to a high school that knows everything that's going on and is just waiting to get people in trouble. Let me stay longer, mom and dad!

Park and Outback!

Well, we ended up doing something! We rode bikes to the park (where I cut up my leg :p ) played badmitton, ate some kimbap and had a nice family time. After we went to Myeongdong and got steak at Outback Steakhouse! I'm disappointed in all the American food I've been consuming lately -_-" But i'm pretty proud of the foot tall ice cream I ate in Myeongdong! Another day of school tomorrow and I'm probably meeting Dean to hang out in the morning!

Music Core, Bowling, and Harry Potter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuaIycGUBXg&feature=player_embedded#at=175Yesterday morning we picked up Nhi and Caroline for Music Core at MBC. All 6 of us piled into their small car and drove off completely excited! Once we got there, there was a HUUUUUGE line of fangirls with signs and everything and we were worried we'd be behind all of them. But since we got the hookup, we had special tickets that got us ahead of many of them! In the waiting area there were little shops, and a cool little museaum that showed the history of Korean Dramas. It was real cool. We also noticed that there were signs with names of bands on them and certain people were lining up behind them and kept getting to go in and come back out. We later learned that the TV show is pre-recorded in most parts because of special effects, and therefore they let the SUPER fans into the pre-recordings to get closer to the stars. It was finally our time to go in and we were pumped. There was it-girl on the stage finishing their pre-recording and we tried to film but got instantly ninja-ed and told to put it away. Everyone else that was caught with cameras was thrown out (that's why I have no pictures from it =[ ) Bands we didn't know were gonna be there showed up like b1a4, block b, and MBLAQ! We could also see the announcers and two were Tech and Nickun (sp?) from 2PM and they were sooo cute! Our favorite performances were by b1a4 and 2PM. b1a4 was really cute and in OK instead of doing the "i love you ou ou ou ou" finger thing, they made hearts and wiggled their butts lol. And 2PM were just generally adorable. They had to film them coming out of the audience 3 times and each time it got better! We were close enough to touch them! I was really disappointed by Hyuna and 2NE1 though. Hyuna only half-danced for half of bubble pop because it was pre-recorded. I was looking forward to her too! and 2NE1 didn't even show up at all! Grr. But THE BEST part was when we were on TV. We were the only foreigners there and we were dancing the whole time. Our friends at home said that throughout the entire show they saw close-ups of us on TV. Mostly during 2PM's put your hands up. The camera men actually told us to stand up and dance at the camera at the end of the song and everyone around us was jealous :p That night I went out with my host siblings and father and we went bowling. It was fun and I got third each time (but there were no bumpers!) and my host dad made dinner (take that real dad! haha). Today we went real early in the morning to see Harry Potter. I'm so sad it is all over now. I cried like 3 times during the movie and all the Korean people around me totally didn't get why I was so sad lol. We got burgers afterwards (and i'm not happy with Korean fast food. You can't ask for anything different on or off of the sandwich. I hate tomato, lettuce, and cheese, but everything comes with it on it and it is rude to take it off). I also will never really get used to how it is okay to shove people out of the way here haha. On subways, anywhere, if someone is in your way you just sort of shove them. An old grandma almost took me down in the subway! Oh well, I'm just chilling at home right now and i'm not really sure what we're going to do all day. Maybe I'll study more Korean.

School, Shopping, and Excitement!

Yesterday we had a normal day of school. It rained (as usual) and we learned numbers again. I'm getting a bit quicker and was able to speak about how much something cost with street vendors yesterday. It really is cool when the things that you learn are useful! After school, Caroline, Nhi, and I went shopping in Myeongdong to find cute clothes for the concert today. Nhi and I actually ended up getting the same shirt, and I suspect that she's wearing it today too. Oh well :p I'm really pumped for this concert and am antsy just waiting! I'm listening to all the new songs again so I can freak out and know all of the words :p

On a side note: food here confuses me. I mean, some things are to be shared equally by everybody and its kept in the middle of the table. But sometimes my host mom make things just for me, and when I don't finish it (thinking that other will want some too) she looks sad. I don't know how to tell which are just for me, or which things we all share! It is difficult!

Samkyesang

I think I spelled the title wrong! But Samkyesang is a Korean holiday that happened yesterday where they serve entire chickens in a rice soup sort of thing with ginseng. It is a holiday to celebrate the ending of the rainy season and make your body stronger for the upcoming hot season (darn it!). It was actually delicious and I needed to get stronger because I had gotten really sick that day. I almost went to the hospital (it isn't so serious sounding here) but luckily I got better by this morning! In the morning yesterday we went with our supporter and a few other groups to make Korean fans! Despite being completely unartistic, I was able to make a decently pretty butterfly one! We took so long that we didn't really have time for lunch, so Gwen and I hurried to the same Mandu place I went yesterday. I'm not sure if I got sick because of them, or because I had to take a cold shower for the past two days. My host mom thinks it was the cold shower. Anyways, we hurried to school and I loved the lesson yesterday even though it was difficult. We finally learned the Chinese number system along with the Korean. I can now (slowly) say just about any number I would need. In one day, I'm able to say the date, the time, how much something costs, my birthday, everything! Everyone went after school to see Harry Potter too with Kyungnam, but I couldn't because I wasn't feeling well. (But i'm still telling people I saw it to make my American friends jealous that it came out here first :p) Once I was home, my host mom fussed over me for a while because both Jay and I were sick, and then told me the best news ever! My host aunt got us tickets to MBC's TV show for Saturday and I can bring Nhi and Caroline!!! At the show, there will be: [2011년 7월 9일 토요일] 2PM . 2ne1 . 현아 . f(x) . Secret . T-ARA . 장우혁 . 천상지희-다나&선데이 . 민경훈 . 레인보우 . ZE:A . 마이티마우스(feat.SOYA) . 8eight . Girl“s day . Rania . 4men . Boyfriend . 백청강 . N-train. So many great bands! I've woken up today feeling completely better and ready to go shopping for a cute outfit after school ;p

Taekwando!

Today, I got up bright and early to leave by 8:30 for Taekwando. It was the most complicated subway trip i've made yet and it was successful! When we got to Taekwando, we all got matching uniforms to wear and white belts. (Except Dean and Tatiana who were already Black belts from before) we did stretches, warmed up, learned basic punches and kicks, sparred, learned self defense, and broke a board. The board breaking was cool because they had us write our hopes and dreams and then break it (we were confused too why we were breaking our hopes and dreams :p ) I had a really thick board though, so my first time, my hand just bounced off! I managed to get it afterwards though! It was a great experience and I especially loved yelling at every move. Our feet and hands got filthy though from being barefoot on the ground. We went out to eat after that and I got Mandu from a street vendor for only 2000 won.. I really loved it and think i'll be going back often! We passed a convenience store and I found a miracle in Korea: Deodorant! It was all dusty and untouched, but it still exists somewhere! Wow! (If you didn't know, most Koreans don't use deodorant because they don't need it) We had class (which was boring) and afterwards I went with Tai, G, and Nhi to meet Arram. We got to go to a "traditional meets modern" sort of showcase and it was amazing! It had traditional instruments and traditional dancers in old-fashioned outfits, but it also had a DJ and breakdancers! It was fabulous (and Nhi and I especially liked when the breakdancers danced shirtless ;p ) I'm home now and feeling pretty tired and hungry. Tomorrow we meet with Arram to make traditional fans!

Family Games are fun!

Yesterday it rained sooo hard once again. Went to school like usual, learned numbers, was super frustrated, and came home. School sometimes is so frustrating because our Korean teacher doesn't speak English. It really seems like all she's doing is *korean korean korean (flaps arms) korean korean (stares at you).* It can be really frustrating! After school I went to dinner with my host siblings at their grandmother's house. Their grandparents don't speak a lick of English, and from the minute I walked in the door, they kept feeding me! (it seems like a trend in Korea :p) She brought out sooo much rice for me and a million side dishes. There were sardines with eyes still and I tried my best to avoid them...(to no avail). There was also a sort of clam soup, and i've never eaten clams before. She was watching me eat and kept pointing to the clams to eat them. I've never taken out the insides of clams before, but taking them out with chopsticks only was quite the ordeal. My dad would be glad to know that I officially like clams...or were they oysters.... I kept saying that I was full in Korean, but she would just smilea and point for me to eat something else. Finally I somehow was able to leave the table! Within a minute she had a tray full of goodies for me. (too bad I was stuffed) I kept saying in Korean that I was too full to eat, but she ended up feeding me, so I kept eating haha. It wasn't bad, but a different experience haha. After everyone got home we played the game of live for HOURS. The kids kept cheating, but it was really cute :p It was a fun bonding experience, especially with Nae-young. Today I hung out with my supporter in Hongdae and studied and shopped. We had another placement test today and I feel like I did really well. We went to the Co-ex mall after school which was about an hour and 15 minutes away. We ate hamburgers (typical americans, right?) and had ice cream and shopped. It was fun! Tomorrow we have Taekwando and I hope I don't get lost getting to Mapo!

Seoul Tower!

First of all, drivers here scare the crap out of me! Oh my god. I can't place whether or not they're good drivers, or bad drivers that are good at not crashing. There are sooo many dangerous situations every day that they make out to be nothing! And people just randomly park on the sidewalk?  But the other day I actually saw a delivery man get run over by a car! It was really scary! Today we did laundry and went to Seoul tower. It was so romantic to see all of the locks put there by lovers! It was really beautiful, and you could have a view of all of seoul from it! Jay and I went up to the top and it supposedly has the fastest moving elevator in the world! Each window was marked with which country/countries it was facing and had facts. It was so cool. We met up with my host mom's mother and younger brother there and they brought their son. He is the youngest kid in the family (2 years old) and he is absolutely the cutest thing! I hope I get to see him more! We all went out to a cool restaurant where you sit on the floor, and then went shopping around Insadong. Things were too expensive to buy though. Probably because it is the biggest foreigner/tourist city =/

Jimjilbang

Today we all woke up bright and early to leave for the Jimjilbang, but in character, mom was running late :p After an awesome breakfast we left at 11:30 for Garden 5 Jimjilbang about an hour away in Seoul. I was pretty nervous to be completely naked and a foreigner, but it was something I had to try. It was weird because my own family hasn't seen me naked since I was little, but after only a week, my host family has! It was interesting. We got shampoo and stuff, went to our lockers, and just stripped. Everyone acted as if it were nothing. I did get many stares though because I was the ONLY foreigner. But you basically just walked around these series of rooms naked, showered off, got in a huge hot tub, then a cold tub, then a massager tub, then maybe the hot tub again. After we were all bathed we got to put on clothes! They were generic clothes that everyone wore at this jimjilbang and mine was brown and so was mom's. So we all went out to the sauna sort of place. It was a big common area in air conditioning where people slept, read, talked, ate, whatever. It had a cafe, a nail place, a free movie theater (with super comfy recliners) massage places, and everything. They had sauna ovens in the wall that about 2 people could crawl in and just sweat out all the bad toxins. They also had bigger themed rooms where you could sweat at different temperatures. It was really rather cool! It was an awkward experience at first, but I would definitely do it again! After, we met with my host dad and went out to dinner. It was a famous place that was very humble looking. You sat on the floor and had a little sort of stovetop on coals in front of you and cooked yourself. I had my first taste of soda since I left Pittsburgh there too! It was delicious and definitely felt traditional. We tried to go to Seoul tower after dinner, but they kept asking for my passport (which i don't keep on me). So we just left. Great day! Tomorrow we go to Insadong!

I aced my first test!

So we had school again and had our first test. I actually studied real hard because the material was a bit hard. It wasn't hard to remember, just hard to spell in Hangul. Anyway, I'm 99% positive that I aced it! School has been going better and has been MUCH less boring. We're learning useful phrases for everyday life now. For example, we learned you're handsome yesterday ;p haha. Anyway, before school Dean, Caroline and I wandered around campus exploring and it was actually a lot of fun. After school we chilled and talked in the common area. I came home for dinner, and mom decided to take me to Jay's school. It was really old and creepy and they were all scared being in there :p Two classes were actually staying overnight at the school and were playing games. One was a sort of charades game and I could guess most of them in Korean. It was kinda creepy that we were just allowed to stand there though! We met with the principal afterwards and talked a lot with him. He made me coffee (which is a really "adult" initiation sort of thing here) and he gave me his business card. I felt like he really liked me haha. He kept calling me pretty and taking pictures >.< After we went to their grandparents and I met their grandpa for the first time. Both of their grandparents were sooooooo cute! They got me ice cream, and all sorts of goodies and drinks! Korean families make me feel so special! We watched Korean dancing with the stars while there and theirs is waaaay more legit than America's dancing with the stars. We went home because we were all tired after that. I'm always tired real early at night it seems...haha

Don't leave fans on overnight!

So yesterday's class was just as bad as before lol. Almost unbearable actually :p After I went to school, Nhi and I went to Ewha to go shopping but most things were too expensive. My family and I ate at a really cool Chinese/Korean restaurant and my mom shared her seafood dish with me. I went to pick up some shrimp, and unfortunately found it staring at me. I have never had shrimp that still had the legs, feelers, and eyes before. I yelped a little and my host mom quickly took it away. haha. My family also took me to a real classy Noraebang with a really cool floor/couch/table thing to sit at, moraccas, tambourines, cool lights, and free ice cream! It was so cool! We went shopping and I bought my first dress (hopefully first of many). I'm going to wear it tomorrow because it rained too much today =[ But that night it was REALLY hot so I put the fan on and left it on like I would in the united states. I woke up feeling sick and my host mom said that it was the fact that I left the fan on. I didn't believe her, but actually it is true that it can make you sick in Korea. And there is also a huge Korean superstition about it and a monster or something, but i'm not sure. Today I met up with people at the university because it was too rainy to go out. We had class (which was much better than the past 2 days) and then Tai, Gwen, Arram, Young-min, Dean, and I went out to Dongdaemoon for dinner and shopping. We wanted to do sticker photos but it was closed =[ And the clothes we saw were definitely NOT cheap =[ Anyway, i'm back home and haven't seen mom. She went straight to her room. I hope she's feeling okay. I have a test tomorrow, and i'm being eaten alive by mosquitos and can't find any mosquito spray =[

Second Day of School

In the morning I went out with Arram to Ewha Women's University to study and eat some Kimbap with Tai and G. That was really nice, but we lost G for a bit :p Then we took a bus to Sogang and were just barely on time. Sooo, they put me in the beginner class, but it is waaaaaaaaay too easy, so I think I'll ask to switch. Our class was four hours of learning the korean vowels and like 6 consonants. We're doing this all week and I already know how to write, so it is absolutely mind numbing. I hated the class soooo much...I hope it is better today. (It will probably be about the same thing though) Afterwards, my family is meeting me in Hoejong (sp?) to Noraebang and have a light dinner! One of these days i'm going to jimshilbang with Caroline, I just don't know when yet. (Jimshilbang is a public naked bath). I was really excited because after school, Nhi and I went shopping and actually found Hoddeok in the summer. I was craving it since I came to Korea, but my host mom said I couldn't find it in the summer. YAY! I need to leave soon to go work out and get to school. I feel like i'm going to gain so much weight from all my host mother feeds me! (and she says I don't eat enough). Bye ~

My First Day of School!

My host mom and siblings left early this morning for work and school so I had the house to myself. I decided to go meet Dean and other people early and explore the area around Sogang. I ended up getting to the subway alright, but once there I got on the #2 going the wrong way! So I just got off and tried again and got to Sinchon pretty quickly. But as soon as I got to Sinchon I didn't know which exit to take (was supposed to be 6) so I just chose one and started walking and looking for Sogang signs. I found one and started walking the way the arrow pointed (but apparently the arrow was wrong!-_-" ) I ended up walking 13 blocks the wrong way and eating something that looked like hoddeok, but most certainly was not haha. I asked in broken Korean but didn't end up getting anywhere so I called Dean and he saved me! We met up with others to get lunch (it was only 3,000 won for a huuuge meal!) and ice cream. We went to the classroom at 2 for our placement tests. I didn't do so well because the only questions they asked me were answered with numbers...and I don't know them yet! My written part went decently though! We went out exploring after that and ended up taking the subway to Ewha Women's University (where I will go at 10 tomorrow to meet my supporter) and shopped for hair straighteners. I hope it works well! We went to Noraebang after that too and there were like 10 of us. The lady brought us drinks and gave us extra time too! I went home around 630 so that I could be sure to be home by 730 for dinner. I got lost again ^^ My host brother came to find me though! haha. We had a lovely kimbap dinner at a restaurant and then went to costco. My host father and mother gave me a korean lesson, we bonded, and now i'm about to go to bed. I like it here =]

I found out the meaning of Monsoon Season!

Last night, I stayed in with my host siblings and watched SM town live in France from midnight until 2 in the morning and i'm exhausted! I woke up at 8:30 and we had a nice breakfast of cereal and a sort of tomato smoothie. The kids showed me how to get to Sogang (but I can't remember anymore...uh oh!) We then went to meet up with their cousin who was leaving for Turkey and needed to go shopping. We shopped (but it was all too expensive!) and went to a traditional restaurant for noodles. Then it started POURING. It looked like a river! I got so wet running to the car, and in a few minutes, the water was up past the tires in some places on the road! It was crazy! We went shopping at a different place and I got a pretty headband and shorts. I'm so fascinated by the dresses though! It seems like the predominant style in Korea is casual Lolita. Everything is adorable and frilly! I liked all the dresses, but the majority were too short/couldn't fit my chest. The ones that did, though, were 68000 won! (Maybe mom should wire me more money ;P) I will find cheap ones hopefully! We're watching ice skating now and having a late dinner. One of my biggest fears was that I would be hungry all trip. That is definitely not a problem! My family eats constantly! haha. I'm not getting very far with my Korean yet unfortunately...it is used constantly around me, so it is hard to pick out words and their meanings... I'm getting better at just listening and interpreting what the whole thing means though! I'm a little tired by it all though. I'm not sure if it's the jet lag catching up to me, but i've been ready for bed since 5 haha. Tomorrow is my first day of class, and I think the whole family will be out of the house when I wake up. I've only seen my host father for about 3 hours in all since I got here haha. Hopefully I don't get lost trying to find Sogang. We have class at 2 and will be taking a placement exam..so wish me luck!

First Few Days!

I've been in Korea for three days now and have just gotten the chance to write! The first day, we all got into Japan around 9 and we got into Korea at 10:30 and stayed in a hostel for the night. The few hours I had in Japan were really cool too! We spoke to a few people in Japanese, went shopping, and went to an oxygen bar! The hostel in Korea was really nice too. 10 bunk beds in a room and a bathroom for that room. The girls still all fought over the mirrors though! We stayed up late every night talking and bonding, and i'm really starting to like everyone. There are 52 of us now when we all thought there would be 40. Anyway, the next day we all got up, had some bread for breakfast, and had an orientation. We met our supporters and I have a really nice one! We got to explore the city with her (Arram) and Young-min. Our "mission" was to go to a lake across from Lotte World and take an excercising picture! It was hard because my supporter doesn't speak English well. Luckily I had Gwen and Tai to help translate! I learned that I hold chopsticks wrong and they spent an hour in a famous noodle shop trying to show me...it didn't work. haha. So the next day we had a huge orientation for 5 hours and it was extremely tiring. On a break we got ice cream, saw the palace, and I had a random Korean woman ask to shower in my dorm. It was weird! haha. That night we went to noraebang which is like Karaoke and the man kept refilling our minutes for free because he liked our singing! We shopped a little, got lost, and had a short experience seeing SHINee! It was a good night! This morning my host family picked me up and we spent the day together. We went to their grandparents, and went grocery shopping at Times Square. They are such sweet people and I feel so at home..Now I just have to master Korean so I can speak to them!