Wow I've been in Korea for a month now. I remember just a month ago, I did not want to leave New York and I was so scared. Now, I'm 80% sure that I want to come back to Korea and teach English for a year or two. I really want to master the Korean language. I can read now but I don't know what I'm reading. Korean is phonetic language so it's easy to learn the alphabet but the writing structure is different. There's conjugations and an ending for every noun and verb! Not only that but we have to pay attention to our formanlities depending on who we talk to. It's definitely hard but I really like to learning Korean and hopefully I'll be able to do it!
One of the best things about being an international student here is meeting other international students (IS). My friend Edmund, who studied abroad in China for a year, told me that I should try to not meet other Americans. He said I can meet other Americans in America so I should meet other people. My roommate is Japanese and I've met a lot of her Japanese friends. I also just went on a one week long vacation with another American, a German and a Dutch. I'm always meeting more and more people from other countries. I think this is definitely the beauty of studying abroad.
While meeting other international students is an amazing thing, I am also able to meet and become friends with other Koreans. Not only do I have PEACE buddies to talk to but I've been making friends with Ewha students in my class. I'm taking 4 classes here but 3 out of the 4 have more IS than Koreans. Luckily, in my public speaking there are only 3 foreigners out of the 28 students in the class. My classmates are very nice and offered to help me with my Korean :) In fact, I'm going out to eat dinner with some of them tomorrow!
Oh also, I'm being involved with Ewha. I got into the Ewha's Global Campus Leader program which means I get to represent Ewha as a foreigner and learn more about Ewha. I'm also teaching first graders English every Friday for an hour at the community center in my school. I met them yesterday and they were so cute and eager to speak to me! I'm so excited to get to know them!
I will upload pictures of my school and my dorm soon!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Taeyang's Concert - 9/26/2010
On Sunday September 26th, 2010 Sheila, Hannah, Crystal and I went to Taeyang's concert at KyungHee University! Taeyang is a South Korean singer and he debut in 2006 as a member of Big Bang, a very popular boy band in Korea. Honestly, I've only heard of him before the concert but never paid much attention to him. I know that he's hot and that he has his own album which is why he has his own concert. However, I wanted to go anyway because it'll be my first concert in Asia and hey Taeyang is hot!
I'm stealing most of this blog's content and pictures from Sheila Her's Blog so definitely check it out for more info. I'm just going to attach pictures in this blog.
There were life size pics of Taeyang outside of the concert hall so of course I took pics w/ all of them:
I also bought the light stick :)
There aren't a lot of pics from the concert b/c pics/videos weren't allowed..in fact cameras weren't allowed but being me, I took some pics during the second encore performance...
oh and 2NE1 and IU performed as well. Seriously, read Sheila's blog for more info...:)
I'm stealing most of this blog's content and pictures from Sheila Her's Blog so definitely check it out for more info. I'm just going to attach pictures in this blog.
There were life size pics of Taeyang outside of the concert hall so of course I took pics w/ all of them:
I also bought the light stick :)
There aren't a lot of pics from the concert b/c pics/videos weren't allowed..in fact cameras weren't allowed but being me, I took some pics during the second encore performance...
oh and 2NE1 and IU performed as well. Seriously, read Sheila's blog for more info...:)
JeJu Island - My Chuseok Vacation
Chu Seok is the Korean Thanksgiving where families gather together and eat delicious food (I think there's more to it so if you want more info, google it). Since it's a national holiday, my school was off from September 21-23. My friends and I decided to go to JeJu Island which is an hour flight away from Seoul. We left the 17th and returned on the 23rd. We missed 2 days of class but that's okay...I told my professors beforehand (I know...I'm so responsible!).
Okay so on Friday morning we left to the airport at 6am for our 8:30 flight. After we landed, we rented a car because it's the easiest way to get around the island and fortunately Katie has an international driver's license. We headed to the south part call Seowipo and we stayed at a hostel and the hosts there are the nicest people ever! After we put our things away, we went to the roof of the hostel where we can see Hallah Mountain then we headed to the beach for some rest and tan :) Afterwards, we went back to the hostel, took a shower and headed out to dinner. Peter and Sylvia (the hosts) recommended us a place that served amazing Korean BBQ. Afterwards, we took a walk and headed to the Choenjiyeon Waterfall.
On Saturday, we headed to the Jeongbang Waterfall where the water enters the sea. It was so pretty there!
Then we headed to the Teddy bear Museum because Sheila wanted to take a picture with the bears. We were too cheap to buy tickets so I snuck into an opening and just snatched a pic of the huge bear.
Then we headed to the best place in the world!!! We went to Oedolgae Rock. Now this place isn't very interesting.....there's just a rock but the coolest part is located on the opposite direction of the rock. If you walk to the left side you will enter a hidden cove like area where you can swim in the pond. I'm not exactly sure how to explain this so here are some pics:
Afterwards, we decided to take a walk around around Seowipo and walked across the bridge.
Then we had traditional Jeju food which is very simple and humble. It was very delicious!
We decided to check out the nightlife of Seowipo and I am unable to include any pics here because there is NO NIGHT LIFE in Seowipo! It was dead.
On Sunday morning, we left Seowipo and headed to the eastern part of the island call Seongsan. Before we went to our hostel we stopped by the Jeju Folk Village Museum. It was very interesting to see how life was like before electricity and the humble lifestyle of the village. The best part was that I got to see the film location of 大长金 (the first Korean drama I watched about the first female physician in the royal palace). I will attach some pictures here but there are more on my facebook page...
Afterwards we checked into our minbak. I really like it because we got to sleep on the floor! We didn't do much that day..we just lazed around and slept..it was a lazy Sunday.
On Monday we basically spent a whole day in Seongsan Illchulbong which is where a huge crater lies on top of a mountain. It was a long, hot, and sweaty hike up but the view was definitely worth it.
Then we went to see JeJu female divers. Okay, now these divers are amazing! I believe the youngest diver was at least 70 years old and they dive w/o an oxygen tank! It's so amazing, they can hold their breath for up to 2 minutes I believe and they dive for fish!
It started to rain after the dive show so we left and drove around Seongsan and waited for the rain to stop. Then we went to the coolest beach ever! It was the best sand beach ever and the sand was so firm! The water was unbelieveably warm.
On Tuesday morning we headed towards Jeju City. Before we checked into our minbak, we went to the world's longest lava tube! It was such an awesome experience. It was a very hot day but once we reached the tube opening, you can immediately feel the temperature drop at least 10 degrees C. It was dark and chilly in the tube but it was really cool to see the different kind of lava structures.
Before we returned our car, we went to the Mysterious Road. If you put your car in neutral, your car will go uphill! It's actually an optical illusion because the hill might seem uphill but it's actually downhill. It was really cool though! I havea video of it and I can't upload it on youtube right now because of Korea's restrictions but you can check out the video on facebook.
After we checked into our minbak, we drove to the car rental place and returned our car. Since we'll be staying in JeJu City before we leave on Thursday, we decided it'll be cheaper to just take the bus/taxi. We took the bus to a place call Dragon Rock.
Then we chilled around City Hall area and took sticky pics and went to some bars :)
Wednesday was the official Chu-Seok day. We knew that a lot of stores will be closed so we decided to take it slow that day. We woke up at around 11 and headed to City Hall. We had brunch and then walked around the area. We headed to the underground shopping center and for awhile it was dead but more and more shops opened as we walked around for a few hours.
Then we went to a DVD room (it's quite common in Korea. There are stores that rent out DVD for people to watch in their rooms). We watched The Ugly Truth - which is an amazing chick flick!
We then chilled in Dunkin Donuts and waited for the city to get more lively again. We had dinner at a Mexican place - we were all craving western food! Afterwards we bar hopped for awhile. Sheila and I wanted to end our last night with a bang so we went to a club with some foreign friends we made on the streets. It was so much fun!
We left pretty early on Thursday so we didn't have a chance to explore the island. I had an amazing time at Jeju!
Okay so on Friday morning we left to the airport at 6am for our 8:30 flight. After we landed, we rented a car because it's the easiest way to get around the island and fortunately Katie has an international driver's license. We headed to the south part call Seowipo and we stayed at a hostel and the hosts there are the nicest people ever! After we put our things away, we went to the roof of the hostel where we can see Hallah Mountain then we headed to the beach for some rest and tan :) Afterwards, we went back to the hostel, took a shower and headed out to dinner. Peter and Sylvia (the hosts) recommended us a place that served amazing Korean BBQ. Afterwards, we took a walk and headed to the Choenjiyeon Waterfall.
 | ||
| At the roof of the hostel - the back is Hallal Mountain! |
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| first day at the beach! |
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| Korean BBQ!! |
 |
| We went when it was dark so it was hard to get a good pic. Oh ps from left to right: Katie (Germany), me, Sheila (USA), and Nynke (Netherlands) |
On Saturday, we headed to the Jeongbang Waterfall where the water enters the sea. It was so pretty there!
Then we headed to the Teddy bear Museum because Sheila wanted to take a picture with the bears. We were too cheap to buy tickets so I snuck into an opening and just snatched a pic of the huge bear.
Then we headed to the best place in the world!!! We went to Oedolgae Rock. Now this place isn't very interesting.....there's just a rock but the coolest part is located on the opposite direction of the rock. If you walk to the left side you will enter a hidden cove like area where you can swim in the pond. I'm not exactly sure how to explain this so here are some pics:
 |
| the rock |
 |
| haha i swam...w/ fish! that's my goggles aka bootleg snorkel |
 |
| Katie and I climbed up to the rock bridge...the ocean was right behind us! |
Afterwards, we decided to take a walk around around Seowipo and walked across the bridge.
Then we had traditional Jeju food which is very simple and humble. It was very delicious!
We decided to check out the nightlife of Seowipo and I am unable to include any pics here because there is NO NIGHT LIFE in Seowipo! It was dead.
On Sunday morning, we left Seowipo and headed to the eastern part of the island call Seongsan. Before we went to our hostel we stopped by the Jeju Folk Village Museum. It was very interesting to see how life was like before electricity and the humble lifestyle of the village. The best part was that I got to see the film location of 大长金 (the first Korean drama I watched about the first female physician in the royal palace). I will attach some pictures here but there are more on my facebook page...
 |
| the steps to carving the statue! |
 |
| hut |
Afterwards we checked into our minbak. I really like it because we got to sleep on the floor! We didn't do much that day..we just lazed around and slept..it was a lazy Sunday.
On Monday we basically spent a whole day in Seongsan Illchulbong which is where a huge crater lies on top of a mountain. It was a long, hot, and sweaty hike up but the view was definitely worth it.
 |
| behind me is the crater! |
 |
| we climbed that mountain! |
 |
| hot and sweaty!! |
Then we went to see JeJu female divers. Okay, now these divers are amazing! I believe the youngest diver was at least 70 years old and they dive w/o an oxygen tank! It's so amazing, they can hold their breath for up to 2 minutes I believe and they dive for fish!
 |
| a singing ritual? |
 |
| getting ready to dive! no oxygen tanks!!! |
It started to rain after the dive show so we left and drove around Seongsan and waited for the rain to stop. Then we went to the coolest beach ever! It was the best sand beach ever and the sand was so firm! The water was unbelieveably warm.
On Tuesday morning we headed towards Jeju City. Before we checked into our minbak, we went to the world's longest lava tube! It was such an awesome experience. It was a very hot day but once we reached the tube opening, you can immediately feel the temperature drop at least 10 degrees C. It was dark and chilly in the tube but it was really cool to see the different kind of lava structures.
 |
| it's dark so I can't take a lot of pictures but there are def. more on fb! |
Before we returned our car, we went to the Mysterious Road. If you put your car in neutral, your car will go uphill! It's actually an optical illusion because the hill might seem uphill but it's actually downhill. It was really cool though! I havea video of it and I can't upload it on youtube right now because of Korea's restrictions but you can check out the video on facebook.
After we checked into our minbak, we drove to the car rental place and returned our car. Since we'll be staying in JeJu City before we leave on Thursday, we decided it'll be cheaper to just take the bus/taxi. We took the bus to a place call Dragon Rock.
 |
| see the dragon head? |
Then we chilled around City Hall area and took sticky pics and went to some bars :)
Wednesday was the official Chu-Seok day. We knew that a lot of stores will be closed so we decided to take it slow that day. We woke up at around 11 and headed to City Hall. We had brunch and then walked around the area. We headed to the underground shopping center and for awhile it was dead but more and more shops opened as we walked around for a few hours.
 |
| city hall is dead... |
 |
| empty... |
Then we went to a DVD room (it's quite common in Korea. There are stores that rent out DVD for people to watch in their rooms). We watched The Ugly Truth - which is an amazing chick flick!
We then chilled in Dunkin Donuts and waited for the city to get more lively again. We had dinner at a Mexican place - we were all craving western food! Afterwards we bar hopped for awhile. Sheila and I wanted to end our last night with a bang so we went to a club with some foreign friends we made on the streets. It was so much fun!
 |
| we met Canadian teachers! |
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| friends from Korea, New Zealand and South Africa! |
We left pretty early on Thursday so we didn't have a chance to explore the island. I had an amazing time at Jeju!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
MTV Korea and Seoul Tower
On Tuesday, I took the Seoul Metro all by myself and headed to MTV Korea! My supervisor/mentor from VH1 this past summer helped me connect with the people in MTV Korea so that I could visit and see what an international office is like. I went after my 11am class and got to the office by 12:10.
I met people from the programming team: Yuna Choi and Yang Min So. They took me out to eat Korean BBQ with pork and duck! It was so yummy! I was a bit nervous because I know that Koreans have a lot of Confucianism values and formality is so important to them. I was nervous because I didn't know if I was speaking to them like they are my equal...I made sure to bow a lot and to speak as formal as I can in Korean. Luckily they said it's ok, I can talk to them like friends because we are all around the same age (20s).
We went back to the office and they gave me a tour. MTV Korea consists of MTV and Nick. I really like the floor decorations...it reminded me of MTV Networks in Times Square...each floor is unique. I got to meet people from Programming and On-Air Promotional department. Unlike VH1, there is only 1 person in charge of scheduling the promotions. I wanted to speak to her but because of the langauge barrier, I didn't get to know what she does and see how it differs from New York. However, I foudn out that they use a diferent program...not PTS or Gabriel.
I submitted my resume to the manager and she said she will forward it to HR. I would love to do an intenrship at MTV Korea while I'm here. I think it will be an amazing experiecne.
-------
Today (Wednesday) I went to the Seoul Tower with my PEACE buddy and other international students. Here's an important piece of advice: If you are single...DO NOT GO TO THE SEOUL TOWER! It is so depressing! Seoul is couple land and Seoul Tower is a constant reminder that you are single. There is a place where couples will go and put a lock on it. Then they throw away the key which means that there love will last forever...like the lock that will remain locked on the chain. It's unbelievably cute but depressing as hell!
Then we went up to the Seoul Tower. Unfortuantely we missed watching the sunset but it was nice to see a night view of Seoul.
Again, it is very depressing because instead of locks, they have tiles on the walls that couples can decorate...ugh!
Overall, it was a nice day..just a bit depressing!
I met people from the programming team: Yuna Choi and Yang Min So. They took me out to eat Korean BBQ with pork and duck! It was so yummy! I was a bit nervous because I know that Koreans have a lot of Confucianism values and formality is so important to them. I was nervous because I didn't know if I was speaking to them like they are my equal...I made sure to bow a lot and to speak as formal as I can in Korean. Luckily they said it's ok, I can talk to them like friends because we are all around the same age (20s).
 |
| They are such nice girls and the food was delicious! We finished everything! |
We went back to the office and they gave me a tour. MTV Korea consists of MTV and Nick. I really like the floor decorations...it reminded me of MTV Networks in Times Square...each floor is unique. I got to meet people from Programming and On-Air Promotional department. Unlike VH1, there is only 1 person in charge of scheduling the promotions. I wanted to speak to her but because of the langauge barrier, I didn't get to know what she does and see how it differs from New York. However, I foudn out that they use a diferent program...not PTS or Gabriel.
 |
| The building! |
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| Me :) |
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| MTV is everywhere!! |
 | ||
| Oh it's so funny. Dora the Explorer is dubbed into Korean and instead of teaching Spanish, Dora teaches English! It's a big hit among mothers here in Korea. |
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| the office - the cubicles here are a lot smaller than the ones in NY |
 |
| I Love their kitchenette! |
I submitted my resume to the manager and she said she will forward it to HR. I would love to do an intenrship at MTV Korea while I'm here. I think it will be an amazing experiecne.
-------
Today (Wednesday) I went to the Seoul Tower with my PEACE buddy and other international students. Here's an important piece of advice: If you are single...DO NOT GO TO THE SEOUL TOWER! It is so depressing! Seoul is couple land and Seoul Tower is a constant reminder that you are single. There is a place where couples will go and put a lock on it. Then they throw away the key which means that there love will last forever...like the lock that will remain locked on the chain. It's unbelievably cute but depressing as hell!
 |
| so many locks!! |
 |
| They even have X-Mas trees with locks on them!! |
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| One day...I will find an oppa and bring it up here! |
Then we went up to the Seoul Tower. Unfortuantely we missed watching the sunset but it was nice to see a night view of Seoul.
 |
| Around the tower, each section is designated to a city/place around the world. I gotta represent NY!! |
Again, it is very depressing because instead of locks, they have tiles on the walls that couples can decorate...ugh!
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| look at the tiles!! |
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| They are so cute! |
Overall, it was a nice day..just a bit depressing!
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