IT IS 21 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN DAEGU ATM. [10am]
and i get fb updates saying its 70 in socal orz
well, i realize i fail at blogging, though it lasted awhile
i've just been busy for some time..
school+work overload, being sick, finals, trips, &etc.
and i wanted to write a sequel to korean transportation
[korean busses-what it's really like to ride one]
and i'll get to that... eventually haha
so i'm back from an AWESOME trip to jeju!
got to see the jeju & ulsan TaLKers <3
we were just missing busan TaLKers to complete group 3 [GREEN TEAM]
& boy i have some stories
but i still have classes to teach
+ end of semester stuff
& lots of packing [moving into mint's friday!]
so more posts.. later :)
time to go teach about christmas!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Transportation in Korea
Since I don't have a car like I did back in California (and I actually DON'T want to drive in Korea), I am one of the many who rely on public transportation to get on with their lives. I haven't lived in Korea for very long, but here's my 2 cents on the topic...
Public Transportation card: aka T-money card in Seoul. But that only works for the province of Gyeonggido & you need different cards for Daegu and Busan. You get small discounts if you use these cards, and it's definitely more convenient to put money in a card and use it than to buy a one-time ticket (orange card in Seoul; green token in Daegu; yellow strip in Busan). For subways, you must 'beep' this card when entering AND exiting the stations, and except for in Seoul, you just need to 'beep' it when getting on busses (twice for the capital). They can come in cute & small sizes (put it on your cellphone) and it's really convenient if you take the public transportation often. Awesome thing about this card is that when you're transferring busses or from bus to subway (or vice versa) within like an hour or so, you don't have to pay for the second (or third, I've tried) set of transportation! Of course, you can't get on the same bus going the opposite direction, but this is so helpful to people who need to take 2 busses to get to their workplace (ahem, ME).
Busses.
Like I mentioned above, I take 2 busses to get to my elementary school, so this is one transportation that I use daily. Crazy drivers. But then again, this is Korea. So far, 2 of the busses that I was in ran red lights. Some drivers are considerate of the people; some are not. I loveee the electronic boards that tell you how far away each busses are (ex: 410 is... 10 min away @ KNU north gate; 503 is... 2 stops away, etc.). I think these exist only in bigger cities, but they are super useful especially if you're wondering which bus to take. Rather take bus that takes 5 more min to get to your destination than the faster bus which is 17 min away, right? Also like the electronic board INSIDE the bus, estimating arrival time in big stops.
Random fact? My favorite seat is the second to last seat on the right side lol. Because of the direction and time when I ride busses are constant, the sun shines on the left side. And since the last row is a step up, the second to last row have higher back rest. Perfect for taking small naps during my 40&50 minute bus rides.
Subways.
Seoul has 10+ subway lines while Daegu has 2 (and Busan, 3). It is faster than busses (no traffic) but since there are only 2 lines in Daegu & the closest station from my school is 30 min walk away, I end up taking busses more often. I think Korean subways are better than New York's and Japan's (more high tech & clean) and I also love the electronic board that tells you how far away the next subway is. In the summer, the AC is on full blast (so it could get crowded) and the seats in subways in Seoul are actually warm during the winter (no, it's not body heat from the last person). Seoul definitely has the best subway system I've seen, w/ its double door system & commercial TVs in newer subways, with announcements in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese. There are tons of small shops inside the subway stations, and bigger stations have resting places with fountains and such. Random fact? In Daegu, the announcement includes ringtone-type songs when announcing the transfer & the last stations.
Korails.
When traveling to another city, take a train. Again, no traffic (except that the slower train slows down sometimes so that KTX, the fastest train in Korea, can speed on by), and there are different trains that you can take, depending on how much time & money you have. Slower trains like mugunghwa take longer to get to your destination, but is cheaper (and its seats are roomier). It has a train cafe where you can buy food, sing your heart out (but these walls are not sound-proof;;;) and play old-school games like street fighters. KTX is the fast but expensive compared to other trains. Buy your ticket in advance when traveling around Korean holidays like Chuseok or Seolnal because they WILL get sold out. There are two types- reserved seat or admittance, and though the later choice is cheaper, it is only sold when all the seats are sold out (so you must walk around to find an empty seat or rest at the train cafe). I went up to Seoul about a month ago, and had to buy an admittance ticket. Without realizing that it was the weekend (thus, sold out seats), I walked into the train cafe, to find all the seats taken, with people sitting on the ground, all cramped up. It really was a torturous ride, with one group of people occupying the karaoke room w/ horrible singing echoing throughout the room;;
Taxis.
Busses and subways stop running between ~11pm and 5am. So if you need to get somewhere between those hours, take a taxi. Actually, around 10pm, taxi's start lining up at the two ends of downtown Daegu, and you MUST take the first taxi of the line. It's actually pretty cheap in Korea (~2,200won starting price) and so if you're traveling short distance w/ like 3 friends, it's cheaper and more convenient to take a taxi. Some drivers like to make small talk and some don't. I've had one bad experience w/ a taxi driver but the ahjussi's are usually nice. But know where you're going because some WILL try to rip you off. Don't look drunk or lost or like a out-of-towner. In Korea, black taxi's are bit nicer so it's more pricey than white taxi's (not in Andong though, was it?) but the difference in cost isn't that great so take the black if it's the only one around and you're freezing in the cold, cold Korean autumn.
Wow, cannot believe it took me like an hour to write all this.. So what about my recent life? I attended the 30th anniversary weekend trip for TKD, where the 31st gen (including me) had to put on a show (dancing to orange caramel's magic girl/miss a's bad girl good girl);; it went well though, and it was fun seeing my sunbaes be hoobaes for once lol. I also learned how to play jokgu (combo of soccer&volleyball?) and had lots of fun :) Halloween Party w/ my students went well too, with the best activity being make-your-own-Jack-O-Lantern-balloon. Must upload pics later on fb, but gotta work on my speech & lesson plans now... I know this post was super long, but hope people find it useful! If not, I'll just stop with the info's and keep it about personal daily lives lol.
Public Transportation card: aka T-money card in Seoul. But that only works for the province of Gyeonggido & you need different cards for Daegu and Busan. You get small discounts if you use these cards, and it's definitely more convenient to put money in a card and use it than to buy a one-time ticket (orange card in Seoul; green token in Daegu; yellow strip in Busan). For subways, you must 'beep' this card when entering AND exiting the stations, and except for in Seoul, you just need to 'beep' it when getting on busses (twice for the capital). They can come in cute & small sizes (put it on your cellphone) and it's really convenient if you take the public transportation often. Awesome thing about this card is that when you're transferring busses or from bus to subway (or vice versa) within like an hour or so, you don't have to pay for the second (or third, I've tried) set of transportation! Of course, you can't get on the same bus going the opposite direction, but this is so helpful to people who need to take 2 busses to get to their workplace (ahem, ME).
Busses.
Like I mentioned above, I take 2 busses to get to my elementary school, so this is one transportation that I use daily. Crazy drivers. But then again, this is Korea. So far, 2 of the busses that I was in ran red lights. Some drivers are considerate of the people; some are not. I loveee the electronic boards that tell you how far away each busses are (ex: 410 is... 10 min away @ KNU north gate; 503 is... 2 stops away, etc.). I think these exist only in bigger cities, but they are super useful especially if you're wondering which bus to take. Rather take bus that takes 5 more min to get to your destination than the faster bus which is 17 min away, right? Also like the electronic board INSIDE the bus, estimating arrival time in big stops.
Random fact? My favorite seat is the second to last seat on the right side lol. Because of the direction and time when I ride busses are constant, the sun shines on the left side. And since the last row is a step up, the second to last row have higher back rest. Perfect for taking small naps during my 40&50 minute bus rides.
Subways.
Seoul has 10+ subway lines while Daegu has 2 (and Busan, 3). It is faster than busses (no traffic) but since there are only 2 lines in Daegu & the closest station from my school is 30 min walk away, I end up taking busses more often. I think Korean subways are better than New York's and Japan's (more high tech & clean) and I also love the electronic board that tells you how far away the next subway is. In the summer, the AC is on full blast (so it could get crowded) and the seats in subways in Seoul are actually warm during the winter (no, it's not body heat from the last person). Seoul definitely has the best subway system I've seen, w/ its double door system & commercial TVs in newer subways, with announcements in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese. There are tons of small shops inside the subway stations, and bigger stations have resting places with fountains and such. Random fact? In Daegu, the announcement includes ringtone-type songs when announcing the transfer & the last stations.
Korails.
When traveling to another city, take a train. Again, no traffic (except that the slower train slows down sometimes so that KTX, the fastest train in Korea, can speed on by), and there are different trains that you can take, depending on how much time & money you have. Slower trains like mugunghwa take longer to get to your destination, but is cheaper (and its seats are roomier). It has a train cafe where you can buy food, sing your heart out (but these walls are not sound-proof;;;) and play old-school games like street fighters. KTX is the fast but expensive compared to other trains. Buy your ticket in advance when traveling around Korean holidays like Chuseok or Seolnal because they WILL get sold out. There are two types- reserved seat or admittance, and though the later choice is cheaper, it is only sold when all the seats are sold out (so you must walk around to find an empty seat or rest at the train cafe). I went up to Seoul about a month ago, and had to buy an admittance ticket. Without realizing that it was the weekend (thus, sold out seats), I walked into the train cafe, to find all the seats taken, with people sitting on the ground, all cramped up. It really was a torturous ride, with one group of people occupying the karaoke room w/ horrible singing echoing throughout the room;;
Taxis.
Busses and subways stop running between ~11pm and 5am. So if you need to get somewhere between those hours, take a taxi. Actually, around 10pm, taxi's start lining up at the two ends of downtown Daegu, and you MUST take the first taxi of the line. It's actually pretty cheap in Korea (~2,200won starting price) and so if you're traveling short distance w/ like 3 friends, it's cheaper and more convenient to take a taxi. Some drivers like to make small talk and some don't. I've had one bad experience w/ a taxi driver but the ahjussi's are usually nice. But know where you're going because some WILL try to rip you off. Don't look drunk or lost or like a out-of-towner. In Korea, black taxi's are bit nicer so it's more pricey than white taxi's (not in Andong though, was it?) but the difference in cost isn't that great so take the black if it's the only one around and you're freezing in the cold, cold Korean autumn.
Wow, cannot believe it took me like an hour to write all this.. So what about my recent life? I attended the 30th anniversary weekend trip for TKD, where the 31st gen (including me) had to put on a show (dancing to orange caramel's magic girl/miss a's bad girl good girl);; it went well though, and it was fun seeing my sunbaes be hoobaes for once lol. I also learned how to play jokgu (combo of soccer&volleyball?) and had lots of fun :) Halloween Party w/ my students went well too, with the best activity being make-your-own-Jack-O-Lantern-balloon. Must upload pics later on fb, but gotta work on my speech & lesson plans now... I know this post was super long, but hope people find it useful! If not, I'll just stop with the info's and keep it about personal daily lives lol.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
jump, dance, study!
in the past week...
have i persuaded mores students to take my class?
- yup & i have 3 more 6th graders now :)
have i jumped off a building?
- yes! sky jumped off woobang tower (123 m) :D
have i been to the library?
- almost every night! studying&working on my presentation
have i eaten breakfast at the cafeteria?
- yes! it isnt too hard to wake up for breakfast if you dont sleep in the first place...
have i eaten midnight snacks?
- more like midnight meals -___- totally necessary though lol
have i given a presentation?
- yes, at the TaLK reception! glad it was entertaining hehe
have i danced in front of audience?
- yes;;; glad this was entertaining as well haha
and have i taken my midterms?
- yes! just finished history of korea & speech&korean test isnt till next week!
i'm finally uploading videos and rest of pics on fb now!
i have to clean my room for once now so no cultural post today..
BUT! i'm going to busan this weekend! for the fireworks festival yay yayy
by the way, thank you mucho lots of c.y. for the awesome handwritten letter!
& my familia for the care package :D
hopefully ill reply back soon!!
have i persuaded mores students to take my class?
- yup & i have 3 more 6th graders now :)
have i jumped off a building?
- yes! sky jumped off woobang tower (123 m) :D
have i been to the library?
- almost every night! studying&working on my presentation
have i eaten breakfast at the cafeteria?
- yes! it isnt too hard to wake up for breakfast if you dont sleep in the first place...
have i eaten midnight snacks?
- more like midnight meals -___- totally necessary though lol
have i given a presentation?
- yes, at the TaLK reception! glad it was entertaining hehe
have i danced in front of audience?
- yes;;; glad this was entertaining as well haha
and have i taken my midterms?
- yes! just finished history of korea & speech&korean test isnt till next week!
i'm finally uploading videos and rest of pics on fb now!
i have to clean my room for once now so no cultural post today..
BUT! i'm going to busan this weekend! for the fireworks festival yay yayy
by the way, thank you mucho lots of c.y. for the awesome handwritten letter!
& my familia for the care package :D
hopefully ill reply back soon!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
food.
so when do you know summer's over in korea?
when you're the only one on the bus/train without a jacket?
when shops start displaying fur coats on windows?
when people look at you weird if you wear flip flops?
though those things are all true,
i think summer's really gone when they start selling boonguhbbang in the streets.
boonguhbbang is a type of crispy bread, filled w/ sweet red beans (also known as taiyaki in japanese). it's really yummy and is normally eaten in fall&winter in korea. so i take 2 busses to get to my elementary school, and during my transfer stop, i usually stop by a cart for some morning snacks like fried doughy-donut or odeng on a stick. but since 2 weeks ago, the lady started selling the fish-looking snack i enjoyed last winter in korea! so of course, i just HAD to get some [plus, they were only 1,000 won for 3!].
most street food vendors come out later in the day and there are many of these carts on the near the north gate of knu. they sell food like ttukbokki [spicy rice cake], odeng [fish cake], chicken&other meat skewers, and fried stuff. omg i love the fried food way too muchhh. and theres this one halmoni [granny] who has a cart near the bus stop at the north gate & i love going there for quick eat. you can get 3 fried tempura things [squid leg, sweet potato, kimali- my new fav.] for 1,000 won [~1 dollar] and she'll pour some ttukbokki over it and its SOOOO GOOOD. like where in the states can you get something that delicious and satisfying for A DOLLAR? of course, im sure it's pretty bad for your health, but it's nice to stop by before taking a bus to downtown- the halmoni's really nice and she gives extra portions if she recognizes you haha
ooh this isn't street food, but i also found this delicious fried chicken place near the dorm. totally going there for midnight snacks again. people tell me that they lose weight when coming to korea, but i think it's the opposite for me. hopefully all the walking around the campus & taekwondo practices [which is going great btw] will even out all the unhealthy eating...
when you're the only one on the bus/train without a jacket?
when shops start displaying fur coats on windows?
when people look at you weird if you wear flip flops?
though those things are all true,
i think summer's really gone when they start selling boonguhbbang in the streets.
boonguhbbang is a type of crispy bread, filled w/ sweet red beans (also known as taiyaki in japanese). it's really yummy and is normally eaten in fall&winter in korea. so i take 2 busses to get to my elementary school, and during my transfer stop, i usually stop by a cart for some morning snacks like fried doughy-donut or odeng on a stick. but since 2 weeks ago, the lady started selling the fish-looking snack i enjoyed last winter in korea! so of course, i just HAD to get some [plus, they were only 1,000 won for 3!].
most street food vendors come out later in the day and there are many of these carts on the near the north gate of knu. they sell food like ttukbokki [spicy rice cake], odeng [fish cake], chicken&other meat skewers, and fried stuff. omg i love the fried food way too muchhh. and theres this one halmoni [granny] who has a cart near the bus stop at the north gate & i love going there for quick eat. you can get 3 fried tempura things [squid leg, sweet potato, kimali- my new fav.] for 1,000 won [~1 dollar] and she'll pour some ttukbokki over it and its SOOOO GOOOD. like where in the states can you get something that delicious and satisfying for A DOLLAR? of course, im sure it's pretty bad for your health, but it's nice to stop by before taking a bus to downtown- the halmoni's really nice and she gives extra portions if she recognizes you haha
ooh this isn't street food, but i also found this delicious fried chicken place near the dorm. totally going there for midnight snacks again. people tell me that they lose weight when coming to korea, but i think it's the opposite for me. hopefully all the walking around the campus & taekwondo practices [which is going great btw] will even out all the unhealthy eating...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
shopping shopping shopaholic
so my first official paycheck was wired into my account yesterday.
along with the settlement fee.
time for some shopping~! :D
i think i'm wayy more into shopping since coming to korea. but let's face it- korea has bigger selection of accessories and cute clothes haha. and after cleaning out my desk, i've realized that i have a collection of bows now :0 i have a feeling i won't be wearing them back in the states, but i am wearing one on my head as i type right now. gosh i hope i buy more stuff that i can wear back home... which means, more shopping for meee :D
but before that, i will be heading up to seoul this weekend to visit my grandpa's grave [that i haven't visited in over 11 years]. since i'll be at my aunt's house, i probably won't get to hang out w/ people near seoul :( then hopefully stop by my other aunt's near busan and grab a suitcase full of my winter [well, winter in cali] clothes! the weather's getting colder here in daegu, and i've only packed 2 cardigans and a jacket in my summer suitcase.. oh but i heard it's terribly hot back in california? HA HA. please excuse my lack of sympathy, but i've suffered the heat with HUMIDITY in korea for the past months lol
shoot i just realized i don't have much time until my train leaves, so i'll end the post here.
hopefully i'll have time to shop around in seoul!
along with the settlement fee.
time for some shopping~! :D
i think i'm wayy more into shopping since coming to korea. but let's face it- korea has bigger selection of accessories and cute clothes haha. and after cleaning out my desk, i've realized that i have a collection of bows now :0 i have a feeling i won't be wearing them back in the states, but i am wearing one on my head as i type right now. gosh i hope i buy more stuff that i can wear back home... which means, more shopping for meee :D
but before that, i will be heading up to seoul this weekend to visit my grandpa's grave [that i haven't visited in over 11 years]. since i'll be at my aunt's house, i probably won't get to hang out w/ people near seoul :( then hopefully stop by my other aunt's near busan and grab a suitcase full of my winter [well, winter in cali] clothes! the weather's getting colder here in daegu, and i've only packed 2 cardigans and a jacket in my summer suitcase.. oh but i heard it's terribly hot back in california? HA HA. please excuse my lack of sympathy, but i've suffered the heat with HUMIDITY in korea for the past months lol
shoot i just realized i don't have much time until my train leaves, so i'll end the post here.
hopefully i'll have time to shop around in seoul!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
granola & yogurt
yummm
i was never this happy about going to costco haha
it was good seeing all the food i used to see back home, eating free samples, and eating american pizza! of course carrying a big box of granola, yogurt, banana milk, and 2 cartons of orange juice back to my dorm was a workout, but i'm definitely going back :D i really wanted cheesecake too but i decided to wait till thanksgiving for t
anyways, the inner-hobo experience seems like it happened too long ago, so here's the short version:
after walking for about an hour looking for an open restaurant [while taking a detour at a historical king's grave], then going to the train station, then back to the bus station, only to find out that it was closed, we [well i at least] slept on the bench outside the bus station. thank you tim for staying away and guarding us haha. i woke up and hour later and by then, the bus station was open! so i found another bench inside and slept.. it really wasn't hard to find my inner hobo- i was way too tired. after knocking out on the bus, then taking a short taxi trip back to my dorm, i got ready and went to my elementary school. my mentor teacher told me that korean teachers can drink and party all night, but they're ready to work again the next day, so i decided to keep the same mentality haha
now!
this week was filled w/ many many familiar faces again, w/ TaLKers from gyeonbuk, gyeongnam, & jeonnam & ALICE! unni from seoul :). i also got to visit my uncle's for chuseok and see my cousin who i haven't seen since her wedding [9months ago]. i also got to see the national ssireum [korean traditional wrestling?] tournament which was interesting [i just cheered for guys in red :D]. i was really sick on monday so i called in sick and ordered porridge but i'm almost all better now :)
and i have all these comments about things that i find interesting in korea, but i guess i can write about that next post ;) time to clean my room for the dormitory festival! apparently the dorms will be open for visitors this mon-wed [and i didnt even know about it till last night -___-] so if you're in daegu and want to see how i live, come visit me tuesdayyy :D
i was never this happy about going to costco haha
it was good seeing all the food i used to see back home, eating free samples, and eating american pizza! of course carrying a big box of granola, yogurt, banana milk, and 2 cartons of orange juice back to my dorm was a workout, but i'm definitely going back :D i really wanted cheesecake too but i decided to wait till thanksgiving for t
anyways, the inner-hobo experience seems like it happened too long ago, so here's the short version:
after walking for about an hour looking for an open restaurant [while taking a detour at a historical king's grave], then going to the train station, then back to the bus station, only to find out that it was closed, we [well i at least] slept on the bench outside the bus station. thank you tim for staying away and guarding us haha. i woke up and hour later and by then, the bus station was open! so i found another bench inside and slept.. it really wasn't hard to find my inner hobo- i was way too tired. after knocking out on the bus, then taking a short taxi trip back to my dorm, i got ready and went to my elementary school. my mentor teacher told me that korean teachers can drink and party all night, but they're ready to work again the next day, so i decided to keep the same mentality haha
now!
this week was filled w/ many many familiar faces again, w/ TaLKers from gyeonbuk, gyeongnam, & jeonnam & ALICE! unni from seoul :). i also got to visit my uncle's for chuseok and see my cousin who i haven't seen since her wedding [9months ago]. i also got to see the national ssireum [korean traditional wrestling?] tournament which was interesting [i just cheered for guys in red :D]. i was really sick on monday so i called in sick and ordered porridge but i'm almost all better now :)
and i have all these comments about things that i find interesting in korea, but i guess i can write about that next post ;) time to clean my room for the dormitory festival! apparently the dorms will be open for visitors this mon-wed [and i didnt even know about it till last night -___-] so if you're in daegu and want to see how i live, come visit me tuesdayyy :D
Saturday, September 18, 2010
busy, busy
i know that the inner hobo story is long overdue, but ive been terribly busy haha
with working at elementary school 3 times a week,
with university classes everyday,
and the new bible study group i've joined,
not to mention that it was welcome week this week,
yea i've been busy haha
so the korean word for club is dongari, and students normally stick to one club throughout their 4yrs in college.
but i decided to just join a bunch and try them out :D so i joined the basketball, taekwondo, and catholic club.
i also wanted to borrow a football but ended up going to a football game today [you would be proud, johnny].
i met so many new people this week, and i'm just dead tired right now. i think i caught a cold and my throat is killing me :(
so please excuse my lateness and wait couple more days for pics&hobo story :D
now i shall drink some green tea and take a nap before the football group outing..
with working at elementary school 3 times a week,
with university classes everyday,
and the new bible study group i've joined,
not to mention that it was welcome week this week,
yea i've been busy haha
so the korean word for club is dongari, and students normally stick to one club throughout their 4yrs in college.
but i decided to just join a bunch and try them out :D so i joined the basketball, taekwondo, and catholic club.
i also wanted to borrow a football but ended up going to a football game today [you would be proud, johnny].
i met so many new people this week, and i'm just dead tired right now. i think i caught a cold and my throat is killing me :(
so please excuse my lateness and wait couple more days for pics&hobo story :D
now i shall drink some green tea and take a nap before the football group outing..
Sunday, September 12, 2010
"find your inner hobo"
that's what mike jokingly said when mint asked where we would be sleeping after the concert.
or at least, i thought he was kidding.
but turns out, it wasn't so hard to find my inner hobo haha
well, this weekend started off well, with the Daegu Lions vs. Lotte Twins baseball game. the game itself was ok, but i really enjoyed the atmosphere & cheering crowds. the fact that the Lions won after a tie in the 9th inning helped too ;) but anyways, i got to see alot of TaLKers this weekend. including woei :D who i haven't seen since the closing ceremony in jochiwon. he said he'll be back soon though so no worries [&we still need to go bungee jumping!]. now the other TaLKers? they were all at the Hallyu Dream Concert.
as i mentioned in the earlier post, the concert was free for all foreigners who signed up. so after arriving in gyeongju with other Daegu scholars, we got our FREE tickets & wristbands. ooh and i saw ukiss & t-ara members walking out of their cars. it my first time seeing celebs in korea haha. but anyways, after waiting in line for hours [...or getting friends to save your place and walking around...] we were finally admitted into the gyeongju sinae sports arena! i could see the young idol fans sitting in the 2nd floor seating, and many many foreigners around me.
oh! TaLK people! i saw soojee, gina, & ashley :D then the ulsan people! including ben, tiffany, clara, jihee unni, & others [&shayna, you too, but you're not part of ulsan :P]. and of course, we ran into richard & the gyeongbuk people again [after seeing them the day before and the weekend before] & many many more TaLKers! it was good seeing them after almost a month of separation.
well, now on to korean celebs! the concert was emceed by heechul, kimminyoung [actress], & taecyeon.
& in order, we saw...
ukiss, miss a, chosinsung, flower, nine muses, seo in gook, 4minute, eru, t-ara, mblaq, 2pm [minus junsu], secret, after school, davichi, beast, ft island, kara, sondambi, 2am, 2ne1, shinee, seven, & super junior.
i was really surprised to find out that shinee got more cheers than 2pm :0 & i really liked davichi&after school's perfs, and 2ne1 performed two of their new songs! there were some malfunctions so shinee&super junior had to perform again, but that was totally fine haha. in fact, since super junior was the last group to go, lots of people were leaving the arena [mind you, it's midnight and little kids were there with parents as well]. so mint and i got to go all the way up to the front to see the sorry sorry perf :D
NOW!
let me talk about the whole 'hobo' situation...
but i gotta get ready to go to my elementary school so i'll just write more when i get backkk ;)
or at least, i thought he was kidding.
but turns out, it wasn't so hard to find my inner hobo haha
well, this weekend started off well, with the Daegu Lions vs. Lotte Twins baseball game. the game itself was ok, but i really enjoyed the atmosphere & cheering crowds. the fact that the Lions won after a tie in the 9th inning helped too ;) but anyways, i got to see alot of TaLKers this weekend. including woei :D who i haven't seen since the closing ceremony in jochiwon. he said he'll be back soon though so no worries [&we still need to go bungee jumping!]. now the other TaLKers? they were all at the Hallyu Dream Concert.
as i mentioned in the earlier post, the concert was free for all foreigners who signed up. so after arriving in gyeongju with other Daegu scholars, we got our FREE tickets & wristbands. ooh and i saw ukiss & t-ara members walking out of their cars. it my first time seeing celebs in korea haha. but anyways, after waiting in line for hours [...or getting friends to save your place and walking around...] we were finally admitted into the gyeongju sinae sports arena! i could see the young idol fans sitting in the 2nd floor seating, and many many foreigners around me.
oh! TaLK people! i saw soojee, gina, & ashley :D then the ulsan people! including ben, tiffany, clara, jihee unni, & others [&shayna, you too, but you're not part of ulsan :P]. and of course, we ran into richard & the gyeongbuk people again [after seeing them the day before and the weekend before] & many many more TaLKers! it was good seeing them after almost a month of separation.
well, now on to korean celebs! the concert was emceed by heechul, kimminyoung [actress], & taecyeon.
& in order, we saw...
ukiss, miss a, chosinsung, flower, nine muses, seo in gook, 4minute, eru, t-ara, mblaq, 2pm [minus junsu], secret, after school, davichi, beast, ft island, kara, sondambi, 2am, 2ne1, shinee, seven, & super junior.
i was really surprised to find out that shinee got more cheers than 2pm :0 & i really liked davichi&after school's perfs, and 2ne1 performed two of their new songs! there were some malfunctions so shinee&super junior had to perform again, but that was totally fine haha. in fact, since super junior was the last group to go, lots of people were leaving the arena [mind you, it's midnight and little kids were there with parents as well]. so mint and i got to go all the way up to the front to see the sorry sorry perf :D
NOW!
let me talk about the whole 'hobo' situation...
but i gotta get ready to go to my elementary school so i'll just write more when i get backkk ;)
Monday, September 6, 2010
first day
i have a feeling this will be a long post.. so here it goes!
i started classes [knu college lecture classes] last week. on the last day of daegu orientation, i found out that i must work mon,tue,wed to match my co teacher's schedule. well thanks to that, i had to drop many of the classes that i wanted to take before coming to korea. which means that i now have to take History of Korea. taught in english. by a korean professor. oh joyyy. well, since i wanted to take something other than history, i sat in on couple other lectures, but no luck- education classes i sat in on were for 4th years [studying for the teacher cred. exam] and phd students OTL. well, so i missed the first 2 lectures of hist. of korea, and hopefully the professor won't be too mean about that...
moving on, i have been doing lots of shopping! of course, i want to buy more stuff :D but i will have to wait until i get my first paycheck... or until my flight reimbursement comes [this week!] >:D mm, on a side note, i think i am turning more feminine here. like so many people wear pastel pink frilly dresses on daily basis. don't worry, i haven't changed 180, but i do have more blouses and skirts now [since i don't want to wear just Ts and jeans while teaching]. and i don't feel out of place wearing skirts here in korea lol.
ooh! a random fact about korea: there are no buttons you need to push before crossing. the lights just turn green for pedestrians where ever. mm and another fact? drivers don't care about pedestrians at all. i thought cars had to stop, AT LEAST at the designated cross walking zone [where the painted white lines are], but no~ us walkers have to run for our lives when a car is approaching. & i think it's worse in daegu than in seoul :/
wow, this is getting long. but now onto my first day of teaching!
after planning what to do with my coteach on sunday [and having made my super awesome self-intro presentation beforehand], i wasn't nervous about my first day. i thought, i've already taught kids before. besides, how bad can they be? well, they weren't too bad. but handling EIGHTEEN 1st&2nd graders as my first class, while pretending not to understand a word in korean, that was a little hectic. my second class [3rd&4th] and third class [5th&6th] were much nicer since the number of students did not exceed eight in both classes. i got around to do everything planned for the day in the later 2 classes, including learning the students' english names.i did get some not-so-common names like apple, wiw [will?], pheonix, shine, happy, super mario and peach. one of the girls wanted to be called cutie and i got her to change it to katie, and there was a little boy who said his name was daisy, but i persuaded him to change it to david :)
Now! i should be looking up more alphabet song videos, but i decided to just write this post since i haven't written in the past week. at this very moment my laundry is being washed [i know how to do my own laundry now! ooh and ironing too!], and i really should get rid of my giant suitcase that is sitting right next to my bed [the room is too small D:]. i have no idea where i will put my second luggage [that's at my aunts house atm] which contains my fall & winter [well, winter in cali] clothes. have i mentioned? my closet is one of those sports lockers that football players have. perfect for stuffing all of my clothes right? laskjf mm and i haven't been able to put anything on my wall yet, since the tape keeps on slipping off D: i gotta get stronger tape that isn't sold at the dorm convenience store... ooh another thought on dorm- dorm food isn't too good. well, i guess i can't really judge since i've only eaten there 3-4 times, but it wasn't too good then. but i will actually wake up early tomorrow and try their breakfast for the first time!!
now that i'm thinking of dorms, i have much more things to write haha. so, i share room w/ another knu student & we get along :). she's a grad student here, so she's out most times, doing research in the labs [&other times, hanging out w/ her bf (;]. i have a curfew [1am-5am] and she said that if im late, she can just open the door for me since grad students don't need no curfew :D. the doors! the doors to the dorms have a vein recognition system, so i enter my code, then put my palm up to the scanner thingy! i thought that was pretty cool since i've never seen it at another place.
this is a super long post, compared to my other ones right? kudos to you if you read all of it :D
now, i promise to upload pictures onto fb by tomorrow [gotta be a good teacher & do more lesson planning now!] & hopefully i will be back soon to give more details about my life here in daegu, korea.
OOH! I ALMOST FORGOT! going to a hallyu concert next sunday :D
it's FREE for foreigners like meee & kpop groups like 2pm, 2am, kara, miss a, beast, 4minute, afterschool, &sondambi are coming! hehe i have no idea how i will be able to teach & attend lectures the next day, but i'm excited! sigh, my life never seems to take a break! haha
i started classes [knu college lecture classes] last week. on the last day of daegu orientation, i found out that i must work mon,tue,wed to match my co teacher's schedule. well thanks to that, i had to drop many of the classes that i wanted to take before coming to korea. which means that i now have to take History of Korea. taught in english. by a korean professor. oh joyyy. well, since i wanted to take something other than history, i sat in on couple other lectures, but no luck- education classes i sat in on were for 4th years [studying for the teacher cred. exam] and phd students OTL. well, so i missed the first 2 lectures of hist. of korea, and hopefully the professor won't be too mean about that...
moving on, i have been doing lots of shopping! of course, i want to buy more stuff :D but i will have to wait until i get my first paycheck... or until my flight reimbursement comes [this week!] >:D mm, on a side note, i think i am turning more feminine here. like so many people wear pastel pink frilly dresses on daily basis. don't worry, i haven't changed 180, but i do have more blouses and skirts now [since i don't want to wear just Ts and jeans while teaching]. and i don't feel out of place wearing skirts here in korea lol.
ooh! a random fact about korea: there are no buttons you need to push before crossing. the lights just turn green for pedestrians where ever. mm and another fact? drivers don't care about pedestrians at all. i thought cars had to stop, AT LEAST at the designated cross walking zone [where the painted white lines are], but no~ us walkers have to run for our lives when a car is approaching. & i think it's worse in daegu than in seoul :/
wow, this is getting long. but now onto my first day of teaching!
after planning what to do with my coteach on sunday [and having made my super awesome self-intro presentation beforehand], i wasn't nervous about my first day. i thought, i've already taught kids before. besides, how bad can they be? well, they weren't too bad. but handling EIGHTEEN 1st&2nd graders as my first class, while pretending not to understand a word in korean, that was a little hectic. my second class [3rd&4th] and third class [5th&6th] were much nicer since the number of students did not exceed eight in both classes. i got around to do everything planned for the day in the later 2 classes, including learning the students' english names.i did get some not-so-common names like apple, wiw [will?], pheonix, shine, happy, super mario and peach. one of the girls wanted to be called cutie and i got her to change it to katie, and there was a little boy who said his name was daisy, but i persuaded him to change it to david :)
Now! i should be looking up more alphabet song videos, but i decided to just write this post since i haven't written in the past week. at this very moment my laundry is being washed [i know how to do my own laundry now! ooh and ironing too!], and i really should get rid of my giant suitcase that is sitting right next to my bed [the room is too small D:]. i have no idea where i will put my second luggage [that's at my aunts house atm] which contains my fall & winter [well, winter in cali] clothes. have i mentioned? my closet is one of those sports lockers that football players have. perfect for stuffing all of my clothes right? laskjf mm and i haven't been able to put anything on my wall yet, since the tape keeps on slipping off D: i gotta get stronger tape that isn't sold at the dorm convenience store... ooh another thought on dorm- dorm food isn't too good. well, i guess i can't really judge since i've only eaten there 3-4 times, but it wasn't too good then. but i will actually wake up early tomorrow and try their breakfast for the first time!!
now that i'm thinking of dorms, i have much more things to write haha. so, i share room w/ another knu student & we get along :). she's a grad student here, so she's out most times, doing research in the labs [&other times, hanging out w/ her bf (;]. i have a curfew [1am-5am] and she said that if im late, she can just open the door for me since grad students don't need no curfew :D. the doors! the doors to the dorms have a vein recognition system, so i enter my code, then put my palm up to the scanner thingy! i thought that was pretty cool since i've never seen it at another place.
this is a super long post, compared to my other ones right? kudos to you if you read all of it :D
now, i promise to upload pictures onto fb by tomorrow [gotta be a good teacher & do more lesson planning now!] & hopefully i will be back soon to give more details about my life here in daegu, korea.
OOH! I ALMOST FORGOT! going to a hallyu concert next sunday :D
it's FREE for foreigners like meee & kpop groups like 2pm, 2am, kara, miss a, beast, 4minute, afterschool, &sondambi are coming! hehe i have no idea how i will be able to teach & attend lectures the next day, but i'm excited! sigh, my life never seems to take a break! haha
Sunday, August 29, 2010
yay for a/c!
it's sunny, hot, humid, AND it's raining.
just perfect.
according to my friend's buddy,
daegu will continue to be hot till october...
oh joyyy
well on a brighter note, i have an address now!
so here it is:
Gyeongbuk National University
Dormitory hwa-mokgwan room 238,
1370, Sangyeok 3-dong,
Buk-gu, Daegu, 702-701
South Korea
or
대한민국 대구 광역시 북구
산격3동 1370 경북대학교
생활관 화목관 238-Agnes Im
702-701
i have no idea why the english one doesnt have a place for my name but awell
i finally met up w/ other Daegu TaLKers yesterday
[seemed like i haven't seen them in years!]
and bought lots of stuff like laundry detergent&bowl&etc.
i am slowly unpacking and i hope to finish by this week! yea!
well, let me get back to unpacking/adjusting schedule/planning lessons
- feel free to send me stuff!!! :D
++ apparently i won't be teaching till next week!
but i will still go to elem. school on wed to do some lesson planning :)
just perfect.
according to my friend's buddy,
daegu will continue to be hot till october...
oh joyyy
well on a brighter note, i have an address now!
so here it is:
Gyeongbuk National University
Dormitory hwa-mokgwan room 238,
1370, Sangyeok 3-dong,
Buk-gu, Daegu, 702-701
South Korea
or
대한민국 대구 광역시 북구
산격3동 1370 경북대학교
생활관 화목관 238-Agnes Im
702-701
i have no idea why the english one doesnt have a place for my name but awell
i finally met up w/ other Daegu TaLKers yesterday
[seemed like i haven't seen them in years!]
and bought lots of stuff like laundry detergent&bowl&etc.
i am slowly unpacking and i hope to finish by this week! yea!
well, let me get back to unpacking/adjusting schedule/planning lessons
- feel free to send me stuff!!! :D
++ apparently i won't be teaching till next week!
but i will still go to elem. school on wed to do some lesson planning :)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
locked out.
yes. i am locked out.
not out of my new dorm, but my old dorm.
where all of my stuff is at the moment.
yes. even my macbook.
so how?
it all started last night...
i was talking to my cousin johnny and told him i felt down
[aka post-orientation syndrome]
&he persuaded me to take a last minute trip to changwon!
so after grabbing some belongings, i hopped on a train!
of course i had a good time, where i got to see my aunt&uncle
&eat lots of delicious shabu shabu & samgyupsal :D
but the problem is today.
i knew i had to move into another dorm today,
but they never told me what time.
so after assuming that i could move in in the evening
[and my knu buddy thought that was ok too]
i woke up late at my aunt's
then i get a text from my roomie unni,
saying they are telling us to move out by noon.
...
thanks to my awesome roomie unnie though,
i just had to move my stuff by tonight.
but when i arrived, i found out that the new girl
changed the lock combo.
&since she's not picking up her phone,
i am just sitting in the pc room of my new dorm.
[which is def nicer than the other one-
i have a bathroom w/ the room!
yay for no communal showers!]
hopefully, she'll return soon
&i'll be able to finally unpack!
*sorry if this post was completely useless&boring lol
not out of my new dorm, but my old dorm.
where all of my stuff is at the moment.
yes. even my macbook.
so how?
it all started last night...
i was talking to my cousin johnny and told him i felt down
[aka post-orientation syndrome]
&he persuaded me to take a last minute trip to changwon!
so after grabbing some belongings, i hopped on a train!
of course i had a good time, where i got to see my aunt&uncle
&eat lots of delicious shabu shabu & samgyupsal :D
but the problem is today.
i knew i had to move into another dorm today,
but they never told me what time.
so after assuming that i could move in in the evening
[and my knu buddy thought that was ok too]
i woke up late at my aunt's
then i get a text from my roomie unni,
saying they are telling us to move out by noon.
...
thanks to my awesome roomie unnie though,
i just had to move my stuff by tonight.
but when i arrived, i found out that the new girl
changed the lock combo.
&since she's not picking up her phone,
i am just sitting in the pc room of my new dorm.
[which is def nicer than the other one-
i have a bathroom w/ the room!
yay for no communal showers!]
hopefully, she'll return soon
&i'll be able to finally unpack!
*sorry if this post was completely useless&boring lol
Thursday, August 26, 2010
am i home yet?
today was pretty tiring.
after saying goodbye to other TaLKers,
i moved in to 면학관 at knu.
with only my knu buddy unni to help,
i had to get my ~50lb luggage up some stairs to the building,
only to face more flights of stairs, since my room's on the 2nd floor.
but is that it? nope.
i'm moving into another dorm on saturday.
apparently, i have to wait until summer session's over.
great.
so i can't unpack&and am still living out of a suitcase.
&i really like my roommate here!
she's really nice&entertaining (?)
anyways, i have to get up early tomorrow-
gotta go meet the older people at my elementary!
oh, another bad news?
the elem. is over an hr bus ride away from knu.
the north gate.
which is 20+minute walk from my dorm.
perfect, right?
meh i hope the weather gets better soon D:
&i just want to start unpacking!!!
after saying goodbye to other TaLKers,
i moved in to 면학관 at knu.
with only my knu buddy unni to help,
i had to get my ~50lb luggage up some stairs to the building,
only to face more flights of stairs, since my room's on the 2nd floor.
but is that it? nope.
i'm moving into another dorm on saturday.
apparently, i have to wait until summer session's over.
great.
so i can't unpack&and am still living out of a suitcase.
&i really like my roommate here!
she's really nice&entertaining (?)
anyways, i have to get up early tomorrow-
gotta go meet the older people at my elementary!
oh, another bad news?
the elem. is over an hr bus ride away from knu.
the north gate.
which is 20+minute walk from my dorm.
perfect, right?
meh i hope the weather gets better soon D:
&i just want to start unpacking!!!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
DAEGU!
so!
after english camp&saying goodbyes at jochiwon orientation.
9 of us headed down to daegu for another week-long orientation.
after unloading our luggage at prince hotel,
we went to another hotel for a reception
where we got to meet our mentor teachers&co teachers
[though i didnt meet my co teacher]
anyways, this orientation's been great too
seriously, i'm out most of the time,
sightseeing the city [eating shopping eating]
meeting new people [korean talk scholars&friends!]
doing cultural activities [make food! yayyy!]
or hanging out w/ our amazing daegu 5th gen ppl ;)
[no curfew yayyy!]
i think daegu poe is awesome&really good
[except for lodging at this hotel part]
ooh! &we're going to busan tomorrow!
gonna go to haeundae beach&the aquarium and other places :]
i'm really having too much funnnn
but i do miss the other TaLKers who are at different provinces :(
TaLKERS: COME VISIT IN DAEGU SOON! MISS YOU GUYS TONS!
on a side note, i shall move in to KNU dorm on the 26th,
when daegu ot is finished [&i'll be attending KNU exchange ot]
hope everyone's good&safe back home
& hope all the TaLKers are having fun&enjoying their provinces!
after english camp&saying goodbyes at jochiwon orientation.
9 of us headed down to daegu for another week-long orientation.
after unloading our luggage at prince hotel,
we went to another hotel for a reception
where we got to meet our mentor teachers&co teachers
[though i didnt meet my co teacher]
anyways, this orientation's been great too
seriously, i'm out most of the time,
sightseeing the city [eating shopping eating]
meeting new people [korean talk scholars&friends!]
doing cultural activities [make food! yayyy!]
or hanging out w/ our amazing daegu 5th gen ppl ;)
[no curfew yayyy!]
i think daegu poe is awesome&really good
[except for lodging at this hotel part]
ooh! &we're going to busan tomorrow!
gonna go to haeundae beach&the aquarium and other places :]
i'm really having too much funnnn
but i do miss the other TaLKers who are at different provinces :(
TaLKERS: COME VISIT IN DAEGU SOON! MISS YOU GUYS TONS!
on a side note, i shall move in to KNU dorm on the 26th,
when daegu ot is finished [&i'll be attending KNU exchange ot]
hope everyone's good&safe back home
& hope all the TaLKers are having fun&enjoying their provinces!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
8/11
so.
i fail at blogging.
i'm too lazy to blog D:
but i shall try to blog regularly again haha
TaLK orientation:
it's been really fun getting to meet other TaLK scholars :)
most of the lectures were interesting;
some were very useful&fun;
and couple were just too boring..
i will definitely check out the sites for teaching resources within couple weeks
& i'm more excited to be teaching :D
i think i'm way too lazy to post up pics
especially since it takes forever to upload D:
[so please check out my album on fb :D]
and anyways, TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF LECTURES!
tomorrow, we will be heading to seoul again,
to see NANTA perf & shop around myeongdong :D
then from sunday, we will head to NYC [national youth center] for english camp!
and after that, 9 of the 344 scholars [including me] will head down to daegu
[for another week-long orientation]
ooh, an article on the program:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/113_70760.html
anyways, to sum it up,
the orientation's been great, w/ yummy food&great ppl
& i really should've been taking more pictures :(
now, for my mom&dad..
엄마, 아빠
잘 지네고 있어요~
정인이가 없어서 몇주동안 비디오 채팅은 못했고
담주는 인터넷이 없어요;;
(강원도로 영어캠프하러가요)
20일에 대구로 내려가니
대구에 내려가서 skype해요~
<3 정희
i fail at blogging.
i'm too lazy to blog D:
but i shall try to blog regularly again haha
TaLK orientation:
it's been really fun getting to meet other TaLK scholars :)
most of the lectures were interesting;
some were very useful&fun;
and couple were just too boring..
i will definitely check out the sites for teaching resources within couple weeks
& i'm more excited to be teaching :D
i think i'm way too lazy to post up pics
especially since it takes forever to upload D:
[so please check out my album on fb :D]
and anyways, TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF LECTURES!
tomorrow, we will be heading to seoul again,
to see NANTA perf & shop around myeongdong :D
then from sunday, we will head to NYC [national youth center] for english camp!
and after that, 9 of the 344 scholars [including me] will head down to daegu
[for another week-long orientation]
ooh, an article on the program:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/08/113_70760.html
anyways, to sum it up,
the orientation's been great, w/ yummy food&great ppl
& i really should've been taking more pictures :(
now, for my mom&dad..
엄마, 아빠
잘 지네고 있어요~
정인이가 없어서 몇주동안 비디오 채팅은 못했고
담주는 인터넷이 없어요;;
(강원도로 영어캠프하러가요)
20일에 대구로 내려가니
대구에 내려가서 skype해요~
<3 정희
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Orientation!
So!
i'm finally at Korea University (Sejong campus)
and i have a temporary address!
[my name]
Hoyeon Dormitory #4
Korea University Sejong Campus
Jochiwon-Eup, Yeongi-Gun
Chungnam 339-700
Republic of Korea
or...
[my name- english name of course]
충남 연기군 조치원읍
고려대학교 세종캠퍼스
호연학사4관
339-700
i will be here until the 14th, so feel free to send me mail/care package :D
On the 15th, me and the rest of the 340 TaLK scholars will head to
NYC [National Youth Center of Korea] for english camp,
and i will be heading down to daegu around the 20th :D
i've only arrived on campus couple hours ago so i dont know too many ppl
hope i make lots of friends at the pre-orientation tonight!
i'm finally at Korea University (Sejong campus)
and i have a temporary address!
[my name]
Hoyeon Dormitory #4
Korea University Sejong Campus
Jochiwon-Eup, Yeongi-Gun
Chungnam 339-700
Republic of Korea
or...
[my name- english name of course]
충남 연기군 조치원읍
고려대학교 세종캠퍼스
호연학사4관
339-700
i will be here until the 14th, so feel free to send me mail/care package :D
On the 15th, me and the rest of the 340 TaLK scholars will head to
NYC [National Youth Center of Korea] for english camp,
and i will be heading down to daegu around the 20th :D
i've only arrived on campus couple hours ago so i dont know too many ppl
hope i make lots of friends at the pre-orientation tonight!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
working :)
yes, i am working as a cashier at my aunt&uncle's restaurant in changwon [near busan]
its too late for lunch and too early for dinner so there arent many customers
[meaning, internet time for mee!]
i got here yesterday & i was having lots of fun in busan before that :D
i will be working here for about a week
[until cousin johnny comes down!]
and i shall go back to seoul near when orientation start!
So!
busan:
i ate lots of meat [yay!]
and had... duck! and galmaegi kogi [direct translation: seagull meat]
but its not really seagul- its some meat between pig ribs or something..
and i finally got to eat hwaeori gamja!
i saw a picture of it on internet couple years ago and ive been wanting to try it ever since :D
[its basically a whole potato, sliced in a certain way & deep fried :D]
and i also visited a big temple [and played in the stream!]
and museums and such
ill post pictures later :D
now, i shall get back to workkk!
its too late for lunch and too early for dinner so there arent many customers
[meaning, internet time for mee!]
i got here yesterday & i was having lots of fun in busan before that :D
i will be working here for about a week
[until cousin johnny comes down!]
and i shall go back to seoul near when orientation start!
So!
busan:
i ate lots of meat [yay!]
and had... duck! and galmaegi kogi [direct translation: seagull meat]
but its not really seagul- its some meat between pig ribs or something..
and i finally got to eat hwaeori gamja!
i saw a picture of it on internet couple years ago and ive been wanting to try it ever since :D
[its basically a whole potato, sliced in a certain way & deep fried :D]
and i also visited a big temple [and played in the stream!]
and museums and such
ill post pictures later :D
now, i shall get back to workkk!
Monday, July 19, 2010
internet!!!
so i found a weak wifi connection right outside my aunts place
at last!
so im sitting here in the dark,
for some email checking and blog updating :)
so!
i found my elementary school placement!
after some research, i found that it's about 40+ min away from knu by bus
[for privacy reasons i won't put the name up here]
and i was emailed a list of classes that will be taught in english @ knu :)
i gotta research on my trip down to south this week,
so this post is rather short haha
p.s. IF THERE CONTINUES TO BE ANONYMOUS WHO DO NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELVES TO ME,
i will get rid of 'anonymous' comment >:D
i WOULD like to know who actually reads&comments - thanks!
at last!
so im sitting here in the dark,
for some email checking and blog updating :)
so!
i found my elementary school placement!
after some research, i found that it's about 40+ min away from knu by bus
[for privacy reasons i won't put the name up here]
and i was emailed a list of classes that will be taught in english @ knu :)
i gotta research on my trip down to south this week,
so this post is rather short haha
p.s. IF THERE CONTINUES TO BE ANONYMOUS WHO DO NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELVES TO ME,
i will get rid of 'anonymous' comment >:D
i WOULD like to know who actually reads&comments - thanks!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
video fail...
so...
after an hours of trying to upload just ONE of the videos at a pc bang
there was an 'error'
blogspot fail.
so i tried to upload it onto youtube
but there's some korean law thing going on
so i cant post up ANY vids from korea.
fail.
so i guess i'll just explain here what i did in pyunchang:
i...
- walked/ hiked ALOT
- made tofu&rice cake
- talked to many of retreater
[mostly people my grandparent's age]
- talked to many people living there
[people who are ill stayed in the 'clay houses']
[i went hiking w/ them the second day and they showed me lots of plants&veggies]
- walked even more
the retreat place was really beautiful, located in kangwondo [northeast of seoul]
when older retreaters come, they make tofu, rice cake, and have bonfires, etc
and for younger retreaters/campers, they have:
- river rafting
- planetarium
- tofu making
- and other activities that the people there were inventing
[like the one w/ 'bike power'- the players peddle really fast to blow up the water balloon which is located on opponent members' heads]
so what have i been doing for the past days?
i met up w/ Brian [TaLK scholar who i've known from lb]
and i was to go to the mud festival w/ his other TaLK friends,
but due to the rain, the plan was canceled :(
i am planning to do down to suwon&incheon this week,
then go down to daegu, changwon, & busan later this week&next week :)
i gotta take off now, but
please leave me a comment to let me know you're reading
and please STATE YOUR NAME
[ i really dont know who 'anonymous' are -___-]
thanks & goodbyeeee ;)
after an hours of trying to upload just ONE of the videos at a pc bang
there was an 'error'
blogspot fail.
so i tried to upload it onto youtube
but there's some korean law thing going on
so i cant post up ANY vids from korea.
fail.
so i guess i'll just explain here what i did in pyunchang:
i...
- walked/ hiked ALOT
- made tofu&rice cake
- talked to many of retreater
[mostly people my grandparent's age]
- talked to many people living there
[people who are ill stayed in the 'clay houses']
[i went hiking w/ them the second day and they showed me lots of plants&veggies]
- walked even more
the retreat place was really beautiful, located in kangwondo [northeast of seoul]
when older retreaters come, they make tofu, rice cake, and have bonfires, etc
and for younger retreaters/campers, they have:
- river rafting
- planetarium
- tofu making
- and other activities that the people there were inventing
[like the one w/ 'bike power'- the players peddle really fast to blow up the water balloon which is located on opponent members' heads]
so what have i been doing for the past days?
i met up w/ Brian [TaLK scholar who i've known from lb]
and i was to go to the mud festival w/ his other TaLK friends,
but due to the rain, the plan was canceled :(
i am planning to do down to suwon&incheon this week,
then go down to daegu, changwon, & busan later this week&next week :)
i gotta take off now, but
please leave me a comment to let me know you're reading
and please STATE YOUR NAME
[ i really dont know who 'anonymous' are -___-]
thanks & goodbyeeee ;)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
rice pounding!
- from last post: blackberry i picked turned into a smoothie! :D
- the before: rice
- grandpa pounding the rice into rice cake!
- spreading yummy kongomul [bean powder?] onto rice cake!
- cutting the rice cake w/ plates!
apparently, this is more effective than cutting w/ a knife
[the lady in charge let me cut it myself later :D]
* i shall be leaving the wifi land for my aunt's now,
& i'll try to upload the vids i promise!
[they will be way more informative... or not haha]
blackberry picking&scenery
- look at all the blackberries i picked!!!
[... i actually just picked half of that haha]
- picking blackberries in HOT, HUMID korea.
wearing jeans and gloves to protect me from throns
- my favorite scenery place! just gotta put the fence(?) up!
- another view :) its really pretty!
- bike power!! it'll be fueling energy soon :D
tofu making!
the tofu making process [please go to the bottom and scroll UP]:
- tada! tofu!!!... +makgulli, korean rice wine&kimchi
- pouring the tofu thingy into the tofu mold!
- ajumma cooking the liquid that came out from the bean-grinding machine
[the solid bean stuff from the machine is fed to the pigs]
- guy pouring bloated beans into the bean-grinder machine
it separates the liquid from the solids
[he let me hose the beans down after i took the pic haha]
- a mulberry! i went on an after-dinner hike w/ the people living there, and they fed me bunch of these ahaha
i think my pics are way too big D:
from now on, i'll shrink the pics before uploading...
but idk when i'll have internet again so let me upload bunch of pics now!
- tada! tofu!!!... +makgulli, korean rice wine&kimchi
- pouring the tofu thingy into the tofu mold!
- ajumma cooking the liquid that came out from the bean-grinding machine
[the solid bean stuff from the machine is fed to the pigs]
- guy pouring bloated beans into the bean-grinder machine
it separates the liquid from the solids
[he let me hose the beans down after i took the pic haha]
- a mulberry! i went on an after-dinner hike w/ the people living there, and they fed me bunch of these ahaha
i think my pics are way too big D:
from now on, i'll shrink the pics before uploading...
but idk when i'll have internet again so let me upload bunch of pics now!
성필립보 생태마을 (St.Phillips saengtae village)
**since the videos still wont upload, after 45 minutes of "loading"
i'll just post more pictures!
**and stupid blogspot wont let me upload more than 5 pics at a time D:
i guess ill just be posting lots of posts today haha
- the solar panels that i talked about in my video [i'll try to upload it again at a pc bang!]
- lots of chickens... & there are greenhouses on the side!
this place grow their own food, so organic, no-pesticide food for me!
- my favorite view from the place. the construction was finished when i left, so i'll post the 'after pic' in a bit..
- why yes, i went hiking.
i went to the location b. TWICE. my legs were so sore the next day D:
- before each meal, a guy w/ a gong goes around, telling people it's meal time ahaha
i'll just post more pictures!
**and stupid blogspot wont let me upload more than 5 pics at a time D:
i guess ill just be posting lots of posts today haha
- the solar panels that i talked about in my video [i'll try to upload it again at a pc bang!]
- lots of chickens... & there are greenhouses on the side!
this place grow their own food, so organic, no-pesticide food for me!
- my favorite view from the place. the construction was finished when i left, so i'll post the 'after pic' in a bit..
- why yes, i went hiking.
i went to the location b. TWICE. my legs were so sore the next day D:
- before each meal, a guy w/ a gong goes around, telling people it's meal time ahaha
wifi at tom n toms :D
since there's no internet at my aunt's in seoul
i have to do what i can by going to pc bangs...
or stealing wifi by buying expensive coffee at tom n toms!
so, lets recap on my retreat:
it started w/ a bus ride to pyunchang,
where the lady next to me urged me to get off at the next station
[and since she was a local] i decided to take her advice.
wrong choice.
she thought i was going to 생태박물관 [saengtae museum] instead of 생태마을 [saengtae village]
so i ended up paying about 20,000 W (~$18) to get to my destination.
but anyways,
the place itself is really beautiful
the retreat center is surrounded by small mountains & a lake
and here are some vids i made on the second day there:
(please excuse my sweaty&bare face..)
**wow the videos are messing up my wifi so i'll try to upload it at a pc bang...
let's see if i can post up pics though!
- my room at the place. it can fit up to 3 people, so i just used all 3 mats :D
- this guy was creating a balloon game using 'bike power'
the retreat center also uses wind energy & solar power
- my jelly/gel-ly shoes: rubbery shoes for walking in the rain!
- eating fuji's teriyaki burrito at LAX before my flight!
- w/ fam, after checking in my luggages at LAX <3
i have to do what i can by going to pc bangs...
or stealing wifi by buying expensive coffee at tom n toms!
so, lets recap on my retreat:
it started w/ a bus ride to pyunchang,
where the lady next to me urged me to get off at the next station
[and since she was a local] i decided to take her advice.
wrong choice.
she thought i was going to 생태박물관 [saengtae museum] instead of 생태마을 [saengtae village]
so i ended up paying about 20,000 W (~$18) to get to my destination.
but anyways,
the place itself is really beautiful
the retreat center is surrounded by small mountains & a lake
and here are some vids i made on the second day there:
(please excuse my sweaty&bare face..)
**wow the videos are messing up my wifi so i'll try to upload it at a pc bang...
let's see if i can post up pics though!
- my room at the place. it can fit up to 3 people, so i just used all 3 mats :D
- this guy was creating a balloon game using 'bike power'
the retreat center also uses wind energy & solar power
- my jelly/gel-ly shoes: rubbery shoes for walking in the rain!
- eating fuji's teriyaki burrito at LAX before my flight!
- w/ fam, after checking in my luggages at LAX <3
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
yes i am alive...
and i'm feeling alot healthier haha
i walked/hiked about 9-10km yesterday o-o
yea, i know, ME. hiking.
i guess surroundings do that to people haha
so i'm at this retreat place in kangwondo,
which is the northeastern part of south korea
the scenery is truly beautiful-
the retreat center is surrounded by small mountains
and there is also a lake flowing by
i have taken lots of pics
and also recorded some videos
[why yes i was bored...]
so i'll post those in couple days
when i can gain access to wifi on my macbook :D
ooh! and i made tofu today!
and i think there will be rice pounding tmrw :D
there aren't people my age here
but everyone's super nice once i tell them
i'm from the u.s. and i'm by myself haha
so till next timeeee
i walked/hiked about 9-10km yesterday o-o
yea, i know, ME. hiking.
i guess surroundings do that to people haha
so i'm at this retreat place in kangwondo,
which is the northeastern part of south korea
the scenery is truly beautiful-
the retreat center is surrounded by small mountains
and there is also a lake flowing by
i have taken lots of pics
and also recorded some videos
[why yes i was bored...]
so i'll post those in couple days
when i can gain access to wifi on my macbook :D
ooh! and i made tofu today!
and i think there will be rice pounding tmrw :D
there aren't people my age here
but everyone's super nice once i tell them
i'm from the u.s. and i'm by myself haha
so till next timeeee
Friday, July 9, 2010
sitting in a pc bang...
in case you don't know,
pc bang is basically internet cafe in korea
there are tons of these everywhereee
unfortunately, theres no internet at my aunt's,
so i won't be uploading pics till next week :/
Anyways,
after saying goodbye to family then boarding my plane,
i arrive at the incheon airport this morning around 5.
and after picking up my baggages and riding the limousine bus
[which is more like a big tour bus],
i arrived at my aunts :D
i have activated a phone in korea, using an old phone
[but hey, i'll just be using it for 6 months right?]
and my number's: 010-5590-6515
if youre in korea give me a call ;)
i don't have a definite address yet,
but send me YOUR address if you want a postcard!
i will be going away to a self retreat for couple days
[i hope i get to make my own tofu! loll]
but i should be back later in the week
and i'll try to get wifi and upload pics :D
pc bang is basically internet cafe in korea
there are tons of these everywhereee
unfortunately, theres no internet at my aunt's,
so i won't be uploading pics till next week :/
Anyways,
after saying goodbye to family then boarding my plane,
i arrive at the incheon airport this morning around 5.
and after picking up my baggages and riding the limousine bus
[which is more like a big tour bus],
i arrived at my aunts :D
i have activated a phone in korea, using an old phone
[but hey, i'll just be using it for 6 months right?]
and my number's: 010-5590-6515
if youre in korea give me a call ;)
i don't have a definite address yet,
but send me YOUR address if you want a postcard!
i will be going away to a self retreat for couple days
[i hope i get to make my own tofu! loll]
but i should be back later in the week
and i'll try to get wifi and upload pics :D
Thursday, July 8, 2010
good bye california!
So!
this blog is for friends&family
who might be wondering what i am be up to
once they notice that i'm gone :)
in case you haven't heard,
i will be studying abroad at
Kyunpook National University (KNU)
while also being part of a program called
Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK) [thus, the title]
in other words, i will be teaching english
& studying hard in korea for the next 6-7 months :D
i created this blog for friends and family
who want to know how i'm doing away from home,
so if youre not interested in reading about my adventures in korea,
youre not obligated to read it :)
however, if you are, then please comment!
let me know that you're interested
& also ask any questions you may have :D
Anyways,
I have finished packing:
- 2 suitcases [49lbs&40lbs]
- one carry on bag
- backpack [teaching mat.&documents]
to take with me to korea.
i will be heading off to the LAX soon, but before that,
desserts, thanks to VICKY "TRAIL MIX" DO ;)
* if youre interested in knowing more about the two programs that i'm doing,
let me knowww :)
this blog is for friends&family
who might be wondering what i am be up to
once they notice that i'm gone :)
in case you haven't heard,
i will be studying abroad at
Kyunpook National University (KNU)
while also being part of a program called
Teach and Learn in Korea (TaLK) [thus, the title]
in other words, i will be teaching english
& studying hard in korea for the next 6-7 months :D
i created this blog for friends and family
who want to know how i'm doing away from home,
so if youre not interested in reading about my adventures in korea,
youre not obligated to read it :)
however, if you are, then please comment!
let me know that you're interested
& also ask any questions you may have :D
Anyways,
I have finished packing:
- 2 suitcases [49lbs&40lbs]
- one carry on bag
- backpack [teaching mat.&documents]
to take with me to korea.
i will be heading off to the LAX soon, but before that,
desserts, thanks to VICKY "TRAIL MIX" DO ;)
* if youre interested in knowing more about the two programs that i'm doing,
let me knowww :)
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