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!