Jan 12; Korea, I am undeniably in love.

Day 4

Today started off with a visit to the department of external affairs... again. Unfortunately my roomie was not feeling too well. The people there are just so wonderful and kind, so it was nice to see them again regardless of the unfortunate circumstance.

We got our uniforms today in tae kwan do! Tae kwan do, from the perspective of a person who does not do any sports at all, is pretty interesting. I like doing the stretches and warm up exercises but when it comes down to the actual kicking and patterned movements, I'm royally screwed. Coordination is something that I lack. But when I really think about it, it's totally fine if I don't learn anything special because I can't exactly use tae kwan do in Scarbs/TO can I? What I need to learn is how to disarm someone. (Yes, I did ask my instructor how to disarm someone and he just said to run.)

CTEP ready for action!

After class was when the real adventure began. Despite the light snow fall, we decided to head up to Nam Seoul Tower to see the city lights in the night. There was another group of students (from Oz) who planned on heading over to the tower as well. It had been snowing today and they thought the view might not be as clear as day without snow. This made me realize what a different reality we live in, yet it's still the same. We're all so greatly fascinated with Korean culture, yet a simple change in weather makes a change in the decisions we make. Anyways, here's the journey to Seoul Tower:

Is he an asian celebrity? There was a small group of people surrounding him.

Korea and the chunky stairs. 

pretty walls in the alleyway

giant robot in front of a cartoon museum

KDrama fun fact: (Boys Over Flowers) Geum Jan Di and Goo Jun Pyo rode the gondola here

we found the cable car!

waiting in line to get on the gondolas

Tanya and Pam, our Australian classmates!

Off the gondola and almost there!

so close I can taste it! Here's a Korean vending machine in case you were wondering how one would look like.

water break!
(kidding, she didn't drink out of that)

ohh pretty tree!

There is it! Nam Seoul Tower

Here we are!

We found Canada!

At the observatory deck, people can buy cards to write their wish and attach it to  the tree

The deck demographics: 55% couples, 20% families, 35% tourists.

Korean couples are the cutest! The man holds the bag, they cuddle in a PG sort of way, they wear matching clothes, they proclaim their love on blocks of woods,  they lock themselves on the wall of the N Seoul Tower..... (is this getting too cheesy?)

sending love

writing on wood

locks of love

instead of climbing those chunky stairs, we found an outdoor elevator

If I could describe my experience in Nam Seoul Tower in one word, it would be magical.
Looking at the city on the observatory deck of the tower made me realize that:
a) Seoul is a beautiful city
b) I'm actually in Korea
c) I've fallen in love with the city
It's so surreal to think that I'm actually here.
   In Korea.
       Living in Korea.
(It already makes me sad to think about leaving this city and the lovely people I have already met.)

The cable car ride = 75000 won (adult)

The observatory deck = 81000 won (adult/after discount). 

Jan 11; I'm permanently black and blue, permananently blue for youuuuuu

Day 3

The first tae kwan do lesson was held today and it was a lot more fun than I anticipated! For one, I could do all the stretches with ease - thank you P90X!

There was a special lecture in the evening time about Korean culture, past and present. We got to try a variety of traditional snacks and traditional Korean outfits called hanbok.

Special Lecture Hall

Demonstration of how adults give children money on Lunar New Years

practicing

Kristie and her special drink

Reena (from Australia) on my left and Diana on my right.

destructive roomies in hanboks

Meet Maya. She's from Japan.

CTEP gang!

I woke up with a massive red/brown/blue/purple spot on my forearm this morning. I figured it was just a bruise (because I bruise easily) so I didn't bother with it. However, it didn't look like a normal bruise. A friend suggested it might be something else so I went online to check out my options. With the help of google, I saw that the so called "bruise" might have been caused by: ticks which is related to lime disease, spider bites which is related to infections, and other scary stuff. I carried on with my daily tasks until the evening where the paranoia kicked in and I was ready to go to the clinic tomorrow if it didn't get better. 

At the special lecture, one of the Aussies volunteered to help take me to the clinic after the lecture to get it checked out. This comforted me a lot because he spoke Korean and English fluently (annnd I was slightly paranoid). For those who have not experienced being sick in another country, it's no walk in the park. Not being able to communicate with others in one common language can be very frightening. I ended up going with a volunteer from the university instead, but I love knowing that there are nice people in the world.

Doctor's appointment = 15,000 won

(it turned to be only a nasty looking bruise. the doctor gave me a sample cream to use and it works like a charm!)

After getting home, we watched some Korean music video and discovered this awesome band called 10cm.

[There are two people in the band and the height difference is 10cm.]

Look what was on tv!! HIMYM! Yay!

Jan 10; first day of classes and first shopping trip!

There are so many things I'd like to say but to save you the trouble of reading my blabbering, I have tried to make things short and sweet!

Day 2

In case you were wondering how my regular day school schedule is like...
9:00 -12:00 - Korean class
12:00-1:00 - Lunch
1:00 - 4:00 - Tae Kwan Do
4:00 - ??? - explore! (my favourite time of the day)

Student Lounge - open 24/7

Fully loaded T.V. with like 300 channels (I really like the mnet one with kpop)

water filter and microwave

There are actually 4 fridges. 

Korean class in a nutshell:
14 students
2 teachers -who are so well dressed and just so cute and happy!
1 freezing cold classroom.
funfunfun.

I did not start tae kwan do yet, but I did let the instructor/class know that I've got a horrible immune system/accident prone (i.e. nothing too intense please). Ordered the uniform!

On today's menu:
For lunch, we ventured off to the wonderful food stall! I originally wanted to buy tteokbokki, so I asked the guy if it was very spicy. He kindly gave me a sample and indeed it was, so I decided with deep fried shrimp and sweet potato. I will try tteokbokki once my tummy feels better though!

Inside the bag we have some skewers, sesame oil, and my food!

shrimp and sweet potato

delicious!

 5 pieces of mixed vegetables/shrimp = 2500 won

For dinner, we ate at a non-English speaking restaurant with a name I cannot read...YET. Upon arrival, we noticed the menus were all in Korean and there were no pictures, so I thought it was time to make legit use of my phone (I've only been trying to get WiFi, but it hasn't been working). I used my phone app to ask the waiter for an english menu and so dinner was saved.

udon, cucumber, seaweed, egg, soup

Bowl of noodles = 4500 won

After debating on whether to hit the palaces or market after class, we decided to head to the Namdaemun Market with some of the Aussies in our program.

Happy Store makes us happy!

YAY First asian celebrity! (Kim Hyun Joong)

angel? angel!

Sooo what did I buy after an afternoon at the market? Here's my market haul!

Nail Polish from Face Shop

Nail polish = 1000 Won each

 + they gave me a free face wipes with Kim Hyun Joong on the box!

At a small store of random goods

"Fighting" Mug = 2000 Won

Vegan nail polish remover = 1000 Won

I also bought new glasses for about $70 CND!!  They gave us all little yogurt soft drinks while we were waiting and Young (the guy helping Cat and I) spoke great English as well.

To sum it up: I could get use to this.

Jan 09: Orientation Day!

Day 1
A walkthrough of my day depicted by pictures and one hell of an annoying song (excuse my bias).

Pokemon stickers (which I initially thought was Diana's haha)

If that doesn't make our room awesome, I don't know what does. 

a view from the window

So my roomie's alarm clock gets fried the first night. The next morning, the power bar, which says it's surge protected gets fried... and perhaps blows a fuse in our room...

Dead Electronics shelf (RIP)

Skyping with Sheila - the amazing lady who helped make this all happen!

The Winter Beyond Boarders program hosts about 45-ish students from all over the world. This year, there are students from Australia, Netherlands, China, Japan, and of course Canada.

Orientation meeting

Library

LG and Samsung computers in the library. (so pretty)

They wrap straws around the trees in the winter to protect them

Queen Soonheon Building

Campus book store carries a small variety of English books.
The Happiness Project reminds me of HC =) 

on route to the Myung-Jae Residence

Welcome Dinner - so goood!

playing games with the neighbours

I went to sleep pretty early as I didn't get much sleep last night only to be woken up my this at exactly 12:03 a.m.

Me:  *looks around for the source of the sound then at Diana*

"Diana, is that yours?"

To sum up my first night in one sentence: I hate jet lag.

To sum up my first full day in one sentence: I love Seoul.

Goodbye Toronto, Anyeonghaseyo Seoul!

After 2 years of waiting, I have finally arrived to the land of KPop Idols, flower boys, and kimchi!

The Departure

It was my first time leaving my family for more than a week and jeez, saying goodbye was tough! 

The Ride

So what did I do on this 13 hours and 50 minutes nonstop flight?

1) Watch movies - One Day - I liked it, but I admit it was pretty depressing.

                           - The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I really liked. Tom Felton is so good at being bad.

                           - Crazy, Stupid Love - I loved it. So funny. Worth all the hype.

2) Eat 

Lunch: Bibimbap, Seaweed Soup, Kimchi, and Fruit Salad

 Dinner: Fish & Chips with steamed veggies, bread, potato salad & sashimi, and cheese cake

3) Try to sleep - Airplanes are so uncomfortable.

The Arrival

After landing safely, it was time to find our way to the university! Cat and I decided to take the airport limo bus to the university, which was actually very nice. It was efficient, crew was friendly and helpful, there was a TV (with Korean men in afros), no complaints! There was even free wi-fi which I couldn't use because I didn't have a login, but still! Wi-Fi on the bus!

On the bus!

One ticket on the deluxe airport limo bus: 14000 won ($12.40 CND)

Before we called it a night, we ventured off to get a light meal. 

Bungeoppang - roasted batter with red bean paste filling

3 for 1000 won (~$0.89 CND for three)

First Impressions

On route to the university, I noticed a lot of bridges in all different shapes, sizes, and colour. [The bridges connect the land divided by the Han River.] There were a lot of tall buildings too, but instead of my vision of pretty skyscrapers, I saw tall buildings with a more industrial look. I had a very ideal, romanticized vision of Seoul based on kdramas alone, but after finally coming here, I know that is all about to change - hopefully for the better of course!