Super Post Hyper Alpha v3 ++
First of all, two things happened to me today: I have 5 dollars left, and no means to get more. I got lost and was wandering around like an idiot.
To explain a little bit more, there are no international ATMs in a several mile radius around me. No luck at convenience stores, no luck at post offices, no luck at banks (!!!), and no luck on campus. That being said, I realized I used pretty much all the money I initally took with me and blew it on useless things like deposits, room+board, a cell phone, food.......T_T <--- this is me crying. On top of all of that, I decided to go out for a walk today and lost my way...well for only about half an hour. The funny thing is that I was walking in a straight line, stopped at a restaurant, walked back in an opposite straight line, and ended up somewhere completely different. Luckily I eventually found something I recognized, and got back to campus. Apparently I wandered into some sort of apartment complex by accident, so I had no idea where I was. Oh well......at least I know the area REALLY well know...maybe.
Anyways, this is going to be a post of EPIC proportions because I haven't updated in a while. So, without further interruptions....
Seoul
The youth hostel that I stayed at the previous night was really awesome. Basically its someone's house that has several rooms converted into dormitory-style bunks. The owners were really nice, and even made breakfast for us. The price was also ridiculously cheap, something like 15 bucks for the night. There were also some Japanese students, who were really surprised that I could speak Japanese. After checking out, I met Woo-jeon, one of my friends that I met at UCSB. He studied abroad for the year there and just returned to his hometown of Seoul. Together we drove to a Kalbi restaurant (Kalbi is like the korean version of BBQ Ribs or something)....Unfortunately, the kalbi costed 35,000won (~$37), so we settled for something a little cheaper. Afterwards, we drove around Yonsei University, and met up with some more of my friends from UCSB students, Alexis and Seungwon. They are going to be studying in Korea for the summer/year. We then headed off to an ice cream parlor called "Ice Berry." That and "Red Mango"(another ice cream house) are my two new favorite places. It's just like Baskin Robbins, only there is a restaurant-style sitting area.
Later in the night, I bought some Korean world cup propoganda so I could be cool at the world cup match later....I've never seen such national pride before(other than flag-pin-wearing election speeches) It was like San Francisco during New Years, except its 4am and everyone is wearing red and chanting "Dae~~Han Min Guk!" (the formal name for Korea) Too bad they lost...At least I experience the World Cup in the center of Seoul...one in four years for them, once in a lifetime for me. After the game I met Woo-jeon in front of Yonsei University, and we went back to his parent's apt. I was hoping to fall asleep when I got there, but no dice...I took a shower, ate like a king, and then passed out. This was aroung 9am...then I woke up at 4pm, went out and met Jenny, Sunhye, and Jaemin, my friends that I met in Japan. They treated me to some really good food, which you can see in the pictures.
Daejeon
This is the city that I'm going to be living in for the next two months. It feels dead compared to Seoul, even though it has a population of 1.5million. There are people everywhere, but its a lot more quiet than the capital. My tutor (a post-doc student) met me at the university's main gate and showed me around. I moved into my dorm, got some essentials like bedsheets at a mall, and then fell asleep for a couple of hours. I woke up sometime in the evening, and stumbled around campus to find some food. Ironically, my first dinner in Daejeon was the same as my first dinner in Sendai the previous year. Onigiri! Yep, Korea has Family Mart as well, and I'm no stranger to it. Now comes the interesting part. After dinner, I headed off to lab to hopefully meet some of my labmates. Only my tutor Youngbae was there, so we ended up just talking for a bit. Somehow the topic of getting a part-time job teaching English arose, and he offered me a job to be an English tutor to his relative's daughter, who is also a college student. We then headed off to the restaurant his relative owns, and chatted with the parents. They are paying me in money, and homecooked food when I go to their house!
In other news....met some more friends from Japan, got a bicycle, met all my labmates (they are all really nice), going to restaurants (and ordering food in korean), and improving my language skills. I'm feel good about myself, and am starting to exercise everyday...Maybe you guys won't recognize me the next time you see me. Korea truly feels like my study abroad experience in Japan, only on crack.
To explain a little bit more, there are no international ATMs in a several mile radius around me. No luck at convenience stores, no luck at post offices, no luck at banks (!!!), and no luck on campus. That being said, I realized I used pretty much all the money I initally took with me and blew it on useless things like deposits, room+board, a cell phone, food.......T_T <--- this is me crying. On top of all of that, I decided to go out for a walk today and lost my way...well for only about half an hour. The funny thing is that I was walking in a straight line, stopped at a restaurant, walked back in an opposite straight line, and ended up somewhere completely different. Luckily I eventually found something I recognized, and got back to campus. Apparently I wandered into some sort of apartment complex by accident, so I had no idea where I was. Oh well......at least I know the area REALLY well know...maybe.
Anyways, this is going to be a post of EPIC proportions because I haven't updated in a while. So, without further interruptions....
Seoul
The youth hostel that I stayed at the previous night was really awesome. Basically its someone's house that has several rooms converted into dormitory-style bunks. The owners were really nice, and even made breakfast for us. The price was also ridiculously cheap, something like 15 bucks for the night. There were also some Japanese students, who were really surprised that I could speak Japanese. After checking out, I met Woo-jeon, one of my friends that I met at UCSB. He studied abroad for the year there and just returned to his hometown of Seoul. Together we drove to a Kalbi restaurant (Kalbi is like the korean version of BBQ Ribs or something)....Unfortunately, the kalbi costed 35,000won (~$37), so we settled for something a little cheaper. Afterwards, we drove around Yonsei University, and met up with some more of my friends from UCSB students, Alexis and Seungwon. They are going to be studying in Korea for the summer/year. We then headed off to an ice cream parlor called "Ice Berry." That and "Red Mango"(another ice cream house) are my two new favorite places. It's just like Baskin Robbins, only there is a restaurant-style sitting area.
Later in the night, I bought some Korean world cup propoganda so I could be cool at the world cup match later....I've never seen such national pride before(other than flag-pin-wearing election speeches) It was like San Francisco during New Years, except its 4am and everyone is wearing red and chanting "Dae~~Han Min Guk!" (the formal name for Korea) Too bad they lost...At least I experience the World Cup in the center of Seoul...one in four years for them, once in a lifetime for me. After the game I met Woo-jeon in front of Yonsei University, and we went back to his parent's apt. I was hoping to fall asleep when I got there, but no dice...I took a shower, ate like a king, and then passed out. This was aroung 9am...then I woke up at 4pm, went out and met Jenny, Sunhye, and Jaemin, my friends that I met in Japan. They treated me to some really good food, which you can see in the pictures.
Daejeon
This is the city that I'm going to be living in for the next two months. It feels dead compared to Seoul, even though it has a population of 1.5million. There are people everywhere, but its a lot more quiet than the capital. My tutor (a post-doc student) met me at the university's main gate and showed me around. I moved into my dorm, got some essentials like bedsheets at a mall, and then fell asleep for a couple of hours. I woke up sometime in the evening, and stumbled around campus to find some food. Ironically, my first dinner in Daejeon was the same as my first dinner in Sendai the previous year. Onigiri! Yep, Korea has Family Mart as well, and I'm no stranger to it. Now comes the interesting part. After dinner, I headed off to lab to hopefully meet some of my labmates. Only my tutor Youngbae was there, so we ended up just talking for a bit. Somehow the topic of getting a part-time job teaching English arose, and he offered me a job to be an English tutor to his relative's daughter, who is also a college student. We then headed off to the restaurant his relative owns, and chatted with the parents. They are paying me in money, and homecooked food when I go to their house!
In other news....met some more friends from Japan, got a bicycle, met all my labmates (they are all really nice), going to restaurants (and ordering food in korean), and improving my language skills. I'm feel good about myself, and am starting to exercise everyday...Maybe you guys won't recognize me the next time you see me. Korea truly feels like my study abroad experience in Japan, only on crack.
posted by Shyam at
5:12 AM
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