Classes?

I had my first day of classes today! I'm taking East Asian Cinema, which I was thinking about dropping, but it seems really interesting I'll probably stick with it. I'm also in Philosophy of East Asian Literature which is pretty sweet. Everyone looked so bored when the prof was talking about nothingness and identity and such, but of course I love this stuff, ha. I took a Korean placement exam, and I realized just how little of the language I know. It all sounds so familiar, but I really can't communicate at all. Korean language will be 12 hours a week though! so hopefully I'll learn enough to get by..

The campus is so green, and full of monster hills.

Seoul: the first weekend

I had a lazy Saturday; we all woke up late and at ramen on campus. The food here is so cheap! I usually pay 2000 to 5000 Won (2 to 5 USD) for lunch, and all the food is so good! Even fast food American is better here. Coffee, though, is like 5 or 6 bucks. Anyways, I did just about nothing for the rest of the day; we went out later for dinner and drinks but it was rainy so we came back to the dorms pretty quick.
sara, jo, hana, steph

On Sunday, my Mom's aunt, uncle, and cousin took me to lunch in the countryside outside Seoul. The food was great, and I had the best coffee ever afterwards, and it came from a machine? so good. On the way back to campus I saw more protesters start to gather near the capitol. That night my friends and I met up with some other people we met in the dorms and we went to a couple bars. We had kiwi soju- it tastes like candy!
I think a majority of people here are from a UC; there are barely any East Coasters! It seems like the first time ever I haven't been surrounded by people from the tri-state area. I met a few people from nyc, but still no Jersey people!

Seoul: the first Friday night

Friday night some of us went clubbing in Hongdaemun.. We were so overdressed and looked so lost trying to get there; even though we're all ethnically Korean we stick out so obviously as Americans here!
The club was one thing in Korea that was actually just as expensive as in the States. It was incredibly crowded; by 1 the staircases were even packed with people. I don't know if it was because it was crowded or what, but I felt like most people weren't even dancing, they were kindof just chillin. While my friends and I died in heels, we saw so many girls with baggy tees and Nikes. We left club NB2 to try to find somewhere else to go, but we were def ripped off and our wristbands didn't let us in anywhere else..
We found other kids in the program on the street and we all just stepped into a minimart to get some beers and sat around trying to figure out what to do. We ended up going to that same club and leaving not too long after, and tried to get a cab back to campus. None of the cabs wanted to take us though! The riots were still going on, and close to our school in Shinchon, so the roads were apparently blocked. (The riots are about the South Korean's President to import US beef even after reported cases of Mad Cow; http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/01/
skorea.usbeef/index.html).
We finally got a cab to take us back, and we took off our shoes and made it back to the dorms.

Hahoe Village --> Seoul

Before going back to Seoul, we went to one more folk village. People actually did live in this one, however.

Grandmother Willows were considered the most sacred trees; the white papers have wishes written on them

Swings!

Thursday night we went back to Seoul; I signed into my dorm and got lost while wandering around Shinchon, the area that Yonsei University is in. I spent today at orientation, exploring the area, and setting up my internet..

Gyeong Ju

In Ulsan, we first visited the Hyundai Car Factory, which was eh. I guess it was interesting because it is a huge Korean company; almost every car I see here is Hyundai. The factory has a town of itself; I think almost everyone there works in the assembly line.
Back in Gyeong Ju, we visited the Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple. This Buddhist temple was rebuilt in the 1970's to replicate the original, which was burned down by the Japanese in the 16th century.
At a folk village in Gyeong Ju, we watched a pottery demonstration and made sub-par pottery of our own.

A grave in Gyeong Ju, probably for a king.

Modern Gyeong Ju

In Buddhist tradition- you stack stones then make a wish. Not sure if the wish part was so traditional, but whatev. Bulguksa Temple first gate

Gyeong Ju arrival

Tuesday night we arrived in Gyeong Ju, the capital city of the ancient kingdom of Silla. Our hotel had an amazing spa, with massage baths and hot tubs that had different waters, like ginseng or jasmine. There was a hot tub with little fish that would eat off your dead skin! I didn't try that one, ha.

Those aren't lights; the spa water are actually those colors

Hotel party.. Koreans love games..

and pop songs.

Yong In Folk Village

On Tuesday, we first went to the Yong In Folk Village. I'm pretty sure I went when I was younger; so many things were really familiar. The village could be compared to something like colonial Williamsburg in America..

Traditional performance- I think each instrument symbolized something in the cosmos; the sun, moon, and stars.

Another traditional performance; these women jump on a seesaw and perform acrobatic tricks. Crazy.

Arrival

I didn't really know how to feel about leaving Sunday. I was a little nervous, mostly just because I don't know Korean.. Everyone kept telling me I would have an amazing time and I knew it was true, but I just wasn't excited as I though I would be.
When I arrived after a 13 hour flight, I was greeted by my mom's uncle and his wife. I went in for the hug, but i was kind of stopped short by a pat on the back, ha. They were very sweet, tried their best to communicate with my limited Korean and their limited English.

The ride from Incheon Airport to Seoul.

We got to Seoul at 5:30 am Tuesday morning, and they took me to breakfast. I saw a bunch of people out from the night before- a girl being half carried home by her boyfriend, and teenagers practically passed out on the curb. Apparently it is pretty common to stay out all night, because the subway stops at midnight, then reopens at 5. The area that Yonsei University is in full of bars, foood and little shops, all of which are open super late!
I was dropped off at the university, and went on a 3 day field trip with 80 kids from the program to the Korean countryside..

Welcome

Hey guys! I'm going to be studying outside the country for the next year, and I'm using this blog to keep all of you updated, and as a travel log/journal for me.

I'll be in Seoul for eight weeks this summer, studying at Yonsei University. After a few weeks at home in Jersey, I'm going to Madrid with BU for fall semester. Then, after winter break at home, I will hopefully be an exchange student at the University of Copenhagen for spring semester.

These are just the facts, as none of this has really hit me yet.. I'll post within the next couple days with thoughts/feelings about the journeys ahead. I fly out on Sunday!