I'm Back!

I had midterms all last week so in addition to having no time I did nothing of interest. That was remedied this weekend when I went out with a Korean family that my friend had met one day. They actually took my friend, Mary, and I to dinner the Sunday before and this past Sunday we visited their family farm and did a little walk around Seoul National Park.


A family farm in Seoul, means a place about 2 yards square on a nearby mountain that is rented to a family where they grow cabbages, onions, pumpkins and squash. This area had about 100 "farms".
We then walked a bit over to the National park which is also, part amusement park, part zoo and part art museum. Here is my friend Mary showing her appreciation for a piece called "Beach".
During this whole time Mary and I were made to talk in English with the families two sons, ages 15 and 17. It's sort of Korean fashion to be very generous but to expect something in return and so Mary and I are taken out on family outings and fed very well but then become free English practice partners for the sons. I spoke to the 15 year old, far right, who in true teenager fashion, said almost nothing to me and was incredibly embarrassed by anything his parents did.
We also made fun of the art alot. I'm picky and Mary is an art major and so we climbed on many of the sculptures that weren't up to our standards. This one was amusing though because it was called "the thinker" thus our poses.
On Tuesday Mary and I again had an adventure. We went to a smaller zoo in Seoul for the purpose of playing with dogs. There was a puppy zoo for children here and after paying 3,00won (a little less than $3.00) we got unlimited play time with about 15 dogs. (Huskies, Border collies, labs, retrievers, corgies, terriers...) I haven't played with an animal since before I left but it was surprising to even see them. Bigger animals, like dogs, don't live in Asia because there is no space for them to be kept. You will occasionally see something like a handbag sized dog but nothing bigger than that. For this reason many Koreans are afraid of bigger dogs, even ones that we would consider medium sized because they lack experience with them. In addition to this many Koreans fear cats as well, because the ones living in Korea are mostly feral and are not kept as pets. I think the only pets Koreans do have are fish. This one and a pug sat in my lap the whole time, while my right hand was petting a massive sheep dog and the other was occupied by an older golden retriever. The border collie and the huskies couldn't sit still long enough to receive attention.

At the zoo, we also witnessed a Korean television show being filmed but the speech was too fast for me to understand.
And being a children's zoo there were many school groups who greeted us loudly with "hello" every time we passed. One girl even got so bold as to say "I'm beautiful." Though I think this is less vanity and more she confused her pronouns.
Now to make up for not updating here are some scenes from Seoul.

Early morning subway rides. Good in the winter because the train is toasty and you no longer have to hold on to the railings for stability because it's packed so tight.
View of Han River at night. The Han river runs straight through Seoul and has parks and bicycle routes all along it. Shincheon by night, looking down from a 13th floor Italian restaurant.



Yonsei, from the same restaurant. The big building on the right is the hospital and I live just behind that. The main road down the middle goes to the front gates on Yonsei and the mountain in the back is on our grounds and there is the Yonsei dairy at the top.
A church that amused me. It's name is Beautiful Church and if you notice it's spire leads down into a building that must be part convenience store. This actually happens alot. Few buildings ever really stand alone and neon is never left out. The cross at the top will glow bright red at night.

Seoul from the top of a Ferris Wheel.

And now to the people I see all the time.

My language exchange partner Shin Kyungchul.
Mary and the dalmatian that took a nap in her lap. Hosub, a Korean American from New York whom I spent 24 hours with studying for my North Korean History exam.

Kisang, my boyfriend, in his full Kendo armor.
Girls from my Korean class, Seong-ah and Ann, intentionally striking Korean poses.
And then Benard and Wendy, also from Korean.
And finally Laura, in a picture that defines everything about her.
K, so hope that satisfies everyone. The next couple of weeks should be eventful so, until then...

Norebang

Not much happened this week. But I did join Kendo club (the sword martial art) and so I went out to a "norebang" (karaoke room) with them after practice. Here, you are set up in your own room with food and drinks for a few hours and everyone takes turns singing and dancing. They have English songs too, but usually they're much older. The following pictures were taken at the norebang with some members of Kendo club.

So, here is my language exchange partner, he's also part of Kendo club. His name is Shin Kyung Chul. We meet once a week to practice Korean and English over dinner.

And me, in a stolen hat and glasses.
Kyung Chul again (right) with another guy.


Me and a graduate of Yonsei who still comes to practice sometimes. He apparently teaches middle school so he would sing songs like "row row row your boat" to show off his English skills.
And finally, this week I went on a sogeyting, or blind date set up by my language partner with this guy Ha Kisang. We got along well and so I've seen him everyday this week He's 23, a mechanical engineering major, and fluent in English because he worked with the US army for his mandatory army time. He's helping me out alot with my Korean.

Some more experiences around Seoul

This week was much more productive. On Thursday night I went out to Itaewon to scout it out for my friend's birthday. Itaewon is the foreign quarter of Seoul. Here is where the GIs come to hang out as well as anyone who is passing through Seoul but doesn't want to bothered with Korean. Everything here is in English and large sizes. All parts of Seoul that I have visited look the same but feel different and that's the case here. It feels foreign and a little bit unruly. Both of which I confirmed on Saturday night when I went clubbing there. When people go abroad they often feel like the rules no longer can effect them. You see a lot of this in Itaewon. It's not a bad place though. For instance, my roommate and I found a nice middle eastern restaurant and smoked hookah (legal, flavored tobacco). Seen here. Friday was Founding Day, the day the bear that became human from living in a cave and eating only garlic gave birth to the founder of Korea. Kyra and I went to two of three palaces in Seoul. Built around 1405, this palace has become Korea's Williamsburg, complete with changing of the guards and a King and escort wandering the grounds.
Still a nice place though. But not quite as awesome as the one's in China.
Me with my Founding Day Korean flag in the back gardens.
And some of the many strange statues that periodically show up near old buildings. Haven't found a meaning for them yet.
The second palace was a UNESCO World Heritage Site and so we had to take a tour around it and thus got only a limited view. But here is the "Secret Garden" of the emperor.
Finally, on Sunday I met up with Sehee, an old intern from White Tiger, and visited Kukkiwon, the world headquarters of Taekwondo. I watched first degree and fifth degree testing. It really didn't seem that hard so hopefully when I test for third degree in the spring, I'll pass.

On a side note, I'm officially coming home Dec. 19th. So, I'll see everyone then.