Well, today was the first day of class. Brian met with me again and we walked to campus. We stopped at the bookstore and bought our books for class-a textbook and a workbook. I found my classroom and sat down. A few minutes later I hear some English and turn around-hey, it's Brian! So, he was even put in the same class as me, even though it appears there are many, many level 1 classes. (I'm still confused because I actually never found my name on the list, but asked someone in charge what room I should go to.)
The morning is split up into 4 classes/sessions, each 50 minutes long. The first chunk of 2 has one teacher and the second chunk has a different one. The first two classes we worked on all the vowels and diphthongs. The last two classes we practiced consonants and didn't even get to all of them. So, like I was dreading, it looks like several days of the alphabet. I wish they had done a better job of placing us within in the levels. For example, if you have had no exposure to the Korean language before, then those students should all be in the same class, and if you have studied at all before with their program or somewhere else, those students should be in another level 1 class. And if you were close to passing into level 2, those students should also be in a different level 1 class. But, maybe that is too much organizing for them. Anyway, classes went fine and I had no problems.
At 1, when class was over, I walked back to my residence. I stopped at the Daiso (dollar store) for a notebook and the kimbap shop for lunch to bring back.
In the afternoon, I texted back and forth with an Korean friend in the area. Now mind, you texting on my new phone is quite the task for me. This was an activity that took about 30 minutes or so. (In the US, it probably would have taken 5 minutes, 10 tops.) After the texting escapade, I did some exercising in my room. I was able to chat with Jenny/Jung Yoon, my roommate from last year, and then studied some.
In the evening, I went to the Paris Baguette to see if they have the bags of bread at the end of the day like the PB in Gimhae. I went at 8:15 and there wasn't any. I took a walk around the area, stopped in a few clothing stores and came back to the PB around 8:45 and there still weren't any bags of bread. Sad. Guess I'll stay on the look out for them though in the next few days.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Orientation and Placement Test Day
Today I woke up before my alarm as usual. It was nice because I got a chance to talk to Joe before starting my day here.
I met Brian in the street. He is living in a different building than me, but very close. He showed me a short cut to school. Unfortunately, I don't quite remember the way yet. We went to the IIE (Institute of International Education) building, only to be redirected to the "Crown Shaped Building" about 5 minutes away. We had the orientation, which was basically them reading a list of information to us, which they had just handed to us. Then, there was a Welcoming Ceremony, and some important person talked to us and they translated into English, Chinese and Japanese for the group, and then announced all the countries represented there. Brian and I happened to sit next to 2 other adoptees and some people they had befriended. So I've met a young woman from Ireland, Mexico and Switzerland and a young man from Australia. We went to lunch at the cafeteria. It is relatively cheap (less than 4,000W= less than $4), but the system was very confusing. They have a cabinet where they have what is being served on display and you can look at that and a line next to it for a change machine. Inside, you go to a 'booth' and place your order and pay. You get a little slip and it tells you which "kitchen station" to go to to pick up your food. You hand your little slip to the kitchen ladies and then you get your food. I tried a bulgogi wrap, but some of the other stuff looked good-and came with side dishes too. It was hectic like I mentioned before, and right at noon, so there were many, many students in the cafeteria (and they all knew what they were doing). After lunch, we took a quick tour of that building-it houses the bookstore, and then off to the placement test.
There were 50 questions on the test, and the started out very easy and got very difficult. I only made it up to #28 before saying, yea, I can read what it says, but I really have no idea what I'm reading and anything I get right is only from guessing. I got 14 right. After we got our test back, then we went to have an interview with a native speaker. I'm guessing I didn't do so well...she asked me about the weather and I said it was cold (because I was cold...) and then she asked me a question but I had no idea what she asked. I explained, in Korean, that I had studied for 4 months at Inje. Then she asked me to read a few sentences in a textbook. I did so, fine, I thought-she also nodded her head and made an encouraging sound, and then said, "level 1". What?? So, even with my little bit of background knowledge I still did not break through to level 2. I'm really bummed and disappointed in myself. I just hope that it is not painstakingly easy or repetitive or focuses too much on the basics that I already know. I'm dreading tomorrow and having to go over and over and over the alphabet. :(
After the placement test, I came back to my residence. Roommate has still not been seen since last night. I chatted with Jihye (my coordinator from last year) and studied on my Rosetta Stone for a bit.
Around 6:30 I met Brian to go to dinner. We walked around for awhile before finding a bibimbop type of restaurant (hot stone bowls with rice and then you could choose, meat, fish, kimchi, vegetables etc. to be inside-all were set menu items though-not like you could create your own). I got a tuna and kimchi one. It was pretty good and very reasonably priced. I ended up paying for Brian's because he has replied to so many emails and questions from me over the past few months that I needed to repay him. Our total only came to 8,000W (less than $8). They were very filling too. Afterwards, I stopped at a Daiso (Korean dollar store) to get coat hangers and some little hooks to hang things up.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
I met Brian in the street. He is living in a different building than me, but very close. He showed me a short cut to school. Unfortunately, I don't quite remember the way yet. We went to the IIE (Institute of International Education) building, only to be redirected to the "Crown Shaped Building" about 5 minutes away. We had the orientation, which was basically them reading a list of information to us, which they had just handed to us. Then, there was a Welcoming Ceremony, and some important person talked to us and they translated into English, Chinese and Japanese for the group, and then announced all the countries represented there. Brian and I happened to sit next to 2 other adoptees and some people they had befriended. So I've met a young woman from Ireland, Mexico and Switzerland and a young man from Australia. We went to lunch at the cafeteria. It is relatively cheap (less than 4,000W= less than $4), but the system was very confusing. They have a cabinet where they have what is being served on display and you can look at that and a line next to it for a change machine. Inside, you go to a 'booth' and place your order and pay. You get a little slip and it tells you which "kitchen station" to go to to pick up your food. You hand your little slip to the kitchen ladies and then you get your food. I tried a bulgogi wrap, but some of the other stuff looked good-and came with side dishes too. It was hectic like I mentioned before, and right at noon, so there were many, many students in the cafeteria (and they all knew what they were doing). After lunch, we took a quick tour of that building-it houses the bookstore, and then off to the placement test.
There were 50 questions on the test, and the started out very easy and got very difficult. I only made it up to #28 before saying, yea, I can read what it says, but I really have no idea what I'm reading and anything I get right is only from guessing. I got 14 right. After we got our test back, then we went to have an interview with a native speaker. I'm guessing I didn't do so well...she asked me about the weather and I said it was cold (because I was cold...) and then she asked me a question but I had no idea what she asked. I explained, in Korean, that I had studied for 4 months at Inje. Then she asked me to read a few sentences in a textbook. I did so, fine, I thought-she also nodded her head and made an encouraging sound, and then said, "level 1". What?? So, even with my little bit of background knowledge I still did not break through to level 2. I'm really bummed and disappointed in myself. I just hope that it is not painstakingly easy or repetitive or focuses too much on the basics that I already know. I'm dreading tomorrow and having to go over and over and over the alphabet. :(
After the placement test, I came back to my residence. Roommate has still not been seen since last night. I chatted with Jihye (my coordinator from last year) and studied on my Rosetta Stone for a bit.
Around 6:30 I met Brian to go to dinner. We walked around for awhile before finding a bibimbop type of restaurant (hot stone bowls with rice and then you could choose, meat, fish, kimchi, vegetables etc. to be inside-all were set menu items though-not like you could create your own). I got a tuna and kimchi one. It was pretty good and very reasonably priced. I ended up paying for Brian's because he has replied to so many emails and questions from me over the past few months that I needed to repay him. Our total only came to 8,000W (less than $8). They were very filling too. Afterwards, I stopped at a Daiso (Korean dollar store) to get coat hangers and some little hooks to hang things up.
We will see what tomorrow brings.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Chang Deok Ahn "Dormitory"
We woke bright and early to make sure Amanda got the airport shuttle bus in time. Then, she was off and I was on my own. I went to the subway station to time how long it would take me to walk from the guesthouse to there. Then, I came back and finished packing and organizing before heading to the station a bit early before my meeting time with Jenny's brother (my roommate from Inje) Chang Hwan. As it turned out, he also arrived early and we were off to Kyunghee University area ahead of schedule. His English is not as good as Jenny's, but we were still able to communicate and have short conversations. I was very thankful to have someone to help me with my bags.
We found the 'dormitory' (you may note that I keep putting dormitory in quotation marks...this is because it's not really a dorm. It is not on campus, but it is still kind of university housing. It is more like a mini-apartment in that it has a sink, cooking range, washing/drying machine (all in one), microwave, refrigerator and bathroom. Whew-you also may think that this must be a big space, but it's not. It's probably half the size of a typical hotel room...maybe 18ft x 10ft (though I'm not good at guessing lengths). Anyway, the room is nice, bunkbeds (I have the top) but only one desk. And I'm thinking 'normal' school has been in session for at least a month or so, so she is all settled in. Which leaves me "odd man out" a little. Also, do not currently have an internet cable and am using wifi from someplace around here I guess.
My roommate is a native Korean (I've already forgotten her name...I know her English name is Katherine). I've really only interacted with her for about 3 minutes today. She left to go visit a friend and said she would be back quickly...she was gone for at least 4 1/2 hours... I went out around 3:30 and then again around 6. The first trip was just to see what the area is like. There are lots of restaurants, some shops, and lots of coffee shops. I did navigate to the university and walked on campus for a bit, and then wandered off campus and found another university. There, I watched some guys playing soccer for about 20 minutes. I also found a little grocery store and got some fruit, yogurt and snacks. I came back to my room and studied and then went out again to try and find internet at a cafe. I walked into a whole bunch of them (also looking at the menu) and picked one. Go figure, the one I pick doesn't have internet! So, I took my time there and had my drink (Hot Vanilla- not Chocolate...) and then went in search of another place for internet.
I am just about ready to crash I think. Since I had an early morning and tomorrow is the big "first day of school" deal. Well, just orientation and placement testing... Anyway, my contact here is going to meet me in the morning and walk to school with me. I'm so thankful to have someone to help out a little. Kyunghee is SO much bigger than Inje (I am really homesick for Inje! Even though everything is a bit nicer and a lot newer dorm-wise, I really do wish I was in crazy ole ET-English Town!)
**UPDATE** My roommate is NOT Korean. She only speaks pretty much fluent sounding Korean, and gave me a Korean name when I asked her if she had one. Hmm... We also were able to rearrange the closets some, so I do have my own personal space-small though it be, I'm happy. And now this happy camper is heading to bed!
We found the 'dormitory' (you may note that I keep putting dormitory in quotation marks...this is because it's not really a dorm. It is not on campus, but it is still kind of university housing. It is more like a mini-apartment in that it has a sink, cooking range, washing/drying machine (all in one), microwave, refrigerator and bathroom. Whew-you also may think that this must be a big space, but it's not. It's probably half the size of a typical hotel room...maybe 18ft x 10ft (though I'm not good at guessing lengths). Anyway, the room is nice, bunkbeds (I have the top) but only one desk. And I'm thinking 'normal' school has been in session for at least a month or so, so she is all settled in. Which leaves me "odd man out" a little. Also, do not currently have an internet cable and am using wifi from someplace around here I guess.
My roommate is a native Korean (I've already forgotten her name...I know her English name is Katherine). I've really only interacted with her for about 3 minutes today. She left to go visit a friend and said she would be back quickly...she was gone for at least 4 1/2 hours... I went out around 3:30 and then again around 6. The first trip was just to see what the area is like. There are lots of restaurants, some shops, and lots of coffee shops. I did navigate to the university and walked on campus for a bit, and then wandered off campus and found another university. There, I watched some guys playing soccer for about 20 minutes. I also found a little grocery store and got some fruit, yogurt and snacks. I came back to my room and studied and then went out again to try and find internet at a cafe. I walked into a whole bunch of them (also looking at the menu) and picked one. Go figure, the one I pick doesn't have internet! So, I took my time there and had my drink (Hot Vanilla- not Chocolate...) and then went in search of another place for internet.
I am just about ready to crash I think. Since I had an early morning and tomorrow is the big "first day of school" deal. Well, just orientation and placement testing... Anyway, my contact here is going to meet me in the morning and walk to school with me. I'm so thankful to have someone to help out a little. Kyunghee is SO much bigger than Inje (I am really homesick for Inje! Even though everything is a bit nicer and a lot newer dorm-wise, I really do wish I was in crazy ole ET-English Town!)
**UPDATE** My roommate is NOT Korean. She only speaks pretty much fluent sounding Korean, and gave me a Korean name when I asked her if she had one. Hmm... We also were able to rearrange the closets some, so I do have my own personal space-small though it be, I'm happy. And now this happy camper is heading to bed!
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| Standing in the entrance/foyer-"kitchen" to the left, bathroom to the right, living space in the background |
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| Good sized bathroom, with door to the shower area |
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| Dishwasher/dryer unit, stove top,sink, fridge and microwave (the one and only desk stretching from the fridge to the window) |
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| Bunk beds; I have the top bunk |
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| View of the room standing with my back against the window. Our two closets; I have the smaller one on the left. (The bigger one has two doors that open out) |
Amanda's Last Full Day
We had a nice relaxing morning. When we went to breakfast, we started chatting with a man in his 50's or 60's. Then he was joined by his wife. Shortly after, his son arrived and we realized that they were on the JSA tour with us!! We sat and talked with them for about an hour!
We decided to go to Olympic Park for our last day. As always, we have this strange luck of being at the right place at the right time to see different events or activities going on. There was a 'festival' of sorts going on at Olympic Park, where non-profit organizations had booths set up and were showing what they did, giving out info, etc. We walked through most of the park, saw many of the Olympic buildings (only the handball stadium was open, the rest were locked), and 2 museums.
Around 3 we headed to Han River Park, and stopped at a Lotte Department Store to find dinner. We tried to go on a river cruise, but from the X the lady made with her hands, there were no more tickets by some chance so we could not go. I think we were too late and there were no more boats. So, we just sat by the river and people watched.
We headed back to our guesthouse, regrouped and walked to Myeongdong to try and find a BBQ place to have dinner. We found one and tried to order just 1 plate of meat to grill, but our waiter told us we had to order 2, but it would be cheaper. So we did that. The place was pretty busy and it took them quite awhile to get all the side dishes to us. When we went to pay, it was more expensive than what we were expecting, and the owner guy didn't understand us. A nice young couple waiting in line to pay asked what was going on and translated for us. They told us that the server probably had made a mistake, so we had to pay the larger sum. Then we returned and Amanda and I both packed/organized our bags.
We decided to go to Olympic Park for our last day. As always, we have this strange luck of being at the right place at the right time to see different events or activities going on. There was a 'festival' of sorts going on at Olympic Park, where non-profit organizations had booths set up and were showing what they did, giving out info, etc. We walked through most of the park, saw many of the Olympic buildings (only the handball stadium was open, the rest were locked), and 2 museums.
Around 3 we headed to Han River Park, and stopped at a Lotte Department Store to find dinner. We tried to go on a river cruise, but from the X the lady made with her hands, there were no more tickets by some chance so we could not go. I think we were too late and there were no more boats. So, we just sat by the river and people watched.
We headed back to our guesthouse, regrouped and walked to Myeongdong to try and find a BBQ place to have dinner. We found one and tried to order just 1 plate of meat to grill, but our waiter told us we had to order 2, but it would be cheaper. So we did that. The place was pretty busy and it took them quite awhile to get all the side dishes to us. When we went to pay, it was more expensive than what we were expecting, and the owner guy didn't understand us. A nice young couple waiting in line to pay asked what was going on and translated for us. They told us that the server probably had made a mistake, so we had to pay the larger sum. Then we returned and Amanda and I both packed/organized our bags.
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| In front of the entrance to Olympic Park |
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| Gymnastics Hall was closed |
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| I remember being boosted up here and sitting for a picture when I was 9 years old |
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| Amanda experiencing grilling at Korean BBQ |
Oh the People You will Meet
This is a special entry dedicated to the random friendly strangers we have met on our trip. We are reflecting on the interactions we have had with native Koreans or other travelers because our trip together is drawing to an end. Amanda just took off for the airport.
In no particular order, here are our "special friendly friends"
1. Lady on 128-1 Bus in Gimhae: She took Amanda's duffel bag as we were being swung around like crazy on the bus ride.
2. Bus driver on 128-1: Had a conversation with Amanda and Amanda told him all of the Korean words she knew. (While he was driving-which made me nervous)
3. Two Inje Student "Security?": stopped the university car they were driving to say hello and talk with us for about 5 minutes. They invited us to have lunch, and when we declined lunch, asked if we would have coffee (which we also declined).
4. "Train Kim": Watched Amanda and me play and make faces with the little girl in the seat in front of us. Struck up a conversation by telling us, "I think the little girl enjoyed you!" and then we had a conversation for about 20 minutes before he got off on his stop.
5. Peter: Amanda and I were on the subway and we were sitting next to him; he was studying English in a workbook and Amanda asked him something like, "what are you studying?" And we had a short conversation with him before getting off at our stop.
6. Minnesota Guy and 2 Korean friends: They were making fun of one of the friends for using a purse and Minnesota Guy said, I would use one for candy and chapstick. To which Amanda responded: Candy! And showed her bag of candy in her purse.
7. Worker on Subway Studying English: Amanda and I were talking while on the subway and this young man interrupts us and tells me I have very good English and asked Amanda where she was from.
8. Four Malaysian Friends: We saw four women trying to take a group photo and Amanda offered to take their picture so all of them could be in it; then we chatted a little about where we were from.
9. Londoners: On our JSA tour we met 2 friends from London-the guy is teaching her and the girl was visiting him.
10. Australian & New Zealand Travel Conference Tour Folk: We saw a big group of older people trying to take a group photo in the subway. We offered to take some pictures for them and chatted with them til the subway arrived. I assured them they were headed in the right direction and I told a woman I wanted to go to New Zealand. She gave me a small woven bag as a souvenir from New Zealand!
11. Canadian Korean Lady: On the subway, Amanda tried to give her seat to a grandfather, but he declined and kept walking. Canadian Korean Lady turned to her and said, "Oh that was nice!" and then we had a conversation with her til we got off the subway.
12. Chinese Couple at Cheongyecheon: Hwa Sun was looking for someone to take our picture and the wife offered to photograph us, then she asked her husband to take a picture of her with us.
13. Ajusshi's in the Mountain: I asked them in my broken, limited Korean if they wanted a picture of them together, so I did that, and then they asked if we wanted one together so we said yes. They also took a picture of us with their own camera too.
14. Girl on Train: She was looking at us so we smiled at her and then began about 5-7 minute interaction of face making and playing before she said, "bye, bye!" and got off the train with her family.
15. Girl on Subway: Amanda was hanging on the hand 'straps'/'stirrups' (to hold on to so you don't fall over on the subway) and this little girl (about 10 or so) copied everything Amanda did. When she got off on her stop, she waved bye to Amanda.
16. Little boy on subway: On our way to go mountain hiking a little boy made faces back and forth with us.
17. Doghouse Friends: Some students at the Dog House in Gimhae asked to play darts with Amanda
18. Singapore Family: We went for breakfast in our hostel and started chatting with an man in his 50's-60's, later his wife joined him. About 5 minutes later, his son arrived and he looked familiar to us-then we realized we were on the JSA tour together!! That was pretty wild. We had an hour long conversation sharing information about our countries and about ourselves.
19. Front Desk Guy at our Hostel:Every day he and the woman (owner?) would ask us where we were going or if we had any questions about how to get where we needed to go.
20. Two random men in the subway: Helped Amanda and me with our luggage as we were en route from SWS to our new lounge
21. Two brothers at the park: Amanda and I were watching these 2 adorable little boys running around-they would run closer and closer to us. Finally, the younger one came within 8 feet of us and waved and said, "hellllo!" and then ran away, this happened a few more times. As we continued watching them running around, the younger one also approached a young couple eating McDonalds. The man might have been Korean-American as he seemed quite fluent in English (no accent) and Korean; he told the boy, "If you speak English I'll hook you up" (meaning french fries). I don't think the little boy said anything, but the woman gave him a fry, and then the little boy ended up grabbing several other fries on his own. His older brother came and he took a fry or two also. Then he ran back to Grandma, (maybe tattled) and he and Grandma returned. Grandma spanked the youngest one and then chased him around-as he was trying to get more fries. It was hilarious. A few minutes later, Grandma and both boys went walking by to get a snack from the convenience store; they stopped and said "hellllo!" again and chatted with us very briefly and brokenly.
In no particular order, here are our "special friendly friends"
1. Lady on 128-1 Bus in Gimhae: She took Amanda's duffel bag as we were being swung around like crazy on the bus ride.
2. Bus driver on 128-1: Had a conversation with Amanda and Amanda told him all of the Korean words she knew. (While he was driving-which made me nervous)
3. Two Inje Student "Security?": stopped the university car they were driving to say hello and talk with us for about 5 minutes. They invited us to have lunch, and when we declined lunch, asked if we would have coffee (which we also declined).
4. "Train Kim": Watched Amanda and me play and make faces with the little girl in the seat in front of us. Struck up a conversation by telling us, "I think the little girl enjoyed you!" and then we had a conversation for about 20 minutes before he got off on his stop.
5. Peter: Amanda and I were on the subway and we were sitting next to him; he was studying English in a workbook and Amanda asked him something like, "what are you studying?" And we had a short conversation with him before getting off at our stop.
6. Minnesota Guy and 2 Korean friends: They were making fun of one of the friends for using a purse and Minnesota Guy said, I would use one for candy and chapstick. To which Amanda responded: Candy! And showed her bag of candy in her purse.
7. Worker on Subway Studying English: Amanda and I were talking while on the subway and this young man interrupts us and tells me I have very good English and asked Amanda where she was from.
8. Four Malaysian Friends: We saw four women trying to take a group photo and Amanda offered to take their picture so all of them could be in it; then we chatted a little about where we were from.
9. Londoners: On our JSA tour we met 2 friends from London-the guy is teaching her and the girl was visiting him.
10. Australian & New Zealand Travel Conference Tour Folk: We saw a big group of older people trying to take a group photo in the subway. We offered to take some pictures for them and chatted with them til the subway arrived. I assured them they were headed in the right direction and I told a woman I wanted to go to New Zealand. She gave me a small woven bag as a souvenir from New Zealand!
11. Canadian Korean Lady: On the subway, Amanda tried to give her seat to a grandfather, but he declined and kept walking. Canadian Korean Lady turned to her and said, "Oh that was nice!" and then we had a conversation with her til we got off the subway.
12. Chinese Couple at Cheongyecheon: Hwa Sun was looking for someone to take our picture and the wife offered to photograph us, then she asked her husband to take a picture of her with us.
13. Ajusshi's in the Mountain: I asked them in my broken, limited Korean if they wanted a picture of them together, so I did that, and then they asked if we wanted one together so we said yes. They also took a picture of us with their own camera too.
14. Girl on Train: She was looking at us so we smiled at her and then began about 5-7 minute interaction of face making and playing before she said, "bye, bye!" and got off the train with her family.
15. Girl on Subway: Amanda was hanging on the hand 'straps'/'stirrups' (to hold on to so you don't fall over on the subway) and this little girl (about 10 or so) copied everything Amanda did. When she got off on her stop, she waved bye to Amanda.
16. Little boy on subway: On our way to go mountain hiking a little boy made faces back and forth with us.
17. Doghouse Friends: Some students at the Dog House in Gimhae asked to play darts with Amanda
18. Singapore Family: We went for breakfast in our hostel and started chatting with an man in his 50's-60's, later his wife joined him. About 5 minutes later, his son arrived and he looked familiar to us-then we realized we were on the JSA tour together!! That was pretty wild. We had an hour long conversation sharing information about our countries and about ourselves.
19. Front Desk Guy at our Hostel:Every day he and the woman (owner?) would ask us where we were going or if we had any questions about how to get where we needed to go.
20. Two random men in the subway: Helped Amanda and me with our luggage as we were en route from SWS to our new lounge
21. Two brothers at the park: Amanda and I were watching these 2 adorable little boys running around-they would run closer and closer to us. Finally, the younger one came within 8 feet of us and waved and said, "hellllo!" and then ran away, this happened a few more times. As we continued watching them running around, the younger one also approached a young couple eating McDonalds. The man might have been Korean-American as he seemed quite fluent in English (no accent) and Korean; he told the boy, "If you speak English I'll hook you up" (meaning french fries). I don't think the little boy said anything, but the woman gave him a fry, and then the little boy ended up grabbing several other fries on his own. His older brother came and he took a fry or two also. Then he ran back to Grandma, (maybe tattled) and he and Grandma returned. Grandma spanked the youngest one and then chased him around-as he was trying to get more fries. It was hilarious. A few minutes later, Grandma and both boys went walking by to get a snack from the convenience store; they stopped and said "hellllo!" again and chatted with us very briefly and brokenly.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Hwa Sun and Jaebin day!!
What a wonderful, wonderful day!
Amanda and I both
slept late! (Or late for us at least) We had a nice leisurely morning
and stopped at Tom N Tom's for honey butter toast for breakfast-I got
her hooked!! Then we hopped on the subway to go see Hwa Sun. We waited
for her to come pick us up at the subway station and then walked to her
new apartment. It is a bit bigger than her last one, but the layout is
very similar. We visited with her a bit and then we had lunch-kimbap
(without any seafood) and ddeokboki made with soy sauce. (Ddeok is
Korean rice cake-made from rice flour). It was really, really good! And
Amanda tried the kimbap and didn't mind it. I think I scarred her
because I had her try plain seaweed once at home and she did not really
like it....but kimbap is different (because of the rice, vegetables and
meat rolled inside it)! We played Jenga and taught Hwa Sun how to play
war while we waited for Jaebin to arrive home from school.
Finally
it was time to get him from his bus. We had to walk about 4 minutes to
the bus stop, and as we turned the corner I hear, "AAAAAMMY
NUUUUUNA!!!!!" and Jaebin comes running at me and gives me a great big
hug! :) He walked for 1-2 minutes with his arms around me and then also
held my hand which really surprised me-I mean come on! He's an 8 year
old boy with some of his school friends and classmates around! But I
loved it. I talked with him in English on the walk home; his English has
gotten quite good in the year and a half since I've seen him. He knows a
lot and as time went on he wasn't so shy to speak it either. Upon
arriving at home, he had a few minutes to relax and then we were off on
the subway to Namsangol Village-some traditional Korean houses. We
walked around there a bit and then took a taxi to Cheongyecheon. Hwa Sun
said it was their first time there. Jaebin was very busy trying to
catch the fish in the stream bare-handed. We went to Baskin Robins and
got ice cream. :)
Then we were off to Itaewon. We
walked around there a bit and then sat in a Paris Baguette to wait for
Mr. Ryu to meet us. He arrived shortly after we sat down and then we
went in search of a restaurant. They decided on a pizza/pasta-Italian
type place that they had been to before. It was cute inside and the food
was delicious! We ordered a caprese salad, margarita pizza, a steak,
carbonara pasta and a spaghetti with a type of marinara sauce. It was so
good to see them and spend time with them. They are like family to me.
When we left, I told Amanda that and she said, "they treat you like
family". I really love them and am so thankful to have met them and
developed a friendship with them over the years.
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| Reunited with Amy Nuna!! |
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| So happy!! |
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| With Amanda and Jaebin at Namsangol Hanok Village |
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| Lovely ladies! |
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| Group picture by Cheongyecheon |
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| Group dinner at a cute place in Itaewon |
Thursday, October 4, 2012
JSA
After breakfast at the guesthouse, we had a little time to relax before heading out the JSA tour center. We got there and were directed to our bus. Our tour guide was a very energetic ajumma ("auntie"/older woman).
First stop was Odusan Observatory where we were able to get a good look across the Imjin River and see into North Korea-I was surprised there was no surveillance and we were free to take pictures. We also watched a short clip about North Korea and how lavish Kim Jong-Il had lived and how much suffering the 6 million citizens are undergoing. There were also North Korean "items" like clothing, a school room, shoes, money etc.
Then on to Imjingak to see the Reunification Bridge, Peace Bell, and the old train. That was a quick, short stop.
After Imjingak, we had lunch at a Korean restaurant. We had bulgogi, so it was the first 'grilling' food experience Amanda has had so far. I'm hoping I can take her for "REAL" bbq with my friend Ji this weekend before she leaves. We sat with a pair from England. The guy has been teaching in Korea for 2 1/2 years and the girl was visiting him. It was fun chatting with them.
Finally on to JSA! We first went to Camp Boniface to get 'briefed'. Basically just showing us pictures of the different places we were going to see, show us what buildings are North Korean and what buildings are South Korean, and for us to sign waivers that the United Nations would not be held responsible if anything were to happen to us while we were in the JSA.
We took military buses to the Freedom House which is the building the South Koreans/UN have that faces North Korea. Then we were allowed to take pictures of North Korea/the buildings over the border etc, as long as we did NOT turn around and take ANY pictures facing SOUTH. Also, we were instructed to not point, gesture or make any other form of communication with any North Korean soldiers. There was only one NK soldier out in view, but our American UN escort told us that the NK's were watching us from their buildings and we could just not see them. That was kind of creepy-knowing they were watching us. (Also, we had a dress code to follow and that is so that the NK's cannot take our pictures-if one is ill dressed-and use it as propaganda) Then we were allowed to go into the conference building(MAC) that goes across the border and we were allowed to walk inside and step "over" the border and "into" North Korea (within the building of course), so that was pretty cool. We took a short bus 'tour'/ride around that area a bit more before heading back to Camp Boniface. Then, it was back into Seoul!
We found Isaac's and had toast for dinner!! :) However, I must say, I preferred my Gimhae/Inje "Bacon Best(uh)" Toast better than this one. It was still delicious and I loved it though! And I was happy to share another favorite thing from Korea with Amanda.
Now we are just resting a bit. PSY (Korean singer) is having a free concert/performance with the Hi Seoul Festival that is going on this week. It was only just announced a few days ago. We are thinking of going to that, because he's pretty famous and all-I think it is just one of those "when else will you get a chance to do that?!?!?" kind of experiences.
First stop was Odusan Observatory where we were able to get a good look across the Imjin River and see into North Korea-I was surprised there was no surveillance and we were free to take pictures. We also watched a short clip about North Korea and how lavish Kim Jong-Il had lived and how much suffering the 6 million citizens are undergoing. There were also North Korean "items" like clothing, a school room, shoes, money etc.
Then on to Imjingak to see the Reunification Bridge, Peace Bell, and the old train. That was a quick, short stop.
After Imjingak, we had lunch at a Korean restaurant. We had bulgogi, so it was the first 'grilling' food experience Amanda has had so far. I'm hoping I can take her for "REAL" bbq with my friend Ji this weekend before she leaves. We sat with a pair from England. The guy has been teaching in Korea for 2 1/2 years and the girl was visiting him. It was fun chatting with them.
Finally on to JSA! We first went to Camp Boniface to get 'briefed'. Basically just showing us pictures of the different places we were going to see, show us what buildings are North Korean and what buildings are South Korean, and for us to sign waivers that the United Nations would not be held responsible if anything were to happen to us while we were in the JSA.
We took military buses to the Freedom House which is the building the South Koreans/UN have that faces North Korea. Then we were allowed to take pictures of North Korea/the buildings over the border etc, as long as we did NOT turn around and take ANY pictures facing SOUTH. Also, we were instructed to not point, gesture or make any other form of communication with any North Korean soldiers. There was only one NK soldier out in view, but our American UN escort told us that the NK's were watching us from their buildings and we could just not see them. That was kind of creepy-knowing they were watching us. (Also, we had a dress code to follow and that is so that the NK's cannot take our pictures-if one is ill dressed-and use it as propaganda) Then we were allowed to go into the conference building(MAC) that goes across the border and we were allowed to walk inside and step "over" the border and "into" North Korea (within the building of course), so that was pretty cool. We took a short bus 'tour'/ride around that area a bit more before heading back to Camp Boniface. Then, it was back into Seoul!
We found Isaac's and had toast for dinner!! :) However, I must say, I preferred my Gimhae/Inje "Bacon Best(uh)" Toast better than this one. It was still delicious and I loved it though! And I was happy to share another favorite thing from Korea with Amanda.
Now we are just resting a bit. PSY (Korean singer) is having a free concert/performance with the Hi Seoul Festival that is going on this week. It was only just announced a few days ago. We are thinking of going to that, because he's pretty famous and all-I think it is just one of those "when else will you get a chance to do that?!?!?" kind of experiences.
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| Either called Freedom Bridge or Reunification Bridge, but South Korean's leave messages here for their Northern loved ones |
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| Well, there it is folks! You are looking into North Korea. Do you see the North Korean soldier? (He's in the window well of the bottom row; 4th window from the left-don't count the windows behind the trees, just the windows you can see) |
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| The building with the door open is the meeting/conference room |
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| Amanda and me in the JSA! |
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| Inside the conference room; everything to the left side is South Korea, everything to the right is North Korea...I am standing in North Korea |
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| Inside the Conference room looking outside-Left side is North Korea, Right side South Korea |
"Wow" Filled Wednesday
What a day!!
We started with breakfast at our new hostel-Amanda had toast and I had ramen. :) Around 10 we headed out for our mountain hiking adventure to Korea's National Park Bukhan(san) (san meaning mountain). Amanda had researched some and we had looked into the route we were going to take, however, upon entering the subway, we were TOTALLY surrounded by other hikers. I mean, a good 80% of our car was filled and looking at the next one down, at least 75% of that car was hikers too. We were counting our stops when suddenly, 2 stops before we were going to exit, ALL the hikers left. ALL of them. We looked at each other and said, "Should we follow?" We decided yes, yes we should follow ALL of the hikers off the subway. We continued following the mass of hikers, past many shops selling 'to go foods', hats, boots, hiking poles, gloves, hats, and other hiking apparel and was lead to a trail. Onwards and upwards! We finally got to a point where there was almost sheer rock at a good 80 degree angle or so...Amanda and I started up, but as I was going, I could tell my shoes did not have enough grip, and I did slide a bit. I decided to go back down, but Amanda was at a point higher where going down would not be good. There were plenty of other hikers and one man helped me to a level spot. I was thinking "there has to be another way up" and sure enough I found the place where most of the other people were going-the sheer rock way only had about 7 people going that way... So again, onwards and upwards. I made it to the top and spotted blond hair! At the top, we sat and enjoyed the view for a good 40 minutes to an hour I think. Then we made our way back down. I found a kimbap shop and got lunch. Once we got near the guesthouse Amanda got a very Garlicy pizza from Domino's. We rested a bit, cleaned up and I researched places to go for dinner before heading out to the college area of "Sinchon".
I had found a crepe restaurant that looked really good, so we were on the hunt to find it. As it turned out, I couldn't remember the name and thought it might start with the letter M...were were walking and walking and were just about to give up when I looked to the 2nd floor of a building and thought-I think that's it! Of course the name did NOT begin with the letter M (however, the street it was on, DID). The restaurant was called Le Celtique and is owned and operated by a Frenchman who has lived in Korea for 3 years. (Amanda and I talked to him a little). We split a chicken, onion, green onion and a cream sauce crepe. For dessert we split an apple, ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and cinnamon dessert crepe....YUM. It was worth the extra walking to eat at this place!
Then it was on to find the place where the Kpop concert was being held. We were a little early, so we sat in an area near the movie theater waiting space and played war (winner to be determined!). At the concert, I found Brian; he's been my contact to Kyunghee because he attend the summer session and is doing the next session as well because he won a scholarship through InKAS (a Korean adoptee group in Korea). The concert was pretty interesting-a great cultural learning experience. All the bands except for 1 guy lip synced, but it's probably because they were dancing like crazy. The final band was a group of 2 guys with 2 back up dancers, and one of the lead guys targeted Amanda, talked to her and then later came up to her seat, and asked her to a front row seat, sang to her and then asked her on to the stage to dance!! Fear not, I have captured it on video. :) And now Amanda is famous.
We started with breakfast at our new hostel-Amanda had toast and I had ramen. :) Around 10 we headed out for our mountain hiking adventure to Korea's National Park Bukhan(san) (san meaning mountain). Amanda had researched some and we had looked into the route we were going to take, however, upon entering the subway, we were TOTALLY surrounded by other hikers. I mean, a good 80% of our car was filled and looking at the next one down, at least 75% of that car was hikers too. We were counting our stops when suddenly, 2 stops before we were going to exit, ALL the hikers left. ALL of them. We looked at each other and said, "Should we follow?" We decided yes, yes we should follow ALL of the hikers off the subway. We continued following the mass of hikers, past many shops selling 'to go foods', hats, boots, hiking poles, gloves, hats, and other hiking apparel and was lead to a trail. Onwards and upwards! We finally got to a point where there was almost sheer rock at a good 80 degree angle or so...Amanda and I started up, but as I was going, I could tell my shoes did not have enough grip, and I did slide a bit. I decided to go back down, but Amanda was at a point higher where going down would not be good. There were plenty of other hikers and one man helped me to a level spot. I was thinking "there has to be another way up" and sure enough I found the place where most of the other people were going-the sheer rock way only had about 7 people going that way... So again, onwards and upwards. I made it to the top and spotted blond hair! At the top, we sat and enjoyed the view for a good 40 minutes to an hour I think. Then we made our way back down. I found a kimbap shop and got lunch. Once we got near the guesthouse Amanda got a very Garlicy pizza from Domino's. We rested a bit, cleaned up and I researched places to go for dinner before heading out to the college area of "Sinchon".
I had found a crepe restaurant that looked really good, so we were on the hunt to find it. As it turned out, I couldn't remember the name and thought it might start with the letter M...were were walking and walking and were just about to give up when I looked to the 2nd floor of a building and thought-I think that's it! Of course the name did NOT begin with the letter M (however, the street it was on, DID). The restaurant was called Le Celtique and is owned and operated by a Frenchman who has lived in Korea for 3 years. (Amanda and I talked to him a little). We split a chicken, onion, green onion and a cream sauce crepe. For dessert we split an apple, ice cream, whipped cream, caramel and cinnamon dessert crepe....YUM. It was worth the extra walking to eat at this place!
Then it was on to find the place where the Kpop concert was being held. We were a little early, so we sat in an area near the movie theater waiting space and played war (winner to be determined!). At the concert, I found Brian; he's been my contact to Kyunghee because he attend the summer session and is doing the next session as well because he won a scholarship through InKAS (a Korean adoptee group in Korea). The concert was pretty interesting-a great cultural learning experience. All the bands except for 1 guy lip synced, but it's probably because they were dancing like crazy. The final band was a group of 2 guys with 2 back up dancers, and one of the lead guys targeted Amanda, talked to her and then later came up to her seat, and asked her to a front row seat, sang to her and then asked her on to the stage to dance!! Fear not, I have captured it on video. :) And now Amanda is famous.
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| Our view at the top |
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| Buff girls! |
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| At the cute little crepe restaurant |
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| Dinner!! |
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| Dessert!! |
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| Band #2 |
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| Amanda being asked to the stage |
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| Being serenaded to!!! |
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Next Leg of the trip
This morning we went to volunteer with the babies again. They are so cute-I wanted to take them all home with me. I also was able to meet my social worker and thank her for all of her help in contacting Kyunghee University for my program.
After helping with the babies, we went to the Gangnam Finance Center to find lunch-and got Omurice, which is rice under an omelet with a sauce and other options served along with it. After lunch, we started our long, strenuous, treacherous, and difficult trip across town to Myeongdong (another area in Seoul, near the downtown). It took a little over an hour to get our bags through a few subway stops and find the new guesthouse. Amanda muscled up and took both my suitcase and hers up about 20-30 steps before 2 gentlemen stepped in to 1. grab mine and 2. assist her with hers for about 10 steps.
We found the guesthouse and settled in a bit before venturing out into Seoul. While the room is very cute, the bathroom will be an adjustment. We have quite a spacious room with a bunk bed, tv, and fridge. The bathroom...has a toilet and a giant "sink"...the basin of the "sink" is actually a tub, so the faucets just open up to the basin.
We took the subway to Insadong and walked through there (it's an "cultural arts" area with many traditional/cultural/artsy souvenirs available). We both found some good gifts and items for ourselves. :) We also did the street food thing-waffles good, chicken kebab....maybe not so good. Then on to Namsan Tower for beautiful city night view. There was a huuuuuge line for the cable car up. It took about 40 minutes to get on the car, but in the 3 other times I had been to Namsan, I had never seen such lines! (And considering 2 of them were in summertime, I was very surprised. However, tomorrow is a (another....) holiday so maybe people are out celebrating because they don't have to work tomorrow.) Just as we were about to leave for the cable car, we heard some drumming music and turned around--there was a 'light show' being projected onto the pole/post part of the tower, which was pretty cool. Then, it was time to head back for the night. Sweet dreams, friends!
After helping with the babies, we went to the Gangnam Finance Center to find lunch-and got Omurice, which is rice under an omelet with a sauce and other options served along with it. After lunch, we started our long, strenuous, treacherous, and difficult trip across town to Myeongdong (another area in Seoul, near the downtown). It took a little over an hour to get our bags through a few subway stops and find the new guesthouse. Amanda muscled up and took both my suitcase and hers up about 20-30 steps before 2 gentlemen stepped in to 1. grab mine and 2. assist her with hers for about 10 steps.
We found the guesthouse and settled in a bit before venturing out into Seoul. While the room is very cute, the bathroom will be an adjustment. We have quite a spacious room with a bunk bed, tv, and fridge. The bathroom...has a toilet and a giant "sink"...the basin of the "sink" is actually a tub, so the faucets just open up to the basin.
We took the subway to Insadong and walked through there (it's an "cultural arts" area with many traditional/cultural/artsy souvenirs available). We both found some good gifts and items for ourselves. :) We also did the street food thing-waffles good, chicken kebab....maybe not so good. Then on to Namsan Tower for beautiful city night view. There was a huuuuuge line for the cable car up. It took about 40 minutes to get on the car, but in the 3 other times I had been to Namsan, I had never seen such lines! (And considering 2 of them were in summertime, I was very surprised. However, tomorrow is a (another....) holiday so maybe people are out celebrating because they don't have to work tomorrow.) Just as we were about to leave for the cable car, we heard some drumming music and turned around--there was a 'light show' being projected onto the pole/post part of the tower, which was pretty cool. Then, it was time to head back for the night. Sweet dreams, friends!
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| Sweet Baby |
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| Another Baby |
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| Amanda and her baby |
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| Insadong |
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| Insadong |
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| The BEST Waffle ever! Ice cream and flavored "whipped cream" inside! YUM! |
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| Namsan Tower |
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| View of the city at night |
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| At Namsan at night |
Monday, October 1, 2012
Packed Day
The bummer of today: I forgot to put my camera card back in from my computer last night so I had my camera, but not enough memory or a way to put it on my computer so I could not take pictures today.
We started out our morning helping on one of the floors with the babies. We were in the room with babies ranging from about 4-8 months old. The room in front of us had newborns. It's always a special experience holding, loving and caring for the babies, and imagining myself in their position.
After helping with the babies we went to Seodaemun Prison History Hall. I was there last year, but they have added a few things. It was a very moving exhibit and as always, a good history lesson. Again, it reminded me of my visit to Dachau.
We walked to the Seoul Museum of History. I was there last year also, and again, it seemed as if the exhibits had changed a bit. As we were leaving the museum we had a "city volunteer" come up to us and tell us about the city-wide festival going on now through the 7th. So, we walked on to downtown to see some of the events. It was really cool because many of the main streets were shut down so people could walk in them. We watched a few different 'events/performers' and then got food and sat down by Cheongyecheon to eat and people watch. The unfortunate thing is that once the sun started setting, it got cool and we were in shorts and light 3/4 length shirts. We did catch part of the "opening ceremony" but decided to come back early.
Back at the guesthouse I tried to figure out the washing machine and dryer....right now I am listening to it making noise and am nervous about what's going on in there. Hopefully everything comes out alright.
Tomorrow is "moving day"-on to our next location in Seoul.
We started out our morning helping on one of the floors with the babies. We were in the room with babies ranging from about 4-8 months old. The room in front of us had newborns. It's always a special experience holding, loving and caring for the babies, and imagining myself in their position.
After helping with the babies we went to Seodaemun Prison History Hall. I was there last year, but they have added a few things. It was a very moving exhibit and as always, a good history lesson. Again, it reminded me of my visit to Dachau.
We walked to the Seoul Museum of History. I was there last year also, and again, it seemed as if the exhibits had changed a bit. As we were leaving the museum we had a "city volunteer" come up to us and tell us about the city-wide festival going on now through the 7th. So, we walked on to downtown to see some of the events. It was really cool because many of the main streets were shut down so people could walk in them. We watched a few different 'events/performers' and then got food and sat down by Cheongyecheon to eat and people watch. The unfortunate thing is that once the sun started setting, it got cool and we were in shorts and light 3/4 length shirts. We did catch part of the "opening ceremony" but decided to come back early.
Back at the guesthouse I tried to figure out the washing machine and dryer....right now I am listening to it making noise and am nervous about what's going on in there. Hopefully everything comes out alright.
Tomorrow is "moving day"-on to our next location in Seoul.
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