First taste of Korea

So, I've been in Korea for about a week now. And I love it here. I've been pretty busy this whole week, settling in, finding things, shopping. But here is a little taste of my life.

This is my room. I'm on second floor of the International dorm, which is pretty much the same as dorms at home. Small rooms, hard beds and a lovely view of construction. But this is balanced out by a cheap Western restaurant downstairs and the fact that all my classes are in the building next door. (yay, two minute walk!)
And here is a better view of my side. I don't know if it's because it's a better setup or if it's because I have practically nothing but everything seems to fit well. The university provided bedding and a refrigerator too so that's good.
The second day I went on a tour of the city. Except that it wasn't really a tour. They just took us places and said be back here in 10 mins. So I think this is a palace. But the tour was good because I met a girl who will also stay here for a year. She's a Korean- American named Seung-ah and we get on really well. We're planning to go traveling together for winter break. I'll get a picture sometime.
I also, met a bunch of people from the I- house. And we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. Korean food is good so I have no problems eating. We've sort of formed a little group of people here, and we go out to eat and club together. This is also my first time trying soju, (Korean rice liquor) I was pleasantly surprised that it doesn't burn when you drink it. Soju and I are now good friends but don't worry I know how to take care of myself when I drink. I know my limits and I'm careful.
So, this is actually a picture of Suwan, a place to the south of Seoul, but it's basically what Shincheon (my neighborhood) looks like. Lots of shops and neon and people. I went to Suwan to visit an old instructor (Sehee) but she lost her keys. So, I spent about 4 hours wandering around and visiting her dojang. I got to practice my Korean alot because no one spoke English.
This is Laura. One of the other girls from my school at the Welcoming party. We were all forced into T-shirts and learned all 30+ Yonsei cheers. I am now prepared for the "friendly rival games" happening next week.
Shincheon by night.
And some apartments. They were so tall.

so, I will get better photos of people. In the mean time here is my paragraph that I wrote for part of my scholarship about my first impressions of Korea.

So, I've been in Seoul for about a week now. And I have to admit that I often compare it to other places specifically Beijing and home. I spent a month in Beijing directly before coming here and the comparisons are many. Some how Seoul is more mixed and disorganized as compared to the rigid block/district structure of Beijing. It seems like in Beijing there was a shopping district, a club district, business area, tourist areas... and so on all separate. Here, it seems like it's all mixed together. I went to an old palace here and it's next to a museum of Latin American Art, a sky scraper and a Buddhist demonstration. Tianamen Square was rigidly kept separate, there were even blocks on the road and security check points to get in.

Some lesser comparisons are the people here seem to speak more English and don't stare at foreigners as much. Even though Beijing was flooded with foreigners for the Olympics I turned heads while riding the bus or eating lychee by the road. And most important of all I have upgraded from squatty toilets (holes in the ground) to Looloo toilets (ones that wipe your bum for you) yay!

As a comparison to the US I think the biggest difference is the unity of the people. It seems like, while Koreans( and Chinese) differ from each other they are overall in a small mid-range group. As opposed to the US, which I describe as a country that reaches the median by going to both extremes. ( pacifists/military, yoga teacher/ skin heads, vegans/carnivores) I like the together nature of Koreans and yet I miss independence. Today I did two things. First, I learned Yonsei's cheers. Every Korean knew all the motions and words to almost 20 cheers. And they threw themselves into in with such enthusiasm that Americans would be embarrassed about. But when I went to a club tonight, all the Koreans in the room just swayed back and forth together, while the international students danced like usual each of us doing our own thing. When trying to interact with local Koreans, they would dance for a bit but usually try hard to fade back into the mass. It became that a group of Koreans surrounded us foreigners in the middle. A bit weird.

So, in general, I'm in love with Korea. I particularly like trying out my Korean on locals and eating things that I don't know what they are. Good times.