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. 

-----------------------------

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

Hello friends and family! In a week I will finally be in Korea to study abroad for the Spring semester. I am creating this blog to keep everyone updated on my life there as well as to chronicle the things I do abroad.


While in South Korea I will continue to be on Facebook, Skype, and email in case anybody would like to contact me through those. As I publish stories and entries, feel free to leave comments if you would like.