Final Day(s)

I passed my test and did really well! All of my hard work paid off, and my diploma looks really cool! I've spent the last few days going to Noraebang and different places with friends to enjoy my most favorite places in Korea before I leave. It really is depressing. I find myself saying that I'll just go back later if it's too expensive and then I realize that there really isn't a later...These feelings were made even worse by our graduation ceremony/talent show today at Sinchon. The beginning of the day was at the YES building at 9:30 am where we filled in a survey and talked about how we can readjust and not be too depressed once I get back home. It said to keep a busy schedule and be sure to see friends and have a good time. (It also said our parents should get us a really cool Iphone 4, right mom? ;p) Later we took a loooong walk to the building where our graduation was. We learned our grades and got our certificates in front of our host families and our teachers. People made speeches and Tai's was especially good. It was funny, and completely in Korean. Everyone was extremely impressed. My host family even got me flowers which was too nice of them! (and I had to carry them around when I was out with friends afterwards, so people thought I had done something special then too!) We all changed for the talent show, and even though it was kind of lame, it was still fun all the same! Our group (Gwen, Tai, and I) did a traditional Insa sort of dance which is a greeting dance. We all had fans and Gwen and I had beautiful flowing skirts. It was very slow-paced, but people said they liked it which is all that matters! After saying goodbye and crying with Aram, we all decided to go to Noraebang one final time and it was really fun. I'm sure going to miss going there! Afterwards I spent some time with Dean and we just talked. I am REALLY going to miss him =[ Tomorrow is my final day in Korea. I'll be spending it packing and with my host family. At 9:00 pm I head to the youth hostel where we'll all spend our final (probably sleepless) night together before I may never see these people again. We get up at 5:30am in the morning and are ready to fly. I really wish I didn't have to leave...

Dress cafe and Final test!

A lot has been happening these past few days, but nothing particularly noteworthy to make it a separate post. Monday, I went shopping in Insadong (foreigner central) and got all of my souvenirs in one swoop! I think I have everything I need including a new carry on as well. I spent a lot of money in these past few days...but you're only in Korea once, right? (probably not for me ;p) Tuesday I went to Ewha for some last minute clothes purchases and for the coolest thing ever: a Dress Cafe! We learned about it from our Resident Director and we HAD to go. Basically it was an adorable shop covered head-to-toe in pink and adorable-ness. They had fancy chairs, special lighting, stuffed animals, accessories..you name it! You go in, pay 6 dollars and they bring you a specialty drink (we got oreo milkshakes) and you have use of any and all accessories there. From there, you rent the sort of dress you want to wear. They are anywhere from 5,000-30,000 won to rent for a half-hour use. We all chose beautiful 5,000 won ($5) wedding dresses and used the professional lighting. We got out some really beautiful pictures that i'll post here later. It was 11,000 won well spent! Our final test was Wednesday and I spent 2 hours studying with Dean at Ewha, 1 hour once I got home, and 2 hours in the morning before the test. It was a pretty difficult exam and it took 4 hours to take. I hope I passed! The most points I'll miss will be spelling for sure. I stink at spelling in Korea because many of the vowels sound the same! Oh well, I tried my best and I'll hope that it's good enough!

Traditional Village and a Water Park!

The morning after Lotte World, my host parents took me to a traditional village to spend the night. It took about 2 hours to get there, and a bit longer to get home, so I was late to school the next day :p Anyway, on the way to the village we stopped at an ancient Buddhist temple in the mountains. They had some really nice things to look at and 500 year-old walnut trees. I was told that most Buddhist temples were in the mountains so that they could hide from the king's suppression of them. The kings felt that Buddhism was becoming too powerful amongst the people and that it rivaled their own power. Because of this, they tried to suppress the influence of Buddhism, causing the temples to relocate. I got to see the different temples, interesting sand art that took an Indian man 3 months to make, and my host siblings and I bowed at the temple. There was also a cool tradition in which people painted roofing tiles with their hopes and dreams, and also the things that were holding them back. They were meant to heal them once the temple repaired their roofs with them. After the temple, we went to the traditional village to settle in. As expected, there wasn't much there, but it was a cool experience anyway. We had an open 3-bedroom sort of hut that was for the lower class (as distinguished by the roof). Surrounding were other huts of different classes, farmland, and lotus plants. We left the village for some fun at a water park/jimjilbang nearby. We went to the waterpark first, and nobody informed me that NO ONE wore bikinis. Also, Koreans make tieing your hair up mandatory in swimming pools because they don't want peoples' hair everywhere. It makes sense, but then no one can look good ;p I played with my host siblings, and our whole family went down the waterslides (mom got stuck ;p). I was also the only foreigner there...and the lifeguards noticed me A LOT. My mom and I were rating their hottness...and she's a really good wingman. If I said a guy was cute, she would instantly take me up to talk to him! The workers in the cafeteria both were staring at me, so she took me up to talk to them. They gave me free food and a beer because they thought I was older. Right before I left, they asked me which was cuter and for me to guess their ages (Koreans ALWAYS ask these questions it seems). Later, all of the lifeguards called everyone out of the pool, and once I got out, they crowded around me and wanted hugs :p One guy gave me his phone number and I texted him for a bit :p After all that fun we went to dinner...and it was the first meal I really didn't like. (okay the second...) It was icky in the first place, but waaaaaaay too spicy to even take more bites out of hunger. My host dad ordered me a bowl of rice instead...but when you're REALLY hungry, it just doesn't cut it. The night in the traditional village was pretty boring, but worth going to. My siblings helped me with my homework, my host sister texted the cute lifeguard for me, and I read some Harry Potter =] It was a productive day!

Lotte World!

I have missed so many days of blogging because I haven't been near a computer and have been studying so hard for my final exam buuuuuuuuuut...now I have a computer and will try to fill you all in =] On Saturday I went to Lotte World for the first time ever! It is a relatively small indoor and outdoor amusement park that is sort of a knockoff of Disneyworld. It is really cute though because they have giant cheap bows that everyone buys and wear around. The cutest thing is when you see people in couple shirts with matching bows! (you can see many people in couple shirts outside of Lotte World though) Anyway, I got the tickets online with my host mom's credit card and they were only 10,000 won ($10). Everyone else bought them there for 33,000 won ($33). You have to go through a giant Lotte merchandise-filled subway station in order to get to the entrance. Once there, you go into the giant indoor part of Lotte world where there are rollar coasters, and hot air balloon rides, an ice rink, tons of food and souvenirs, and other rides as well. It is so impressive! The hard part is finding out how to get outside. I used my amazing Korean skills (not!) to struggle through a few sentences to get myself and my friends outside. The outdoor park had less exciting rides, but all of them were still fun! My favorite ride was probably Atlantis, or this new one where you journey in a bumpy car through an ancient tomb. My least favorite was definitely French Revolution because it hurt your head and neck so badly! At the end of the night there was a spectacular drum show where they had "snow" come from the ceiling. It was everywhere! Great for how hot of a day it was ;p There isn't much more to say other than it was an amazingly well-themed park that I will always remember :p I'm glad I was one of few that got to!

My 6 weeks in Korea

   Before any big test, I always study so that I know exactly what to expect. Korea definitely was no different in this respect. I saw it as the largest test in my life in which I would have to survive in a foreign country and try to actually belong here rather than remain a tourist. I researched for countless hours about traditional Korean families, table manners, city life, key phrases, courtesies, and anything under the sun. What I soon found out once I reached Korea, was that just about everything I had read and expected was wrong, and everything I thought I wouldn't have to worry about, I did. Culture shock isn't necessarily the right word for what I felt during these new experiences...the phrase is more like culture perplexed.  A book could never have told me that I'd get horribly lost in Myeongdong, have near-death experiences in cars, make a trip to the hospital, get caned by an old man for wearing a tank top, get mauled in a crowded subway, or be washed by old women in a jimjilbang. While these weren't necessarily pleasant, a book also couldn't have told me about the greatest moments of my life either. Just a few were a trip to Lotte World with an unexpected bunch, a date with a Sogang student, many hugs from every lifeguard at a local pool, my first jimjilbang, living for a night in a traditional village, and experiencing Namsan tower by putting a lock on it with my host family. As you can see, I had some low moments, but for every one of these, I had an even greater bunch of pleasurable moments. While both will remain with me, I will always see Korea as the sort of country I would love to spend my life in, and in many ways, America can learn from them. I love how respectful Korean people are of one another. While it makes feeling friendly a bit difficult, I love the honorifics put onto words to show respect. I also love how hospitable families are to guests. Some of my favorite dinners were spent at my host grandmothers who stuffed me until I was full and had me leave with goodies. The Korea I've seen in these short 6 weeks is extremely efficient, time conscious, studious, in-shape, and hard-working. While I've been here, it motivates me to become an even better student in school knowing that these sort of people will be my future competition in the job market. My time in Korea has definitley not scared me out majoring in international affairs, rather, it has strengthened my drive to do so because I now see all of the possibilities and adventures that lie before me. I'm embarrassed to say so, but myself and some other students were discussing how we would survive in Korea, and we all agreed that we're foreigners, so they would probably forgive us if we mess up. This was definitely true, but toward the middle of my trip, I realized that I didn't really want to be forgiven. I wanted to be treated like a Korean because I ultimately wanted to belong. I've gotten to experience things on my own that no mere tourist could see. By walking down creepy roads, I've found the best places and shops like a true local. By exploring and stepping off the paths described in travel books...I had the best times in my life. I no longer want to settle with merely surviving in Korea, but I want to eventually get to a point where I belong. Shopkeepers who speak to me in English love when I answer back in Korean (however broken it may be) and I love proving to them that I can be more than the average tourist. When I leave Korea on Sunday, I definitely don't think that it will be the last time I step foot in Korea. There are too many special memories and great friends that I'm leaving behind here. These short 6 weeks have left me wanting more, and 6 weeks just aren't enough. I met two internet celebrities that have been living here for 3 years, and they said they are never truly done learning, and never really felt like they weren't tourists until their 2nd year living in Korea. Whether it be through another program, studying abroad, or working here once I graduate; I will definitely be back. I didn't have a real W curve while I've been here, but my biggest low will be the moment I take off. I know I will cry and miss all the special moments I've shared with my new Korean and also my American friends here. Nothing in my life so far could top the amount I've learned so shortly, and the great times I've had. I thank NSLI-Y so much for giving me this opportunity and I sincerely wish that I had signed up for longer.

Final Week =[

I haven't been doing too many exciting things lately. Meeting with Korean friends most nights and just talking and going out to dinner. There is one week left of being in Korea and I have so much to do! I need to shop, get souvenirs, buy a new carry on, we have to send a 2 page paper to YES International in 3 days about our experience, I need to prepare for our final exam, and my supporter group also has to have a presentation in Korean for our final day in Korea. Our group is planning on playing the song Arirang on the traditional drums and dancing with fans. It will probably be lame, but they didn't give us much notice! I'm really going to miss Korea. I'll be going from having so much freedom back into highschool where you can't even sneeze without someone yelling at you for doing something wrong. I just want to go to college! I'll probably get burnt out a lot more than the other kids too because I've been studying all summer while they relax...It is also depressing to think that as soon as I get home I need to finish summer homework (with kayla's help!) and start applying to colleges. I hope I'll get to hang out with people before they head off to college. I'll miss you guys! Today I'll probably go to Myeongdong to shop for kpop stuff and souvenirs. I hope things aren't too expensive =/

Hanbok!

Monday we went to the traditional village and it was really cool! Probably some of the best pictures I've gotten this trip! We walked around and saw a bunch of really cool traditional games being played with arrows, whips, and balls that were fun to play as well. The first thing we did was try on Hanbok which are traditional Korean outfits that they now only really wear on New Years. I picked out this beautiful burple and red-flower one and Tai picked out the emperor's robes (cool, right?) They both came with pretty silly hats too. His was straight up, barely stayed on, and looked sort of like a retro cop's hat. Mine looked like a larger version of a lampshade :p After a Hanbok photo-shoot, we played traditional Korean drums (and I can't remember the name but it started with a G) the instructor said that we were so good that we were true Koreans ;p We even got a huge crowd outside of the house we were playing in. They videotaped us and took pictures which was rather embarrassing! Fast forward to yesterday and it was when we went out ice skating in the morning! It's just the same as ice skating in America except you have to wear gloves to get in, and they set off a spot in the middle where all the amazing little girls can practice like pro's. We went to Hyundai department store for lunch and it...wasn't good at all. haha. The line was so large and our supporter had us share food. We got one bowl of bbimbap, some small bowls of soup, and 2 kimchi rolls for 4 of us. G ate the majority of the bbimbap and the kimbap had something in it that was making me sick...so I didn't really get to eat anything =[ I was very cranky at school to say the least :p Nothing too eventful happened after school, just went out with some Korean friends and had fun :p