Weekend at Anyang :)

I've been staying with Amy Min (my unni) in the province of Anyang and it's been fun :)  Unfortunately it's been raining a lot here and according to the 10-day forecast, it's not going to stop anytime soon. 

pet snacks!!

Since I'm a smart girl, I was not jetlag b/c I didn't sleep on the plane so I can sleep right away when I landed at night in Seoul.  On Saturday, Amy and I walked around her area.  First we went to a department store call Lotte so I can buy an umbrella but I didn't like any of it.  Then we went downstairs (OMG the escalator is so cute! - pic included).  They have a whole aisle dedicated to dog snacks - there's a duck snack too...weird!  Oh and the seaweed here is so cheap! 

Look at it...it's just straight down!

So cheap!!  1,620 is less than 1.60 USD!  Funny story: After I took this picture, the salesperson went up to me and asked why I took the picture..thinking there was something wrong with the store.  Amy replied, "She's a foreigner".  I asked Amy how to say "I'm a foreigner" which is "wei go geen yeyo (sp?)".  This is what I'm going to say from now on.

Then we went to eat some food

dukbokki :)

fried vegetables, dumplings, seafood

soon dae which is pig organs - surprisingly yummy!

After that we walked back home because of the rain.  I used the internet and we watched some Korean TV.  OMG there is a game show call Running Man and it reminded me so much of X-Man and it was so funny!  Then I took a nap and woke up in time for dinner.  We went out to a restaurant that's famous for their traditional way of cooking fermented food.

kimchi tchi gae - my meal

smelly soypaste soup - yummy!

I will upload more food pictures on facebook!  After dinner we walked around and went to a park and haha Amy's mom called it "Korea's Central Park".  LOL but it's a very small park but the cool thing is that there is exercise equipment! 

This is only one of four different types of exercise equipments!

On Sunday, we woke up to a heavy rain but we headed to church anyway.  Amy's family believe in Christianity and as you all know I'm Agnostic.  The Church spoke only Korean but Amy was able to translate for me.  Everyone was very nice to me and asked me questions about New York.  The funny thing was some of Amy's friends thought I was Korean until I spoke English and that was when they realized that I'm a foreigner. 

It's definitely a weird feeling to be seen as a foreigner here.  People would look at me and ask Amy questions about me.  All I can do is smile and say "an nyong ha seyo".  The funny thing is that some people were surprised to hear that I'm from New York because I don't have blonde hair and blue eyes.  Some people didn't know that you can be both Chinese and American - Amy explained to them that my parents immigrated to America from Hong Kong and that I was born in New York. 

After church, the rain finally stopped and Amy and I headed to the movie theatre.  Unfortunately, the time slots didn't match us so we walked around the department store to purchase an umbrella for me - which I did for 17,500 won - this is my FIRST korean purchase (besides the bus ticket from the airport). 

We headed to a coffee shop afterwards and spent the time talking about Korean cultural shocks and Amy's cultural shock when she went to DePauw.  It was a lot of fun.  We headed home afterwards and I was able to skype with Raisa!

There's also Korean pancake and turkey meat but I don't want to add any more pis than I need to.

Amy's mom prepared a Korean meal and it was so yummy!  Here's a picture:










Amy's family is very nice and I'm going to miss them a lot.  Tomorrow, I check in to Ewha's Graduate Dorm!  I'm excited to see where I'll be living, who my roommate is and to start meeting exchange students!

Bye!

Long Plane Rides & First Impressions

So Thursday morning wasn't so bad for me, I barely cried and I got to say goodbye again to my family brothers...and my big brother called me to say goodbye (I was mad because he didn't show up for dinner on Weds)! Anyway, I called Delta Airlines and they told me that I needed to check in 3 hours prior...which means I had to leave home at 10am for my 2pm flight! Mom and Angela (my little sis) took me to the airport and it was sad to see them ago, but by then I was fine and was actually looking forward to the trip! So how did I spend my three hours wait? I watched some TVB drama starring Steven Ma of course :)

The flight to Tokyo was a long thirteen hours flight but the cool part was that the plane I was on had two stories!! That was so cool but I didn't get to go check out the top deck because I think it was for first class only. Oh and gosh darnit, I was looking forward to having my own television screen behind the chair in front of me but noooooooo! Luckily I was quite close to the big screen that we all had to share. Unfortunately though, the earplugs only worked for one ear...I tried several of them, so it wasn't the best entertainment experience for me. I did manage to watch 3 movies: Date Night (which was HORRIBLE! I expected more from Steve Carroll and Tina Fey), Bounty Hunter (ohhh what can be better than Jennifer Aniston and Gerald Butler?), and Alice in Wonderland (I LOVE IT!).

Food wasn't bad and I ate most of everything. Here are the pics:

Dinner - Beef w/ Thai Coconut Sauce!

Breakfast - Omelet and Sausage

Oh and I was a good girl and I shared the dumplings that grandma made for me with my two neighbors. Oh and I realized that an aisle seat is way better than a window seat for long flights - I was complaining that I didn't get a window seat but not anymore!

Tokyo airport is so nice! The first thing I did once I got through security check was to check out the bathroom of course! I didn't have to go but I had to check it out so I made myself...TMI? Anyways, so I used all the functions: the wetting your butt, the bidet? and they had a function for playing flushing sound and I have no idea why I pressed it but OMG it was so loud and it was going on for at least a minute...I was so embarrassed. But overall, it was very cool!

Fascinating but I found that Amy's bathroom is a lot cooler - I will show pics later

I really wanted to get sushi at the airport but I couldn't find any sushi stalls! So guess what was the only purchase I made? Yep, a meal at McDonals...but I got the Happy Meal so I get a Mickey Ds Japanese toy.

I know I know - who eats Mickey Ds in a foreign place?  But seriously, I couldn't find sushi and I only had 1600 yen!

So the plane ride from Tokyo to Seoul is only 1hr and 45mins long so it wasn't too bad. When we got off the plane, I immediately felt Seoul's humidity! My plane landed at around 9pm and so I was surprised to see a lot of people at the airport. I was finally free from the airport after going through immigration, getting my suitcases, and going through customs. Amy Min (from DePauw) picked me up - she's the best!

We took the bus to her home which is in Anyang. During the bus ride, Amy taught me how to say Hello (formally) and "Nice to meet you" so I can greet her family properly. It is: "An-nyong hseyo! Man-na-so pan-gap-sum-ni-da!" Amy's dad picked us up at the bus station and then drove us home. When speaking to the elders, it's imperative to bow when greeting them!

Amy lives in an apartment building with her parents and older sister. She said that it's small and messy but it was quite the opposite! I love her apartment! It's very spacey and clean! I'll upload pics later if I can get permission. I'm going to sleep on the floor tonight - I'm very excited about that. I've watched a lot of Korean dramas and I've always wanted to sleep on the floor.

Goodnight!

Leaving Tomorrow - I'm a nervous wreck

So I'm flying to Korea tomorrow and I've been crying all day. It's hard for me to leave home and I know that once I'm in Korea I'll be okay but for now the anticipation and the "I don't know what to expect" is hitting me hard. I've said my good-byes to my friends and some family members and it doesn't get any easier.

It's currently 4:18pm and I still haven't packed yet but I'm honesty not worried. After all, I am half packed, all my winter clothes are already in one suitcase. I just need to pack some summer ones and other things.

I still don't' know who my roommate is and I still don't know my room number - I hope check in day will be a great surprise! Here is the website to where I'll be living: Ewha's Graduate Dorm.

I guess that's all for now.  P.S. if you guys are reading this, please comment, all the 0 comments on the posts are making me very lonely and sad.  :)

I will be in Korea the next time I post something!!!

The Countdown is in the Single Digits!

Only six more days left before I get on the plane to Korea!! It's exciting but for some reason it hasn't really hit me yet that I will be going. I mean, I know I'm going but the actual realization hasn't hit I guess, know what I mean? I'm guessing it will hit me on the 26th and I'll probably be bawling and telling my parents I made the wrong decision. It's so hard for me to leave home even though I can't wait to move out...I need to grow up!

So everyone has been asking me how I'm preparing for this trip and I honestly have no idea. I thought all I would need to pack are my clothes and the usual daily stuff like battery chargers, laptop, etc. Oh but I do need to buy a gift since I'm staying with my friend's family for 3 days...any suggestions? But seriously, I can just buy everything else there right? That's what I did when I first "moved" to Indiana. I bought my bedding, school supplies, books, and other bigger items at Walmart (OH please tell me there's a Walmart equivalent in Korea!)

So what have I been doing? I'm trying to see as many people as I can before I leave which has been nice. Yesterday, Hong Kong celebrity Steven Ma and Yurn Siew Cherng (sp?) came for the opening of a jewelry store on Canal/Elizabeth. If you know me, you know that I love Steven Ma and I'm so glad my mom got tickets! Here's a pic I took with them:



Steven Ma is the one closest to me and isn't he sexy?

Tonight, I'm going to watch a play call Made in Taiwan at Union Square. I'm really excited about that. Only a few days left and so much to do!

VH1 On Air Promotional Scheduling - Last day

I decided to start blogging since I’ll be embarking on my study abroad trip in just 13 days!! So what better way to start off the blog than by talking about my summer!

On June 7th, I began my internship at VH1’s On-Air Promotional Scheduling department which is located at the heart of Times Square. It was a very fun and memorable 10 weeks. I’ve learned a lot about myself not only professionally but who I am. I had a great team (Tracy, Georgina, Scott, Alyssa, Tanya, Brit, and John) and supervisors who taught me not only skills in programming/scheduling but skills in how to work at a corporate setting as well. I’m going to miss everyone a lot but I also know that today is not the last day I’ll be seeing them. As my parting gifts, I received a pink VH1 slanket, a Hip Hop Honors hoodie, a VH1 t-shirt, and a VH1 Rock Docs bag.


(From left to right: John, Brit, Georgina, Me, Tanya, Tracy, and Alyssa. Too bad Scott is on vacation)

Now I have 12 more days to relax before I head to Korea! I really don’t have to prepare much for my trip, I have my visa and plane ticket. I just need to learn some Korean phrases and I’ll be good to go! :)