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!!

Words Just Can't Explain~~ 정

My words can't explain the feeling of being mentally close and connected with the people here. Honestly. This kind of telepathic connection is called 정 (jeong) in Korean culture. But let me try to explain what is on my mind.

I have three weeks left in Korea, so I have been preparing my farewells (see you later's). I feel like creating this process will help me cope with leaving and welcome home with open arms. So you'd think that I've mentally prepared myself right~~ wrong. One particular bye was harder than I thought.

The dance group H.A.R.I.E. had an end of the semester battle, so I thought I'd show my support. Now I had said my bye's to most of the members about three weeks ago, and bye to the club. Some of them had the saddest looks on their face, and I began to feel sad too. Funny thing, I didn't know I mattered so much to the group until I said my farewells. I thought that night was the last I'd see of the group, but something pulled me back to them. 정. After the battle we all ate dinner and got drinks together, but it was unlike other nights when we hung out. I really felt the strength of 정.

I have never felt so close to a group (team) in my entire life, and for such a short period of time. I have best friends back home, but this connection is so different. So unexplainable. Being part of H.A.R.I.E. was so important in my experience here, because now I can understand a significant key in Korean culture. Collectivism and relationships with one another which roots deeper than usual.

Now I understand 정and I can honestly say that H.A.R.I.E., and all the friends I've made since studying in Korea have impacted my life. ^.^

Buddha's Birthday Parade

Me and my KLI classmates took a trip to Jongno 종로 to attend Buddha's Birthday Parade. I'm can always appreciate different life teachers, take pictures and enjoy myself! Anyways, it was really fun until I started getting hungry! All of us were standing for hours waiting for the parade to end. I was anticipating the end because all the lanterns would fly into the air. It was suppose to look really pretty at night. But out growling stomachs weren't having that!! We got to the parade at 6:45pm and left at 10pm. To cap off the night, we went to eat dinner in Hongdae 홍대. Dinner was awesome and fulfilling, and ice cream for dessert made an end to the night. I loved my time with everyone!

Classmate from Australia

A man from the parade randomly gave this to us!

Yep! That's my team ^.^

Let's EAT!

Jongno!

Interestingly decorated vehicle

Its neat how its in rainbow characters. 

All the women in the parade were so beautiful.

The famous Korean Bell

So Strange...

As I walked around lost for almost an hour, close to the highway I encountered this sign. Curious~~~

Thank You H.A.R.I.E.!

우선 제가 이번 학기를 즐겁게 보낼 수 있도록 해주신 여러분
모두들에게 감사하다는 말씀 드리고 싶어요
이 힙합 클럽에 대해서 알게됬을 때 정말 기뻤습니다.
한국어가 많이 부족해서 제 자신이 답답했던 적이 많았지만
다양한 스타일의 춤을 배워서 기뻐요. 미국에 갈때 배웠던
것들 고스란히 잘 가져갈께요.

팀의 일부가 될수 잇어서 너무 기뼜습니다. 좀 더 있었으면 좋겟지만
떠나야한다니 안타까워요.
나중에 제가 한국에 와서 모두들 다시한번 만났으면 좋겟구요,
미국에 오면 언제든지 연락 주세요.

이 모든 경험에 감사드립니다.


I would like to thank everyone for making this a great semester. When I found out about this hip-hop club I was very happy.

Even though sometimes I was frustrated with korean, I have learned many styles of dance. Now I will take my new skills back to America.

I'm glad that I got a chance to be a part of the team. I wish I had more time. When I come back to Korea, hopefully we can all be friends. If you go to America, you will always have a friend.

I appreciate this experience. Thank you!

H.A.R.I.E. Performance!

All the hard work finally paid off! Last thursday Harie had a performance during Akaraka weekend, which is one of the biggest student festivals of the school year. Our teams practiced hard and had some fun along the way. Now you all get to see what we've been working on! Hip-hop Always Runs Into Education (H.A.R.I.E.)!

VIDEO: For my performance skip to 1:12

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!