Wow, where has the time gone? My last post was April 8th, now it's April 25th. I guess I have a lot to write about. 


In the last 3 weeks I have been to Japan, come back to Korea and had a very busy week of teaching English, and then mid-terms exams this week.

First, my trip to Japan; (click here to see my photo album, updated with Japan pictures) 
Keith and I left on the morning of Wednesday, April 11th. Getting to Japan was half of the "fun". Actually it was the worst flight I have ever been on, thanks to weather-related issues. We went down to land twice but due to massive turbulence, cross-winds, and extremely low visibility due to fog over Osaka Bay it took 3 tries. Some fellow passengers vomited, and at one point we dropped so quickly I needed my seat belt to hold me down only to look out the window and see the ocean fast approaching us, before the pilot roared us into the sky again. Eventually we touched down to a rainy Osaka. At the airport it took a while to get through customs with all the Chinese tourists looking pretty confused and acting dumbfounded (like normal) on what to do with paperwork and at customs. Before we left the airport, Keith bought some money for his Japanese mobile phone and we both bought 5-day rail passes for the Kansai region. After that we hopped on the train from Kansai International to Namba Station in Osaka, near our hostel.

Our hostel was a true Japanese capsule hotel. For 4 nights there we payed only $50 each, which, in expensive Japan, is nothing. We were on the 5th floor of the hostel and you leave your shoes and clothes in these lockers on the first floor and they give you a robe and towels for while you are in the capsules. The one bath for the entire place was on the 7th floor and it was a typical Japanese Onsen (public bath). Also, the hostel provided all toiletries. The capsule was surprisingly very cozy and comfortable and there was wifi and a TV inside each capsule. The only downside is you couldn't be there from 10am-5pm each day. They are really designed for businessmen just staying the night, or drunk people. But staying there was a great experience. (Here's a link to the website)

Our first night out in the town in Osaka was an eye-opening experience, I didn't know what to expect and I was blown-away by Japan. The area of Osaka we were in was called Minami (click here to see some info) Basically, Japan is a completely different world from Korea, and a very liberal country in regards to certain things. During our walk around Dotonbori, we passed endless Host and Hostess Bars and Clubs...if you don't know what they are, look 'em up. We saw young people with really freakish fashion styles and hair and it seemed like the crazier the better. We saw Yakuza members and Yakuza clubs, seeming to watch us as we walked by...which is not something I was expecting or wanting to see. We passed endless Pachinko parlors, and just took in the rainy, cold atmosphere of Osaka nightlife. Before too long, Keith got some fried octopus and we met a girl from Taiwan who told us some things to do in Osaka.


The next day was nice and sunny, perfect weather like 70 degrees. We used this entire day to do sightseeing in Osaka. If you look at my pictures you'll see Osaka Castle, some temples, many cherry blossoms, and other views from around Osaka. Overall, it was a very cool, big city. One downside of Osaka (and all of Japan) is it is difficult to get around via public transit because in one city, many different lines and means of transportation can be owned by many different private companies all requiring different tickets.

The next day, Friday, we used our Kansai region rail pass and went to Nara. (Click here to learn about Nara). Look at my pictures, also. We went to Todai-ji temple, the largest wooden structure in the world, with a giant Buddha inside. And there really were deer just roaming around everywhere. Here the cherry blossoms were nice, too. In Nara I ate some good Tonkatsu which I was waiting my entire trip to Japan for (Click here if you don't know what Tonkatsu is). That evening we took the train to Kyoto and met with Keith's cousin, Shiori. She is Japanese, and she is 22 and works at a bakery in Kyoto. We met her after work and we all went out to dinner at a good Japanese restaurant. She offered us to stay in Kyoto that evening, but we hadn't planned for that so all of our clothes and stuff was still in Osaka so we went back to Osaka at night.

On Saturday we went straight from Osaka to Kyoto and milled around some famous places there. We went to the golden temple, the imperial palace, other fun places too, like Moss Burger (Japanese fast food). For those of you who don't know, Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan for a really long time, it has the most historical and cultural places in Japan. Also, in my opinion, Kyoto is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I really want to go back someday and stay longer. In the evening we met Shiori at her work and got some bakery treats. Once she finished work we went with her to the store where we bough supplies to make sushi as well as beer, and then headed to Shiori's apartment. As Shiori started cooking, Keith and I visited a local Onsen (Japanese public bath) before going back to help her. The sushi was good and you can see all of the food in my pictures. After we all went out for even more drinks. 


Our last full day in Japan, Sunday, the 3 of us went to breakfast together and then Shiori had to go to work. Keith and I made our way to the Silver temple, which despite the name, was actually white. Even though, Kyoto was still a beautiful city. That night we went back to Osaka to stay in our capsules one last time before leaving, and we ate a celebratory meal of Japanese ramen (so incredibly good tasting, see pictures) and then proceeded to go to an all-you-can-drink-for-2-hours bar afterwards (bad idea considering our flight left at 11:00am the next morning).

If you could guess from the last line of that last paragraph, basically we both arrived to the gate and on the plane, hungover and exhausted, only 3 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave...lucky men we were. The flight back to Korea was good though and we were back at Ajou by 3pm. Overall, it was very nice to get away for a while and explore a new place.
Here are my impressions of Japan, in comparison with Korea:
- Japan is very expensive (average normal meal between $10-$12, one ride on a bus was $3, subway $2.50 or more)
- Japan is extremely clean, I honestly felt that I could eat off of the streets. One time I saw a little kid spill some juice in a shopping area and a Japanese police officer came over and mopped it up with soap and water, in the middle of the road. 
- Japanese people are just as friendly, if not a little more, than Koreans. Whenever we were even just looking at a map, Japanese people were very anxious to come up to us and ask if we needed help, that would never happen in Korea. 
- Japan is much more liberal, from fashion to strip clubs to driving on the left side of the road.
- Japanese beer is much better than Korean beer, especially Kirin, Kirin is very good. 
- Japanese people don't react to foreigners like Koreans do. In Korea I feel like I'm constantly being looked at whereas in Japan there are more foreigners living and working so walking around is no big deal. 
- Japanese food is very healthy, and fish heavy (of course) 
- Japanese people love baseball. 


I'm tired of writing now! I'll update more next time I feel like it :) 

Once again, another busy week, another post one week later!

So where my last post left off was Monday afternoon, now it is Sunday evening! I will explain my week again in condensed form:

On Tuesday I started to finally feel better, my tonsillitis went away after some rest and medicine but when I woke up I couldn't believe my eyes. It was snowing very hard. On April 3rd! So I went to my one class, Sociology, and then I had to go to teach English. After my lesson I had to go meet my group for a group project again.

On Wednesday the sun was shining and that made me feel even better. After my one and only class, I worked on the presentation for my group project in Linguistics class. That evening there was a movie night hosted by AGA but I skipped it and went to the basketball tournament with some other exchange students to watch Vytas play in the final. Being 7ft tall he towers over all the Koreans and it's hilarious to watch. His team won the tournament and 500,000won. It was also on Wednesday that I decided I would go to Japan next week! On Wednesday April 11th, we have no school because it is Election Day in Korea. Thursday we also don't have school because it is Ajou's birthday, and I have no classes on Friday so I have a 5-day holiday from school. Many exchange students are going to Japan during this holiday. I bought my tickets on Wednesday night from Seoul to Osaka!

On Thursday I had classes and my Linguistics presentation. After school, since it was Thursday night, it was Friend's Club night! Our activity was bowling. First though I went out to dinner with one of the groups of Koreans and we had very good dakgalbi. After that we went to the bowling place and had a good time. At first though they didn't have any bowling shoes big enough for me! When we played I was in a group with the German girls, and I won the 2nd game. After bowling everyone went to a bar and played darts. I also won there. After the darts bar we all took taxis to go back near Ajou and we went to our usual hangout club, Plan B. This is where the night got really fun. Many people were there, the DJ was good, and everyone had a great time. Maybe you can see pictures that my friend, April took, click here to see the album on Facebook. One of the best nights of party I have had since I got here. I left earlier than everyone else at around 2:30, because I had to teach English later that day (Friday).

On Friday I woke up and went and taught English. I didn't really do much the rest of the day. Many students went to Seoul for clubbing but I need to save my money for Japan and the next day I was going to hang out with Byeongjae.

On Saturday, Byeongjae picked me up at 11:00 and we went to the Korean traditional village in Suwon. It was cool and cultural and it was very nice of him to bring me. We actually witnessed a wedding there too, a real life wedding, not a staged one. But it was done in traditional Korean style. No kissing, and at the end the groom got on a horse and the bride was carried in a box. I have updated my photo album so click here to see. Saturday night I went to Suwon station and had some very good Japanese food!

Today, Easter Sunday was a very fun day. I woke up and noticed the laundry machine wasn't running so I jumped out of bed and started some laundry. Then Vytas texted me saying to join him and others in the 4th floor kitchen because he was making Lithuanian pancakes. After he made them, a group of 8 of us ate the pancakes outside and basked in the sun, they were tasty and the weather was so good today. Afterwards, I wanted to go to a cafe and study so I went to Cafe Ti-Amo to study Korean and had a green tea latte while watching outside. After that I wanted to be outside again so I took a 30-minute walk before going and eating some bagels. Then I was going back to my dorm and I ran into Vytas, Kelsey, and Imane again and they told me to come with them to a cafe, so I did! We ate lots of cheescake and I had kiwi juice and we stayed and talked at this cafe for 3 hours. Afterwards, since it was so nice, we went and bought Korean style burritos and ate them outside on the patio and just talked for over an hour. After that we went and got Korean pancakes and ate them as we walked back to the dorm! In total, I got no studying done, but that is just fine with me. Being with my friends here is so great.
Now it is Monday actually and I have 3 classes and a quiz in Korean class.

In regards to my trip to Japan, currently I only have my airplane ticket. I am leaving Seoul on Wednesday April 11th and flying to Osaka. And I will return on Monday, April 16th. I am going with Keith, another American, who actually is Japanese-American and lived in Japan for 3 years. I want to stay in the Osaka-Kyoto area and we will probably stay in a capsule hotel in Osaka. More details will come soon. Bye.

Hello world, more than one week later


So maybe if you read my blog often you were wondering where I went? It's been a while and I haven't updated. What I can say is that, in the last 2 weeks I have made rice cakes, traveled over 6 hours by bus, visited the Taebaek mountain range, the East Sea (Sea of Japan), been knee-deep in snow, then covered in sand, seen a drag queen competition, contracted a staphylococcus bacteria, spent one night on an IV in the Emergency Room, taught my first English lesson, and played in a basketball tournament, gone to Everland (Korean Disney World), watched Suwon Bluewings beat Seoul FC 2-0, and had my first exam. That is just the beginning...if you're ready to read then I'm ready to write, here we go (for lack of time I will only write the highlights, if you want to know more just ask me):

On Thursday (22nd of March) evening I went out with Friends Club, we made rice cakes and then as usual, went bar-hopping afterwards.
On Saturday and Sunday I went to Sokcho and we visited the mountains and then the beach. The trip was with AGA. Pictures can be seen in my photo album on photobucket. 
On Sunday night after we returned I got major food poisoning thanks to a clam soup in Sokcho and over 20 exchange students ended up in the hospital.
On Monday I didn't do anything because I was sick in bed all day.
Tuesday was also a sick day for me except I taught my first English lesson.
Wednesday and Thursday I don't remember what I did but I'm sure I was busy because last week was very busy for me. One of the busiest and hectic weeks of my life.
On Friday after teaching I went to Seoul (Hongdae) to celebrate Joo's birthday.
On Saturday I went with Friends Club to Everland (Korean Disney World) and rode the steepest and fastest rollercoaster in Asia. I left early that night because I wasn't feeling too well, I think I still have a cold or something from being sick last week.
On Sunday I went to the Suwon Bluewings game vs. Seoul FC, they won 2-0 and it was a very fun game.
Today at 9am I had my first exam (Economics) and I think I failed it, it was really tough. And then afterwards I went to the doctor to get some medicine for my throat (I lost my voice).
The rest of this week I am planning to do nothing but simply relax. End.

Midweek Update


Sorry for the delay, I should update my blog (diary) more often. The hard part is, I don't like just writing about what I do each day at school. I'd like to write more about Korean society, culture, landscape, or things that my readers are curious about. If you have an idea for me, please leave me a comment and I will be very happy and inspired to write about it. 


Sunday was a nice and relaxing day, but I made the mistake of staying out (and spending way too much?) with a nice group of us at a bar. Before that I ate some nice Galbi for dinner. I'm getting much more proficient at cooking it on the table, some would even mistake me for Korean. One strange thing from my Galbi dinner was, since your clothes smells like Galbi once you leave, you are offered to get Febreeze sprayed on you as you leave, I declined, I thought it was strange and I like my clothes to smell like cooked meat, I'm a man. On Monday I had all my classes but was a bit out of it for the first two. Monday night I went to my regular neighborhood dumpling house. Instead of going the steamed route I decided to be daring and get fried kimchi and pork dumplings instead, good decision. Yesterday I got to sleep in before my 10:30 class. After class I just had lunch in the dorm cafeteria. I'm really becoming hooked on the dorm cafeteria's "Western Meal" everyday for lunch. For 3,000won you get a fried pork patty with sauce on it, a cabbage salad with strawberry dressing, rice, and kimchi...haha really "Western"? One problem I've had lately though is, (especially due to AGA and Friends Club and Baseball) when I am at the cafeteria a lot of people wave and say hi to me but I have the hardest time remembering who they are. I mean some I know I've seen before but after we say "hey!" I am often left confused. After lunch I met my group-mates for my Linguistics class project. Imagine this, I walk into a library full of over 100 Korean students...how was I to find my group?, I had only met them once before. Luckily after studying the crowd for a good 4-5 minutes I noticed a group-mate waving at me. Korea is obviously a very monotonous population (99.6% of the population is ethnically Korean) and I'm getting better at distinguishing people and applying names but it's still tough sometimes. Yesterday evening we had the orientation for our trip to Saroksan and Seokcho this weekend! It should be a blast! A lot of students from last semester were complaining because this semester Ajou is not providing the alcohol for free and yet the trip costs more. It will be a very busy two days and I'm excited to go! No one will sleep, I'm sure of it. After the orientation 5 AGA members and 6 of us exchange students went to a good dakgalbi restaurant. Dakgalbi is chicken Galbi, unlike the regular which is beef. Dakgalbi is known for being spicy and the heat was great. The dinner was nice and it's fun to find new places near to campus. Everyone else went to Plan B last night but I came back early because of my 9am class today. This morning I went to class, duh, then went and bought my Ajou jacket that should arrive on Friday. It's dark blue and says Ajou on the back in Korean. For lunch April, Imane, Kelsey, and Elanora went to this really hidden restaurant that is in a really shady place but tastes great. I was craving an omelette so I had one, stuffed with fried rice, pork, and chicken. Today the weather was so nice, sunny, in the low 60's, so a few hours later I went running and just came back to my room. I have lost 17lbs in total since I have been here and only one pair of my jeans fit well now so I hope it gets warmer soon. The end. 

Go Bluewings!
Today, March 18th, was a day that started off rather strange. Apparently Koreans feel that 9:00am on a Saturday morning is a great time to do some construction on a dorm full of sleeping students, so there it began...the drills and the saws droning from that point on. I tried to fall in and out of sleep as best as I could but I finally got out of bed around noon. At this point the construction had stopped for the day and it was time to get ready to go out. Today, as the title hints at, I went to my first Korean soccer game between Suwon Bluewings and Gangwon FC. The Bluewings are the local team here and they are one of the best in Korea. They have won the championship 4 times in the last 17 years and have one of the largest fan-bases; they are owned by Samsung. They stadium is literally directly next to my university and to get there was a quick walk. Called "Big Bird" stadium, it was built specifically for the 2002 World Cup here in Korea, when I update my photo album later I will post pictures. We met as a group at the Ajou front gate with 10 exchange students and 2 AGA members. The tickets were cheap, only 12,000won and we sat in the big supporter and cheering section. The game was good and weather turned out to be great and sunny. All the fans in our section were standing the whole time and there were constantly cheers and songs they were singing. Also, you could bring your own beer and food into the stadium no problem which was a big plus. Suwon won the game 3-0, and this was the 3rd game of the season and Suwon is currently in 1st place. Because I had such a good time I want to go again to more games and the next one is a big rivalry match between Seoul and Suwon (I've been told it's the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona of Korea haha) and that game is April 1st. After the game everyone went our separate ways and I had dinner at Suwon Station with Evgeniya. 

St. Patrick's Day in Seoul:
Well it's now Saturday morning around 1:30 and I got back from Seoul not too long ago. I decided to go with the group of people to Itaewon for dinner at an Irish pub and I'm glad I went. The group was small, only Imane, Kelsey, April, and myself. Many people stayed near campus this evening because it was cold and rainy. Kelsey is American but of Irish decent and she researched the place for us and will actually be going there all day tomorrow again for music and dancing. Tonight was merely the pre-St. Patrick's Day party but it was nice and I'm glad I did something since I won't be going to Seoul again tomorrow. Since it was in Itaewon, the patrons in the restaurant were 80% foreigners like myself and I even heard the English teachers next to us at the bar talking about living in Austin, Texas. Upstairs there was a live band playing but we just ate at the bar and I had a really good chicken burger. Itaewon seems like the place to go for good or "normal" Western food. As well, we all did our celebrating with some Guinness. All in all, we basically just went to Seoul for dinner but it was well worth it, anytime we discover new places we all agree that we love it even more here. 

Today I got home around 1am from the Friends Club party and it was so much fun and I was kind of sad that I needed to leave early. I met so many great people, Koreans and exchange students, and I'm really looking forward to the Friends Club events every Thursday. Besides going out for drinks every Thursday evenings, the Friends Club is hosting many activities. In two weekends they are taking a trip to Everland (Korean version of Disney World that sounds hilarious when they try to pronounce the "L"). It will be a two-day park pass trip and an overnight stay at a hostel just outside of Seoul for only 42,000won which is a great deal. I don't really care about going to Everland but I'm thinking of just going to be with everyone and hang out. Many of the people in Friends Club have studied abroad, and many to America. This one guy who's English name is Bobby is a DJ and he loves baseball so we are already planning to go to some games and go to some clubs where he knows other DJ's afterwards. Friends Club is also having their own Cherry Blossom Festival in April, going bowling, traditional dinner night, going to the horse races, dance party, and more events. It should be really cool! Last night I was one of the first people to leave and everyone else got home around 5am. This morning I woke up at 8 for baseball practice at 9. It was really nice and fairly warm weather. Practice was really fun but tiring! We did every sort of drill, running, batting and fielding practice, everything from 9am-1pm. Afterwards I was sore and exhausted but the guys were all really nice and I think they like me being there, too. After practice the guys even invited me to have lunch with them which made me feel great. We went to the team's clubhouse and ordered some Chinese delivery and just talked and ate while watching some soccer on tv. Their next game is tomorrow but since I don't have a glove or uniform yet I won't be playing. Right now I am just borrowing a glove but I really need to get my own if I want to keep playing. After I left the group, today has just been a relax at home/laundry afternoon. Tonight I'm not sure what I will do, some people are going to Seoul to celebrate St. Patrick's day early. Tomorrow afternoon I will go to my first soccer game here. The Suwon Bluewings' stadium (which was used for the world cup) is literally the address right next to the university. Tomorrow is a home game in the afternoon and I can't wait to go with some of the guys from AGA. Anyways, that's my update.

From Sunday to Thursday, a lot has happened and I'm sorry for not updating sooner! Whenever I come back to my room in the evenings I am typically very tired and when I wake up in the mornings I'm usually running late to class. Korea is a very fast paced society. Koreans don't like to wait for anything, their internet is the fastest, the longest I have waited for my food is maybe 5 minutes, and bus timetables are immaculate. I feel like I've been encompassed and am a part of that fast paced society now so this afternoon being able to just relax in my room is well deserved. I really do enjoy everything I do and being able to do so many things everyday, but it's just something different than at home. This week has been a fairly normal week in school, I just finished my last class for the week and now my three-day-weekend begins. Economics is my most difficult class, and we have a significant amount of homework each night. I've gotten an A+ on all of my assignments so far, but the concepts seem much more difficult than at home. Maybe it's because I typically don't start my homework until 1am though? haha. Korean class is going well, that class is always very funny. Floris, April, and I just make jokes for 75% of the class but it helps us remember some things too. We've learned some basic words but are still working on the alphabet and pronunciation mainly. At this rate, I'm learning more words outside of Korean class per day than in class, but I think that's normal. Sociology is just sociology, and linguistics is just linguistics. My linguistics professor is very nice though and she often seeks my input in a lot of the discussions. 
Two new things that I have done outside of school happened both Tuesday and yesterday (Wednesday). On Tuesday, in the evening I went to Seoul to meet Mary after her classes. I told her I wanted to try Nakji, and since it is her favorite food she knew of a really good place to go. Nakji is raw, freshly cut-up octopus, that still squirms across the plate as you try to eat it. Click here to link to my photo album, where I posted a video of my food on it's plate. I think it's important to try everything, so that's what I did, but I don't think I'll be having it again. When the tentacles suction onto your tongue it becomes hard to swallow and the taste was rather bland! Luckily there was soju to wash down the slimy taste and kimchi pajeon which I ate happily instead. Also, as a late birthday gift, Mary made some homemade lemon tea syrup which is really delicious. Yesterday, Wednesday, was my first baseball practice. It was really nice but took me a while to get used to everything again. One of the guys spoke really great English, but had a distinctly Australian accent although he had never left Korea(?) and he helped me meet all the guys and get warmed up. We did some fielding practice and the coaches gave us some tips and there was lesson time too. I think I really need to buy a glove while I am here though to keep playing, they suggested getting one online. Our next practice is tomorrow morning at 9am, which I'm very excited for, but will have to come home early tonight for. Tonight there is another Friends Club party, followed by going to Janbeers, then Plan B, then TAO. All clubs across the street from Ajou, so we'll see how long I stay out. In other recent news, for about 2 days the dorms didn't have hot water, but now it's back. Also, not this weekend, but the following (March 24th-25) is the exchange student field trip to Saroksan! I can't wait to go and we're all hoping the weather will be nice. Almost all of us exchange students are going by bus and hiking all day and then spending one night there before returning Sunday. Since I am now in the routine of things and everything around me is familiar, I have stopped taking pictures so much, at least until the cherry blossoms start blooming. In the last week I've only taken maybe 20 pictures, and I've uploaded them in my album. 

Today is Sunday and the coldest day in Korea so far, although it looks nice and warm outside, there's really a whipping wind that's hard to escape. For that reason, I'll be staying inside and updating my blog!


Firday night's party was really fun! Friends Club seems like a really good group of people. There was a good dj, lots of dancing for about 6 hours, free drinks, and a nice 50/50 Korean to foreigner ratio. I met a lot of people and can't wait to see them later this semester at other events. The people who skipped the party and went straight to Seoul for the night really missed out. I went to bed around 2 or so and thought I would get some good sleep but at 6:30 am a group of people who went to Seoul for clubbing came into our room with guitars, ukuleles, and their loud voices and sang(screamed) a wake up song until we would acknowledged them...then they went to the next room and did this on every floor! haha, I didn't mind, they were just drunk returning from Seoul but my roommate was pissed because afterwards they proceeded to play rice-cooker bowling in the hall with his rice-cooker. I think that's part of the fun of living in a dorm though. On Saturday I went to Seoul station and had a good Japanese lunch then saw a movie called "This Means War" it was a silly and really good action movie. Afterwards I also had tea and cheesecake with Mary again and met her friend Star! Both of them are really nice, and I'm glad I am meeting people to hang out with in Suwon, too. On the way back to Ajou I got off of the bus one stop early and relaxed at the jimjilbang (Korean spa) for a couple hours. I love that place. When I got home I felt too relaxed to go back out. Today, Sunday, I got up around 10 and left around 12. I went and watched some of the baseball team's game vs Seoul University and met some more of the guys, I really can't wait for my first practice on Wednesday, it will be a lot of fun. After eating some noodles in the cafeteria I am in my nice warm room. Today I just have to do some homework, and then I'll probably go to movie night downstairs after dinner. 


If anyone has question about my time here, or life in Korea in general, be sure to leave a comment! 


Also, when I came to Korea I really didn't like K-Pop music (Korean Pop), although it's extremely popular here and around the world. But, after hearing it everywhere, it's starting to grow on me. Not some of the sad boy bands, but more of the upbeat girl groups. 


This song is the theme song of us exchange student guys right now, and we sing it as a running joke whenever we go out:

Today is my first Friday since class has started and it's great not having class! At least it would've been today if I didn't have to wake up at 8am... so after staying out till roughly 2:30 last night, I had to force myself out of bed at 8am. It was tough, but I'm glad I got up and went with the AGA group to the Suwon Immigration Office. So since I will be here longer than 90 days I had to go to the immigration office and get my Alien Registration Card. I needed to get it as soon as possible because I need it to go to Japan and come back and it takes a few weeks to process. I had heard horor stories about this place from other students and foreign English teachers...all their stories were true. Imagine a horrible DMV and then make it a few times worse. When we got there I took a number, I was number 268, they were currently on number 64...and they went in order. Luckily the group of us was with AGA members helping us, and some of them stayed while we went to HomePlus to go get some food and they texted us periodically to update us on the current number. We arrived at 9:15am and I was finally seen at the counter at 1:20pm. Yes, you read that right. 4 hours of waiting - way worse than any DMV branch. Anyways, now it's done, I don't have to think about it anymore, and I don't have to return again unless I come to teach in Korea. Now I'm relaxing in my dorm before the Friends Club party tonight. Friends Club is an organization on campus that holds events mixing international students with Koreans. I can't wait to go, and I think all of us exchange students are really excited because it's a great way to meet Koreans. The party ends around midnight probably and then we might go to Seoul and go to some clubs or whatnot.

This next part of this post is just something that's fascinated me lately and I wanted to write about. Since February 27th until today, South Korea and the U.S. have been conducting their annual joint military exercises called "Key Resolve". In the past week I have noticed many military jets flying over in formation, blackhawks are constantly flying over during the day, and there have been many military trucks on the roads. Here in Suwon there is a joint ROK and US air force base and driving the bus to Seoul you pass many installations tucked in the mountains and sophisticated radars on the hills. Of course seeing news on the tv about North and South Korea portrays the situation a certain way, but living here is a very different aspect. It's very odd to think that downtown Seoul, and a metro area with over 20,000,000 people, is only 41km south of the North Korean border...that's the same distance from Dallas to Ft. Worth. As well, in a nation where all men age 20 must serve 2 years of military service, there is always that threat of conflict on the mind. I feel no anxiety about being here at all, and that's not the intention of my writing, but when I see the f-15's and f-16's flying low in formation every day many times per day it makes me think of where I am and the bigger picture that is hard to see sometimes. 

The last few days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) have been great! 

Tuesday was just a nice and normal day, it was raining a lot, and I only had one class. After class I just relaxed in my room and then in the evening went to Janbeers with many others.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was an even better day! First I had 1 class at 9 but was over by 10:15, and then I had a nice morning before I went to Seoul for the day. For the rest of the story to make sense, flashback to me buying the cell phone in Itaewon on Monday. When I was waiting for the bus it was pouring rain really hard but in Korea you have to queue up for a bus because so many people want to take it and they don't all fit in one bus. So I was standing there getting soaked and then a nice Korean girl behind me, Mary, offered me to share her umbrella. We ended up talking on the bus back to Suwon a lot and she offered to show me more around Seoul where she goes to school! So yesterday, Wednesday, first Karina, Natalie, and I went to Seoul so they could both get cellphones. After that I took the metro by myself to Gyeongbokgung and met Mary there at 4. She was very nice, knowledgeable, and helpful and had made a tour route for us to take earlier. First we went to this very old district in Seoul called Bukchon. It was very historical, with original Korean-style houses that today are mainly occupied by foreign ambassadors and other very rich people. It has many hills looking over the tiled roofs and many small alley ways with shops and places to eat.  Mary had also planned for us to eat at this really nice and hidden Korean Fusion restaurant. It was really tasty, and in a renovated old Korean style structure. After that we walked some more through Bukchon on our way to Insadong and we went to a very nice place that only had green tea. This place attracted some serious tea sommeliers and it was three stories high of nothing but nice dressed ladies, waiters in white, nice wood floors, and green tea. Besides tea, I also tried my first green tea cake, pretty good stuff! Leaving there we took the bus to Seoul station and then the train (not metro!, but actual fast train) to Suwon in under 30 minutes which was much nicer than taking the metro. In Suwon we just hung out and walked and then went to one of those funny Japanese photo places where you just act silly and get anime-like photos. All in all it was a really nice day, and she is a very nice guide. Also, Mary is an English major so she has a big certification exam for English coming soon so hopefully I can help her, too. 

When I got home from Seoul I went and checked my mailbox and actually had my first letter! Before I had checked there was only the same empty candy wrapper sitting inside the metal box, but today there was an actual letter! Sarah had sent me a very nice and sweet letter and it really also made my day. Now I have to go out and buy some postcards and start sending them out! Postage from US to here is $1.05 for a letter, by the way! Thanks, Sarah! 

Today, Thursday, I had to wake up for class at 9 and then just go through all my classes. Korean class was really funny with Floris, and then linguistics was cool too. During my lunch break they had all the clubs and sports teams at booths outside and I joined the baseball team. Yep, I joined the Ajou baseball team. Practice is twice a week and the games are on Sundays. I'm the only non-Korean but they seemed really interested in getting me to play. I can't wait to go and play for the first time in a long time. The first game is this weekend vs. Seoul National University, but I'll just be watching. Sadly, I have to miss tomorrow morning's practice to go to the Suwon Immigration Office so I can get my Alien Registration Card, so I can stay in Korea over 30 days and go to Japan. Speaking of, I've found really cheap tickets to Osaka and Vytas and I are still thinking about going together. Also today after class, as I was walking to the bookstore, a Korean ran up to me (this is very strange as most Koreans are very timid and shy to foreigners). She asked me to please be in a photo-shoot for an Ajou advertising brochure. I obliged and 30 minutes later was finally finished after being posed smiling while walking down the steps of the library while pretending to read a book (while it was below freezing outside!). haha. Soon I will be in a brochure advertising the Ajou Graduate School, I guess they just needed diversity in the booklet so they chose me. Later I also saw them getting some African students to pose, trying to make it look like more than 3 Africans go to Ajou presumably. Then I finally got my Korean books and now I'm here! 

So far my time here in Korea has been one of the best times of my life. I think one of the main reasons is simply because I am somewhere completely new and different from home. Being thousands of miles away from home with many other exchange students in the same situation really brings us close together. It seems like whoever I'm with and wherever they're from, we always have fun hanging out in groups and trying new things together. Also, I've been pleasantly surprised by many things. First, Koreans have been very open to talk to me and help me which is great, I assumed it would be hard to make Korean friends but that is not the case. Secondly, the food is not only amazing but really cheap too compared to America and Europe. If you are used to dining out in America or Europe you can really live the good life here in Korea. I haven't cooked a meal once while I've been here and I spend on average between $10-$12 total a day eating out. I can easily eat in the cafeteria and get full for $1.66, if I want to splurge I'll spend closer to $4-$5. If I keep that up, my total semester cost for food will be around $1350 which is nothing compared to back home. Also for the lazy, almost every place, including McDonalds, will deliver anywhere regardless of the order size, and delivery is free. Third, I'm amazed at how easy it is to get around and have the freedom to virtually go anywhere in the country at any time with ease and for cheap. Just outside the school's main gate I can catch a taxi and travel across Suwon, I can catch a bus to Seoul, catch a bus to Suwon Station, from Suwon Station I can take a train to the very south of the country in under 3 hours. To hop on any of the public transit sources (including taxi) you just pay by holding a simple plastic t-money card in front of a reader before you get on and you can reload the card anywhere. To take a metro in Seoul is only $0.88 for a single ride and that includes as many transfers as you want. I can take the subway from Seoul to Suwon station and  then a bus to Ajou and pay a total of 2,000won or $1.66 which is great in a city area of over 20 million people. 

Busy Day

So yes, today was the first day of class. 

• At 9am I had Microeconomics, seems like it will be a pretty straight-forward class, no big surprises in the syllabus and today we already had a lecture. There are actually more international students than Korean students and Floris is my table mate so that's nice. In total, us exchange students are; 5 German, 2 Dutch, 2 French, 2 Bulgarian, and 1 American. 
• After that was Korean Language. Floris and I had this class together too so we went from one building to the next following the classroom numbers on our syllabus. When we walk in it is a massive lecture hall full of Koreans. Obviously this couldn't be right. Nonetheless, we sat down for 5 or so minutes trying to convince ourselves that they were just Chinese and also learning Korean language with us. That's when Korean ROTC guys showed up and we realized we were in a room full of Koreans. We rounded up the other exchange students who had confused looks on their faces and we eventually got to the correct classroom that was misprinted on our sheets. Korean language class seems interesting so far. We'll see how it goes. I already know everything from today's lecture after just having lived here a week.
• Last class was Linguistics. This was probably the most enjoyable class and I am really looking forward to it. I met a girl who actually knew Byeongjae from when they were in AGA together so that was surprising. 

After class I went straight to the bus stop near the campus gate and quickly boarded the bus to Seoul by myself. I got there in record time and took the subway to Itaewon. Itaewon is a big foreigner district where I saw more white people than Koreans, Vytas told me this evening that 60% of Itaewon's population is foreigners. I went there to get a Korean cell phone. Typically you need your Alien Registration Card to activate a Korean phone, but, if you know some people, you can get it in Itaewon with just an American driver's licence due to contracts some shops have with the US military. That's what I did and 50,000won later I had a Korean cell phone(simple, not smartphone), with SIM card, fully activated and a 20,000won calling card included (texts are only 10won so it should last me a long time). It's good to have a phone because, not just in case of emergencies, but that's how most of us exchange students keep in touch and know where to hang out and meet up. My phone actually does have a built in Korean>English dictionary though which is kinda cool. Before I left Itaewon I noticed many Turkish restaurants that sold kebabs and I just couldn't resist, I ate two, lamb and chicken. The music they played inside sounded a bit like Haifa Wehbe and it reminded me of Sarah. 

When I made my way through the Seoul metro rush hour madness and back on the bus to Suwon it was raining pretty hard. It's been raining all day. Even though I was tired I went to dinner with 6 others to a nice quaint Japanese restaurant and had some udon noodle soup, mmmmm.

Last Day Before Class

Today is, as the title says, the last day before class starts. Tomorrow I have 3 classes starting at 9am, but am free after 2. I feel like life here is getting more into a rhythm which is really nice. After waking up I did some laundry, cleaned my room, and went to go buy some groceries. Although it's still kind of dreary and winter-esque, the trees are starting to bud just slightly which hopefully means the sun will be shining a lot soon. 

Last night I went to Seoul and met Joo, Yeonsin's friend, in Sinchon at 7:30. She is a really nice person and very funny and I'm so glad that Yeonsin introduced me to her. She gave me a tour of Yonsei University, where she goes, and also Ewha Women's University nearby. Sinchon was a real maze of nightlife, nice restaurants, bars and shopping. After walking for a while we went this place where she treated me to Korean ice-cream with red bean paste in it that was very tasty for a late birthday gift! She also brought a traditional Korean cake and gave me two presents, she is very nice! When I finally made it back to Suwon it was slightly before midnight and I took the last bus from Suwon Station to Ajou. 

This having been the 2nd weekend, it seems like every international student spends the week in Suwon and then Friday and Saturday in Seoul. I love it here in Suwon because it is quieter with only 1 million people and not overwhelming to navigate. Living in such close proximity to downtown Seoul (30-40 minutes on bus depending on traffic), while still being outside the city is great. 

Well hey blog readers, today is still Saturday, and I just got back from a jimjilbang (Korean spa). Today I wanted a nice relaxing day and my body was aching a bit from the busy first week here. The jimjilbang was exactly where I needed to go, after being there for 3 hours, I feel great! I went by myself, which was interesting because I just had to follow what all the Korean did. Basically it's gender-separated spas and hot tubs and saunas and showers on the first floor and sleeping quarters, a mix-gender lounge area, a restaurant and other saunas on the second floor. For 6,000Won ($5) you got access to the place for as long as you want (open 24/7) First you are handed a white t-shirt and shorts after you put all of your belonging and clothes into lockers on the first floor, then you get naked with everyone else and enjoy the baths on the first floor. I really liked the green-tea tub but most of the saunas were way too hot for me as a jimjilbang novice (173 degrees Fahrenheit!) They've also got showers there too and you could get a body-scrub (I'm talking FULL BODY,  every crevice, courtesy of a nice Korean guy for an extra 8,000Won). Didn't do that this time though. Afterwards I put the white t-shirt and shorts on and chilled upstairs. It was relaxing by myself and it was on the 9th floor which gave a nice view of a busy street in Suwon. 3 hours later I'm back home getting ready to go to Seoul tonight! 

Seoul Trip and More!

Well I said I would update this blog (diary) everyday, but everyday I'm so busy and I always come home fairly late and tired! This will be another long post about my trip to Seoul on Thursday!

To see the newest pictures, including the ones from the trip to Seoul, click here! 

Anyways, for the Seoul trip you could chose 1 of 4 different groups taking 4 different routes through Seoul. The groups were A, J, O, and U, and I was in the most popular, group O. Also, all of the cool people were in group O! haha. We all met at 9am (way too early) and the 30 or so of us in Group O took buses to Seoul. Once in Seoul we were guided through a few subways stops until we reached Namsangol Traditional Korean Village. There you could play Korean games, learn dances and songs, and most importantly wear traditional Korean clothes, Hanbok! After much fun and joking the entire group went for lunch where we naturally sat on the floor and ate bulgogi. After lunch we went to Gyeongbokgung palace, which is in the heart of Seoul. It is the largest palace in the country and a very historical and beautiful place. We witnessed the changing of the guards and saw many of the outside gates. Thursday was also Korean Independence Day so there were very very many people and I will return again later to actually go inside. Vytas has been 3 times and has never seen the entire palace. Close to there was Insadong, a popular place for foreigners, but we basically just walked through. In the end we ended up on this market for dinner and luckily we were accompanied by Ajou students so we were able to order some pajeon which is like a Korean pancake. This market was great with many people, smells, lots of sounds and sights,  all very Korean. At this point the tour was over, we were all whipped from walking in Seoul from 9am-8pm and so the majority of the group went back to Suwon. Of course, Floris, Jerrel, Vytas, and I went to Gangnam which is a very posh district of Seoul and had drinks with some Korean students until we finally got back to Ajou at 1:30. 

Yesterday, Friday, was a nice relaxing day in which I didn't have to do anything. It was nice to sleep until noon and then go eat in the cafeteria and then just relax in the afternoon. The weather was raining in the morning but got better. Last night we went out with a group of 6 to have some good chicken for dinner and then about 30 of us met at Janbeers till 2. Also, yesterday was the first day of school, but my first class isn't until Monday. 

Today is Saturday and now it's about 1pm so I will go eat some lunch soon. Then possibly visit a jimjilbang and just relax before going to Seoul tonight. Take care, everyone! 

My friend Natalie is a more experienced and creative blog writer, here is her latest post from today (Wednesday), and our trip to a market near school: http://nattiejayne.info/2012/02/29/natalie-and-nick-have-an-adventure-in-pictures/

Birthday, Orientation, Party

Hey everyone, this blog (diary) entry will be pretty long so get ready to read a lot. I haven't updated since Sunday and now it's mid-afternoon on Wednesday! 

On Monday, the 27th, was my birthday. After waking up early I had to be at orientation at 10. For the most part the orientation was pretty boring and information we already knew. After being addressed by the dean, welcomed by others, we had to watch one of the most hilarious fire-safety videos created which included a graphic video production of what to do if your finger gets cut off...I guess that happens a lot to exchange students? After that we had a welcoming lunch which was actually a pretty fancy production put on by the uni. On Monday morning I met Natalie, a nice exchange student also from USA and she was also going to get a job teaching English at the same place as me. We were both contacted before we arrived in Korea and so we both decided to go to the interview/meeting together and just take a taxi. The meeting went great, and they want Natalie to teach an evening class twice a week and for me to teach an afternoon class twice a week. The pay is nice at 30,000 won a session. Unfortunately for me, my class schedule might not allow me to be free for the Thursday session each week. If it doesn't work out and I can't work there it will be fine for me and I will just do private English tutoring instead. My friend Vytas, from Lithuania, does private tutoring and was hired because he said he was from Omaha, Nebraska! With an American passport it is very very easy to get a job here. That night a large group of us (probably 25 or so) went out for dinner and then drinking. If you check my photo album you'll see that we went and had galbi (Korean BBQ). I was the designated meat-cooker for my table and the pork turned out pretty tasty. Afterwards we went for party at a place called Janbeers. According to students from last semester, most people spend more time in Janbeers than in class during the semester. It was a really cool bar, catering mainly towards foreigners without tables, only big couches. It was great to meet a lot of new people and to celebrate my birthday a little. A 3-liter pitcher of beer costs about $9 so Korea is exactly like what they say, "the land where beer is cheaper than coca-cola". On the 28th, Vytas and Imane both had their birthdays so as the clock reached midnight everyone sang for the three of us. 

Yesterday, Tuesday, I was awoken by Vytas and Imane both wanting me to come and get ice cream to celebrate our birthdays together. At 10 am? Sure. Anyways, the three of us walked to Baskin Robbins (nice haha), and split a half-gallon bucket of ice cream (look for the pictures). 6 flavors, a half-gallon. We finally left at 1pm with my stomach hurting from my ice cream brunch. It was great to sit and talk though and Imane gave me a very nice leather bracelet from Morocco for my birthday which I have been wearing since. When we arrived back it was time to start phase 2 of orientation, this time was less boring but equally less important. Last night there was a big welcome party at a place near campus called Wasserturm (haha German place I know) and almost all of the international students went. It started around 7:30 and before that, Natalie and I went and got some dumplings to stave off hunger (or hangover?). The welcome party last night was a blast. If you go to my photo album you will see many pictures from it. There was dancing, nice people, games, karaoke, and just a good time. I met many people from all over the world (including a couple from Baden-Wurttemberg who I spoke German with). Overall the group this semester represents 34 countries. When I came home last night I slept very soundly. Waking up this morning with my open laptop on my chest was surprising too. 

Today has been a nice and relaxing day with nothing to do. The sun is up, the weather is very nice (around 52!) I can finally go out in just a long-sleeve shirt, my window is open, life is good. Outside the dorms there are also lots of cafe tables and everyone ate lunch outside today. I went to the cafeteria here on campus and got the bulgogi meal and for approx. $2.25 it's a full, cheap meal that actually tasted great. Later today I'm going to walk down the drag across from campus and run some errands, etc. Tomorrow is the big group trip to Seoul! It will be a very long day, leaving at 9:00 and probably not returning until early Friday morning so I will probably not write for a while. Leave comments, and check my photo album! 

If anyone wants to write me:

Nicholas Kattwinkel 
Hwahong Hall Room #5310 
Ajou University San 5, Woncheon-dong, 
Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-city, Gyung Gi-Do, 
443-749 South Korea

First Trip to Seoul

So today, as the title says, was my first trip to Seoul! Each day I love being here in Korea more and more and today was a big part of that trend. Hopefully I can keep this post rather short and to the point. 

So last night on the Facebook group, a lot of students planned to go to Seoul together today and leave around 11 from the lobby of the dorms. Anyways, this morning Jerrel, Floris, and I decided that we wanted to get some breakfast before we left and so we walked down to get some food around 10:40. By the time we were finished, the main, large, group had already left for Seoul. That was fine with us, and I think in the end it was better just as us three. At 11:15 we hopped on the bus to Seoul, at 1000 won ($0.88), the 30 or so minute ride to Seoul was quicker and easier than going by metro. 

When we arrived in Seoul we were fairly lost, we didn't know where to start. Being such a huge sprawling city, it doesn't really have a clearly defined downtown, but rather many interesting and spread out districts. So we took the Seoul metro north after the bus dropped us off and ended up at Yongsan Station. There was a large mall here where Floris bought a camera (and haggled the price of the brand new camera to get a 20,000 won discount) and Jerrel got some running shoes which he also got the price lowered on after some arguing. After looking around the mall a bit we ate some very tasty Bibimbap. Jerrel and I both had the vegetarian type and it was such a great meal, very filling but healthy too. (Click for picture)  Bibimbap is a very traditional Korean meal and many different varieties can be found everywhere. To learn more about it, click here. Before leaving this restaurant we pointed at phrases in the phrase-book to have the waitress suggest us where to go. She pointed to Myeongdong on a metro map, and away we left. 

Myeongdong was more of the side of Seoul we were expecting to see. The metro was crowded with young people all getting off here, and the endless stream of people was just what we were looking for. Myeongdong is a trendy and very popular shopping district in Seoul; shops, bars, restaurants, neon and flashy signs and people as far as the eye can see. We sifted our way through the people enjoying all the cool things we were seeing. It seemed like everyone from Seoul who wanted to be seen was hanging out here. We decided to take a break at a 3 story coffee shop and rest while watching around us. Also, across the street was a 3-story Forever 21 and a 5-story H&M, these places were packed too. Once we continued walking I tried some street food again, although I'm not quite sure what I ate, it was greasy and good. When we left Myeongdong we just took the metro all the way back to Suwon. The ride took about an hour and we went through 22 stops. Across the metro car from us was a cute little Korean girl with her mom and she kept trying to practice her English with us. Also, we met a lady from the UK who had been teaching English in Suwon for 6 months and she gave me some helpful insight. 

After arriving back at Suwon station we ate another good meal of Bibimbap there but this time I had the bulgogi Bibimbap which was also great and filling. Just now we took a taxi home from the station and I'm just starting to relax after walking and seeing a lot. Earlier we made plans to go workout and then go to a jinjilbang (24-hour Korean sauna) but I am feeling pretty tired already. Tomorrow (Monday) at 10:00am is our orientation so I'll probably just stay here. Also, I guess in about a little more than an hour it will be my birthday. I had totally forgotten that until Sarah reminded me when we were talking today. Because of this, I will probably be out late tomorrow and might not have time to make a post tomorrow. Also in recent news, Tuesday is my first interview for tutoring English.

(Click here for a link to my photo album!)

2nd Day Here, Even Better

Since my last post was pretty long I'll try to summarize today quicker and write a bit less! Around 1pm, Byeongjae, a former exchange student at UTA from Ajou came and picked me up at my dorm. I had gotten to know him last semester at UTA and he is a really great guy. He came with us to Austin and I showed him around Texas a bit so today was his turn to show me around his hometown of Suwon. Leaving the campus we passed the older downtown area and he showed me around Hwaseong Fortress. He explained a lot of the history and different aspects of the city to me along our way to Suwon Station, the main train station. 

Once we got to Suwon Station it was clear that it was a hub of activity on a busy Saturday afternoon. Besides being a train station it is also the largest shopping center in Suwon and has many restaurants. Before we got lunch though he gave me a t-money card for bus and subway fares and showed me how to put money on to it. Soon after, we went to this traditional Korean food place and he ordered a seafood and noodle soup while I had a very tasty spicy pork dish (click here for picture). It was really nice to see Byeongjae again, to talk, and to know how small the world is to think that 2 months earlier we were having lunch in Dallas together is crazy. After lunch we made our way back out but along the way stopped at 2 street vendors selling interesting foods. Ever since before I came to Korea I really wanted to try some street and market foods and with Byeongjae there was my perfect opportunity. First I tried this sweet potato fried-pancake thing and then got some pastries all being made under small huts outside in the cold (see album for pictures). 

After I returned to the dorm I went to just relax and watch some tv in the common room. There I met with two Dutch guys I had met yesterday, Floris and Jerrel. Floris suggested we go for a little hike and then get some food and even though I was tired I am glad I went. The three of us guys took a taxi from the university to the district near Hwaseong Fortress. Again the taxi was so much nicer than bus and cheaper too with 3 of us. After walking through some markets we made it to the fortress but they were just closing the palace part for the day. The wall that surrounds the fortress is always open though and we hiked a large portion of it. Along the way we came across a temple with a beautifully large golden Buddha as we continued going to the top of Mt. Paldal-san and at the top we had clear views across all of Suwon (see pictures). The entire fortress and wall was really neat architecturally and still very intact. I can't wait to go again, hopefully once it gets warmer! As we continued to circle along the wall it was getting very cold and we needed to find a place to eat. I guess the three of us all wanted to try something new because where we ate was very Korean. We walked in and first had to take off our shoes and put them in a cubby-hole style thing on the wall, after that we sat down on the (heated) floor with the wooden table slightly above our crossed legs. Imagine 3 guys, all over 6ft tall, coming into a place like this, not speaking any Korean, surrounded by Koreans that don't speak English. The experience was great and a lot of fun. We ended up ordering dumplings because surprisingly I remembered the word ("Mandu") from the night before and then got this fried pork dish covered in syrup and sugar that we ordered by pointing at the picture on the wall. We ate while occasionally having to stretch our legs and being distracted by the endless stream of K-pop music videos playing on the tv. For the three of us it was 20,000 won in total which I think is pretty good for all the food we got. When we left it was dark outside and we took the opportunity to walk down some neon-illuminated alleyways and try to find more places to go in. After failing twice to find a karaoke bar (one time we walked into a bordello by accident) we decided to call it a night. Anyways, so now I am in my room. There is a group of 15 or so of us going to a club in Seoul tonight at 10 but I am too tired and would rather sleep, since the subway stops at 12 either they will only stay an hour or will have to stay out till 5 when it starts again, after meeting most of the people here, the latter is the more commonly accepted manner. Click here for a link to my photo album! 

Real Korean Food

So if you read my earlier blog entry from today you probably read that it was near 7:15pm here and I was feeling too tired to go out to dinner with the group. Well now it's 10 and I'm home from dinner! Tonight I had my first real Korean food experience, and even though I didn't have much to eat, it was really good. So everyone met outside the dorm around 8 and it was sleeting and foggy so we were all bundled up pretty well. In total I think there were 16 or so of us and we went to this little dumpling place near campus. It was tucked away in a side alley that was completely illuminated with neon signs at night, and it seemed like more people were out and about now than during the day. So we get to this place and our entire group takes up most of the seating in the place and first we are brought some Mu, which is one of my favorite Korean appetizers. It's basically just pickled radishes and Sarah, Laura, Ellen and I tried them when we went for Korean food in Dallas earlier this month. Then our table all ordered plates of the mixed dumplings, 6 pork and 6 kimchi dumplings. They were very tasty, the kimchi was the perfect level of spiciness and the pork was really flavorful. Overall it was just fun to go out with the group, meet some more new people from all over the world, and socialize. After that the majority of the group went out for drinks, but now I am seriously tired and full so time for bed for me. 

Photo Album

Hopefully this link works, I made the album "public" so everyone should be able to see it. Again, sorry I don't have many pictures yet, so far just a few shots of the university.

http://s1053.photobucket.com/albums/s474/niaka27/

First Impressions

Hey everyone, I'm finally here in South Korea. It's been a very busy time since I left so sorry that this update might be pretty long! 

First, the flights were both good. In San Francisco the wait went by quickly. Once we boarded the flight to Seoul though we ended up sitting on the tarmac for an hour, making the total time inside the plane about 13.5 hours. Once we landed it was still sunny, but cold in Seoul, and the sun was going down quick. Incheon airport was really amazing, in it's size, modern architecture, and ease to navigate. By the time we made it through customs and got our bags it was dark. On the other side of customs in Incheon were students from the AGA (Ajou Global Ambassadors) waiting for us. They were easy to spot and I met my "Ajou Buddy", HyungSub, "Matthias". He helped me get some Korean Won from an ATM and then showed me to the buses to get to Suwon. By this time it was below freezing while we waited outside to catch the bus. 

Once on board the bus to Suwon it was very nice. The fare from Incheon to Suwon was 13,000 Won. It was easy to relax during the 45 minute drive from the airport and we passed by the city of Incheon on the way. Looking out the windows at the vast array of endless apartment high-rises, each trying to out compete each other in grandeur, was simply amazing. Seeing everything lit up in the stores, streets, and skies was something that is hard to put into words. Getting my first glimpse into Korea was something truly extraordinary. When I got to the last stop in Suwon I still wasn't at Ajou. Once I stepped off the bus I was greeted by more AGA members who helped me with my bags and brought me to the taxis. They told the cab driver where to go, and I was brought straight to the dorm. 

By the time I made it to the dorm I checked in quickly and it was close to 8pm. The first people I met were the guys from the room next to mine, Marco and Timo, from Holland and Finland respectively. They were so nice in showing me around and helping me feel at home. Both of them had been at Ajou since last August. After getting settled in, I showered (nice hot showers), and crashed pretty soon afterwards. 

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That was all yesterday. Today, Friday, was another long and exciting day. I woke around 7am and by 8am I was out the dorms. Last night my roommate came in around 4 as did many other guys on my floor so I think I was the only one awake. I walked around the campus and down one of the main streets across from the campus. It was nice and very cold and the city was just at the peak of waking up and everyone bustling to school and work. First I stopped and got some pastries and then continued walking. It was then I noticed I needed to improve on my Korean. In total my walk alone was about 2 hours in the morning, with a break for some tea in the middle. Some of my first impressions were pretty awesome. It's hard to really write all the different sights and senses that I saw in the morning but it was a complete culture shock. Obviously Korea is nothing like traveling to Western Europe, and for me I don't think I knew really what to expect here. That being said, it's great here. There are so many things, simple things, that I still need to learn, but I am learning quick. For example, at the coffee-shop you are handed a coaster that vibrates when your order is ready like when waiting for a table at home, it's easier to memorize the currency by it's different colors rather than numbers to confuse the zeros, and taking a taxi in Suwon is often times just as cheap as a bus if you are 2 or more people. Another thing I learned thanks to my new friend, Vytas, is never ask a Korean if they speak English, they will always say "no" and walk away, instead just ask them whatever question you want answered first. 

After my long tour I came back to my dorm and hung-out with some newly arrived students in the lobby. There were 3 French and 2 Dutch students and I helped them with their things.  After that I went upstairs and organized all of my things, I'm proud to say that although I have little space here, I have everything in order. Soon after I noticed on the Facebook groups some students were organizing to do things in the afternoon. Some groups went to Suwon Station, other went to a jimjilbang, and another group was going on a tour with Vytas and then for some coffee. I went with the last group, Vytas is a Lithuanian student who has been here since August, and is a really cool and intelligent guy studying foreign policy. In our group were also French, Polish, and Mexican girls. He showed us some really cool alleys in Suwon and we walked through a market gazing at all the foreign foods. I didn't take any pictures today but it is so close to the university and I will go back when it is sunnier to get some nice shots. Along the way we ran into many other exchange students and met them, too. At the end we got some coffee near school and then the group split up. Vytas, Marie, and I went to HomePlus together to get some things for the dorm, and we took a taxi which was nicer, quicker and cheaper than a bus. I got a much needed pillow, blanket, chopsticks, bowl, blanket...etc. It was just great to go with Vytas because he really knew the way around everywhere. Now it is about 7:15pm and I am back in my room. I feel completely exhausted right now so I might just go to bed soon. A large group of  us are going to dinner at 8 but since they wouldn't be back till 10 or 11 I might just call it an early night. 

The few pictures that I took today were just of the university. Since it was cloudy I didn't take very many others, I will attempt to link the photo album to my blog now so everyone can see. 

Leaving Soon

Hey everyone, finally in 12 hours I'll be at the airport and on my way. First I'm flying to San Fransisco and then I have a 12 hour and 30 minute flight from there to Seoul. I'll be arriving in Seoul around 4:00pm, Thursday, Korean time. I will update as soon as I can once I get there! Bye! Also, South Korea is 14 hours ahead of Central Standard Time. 

Why I Chose to Study in South Korea

To me, studying abroad was always something I wanted to do since before I started university. I think of it as fun and exciting way to see the world while getting credit (and maybe learning something) for school. As most people probably know, my major in college here is International Business and German. Obviously my first choice for studying abroad was in Germany or Austria. After it became apparent that programs in Germany and Austria were a bit out of the budget for me, I realized that I didn't want to go there anyways. UTA has well over 200 study abroad programs on 6 continents and I thought that going somewhere knew and exciting, someplace I hadn't been before, would be much more fun. 

When it came time to choose the places I wanted to apply for last August, it was between New Zealand, Thailand, and South Korea. New Zealand would have been a beautiful country to see, but was the most expensive option and to be honest I wanted to go somewhere they didn't speak English. Thailand was my second choice but after the extensive flooding last December it's lucky that I didn't pursue going there. South Korea then became where I wanted to go. At first I was hesitant after being accepted, I knew it would be fun and exciting to go there but didn't really know much about the country. Between last August and now though, I have become extremely excited to go and after learning more about the country and people I think my choice was the perfect one. 

Last semester I was lucky enough to meet a foreign exchange student at UTA from Yonsei University in Seoul in my International Management course. His name was YongSoo and from him I met other Korean exchange students; Yeonsin, Byeongjae, Goeun, SaeRom, Jun, Jungmi, Seby, and Saetbyul. I have become really good friends with them over the course of the past few months and they have all taught me a lot about Korea. They are some of the nicest, most open and sincere people I have ever met and they have had a huge impact on me being excited to go to Korea. As well, they all seem excited to show me places in Korea and Yeonsin, YongSoo, Byeongjae, and Jun have already made plans for when I get there. 

Besides just meeting great friends and learning more about a culture, in reading and learning more about Korea I feel that it will help me in my future more than any other place I could study. Obviously, as a business major, getting any kind of Asian experience, especially in a country like Korea is beneficial. Korean companies are now huge, global companies, and speaking the language and having lived there will give me another competitive edge in the global workforce. 

The last reason why I finally decided to choose to go to South Korea is that through a partnership that UTA has with Ajou and with the 4 scholarships I'm receiving on behalf of UTA, the entire program is free to me, everything from spending money there, airfare, housing, tuition, and food is all covered for the entire stay. So as you can probably tell I am just waiting restlessly and anxiously to go, and as of now I have 31 more hours before I go to the airport! 

The World's Most Wired City: Seoul

Ajou University

While in Korea I'll be studying at Ajou University. Founded in 1973, the university has 14,000 students in 12 different colleges. The university typically hosts around 750 international students per year, and they have partnerships in 58 different countries. 

Although classes don't begin until March 5th for me, I have already enrolled in 4 courses, they are: Microeconomics, Korean Language I, Introduction to Sociology, and Introduction to English Linguistics. I'm excited for my schedule because most of my classes are only on Monday and Thursday which will hopefully give me a lot of free time. 

Here is a campus map, I'll be living in the building marked as number 19, Hwahong Hall. (click image to enlarge) 

Things I'm Looking Forward To

1. Getting to meet many Korean and other international students
2. Eating lots of Korean food and drinking lots of soju
3. The ability to travel around the Seoul area easily
4. Going to Busan and Jeju-do
5. Learning Korean
6. Climbing Seoraksan and visiting Sokcho
7. Visiting the Korean DMZ
8. Seeing my Korean friends who I have met in the US
9. Possibly going to Tokyo or Hong Kong
10. Just being somewhere new and different 

Suwon 

While I study abroad, the city I'll be living in is Suwon. Home to 1,100,000 people, Suwon is the capital of Gyeonggi-do province. Suwon is considered to be a suburb of sprawling Seoul, and at only 19 miles south of the city, is easily accessible via the Seoul Metro System. There are actually three metro stations in Suwon, all along Line 1, that provide service into Seoul. The city is known as a major education center for the region with 14 university campuses in total.


Suwon's most popular tourist attraction is Hwaseong Fortress. Here's another picture of the fortress and the city. Built in the 18th Century, this UNESCO Heritage Site surrounds the historical city center of Suwon and has a circumference of 3.57 miles. I'm sure I'll have many more pictures to post of this site later, but as you can see the city has grown far outside of the walls.


The main employer in Suwon is Samsung Electronics which moved their headquarters there shortly after the Korean war. Also, the city has a popular and successful soccer team called the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, and their stadium is directly next to the university I'll be at.

Here is some relevant information for everyone to know:

• South Korea is located in Eastern Asia, the Korean peninsula borders both the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.  
• South Korea is slightly larger than Indiana in size.
• Seoul is South Korea's largest city and capital. As well, it is the second largest metropolitan area in the world with 20,550,000 people and a population density 4 times greater than New York City. 
• In total, Korea's population is roughly 48,755,000 people.
• South Korea's government is a presidential republic with 16 administrative districts. 
• South Korea has a market economy that ranks 14th in the world in nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity. 
• Korea's largest airport, Incheon International Airport, ranks 4th busiest in worldwide cargo traffic and  8th busiest in passenger traffic. 
• Besides Seoul, other major cities include Busan (3.5 million), Incheon (2.5 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Daejeon (1.4 million), Gwangju (1.4 million), Ulsan (1 million), and Suwon (1 million). 
• In Seoul the average January temperate range is from 19F to 33F. In August the average temperature range is from 71F to 86F. 
• South Korea has a humid continental climate and humid subtropic climate during the rainy season which occurs in late June. 
• South Korea has an extensive high-speed rail network covering the country. From Seoul to Busan (see map), the fastest non-stop trains take only 2 hours and 8 minutes. 
• Some large Korean companies include Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia Motors, Korean Air, Daewoo, and Hanjin Shipping. 
• At age 20, all males must serve a compulsory 2 years of military service. 
• Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, fish and meats. 

South Korea's Flag