KOREA FRIENDS

Seoul in True Fall

Hi all of you nice folks checking this page! Have a few new updates to talk about. First is that today I woke up to rain! The weather is changing to be much cooler, and I can feel the winter inching forwards. I can't wait to walk outside in November and December in the cold to see the street vendors and everyone bundled in warm Korean clothes.

Secondly, the picture of the delicious food above is what I ate after a full meal of chicken at the Korean Language Institute. It is called Honey Butter Bread with Green Tea and Vanilla-Chocolate Ice Cream on top. I'm proud to say I ordered in Korean as best I could. It tasted delicious, but the Zoo Cafe I was in was even cooler. There were paintings of animals on the wall and stuffed animals you could take with you while you study. I read for my cinema class a bit. Then, went to find some street food with my friends. We found this great chicken kabob cart with a line at least 12 people deep. The chicken was temperature hot and spicy hot, the latter only experienced by me and not my other friends. We walked around Ehwa Women's University for a bit then ventured into a photobooth place. We took the classic Korean pictures and I had a good time.

Tomorrow, we have the day off regular classes except Korean language. I will meet my friend, JungAe, to eat my first Korean sushi dish then we will hike up Ansan Mountain on which Yonsei University campus is located. Next, I will tutor my friend Da-bin in cursive handwriting and attend Korean class. I am proud to say I achieved an A on my first vocabulary test; I hope I can keep that up! Saturday evening I will attend the Lotte Family Concert with my FLC (Free Language Class) buddies where we will see BEAST, FT ISLAND and BIG BANG perform at Jamsil Stadium. I have lots of reading to do for classes, but still will find time to skype friends on Sunday and Monday (October 3rd is Korean National Foundation Day Holiday). I'm finding out that I like being in Korea more and more with the many great friendships I am making. I am also in better health now, but the mosquitos are still pretty relentless. Just sprayed bug repellant before bed - hoping this will save me as there is one sneaky mosquito lurking around my dorm. I tried to smack it with my Creativity book that finally arrived today, but to no avail. Have a great Thursday US friends. This is Katherine saying goodnight.

Jejudo Details and Life

Hi Family and Friends! Sorry I haven't posted an update in a while. I've been so busy. Here's a quick refresh of my Jejudo Trip and life update...

So, last Thursday I went immediately after Korean class with my friends Rachel, Penny, Feng and Morgan running with our luggage to the Sinchon subway station. Class finished at 5:50 and our flight to Jejudo from Gimpo airport left at 7:55. We were going so fast haha! We made it on time and hopped on the Eastar Jet plane. The flight attendants were so accommodating and stylish with their uniforms. The flight was quick and there was an in-flight game of the Korean rock-paper-scissors to give away a free ticket. All my friends had no idea what was going on lol. In the evening, we took a taxi to our pension home at the north part of the island. The taxi driver was so nice, and he agreed to take us on an island tour Saturday.

The pension was comfortable and homely. I slept on the floor mats again but I think it's okay. We all got settled in and talked about the plan for the next day, sleeping only two hours! I awoke at 3:30 am to take a taxi to go to Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak). We hiked to the top of the mountain and sat at the observation deck only to watch the faint light of the sun appear in the fog :( (This is our trip secret that we didn't actually get to see the sunrise, but the experience was good enough). Next, we stopped for some delicious seafood. Poor Rachel is allergic so she couldn't taste the sea urchin, crab, lobster, abalone, muscles, clams and fish like I did. Finally on Friday, we took a ferry boat to Udo Island (it is supposedly shaped like a cow but I didn't see it). We took an island bus tour to see a horse park, incredible landscapes and a beautiful white sand beach. All the other girls rode horseback, but I decided not too as the horses were sprinting up hills and across the valley, and that terrifies me. I tried peanut gelato and liked it a lot. At this point, my back was very sunburned and we had been up for over 12 hours so it was time to head back. Rachel and I went back to the pension house and ordered jajamyeong. That night I slept for 14 hours.

Saturday morning we got going around 9 am and met the nice taxi driver for our day adventure. He took us to Hallim Park first. It was very pretty with many flowers, bonzai trees, a traditional Hanok village, "the garden with beautiful birds," and large ugly ostriches. That day, the temperature was 32 degrees C and too hot! We drove along the coast and stopped at the most beautiful landscape with HallaSan in the background. We had an authentic local lunch; I ate seafood soup again only for 6,000KRW :) I've been eating so much here. Teddy Bear Museum followed the beach. It was hilarious to see historical events played out with Teddy Bears. Then, we made our way to the Five-Sand beach. The sand has five colors in it and when we got there, it was the perfect moment. The sun was slowing coming down and the water was just right.

Lastly we went to Chongiyeon Waterfall (Rachel's Korean name) to take some final pictures and try this delicious fluffy bread with red bean paste inside (I'm sorry but I have already forgotten the Korean name). I have come to like the taste now of the red bean paste, especially in pastries. Black pork Samgypsal was our dinner and we paired it with the local soju that tastes stronger than the stuff in Seoul. The full day with the taxi driver only cost 20,000KRW each. I got some Jeju chocolate tangerine souvenirs and brought back orange makegolli which tastes like orange bread to me and not very good lol. The trip was a success and a good friend-bonding experience. Thank goodness we had Rachel to speak fluent Korean because Jeju had less English speakers than in Seoul in my opinion. I hope to return to the Island one day. I returned to campus Sunday afternoon after carrying about ten pounds for over two miles haha. Exhaustion was an understatement.

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Since last week, I have been sick with a cold. I am doing my best to rest and get better especially since school is picking up. I am feeling better today though, and feel like the worst is over. I will meet Lucy Huh this weekend at Costco for a fun evening and attend YonKoJon rugby and soccer games on Saturday. This sporting event showcases the biggest college rivalry there is in Korea. I'll be in the stands cheering for Yonsei with my new hoodie. Classes are going well. I'm really enjoying cinema class and Korean language.

Last night, I had my first FLC (Free Language Class) after KLI. In this class, I am able to learn informal Korean and slang (basically, the stuff that comes much later but is used most often among friends). I just got back from Gangnam, a more wealthier part of Seoul with my friend, JungAe. We went out to eat at this place called GORILLAS IN THE KITCHEN and I enjoyed it very much. All the beautiful clothes here make me want to toss my wardrobe at home and start fresh :P

Jejudo Trip, Cheongiyeon Waterfall :)

Days Go By

Hi again from Korea!

I am happy here and doing well except for a slight stuffy nose. I hope it goes away for the Chusok holiday. The first week of classes is almost done at Yonsei, and I enjoy each one. My final schedule turned out to be: Beginning Korean Language (two hours everyday), Modern Korean History, Contemporary Korean Cinema and Society, Giftedness and Creativity, and the Seminar on Living and Learning in Seoul.

My favorite classes are Korean language, cinema and creativity. The Creativity class is conducted in both English and Korean as most students are Korean natives. I've started to make some Korean friends and have a language exchange partner named Dabin (he is so nice and my same age). I also signed up for YG United Soccer Club Team for fun and to stay healthy eating all the delicious foods here.

Last night, I went to In-Sa-Dong and ate Samgyetang (famous Korean chicken and ginseng soup) and tried Makgeolli (one traditional Korean liquor). I also had the rice water drink and sat by the stream that runs through central Seoul and Gwangahmun square. I need to think about the activities I'd like to do this four-day weekend and my birthday. Perhaps most exciting is that I made plans with some CIEE friends to visit Jeju Island before the winter weather rolls around. I will be there from September 15-18th. This island is beautiful and is seen in many Korean films and dramas. Look for new photos in a few weeks! Thanks for following my journey in South Korea :) The picture above is from the Digital Media City from a presentation of a high-tech home scenario. I think it's appropriate since I will probably blow out twenty candles on Monday =] Much gratitude and thankfulness! Katherine

Korean Ice Cream

Yesterday, my cell group and friends went out to Korean Barbeque "samgyupsal" and had traditional Korean ice cream afterwards called Bingsu. I enjoyed the group meal a lot. We all helped to cook the meat with chives of garlic! We ate the beef with lettuce, rice and spicy/sweet sauce. Next we went to the large ice cream shop indoors and four people shared one bingsu. My table ate yogurt bingsu ice cream while other groups tried green tea or vanilla. This group meeting last four hours in the heat, then it poured for an hour before we left. Thank goodness I carry my umbrella everywhere I go!

Today was technically the beginning of school, however, I do not have classes on Thursday so I enjoyed the day off. Just returned back from the Korean Language Placement test where I gave them my name and ID number for the beginning level class. I went to the bank all by myself this morning and toured the club tables on the main road of Yonsei campus. It feels strange to be the minority. There were so many people out walking today! The atmosphere is so different from the smallness and quietness of Santa Clara. I had kimbap for $1500 Korean won ($1.50 USD) and a one dollar waffle dessert. So tasty and cheap!

Tonight, I will be heading to the North Seoul Tower where you can take an elevator to the top and see the entire city. Then, my friends and I will go night shopping to dongdaemun (open ALL night!). Tomorrow, I have my first class called Giftedness and Creativity and Language class too. It's all getting very exciting being a student here and seeing how much pride the Yonsei Students have for their university. Good thing the mosquitos stopped biting!! Until more cool things happen in my life...