Seoul Searching

Ok, so I know this is looong overdue, but I have been super busy since I landed about five days ago (wow, five days, seems like a shorter time…) and have not really had any time to sit down and write down what all I have been up to. I also have been suffering from slight jet lag, so I start fading around 10 or 11, so do not have time or the patience to write an entry. But here we go:

                Last we left off I was stranded in Chicago in a hotel room because I had missed my flight. Well the next morning, I set off to the airport around 7:30 so that I would be first in line at eh Asiana desk to get my ticket. I also met up with another girl from the same program, K, and who had the same ticket mishap with her, but she had tries to board the United flight to Seoul. We went to the terminal together and then met up with our third lost sheep, C, who had missed his connecting flight from New Hampshire so was flying in that day. Since we all had gotten there so early we just hung out in the gate waiting area for about 3 hours, we talked about classes and majors and Korean Language. Both C and K have taken Korean before (C: 2 yeara, and K:1 year) so they were going to be our main speakers when we landed in Incheon.  There were also some English teachers who were heading over. One was going back home to Deagu and the other was just out of college and heading over to Japan to work at a children’s emersion school for Japanese children.  It was really fun talking to them and hearing all that they were doing.

                Truthfully the flight was not all that exciting; I mostly slept and did Sudoku puzzles the whole time. I was actually sitting next to the Daegu teacher, but her was a little odd and slept for most of the plane ride. Because he was sitting next to me, I took notes for my journal and for this blog in French so he would not understand what I was saying about him and the other people on the plane. Mostly I was writing about the group of school boys and the fact that all they did was sleep. They were passed out on the benches at the ticket counter and also in the waiting area at the gate. The only time that I saw them move was to get on the plane and when we landed. But what was really unfair, was that they looked as fresh as daisies when we landed, while the rest of us looked like finals exams survival victims with a new found caffeine addiction.  The plane food was good to,, in terms of “plane food”. For our first meal, we were offered a choice of Bibimbap, or Korean mixed rice with vegetables and gochujang sauce (sooo good), or steak. The next meal was chicken or octopus, I got the chicken. We also got party mix and a ham and cheese sandwich. 

                When we got to Incheon, there was no body there! Like I think we were the only plane to have some in by then, because we were able to go through customs and get our baggage in less than 45 minutes, which is usually unheard of in most major international airports. When we got out into the main waiting area of the airport, we were debating on if we should take the high speed train or if we should take a taxi. Because we had so much luggage, about three bags per person, we had no idea which would be the easiest to do. While we were talking, a taxi driver came up and offered us a ride in his taxi, we were hesitant, but after about 20 minutes of C and him talking, we eventually got in to his cab and were on our way to the dormitories. 

Now the thing about Korea is that there are different types of cabs. The one we got was a black “luxury” taxi, pretty much means that it is the size of a minivan, with three seats and the rest of it is trunk space, the walls and ceiling are padded and that the a/c was really cold. Sine we had talked to the man about getting a flat rate trip, he did not start the meter and just took us to the dorms for the flat rate of 80,000 Won, or about $78 US. Now I have ridden in a few cabs in my life time and by far the cab rides in Beijing were the most terrifying, well this man was a very close second. He was on his phone for most of the ride and would randomly slow down to point out places to us. At one point, he brought us to a different location because he typed the address in wrong and started backing up into oncoming traffic. C and I were in the back, so we just held on to each other and prayed that we would not be hit, which thankfully we weren’t. 

                The first set of dorms was on a side of a mountain. They are the dorms for the regular Korean students, so there were a few rooms that the residents were already moved into. The interesting thing was that the girls kept their shoes out in the hall because like in most Asian counties, you are not support to wear shoes in the house. So the halls were littered with shoes and umbrellas. Another interesting thing that I found out in the dorms is that they are very strict about separating the genders. At Sewanee, I could visit a guy’s room and study for an upcoming test or do homework together, but here and even in the SK Global dorms, you can get kicked out of the dorms if you are in the room of the opposite gender, or even on the same floor without signing in at the front desk. Anyway, I digress….

                So we made it to the dorms in one piece and paid the taxi driver his money and put our bags in our assigned rooms, just letting you know, carrying three bags up four flights of stairs is not that fun.  Since we had arrived late, we really had no idea where the rest of the program members were, so since K and I could not visit C, we decided to go the toe CIEE office on the other side of campus to see if they were there. No one was there, but after an hour and a half of walking up and down the back roads on campus, we were so hot and tired that we just wanted to go back to the dorms and sleep.  

About fifteen minutes after we arrived, the rest of the participants arrived. Apparently they had gone to the Seoul National Museum and got to dress in traditional Hanbok and were just making it back to the campus after having gotten an early breakfast. Really wished that I could have dresses up, but there is always the cultural reimbursement program and if not, in February when the new semester students come over!

Some pictures of the dorm and views around campus:

                                           (^^ outside view of my new dorms!)

                                           ( 1st rommie's things and mine, pretty tight fit)

                                      ( I had to press the button every time to open the door)

                                           (Shoe closet)

                                             ( Views from the first dorm in early morning)

                That next day, we had the CIEE scavenger hunt around Seoul. In the activity, we were to go to all the touristy places and the places that were important to know for a person living in Seoul.

                                             ( me, D, and C)

                                           (We either just missed an idol group filming or they were coming, becaues the girls in the black shirts were EXO fans)

Truthfully I think it was to get us familiar with the Seoul public transport system since we would be using it a lot while we are here. My group C, K, W , and another late comer, D all had the same thoughts, so after we finished more than half of the activity, we went to a Meyongdong to get lunch and to also window shop.

 After lunch, we went to Daehangno, or the theater district to finish up the hunt and to meet up with the other groups.  

That night, I skyped home and ate ramyeon (my first and only so far) from the convenience store in the basement of the dorm and then went to bed pretty early.

                On the 19^th, we moved into our real dorms, the SK Global house. I really love the dorms here, they are small compared to dorm rooms back in the States, but I like it and as long as we keep clean, my roommate and I hardly notice the space. My favorite thing so far is the shoe closet that is by the door so we can store our shoes and keep the step up onto our floor clean from all the dirt and grime that we get from walking around the city all day. My room also has a great view that overlooks part of a mountain and a few high rises form the Sincheon neighborhood that is across the way. 

                While we are on the subject of dorm rooms, let’s talk about beds. The Koreans don’t use sheets on their beds; they have a bottom fitted sheet over a very firm mattress and just use a comforter as a cover. Surprisingly this is very comfortable. The beds remind me of a softer hard-sleeper for those of you who have ever been to China and know what I am talking about.  

                On the 19^th, we really only moved into our dorms, so after we unpacked, my usual group of K, C, and our friends H, and M all went out for cold noodles or Mul Naengmyeon  for dinner. So good, so far I have not had a Korean dish that I have not liked. After that we walked around Sincheon and window shopped. We eventually stopped in a Tomtom Coffee chain, were I got my newest obsession, a green tea frap. Starbucks really needs to start selling this back in the States, because then they would make a killing on my drinks by themselves!

                Yesterday, we went to the US Embassy Service Center to hear a talk form two Foreign Service officers, one from the political sector and one from the Public Relation sector.  Their presentation was mostly what the State Dept could do for you wile in Korea and some helpful tips on how live and stay safe in Korea. Most of it was pretty standard fair for living in a large city. They did briefly mention the North Korean situation, but said that there was no real reason to worry and that they would let us know if we needed to leave the country if anything did happen.  After the presentation, I went up and talked to the gentleman who was from the political sector and asked him about the application process and to see if he had any tips. The process was more drown out than I had realized, but I also learned that because of my language skills and my travel experience, that I could possibly have a higher chance of getting accepted!

                After the presentation, we had some free time and a few of us went to the free Korean War Museum and Memorial. The place was not that crowded, but it was so interesting and awe-inspiring.  The actual memorial was beautiful and simplistic; a single infinity fountain in the middle of a stone room with a single shaft of light coming in from the domed ceiling. All around the memorial, there were exhibits of war throughout the ages and an extending look into the Three Kingdoms period of Korean history. At one point, as I was going through the modern military practices of the Korean military, I was joined by a group of Young Korean soldiers who were there to look up on the history as well. It was a little awkward because I was explaining about booby traps and all of my knowledge of wartime tactics to D, who was with me, while we were surrounded by actual soldiers. 

                Later that afternoon, we had a guest lecture about North Korea by Andrei Lankov, a Korean specialist and expert on all things North Korean. Since he was Russian and had a very strong accent, it was a little hard to hear his at the beginning of the lecture, so I really only got about 85% of his sentences. But I really loved his ideas about unification and why there has not been such a great push for war/ unification by either side. If you want to hear more about it, let me know via fb and I will tell you about it there, because I don’t want to bore anyone with the long details on this already long post. 

                After the lecture, my group of girls all went to Hongdae for some shopping and dinner. Even though Hongdae is known for its clubs and street performers, we just wanted to look around. It was cool seeing all of the lights and hearing all of the music playing form the street performers and pulsing form the clubs, but it was a little too crowded for me. Most of the shops were for clothes and shoes, none of which really fit me, so I just looked around. I only picked up some oil controlling pressed powder from Etude House. For dinner we stopped at a pretty well-known restaurant for grilled meat and vegetables. We got two servings to split between the four of us and that was enough. But oh man was it good! The meat was pretty good quality beef and the vegetables were cooked in a broth with japchae noodles. We had to cook everything, and even slightly burned the noodles, but the flavor was amazing! All of us were stuffed and the best part was that the whole meal cost us about 20 dollars, so about 5 each!

I’ll tell you more later. Off to bed for me,( jet lag and everything).

Until next time!