My Favorite Shades of Green & Yellow

Thought I'd share some pictures from yesterday and today of the beautiful Yonsei campus. Hope you like them! And of course, I can give a midterm update haha. I'm surviving and almost done :) I did well on Korean reading comprehension, pronunciation and listening tests, but haven't got the results from the speaking and writing portions yet. I finished my history take-home exam due tomorrow and this afternoon, I took my midterm for giftedness and creativity which was a little more challenging than expected. The test format was 33 fill-in-the-blank questions with 2 to 7 items each. No partial credit given :( Tonight I will be up writing my cinema essay comparing the remembrance of the past in the films A Single Spark and Sopyonje. They are examples of Korean New Wave films that emerged in the 1990s. They were difficult movies to watch because they deal with antagonistic themes of traditional/modern, trauma/post-trauma, poverty and the harsh treatment of workers in sweatshops, however, I'm glad I watched them. The Pansori singing style depicted as the central medium in Sopyonje was very moving. Hope everyone in the States is having a good start to the week. I also decided which classes I will be taking this winter at Santa Clara: International Economics, Health Psychology, Writing in Psychology, Singing Lessons and Calculus. And perhaps the most exciting news of all is that I will be traveling to Thailand from November 17-20 to visit my Dad :))) Ta-ta for now! Check back for Japan update in early November!

Over Two Months Gone

Hello again! Thanks for continuing to check my blog! I have quite to catch you up on considering I haven't written in a few weeks. Here we go :0 The week I went to Samcheongdong with Lucy, I also went to this place called Myeongdong with some friends to purchase some winter items for the cold weather. In the evenings lately, it's been in the 40s (soon to be 30s)! I got a warm coat, beige hat and a green scarf - all are really thick! Really random, but I also participated in a linguistics study and made 20,000 won for my time = more spending money :) On the 8th, we had our first meeting with North Korean refugee students as part of the BACK Project, and it was really fun. We played games at the Yonsei auditorium to get to know each other and then, we went to the Han River to watch the Annual Fireworks show. It was the most beautiful display I've ever seen! This past Saturday we met with the students again, but focused our time on teaching an English lesson & of course, played the human knot game.

Last week was eventful as well. I had my first paper due in my education class as well as an hour-long presentation on a forty page chapter. It was an experience I never had before, but I am happy I did well. It has been really wonderful to see the intense effort my Korean classmates put into their presentation work. It has really been a strong motivator for me to do my best and be a confident public speaker. I am also happy to say I had the opportunity to play tennis last weekend & am looking forward to another match this Sunday.

This past Monday, my friend Penny and I went to Hongdae after Korean class to search for this Japanese Ramyeon place called Menya Saidame. It took forever to find the place because of my poor sense of direction, but after asking many locals and using Penny's iPad, we finally made it & boy was it worth all the walking! The broth was delicious, as were the pork, noodles and onions inside :) Penny and I were in heaven haha. We also paired our meal with some sake which made the soup and gyoza all the better. Tuesday night, I spent the evening out to celebrate my friend's birthday, but ever since then have been preparing for midterms and such. The picture above is from Tuesday night with friends.

I had my first midterm today in Korean, listening and reading comprehension. Tomorrow I have an 8 minute interview/speaking test (a little nerve-racking) and then Monday, we conclude with the writing test. I've been working on my history midterm (essay) and intend to finish tomorrow. Then all I have left is a paper for my cinema class discussing historical remembrance in two films, A Single Spark & Sopyonjae and education exam. Needless to say, I will be doing a lot of studying this weekend. Hope everyone is doing well! Two months have passed, and there's only two more to go before Christmas and home.

How Could I Forget About Costco!

Can you guess what this is? .....????? My friends and I were in shock when we saw all the people at the food court in Costco eating this like a salad in addition to the other items they had. Korean Costco serves bulgogi bake (like American chicken bake), hot dog set (like American set but more expensive and not as tasty), secret bulgogi pizza that is not on the menu, and yogurt ice cream. Anyway, this curious food photo is made of minced onions, packaged relish, mustard and ketchup squirted onto a plate. Since everyone was making it, my friends and I made our own onion salad and I was the brave one to test first. It wasn't too bad, but the concept is just so strange to me. I never thought three condiments and one vegetable could make a dish. One of my friends suggested that since Costco serves mainly Americanized foods, Koreans thought of making this salad to act as a sort-of stand-in Korean side dish, a little more like home.

삼청동

Hello again! Sorry it has been awhile. I always find myself very busy, but the good kind of busy where everything is still exciting. I will try my best to recap some events and places I have been to that I've really enjoyed. Last weekend, I met my friend, Lucy, who is in the photo above at Samcheondong for an evening out. It was the first time I used the Seoul Metro by myself. Very momentous haha. I told Lucy some of the sentences I can make in Korean and later she said "캐서린 한국말 잘 한다" which translates to Katherine speaks Hangul well. I still have so much to learn, but I feel more comfortable now with my Korean ability than before. We had 녹두전 (mung-bean pancake) and dukkgalbi (thick rice noodle plus really great meat) from the most popular restaurant on this romantic, beautiful road. Then we devoured an ice cream waffle. I will go with Lucy soon to a Korean monastery after midterms pass.

This week I also went to a place call Myeongdong for some night shopping with new friends. I found a warm winter jacket, thick scarf and fluffy brown hat. I want to be prepared for the chilly winter here. The sharp turn between summer and fall really scared people, including me. It dropped about ten degrees in just two days a week or so ago. The approaching winter will be a memorable experience since I have never faced such cold temperatures. Tonight I went to Gangnam for a short time with my friend Rachel to eat and shop. It was the first time I ever got shoved outside of the subway, and twice! Tomorrow is the first day that I will be volunteering with my program talking with North Korean refugees. We will meet and greet, then have a picnic with games, then go to the Han River to watch the popular firework show. Sunday is reserved all day for studying and homework and cruel laundry haha. Goodnight to those in Korea, but good morning to my American family and friends!