Last Words on Korea

I won't say I'm happy and I can't say I'm sad. As hard as it is for me to write this, my experience in Korea has changed my life!

You know, there were lots of concepts of Korean culture I really couldn't understand. However, living abroad has helped me grasp and appreciate it. I made some great Korean friends through absorbing concepts like 는치(neunchi~ keen sense in social situations), 정(jeong~ spiritual and emotional bonds), 체명(chemyeong~ preserving harmony and balance), 분위기(bunuiki~ mood or atmosphere of a group), and 기분 (kibun~emotional state aka aura). Understanding how Koreans build and maintain relationships has helped me make wonderful long-term friendships.

While living in South Korea and being around the people, I've come to figure out how a Korean mindset is different from an American. There are exceptions, but most Koreans posses values such as hard work, human relations, collectivism, social face, and hierarchy. This is also a key component to Confucianism.

Things I will miss in Korea:
~Fast driving taxi's and buses
~Fun and embarrassing drinking games
~노래방 (karaoke)
~Great clothes and bargaining
~Korean FOOD!
~홍대 and 신촌 (places in Seoul)
~Nightlife
~Staying out all night until the subway opens
~Hearing Koreans speak better English than some Americans lol!
~There's just too much to name!!!

To the people who want to study abroad in Korea:
~Always carry around hand soap
~Make friends in your dorm or home-stay
~Be prepared for confusion or frustration at times
~Keep a sense of humor
~JOIN A KOREAN CLUB! (You'll interact with more Koreans that way)
~Participate in traditional activities
~Travel as much as you can
~Feed your cravings (food, clothes, music, TV, etc from home)
~Keep a diary and write down your experiences (trust me, you'll laugh about them later)
~ Build a cultural bridge to understanding Korean culture

Also, I want to give a special thanks to:
~UCD Study Abroad office
~CIEE Seoul
~CIEE friends
~Yonsei University
~H.A.R.I.E.
~Ye Won Church
~Korean Language Institute
~and ALL the friends I have made on my journey!

I wouldn't have transformed as a person without this experience! It's all thanks to my support system. Now I can go back home taking everything I've learned with me. This has been the time of my life I will never forget!!

감사합니다 ^^

Farewell Seoulmates/ CIEE Party

We're on a BOAT! Well, not quite. CIEE had a dinner for the Seoul-mates and a farewell party for the Spring 2012 program. It was at a Yacht on the Han River. The dinner was a fancy buffet, and unlimited beer! Well, the cheap stuff anyways. It was so much fun, and I'll miss everyone! For those of you CIEE programees or seoul-mates reading this~~ I love you guys!!

BBQ with the Seoul-mates

The BBQ event with the seoul-mates was really fun! It had a weird start though. We took the bus to the World Cup Stadium, and we got lost. Getting lost every time we meet up with someone isn't unusual~~ We ended up walking for a good 45 minutes before we reached them. When we did, there was no fire to cook bbq on. Then we all figured out that we are ordering chicken, pizza, and soda. What kind of BBQ is this hahaha?? Either way the food was really good~~ or at least until the until the bugs came out. Seriously, the salad had so many microscopic critters in it that the salad looked like pepper was added!

Anyways, the night was full of fun memories. We all played frisbee, kickball, and lighted sparklers. The night wasn't complete without a campfire and marshmallows, so a guy from my program fired up a pizza box. The Seoul-mates were too scared the wet grass would catch fire, so they put it out. It was a funny experience! I like all of the mates because they make us feel welcome and comfortable with Korea. I'm grateful we have them with us!

Japan Excursion

I love my program! Shout outs to CIEE because without them, I would have never thought about going to Japan! All the program participants took a trip of a lifetime!

We spent a day in Kyoto touring Buddhist temples and ancient palaces, drove to Osaka. Now Osaka is where it's at! The timing was perfect because the cherry blossoms were blooming! Absolutely gorgeous! The temples we visited were cool too, and I learned lots of history.

Food was good and interesting. I'll admit I was a little nervous to eat certain foods that didn't seem familiar, but I ate them anyways. The sushi was cheap and delicious too! You'll see! Now I'm addicted to sushi, but I still don't trust sushi in a landlocked state like Colorado lol!

I love Japanese people! I've never felt more comfortable in a foreign country in my life! I feel like they treat me like a regular person instead of a foreigner, and they value individualism more. Everyone has their own personal style~~no matter how unique or strange it seems. The hospitality is great too! I like that most Japanese didn't speak english to me and assumed I knew their language. It makes me think that if I lived in Japan I'd definitely need to speak Japanese to get by in life.

 The nightlife in Osaka is amazing! Me and my friends went clubbing the first night, and it was really cool! Expensive though~~ Girls only paid 2,500 yen and men 4,000 yen ($30 & $45). There were many  foreigners, but everyone was nice. Especially the Japanese women! I made many new friends just from that night. The Japanese men are friendly too! Nobody was standing on the wall, everyone was dancing! There's so much to do in Osaka at night! Ahh, I wanna go back!

There are many pictures, so I'll put some pictures up soon ^^

Goodbye City Chick, Hello Farm Girl

A few days ago, CIEE took us to the countryside of South Korea. We went to 전주(Jeonju), 남원(Namwon), and 한동 (Handong). But this is only 전주.

Now let me give you a little background info on me~~~~~ I grew up in a small part of Colorado. So you'd think I'd like hiking, rock climbing, and all the outdoor nature stuff. WRONG! I would do those things sometimes, but if I had a choice, I would stay indoors all the time. And don't even get me started on bugs! So ever since I lived in New York working as an intern, I've been a city girl at heart!

Jeonju has the best Bibimbap in the Country

Even got a chance to do some traditional style korean dancing! I sat in front of the class haha! My friend next to me got picked on all the time for not doing the moves right. It was really funny though, even for him! All fun and games there.

We visited the  Paper Museum of Jeonju and I handmade the paper. I would be a great dealer if I made my own paper. Now all I need to do is know how to roll it. Just playin!!

I can't remember if this was a palace or temple. Either way it was gorgeous!

I SOOO don't remember~~

 Other photos of different areas on the countryside are coming soon!

 Nevertheless, it was surprisingly nice and peaceful! I wouldn't mind living in the countryside. SIKE!

Sleeping on the floor??

Before coming to Korea, I never thought I'd be able to stay in a traditional korean room (close-minded city girl). Fortunately I became more openminded. Anyways~~~ But since the excursion to the countryside kept us out all day, I was happy to crash anywhere! Yep~ on the floor! We got to our rooms and I actually loved it!

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 Let me tell you something real quick~~ People thought those pillows were used for our heads since those were the only ones visible. In traditional homes, those are used for your booty! They're on the floor! Yet some people in my program used them for their heads. One guy complained that he couldn't sleep comfortably because of a strange smell. Later I said it's used as a booty cushion. That  was mad gross!

I have fallen in love with the heated floors in Korea <3

Not so traditional. Thank God no squat toilets!

Comfy bed! But with the heated floors? 안 좋애!

This room was small for 2 people!

After spending a couple nights in here, I wouldn't mind living in a traditional style Korean home. When I'm rich and successful, I'll buy a house and have few rooms in this design. A girl can dream!

Odd Tasks to Explore Seoul

Random Pics of the Day:

The program sent us on a scavenger hunt in Seoul giving us a bunch of tasks. I was assigned with a group that knew little or no Korean, so it only made the game funnier! Plus, it was freezing!  The tasks were so randomly selected in my opinion, but it was a great way to explore the city. Yeah we got turned around on the subway a couple of times, however I believe we did a nice job without having any koreans with us (all the other teams did) *cough cough*.

We had to take the best jumping photo in front of the Seoul City Building. Now imagine how people in the business suits thought of us. THOSE DARN KIDS!

Picture of the creature of Hangul King Sejong

Group photo in front of the National History Museum of South Korea

First Meal in Korea and We Eat Japanese Food! WHAT?!

The program rented out a restaurant for our "first meal" in Seoul, and this is what we ate...
                                                           SHABU SHABU!

                               The only thing korean we ate was kimchi.

                                         It was good but still...

Funny Story: Seoul-mates Get Too Close~

The CIEE program set up a  Seoul-mate program (get it?? soul...mate...whatever), and it's basically a a buddy system with Yonsei. In a group, we toured around the campus briefly, ate delicious food, and hung out in Hongdae which is one stop away from Shinchon (residency).

This sweet girl in the group is handicapped, so we had to use elevators and such. I've realized that South Korea isn't really organized for the disabled unfortunately :/ So along with the scooter chair, about eight of us were packed into an elevator. Going up to the next floor, it got stuck and the lights flickered on and off! As you can imagine we were freaking out, especially our Seoul-mates! However, that interesting experience brought us closer...literally! However, since this country is technologically advanced, the problem was fixed within a few minutes.

Either way, that experience made my day and we got to connect with the other Seoul-mates that way. Now if I see one of them on campus we'll already have a funny story to laugh about! Just imagine, "Hey remember when we were stuck on that subway elevator together? Remember when your elbow was in my arm and face was imprinting my back as we tried to move around looking for a calling phone?? Ahh, good times!"