LAZY UPDATE #12

This past week has been pretty packed with events, and I think it's only going to get even more busier now.  School's out for the summer holiday so everyone's going to be out and about now.  Seoul is raining cats and dogs at the moment.  I've never seen it rain so much for consecutive days before.  There's a typhoon coming according the forecast, but right now the weather is nice and breezy.  It was really sticky and humid before.

Last Friday was the last gathering of all the international students at CAU.  We went back to where we first started off in February, Mom's Touch, and just had a good time.  It was really strange to think back to four months ago when no one knew anyone, whereas now it was like we were all best friends.

Afterwards, a small group of us decided to walk out to the Han River.  It was about 2 am and no one wanted to go back to the dormitory yet, so we bought some drinks and some snacks and sat next to the water.  Music, laughing and crazy lack-of-sleep-induced dancing ensued.

Saturday was Randy's, an American friend, last night in Seoul, so we went out to Korean BBQ and another walk along the Han River.  I used to go hiking with Randy in the mornings when we first arrived, and during those times we became pretty good friends.  Hiking ceased as the weather got warmer, but we'll always have good memories.

On Tuesday, the day after my very last exam, I went to Incheon with a few friends to look at the 'Chinatown'.  My Korean friend told me it was government funded, which explains the lack of authenticity and plenty of Koreanized Chinese elements.  We discovered a shop which sold 豆浆 and 面条, and were so surprised to find out that the old grandpa owner, despite having been raised in Korea, could speak perfect Chinese! He even had the accent.

The actual place was pretty quiet when we arrived.  There were lots of stores selling Chinese souvenirs, different types of foods and there were a lot of lanterns hanging around.  In fact, the streets were decorated with a lot of red stuff.

Wednesday night was the last night my roommate was going to stay in the dormitory, so we went out to dinner in Myeongdong with another friend.  We went to this Indian place called 'Saffron', where everything they served was Halal, which mean my Muslim roommate could eat whatever she wanted there.  The food was quite nice, but I think it was a posh-ish kind of restaurant so the prices weren't that cheap.

My roommate moved out on Thursday, and for the whole day I was kind of depressed.  Luckily I had already organised to meet up with a friend from Ewha University for dinner.  We went to eat at this 'famous' naengmyeon place, except when we got there we were both highly disappointed.  To cheer ourselves up we went to have dessert at Holly's Coffee.

I met up with some of my classmates for dinner on Friday night.  These classmates were from the class I hated the most, but surprisingly the class where I made the most friends.  We had the best pasta I have ever eaten in Seoul, and then went to Hongdae for some shopping.  It was a fun night.

This was a very brief update because I'm sick at the moment, so my brain's not functioning properly.  I'll probably tell you what happened on Saturday morning after I get better.  Over and out.

LAZY UPDATE #11

I can't believe how fast the time has gone since mid-terms.  I am so not ready for finals, nor am I in the mood for studying like I was with my mid-terms.  These past few weeks have felt as though someone pressed fast-forward x32 on the remote control and everything has been such a blur.  A lot of stuff has been happening with my family coming over and me having to organise pretty much everything for their trip, which has made me stressed out - money, accomodation, travel fares, visas, finding out where to go - and then there's my visa and my dormitory accomodation for the summer and just everything has been building up and up.  I finally broke down on Friday because it was just all too much to handle, so hopefully now that I'm all cried out I can just focus on getting through the exams and into holidays!!!

So last Saturday (the last one in May) I went to watch a movie with a student from the Anseong campus of Chung Ang University.  She and I met during the Folk Village excursion a few months ago and we wanted to hang out in Seoul.  We had 삼게탕 samgyetang (herbal chicken) for lunch and then went to watch Kung Fu Panda 2.  It was my first time trying the chicken dish; ever since I came to Seoul I wanted to eat it.  It was okay.  The taste wasn't anything explosively amazing but it wasn't plain either.  KF2 was on the ordinary side as well.  I enjoyed the first one, but as with most sequels the second one wasn't the same.

Last Monday was my friend's birthday, and though he had celebrated it with drinks the night before, he wanted to do something on the actual day so a group of us went to the 찜질방 jjimjilbang (Korean sauna)! I didn't take any photos that night since I didn't know if it was appropriate to take my camera out, but it was a lot of fun.  There were lots of different kinds of saunas - some were super super hot and others were ice cold.     We also ate the hard-boiled eggs and drank 식혜 sikye (rice dessert drink) in the main common area.  It seriously felt like we were in drama.

On Thursday, me and my roommate decided to have a mini-party in our dorm room.  Both of us wanted to try 'take out' in our dorm room, whether it be pizza or chicken or a full meal, so we decided that Thursday would be the day.  I invited another friend to come along as well - she's Japanese but has studied Korean for three years - so we had three people.  We also had a cake because my roommate and I both had been craving for cake as well.

Friday night was the first time I stayed out after 1 am (our dormitory curfew is 1) and guess what I was doing? Shopping!! After our evening class, I didn't feel like going back to the dormitory so I asked a few of my friends to go shopping with me at Dongdaemun.  We went out at 10 pm and didn't come back until 6:30 am in the morning, but it was a lot of fun.  One of my friends' mum used to to own a clothes shop when she was young (my friend is Korean) so she knew the best places to go to for cheaper clothes.

What was really interesting about shopping that late/early was that it didn't feel like it was different from any other time.  When we got tired from shopping, we went to a cafe nearby to rest our legs and get a drink and it was packed.  Not just packed for 3 am in the morning but packed for any other normal time of the day.  And it wasn't only the cafe - the shopping complexes and streets were still full of people.

Today was Memorial Day, similar to ANZAC Day we have in Australia.  It's a public holiday so everyone has the day off.  Samil Church has this month-of-prayer thing where people go to morning service at 6.30 am everyday to pray for the church.  My leaders had been really promoting this event to everyone and though I was initially not going to go, I ended up going because a) it would be a welcome change from waking up late, b) they were going to watch a movie after the service and c) it would be something that I couldn't experience back home.  What I didn't expect were the amount of people who would turn up alongside with me.  The line of people could easily have been 1 km long - from the door of the church to the station exit of the subway.

The service was interesting, especially with the amount of people that were there.  After the service we had breakfast at the church, which was provided by the church.  We met up in our international fellowship group and then proceeded to go to the cinemas.  We split up into two groups - Kung Fu Panda 2 and X-Men: First Class - and went to our respective theatres. I'd been waiting to watch X-Men for a LONG time - my friends on Facebook would definitely know - so it was an easy choice for me.  And then we had dessert afterwards as a big group.

In other news: finals are next week.

LAZY UPDATE #10

Sorry for not updating for a long time.  Blogger was down for a a couple of days before and this week has been so. freaking. BUSY.  Like, really really busy.  But many exciting things have happened as well, and I am excited to write about them! It's been so long since I wrote my last post so I'm not going chronologically.  I'm just going to state the exciting things which happened during the last two weeks.

Firstly, I went bowling with my volleyball team last Saturday near our church.  I haven't been bowling in a long time, but I thought I was still pretty good at it.  Unfortunately, pride always comes before fall and I ended up being the ultimate loser amongst the whole group.  My scores were 32 and 41 - don't laugh.  But it was still a really fun night! I always appreciate the time I have with my volleyball team because it's a chance for me to practise my Korean.

We also went to Lotteria afterwards to eat 팥빙수 patbingsoo (shaved ice and other condiments).  It was the rule of the game - whichever team lost had to treat the other team to dessert.  My team lost spectacularly to the other team - they had the two best players out of the whole team (no...not a sore loser.  Honest! hehe) - so we bought the ice as well as some chips and ice-cream.

Another exciting which happened this week was my university's festival!  It was called LUCAUS (can't remember what it stands for) and it went for three days.  There were lots of booths around the campus selling things like beer, fruit, t-shirts and other things.  Unfortunately I didn't get to take any photos of the booths since I was normally rushing to class when I saw them.  But I did take photos of the most important part of the festival: the concerts at night time.

We had a lot of celebrities come for the night concerts like 김태우 Kim Tae Woo and No Brain, but the biggest and most popular star which came was 2NE1.  I just thought I'd bolden that word in case you missed it.  They're not the first celebrities I've seen since I came to Seoul, but definitely the ones which the most people know about it.  

The night concerts were really loud.  Each night I could hear it from my room in the dormitory, since the events are held in the sports ground right downstairs, but I attended the last one in person.  The atmosphere is pretty much like a real-live concert, with glowsticks and people jumping up and down to the songs.  After the concert a lot of people go drinking, but I didn't.  

I also dyed my hair for the very first time this week.  One of the people I sing with at church is a hairdresser, and he came highly recommended amongst my church friends, so I went to him in Gangnam.  I will be honest, as usual, and say that the colour which it turned out to be isn't what I wanted.  I actually wanted a dark red/purple colour and fully dye all of my hair, but right now it's highlighted red and gold.  It looks nice, but whenever I don't get what I was expecting in my mind I get a little iffy.  Maybe I'll change it later on, but I think I have to learn how to be patient with myself.  

LAZY UPDATE #8 (Part 2)

Lazy Update #8 Part 1 is HERE

Continuing on...

Friday was pretty quiet during the daytime.  I didn't have much to do except wait for the ROYAL WEDDING.  Did you watch it? I know there are some people who were like "Stop broadcasting it already!" while others were really, really excited.  I wasn't either of them.  I just wanted to see what people were wearing and what the wedding gown would look like.  I actually missed the dress (but I saw it later) because I had to go to my class, where the professor invited us out for dinner and drinks instead.

Let me just say this: Koreans are masters of drinking.  Like, even the Germans would be beaten by Koreans because while Germans probably stop at their limit, Koreans go wayyy past their limit.

Anyway, we had Korean barbeque with lots of meat and vegetables whilst drinking.  I don't normally drink that much, so when the professor went 'Bottoms up!' on the first drink I almost cried.  It was a very interesting experience.  The lecturers back at home will be okay for a drink or two outside of classroom hours, but none of them would ever pay for a dinner and drinks, as well as invite the whole class back to their home some other day and even initiate a 'sleepover'.

Saturday was turning out to be the worst day ever until night time so I'll keep the recap of daytime events short.  The international team from Samil Church gathered together to practise for the connection party coming up on Sunday, and we rehearsed what we would do and also decorated the room.  At night time, I went out with a group of friends to watching Thor.  I was initially debating whether to go or not because of my mood and because the weather was really bad, but I'm soo glad I went.  The movie was pretty good, but the best part about the night was the company.

On Sunday, we had the International Samil Church Connection Party.  The party turned out to be a good success.  We had lots of new people come and it was fun to be able to show that Christians aren't just stick-to-the-Bible-party-poopers at all.  I had volunteered to be in the performance part of the party, so that meant I was signed up for modelling in the cultural fashion show.  I've never ever modelled before so it was kind of awkward when we were rehearsing, but luckily it got better when we actually had to walk in front of everyone.  The outfits were mainly Korean and African style, but there was one girl who wore a 'ninja-inspired-space-looking' outfit.

I left the party straight after it finished because I was meeting up with other friends to go to ice-skating and bowling in Lotte World! It was my first time in Lotte World, and after hearing so much about it and seeing it in dramas and variety shows, I'm glad I got to go there.  Ice skating was fun but tiring.  We didn't realise that we had to have gloves before we entered the ring, so there was a bunch of foreigners scrambling around for cash in front of the glove machine right next to the entrance.  Probably would have been a funny sight for the local people.  

After that we went bowling and then had some dinner.  The dinner was so yummy.  It was 보쌈 bo ssam - meat and lots and lots of vegetables.  Some of the guys didn't join us for dinner because they were doing something else (no idea what), so by the time they came to the restaurant we were almost finished.  They had to sit there waiting for us while watching us eat all that delicious food.  Poor boys.  

To end the day, a little group of us went to have Sangria and honey bread in the little cafe near our university campus.  It was the perfect way to round out the day.  Two of the girls had brought their Go, Stop! (Korean card game which you see every ahjumma playing in the dramas) cards so I finally learnt how to play.  It's pretty simple to learn up till the point system, to which I still have no idea how to count.  

LAZY UPDATE #8 (Part 1)

(I'm dividing this Lazy Update into two parts because there is just too much to write in one post.)  This past week has been crazy - both physically and mentally.  Midterms finished last Friday so the following four days were a mini-holiday.  I got lucky with my exam timetable though.  A lot of people, especially the local students, had exams up until Tuesday which was the last day of the schedule.  The four day break was really good for releasing all that pent up stress about my mid-terms and 'refreshed' me for the next two months of school work.  Speaking of which, I feel like these next few weeks are going to be so crazy again.  I have so many projects due within the same time, plus church work, plus meeting up with friends (I know that's not necessarily...necessary...but!) plus figuring out how to fit in exercise everyday.  I am getting fat.  :(

Soo, last Tuesday was the last day of my four-day mini holiday.  The weather was so horrible and it was raining all day, but I had to go out and do some gift shopping.  I had no idea what I was going to buy, so I was station hopping around Seoul in hope that I could find something good.  I ended up finding what I wanted at 이대 Idae (Ewha University) and 명동 Myeongdong.  That night I went out to have dinner with my room mate for the very first time!  We've been getting closer and closer lately, which I really like because this was how I wanted to be with my room mate in the first place.  It only took two months to get to this stage....
Anyway, after that I joined some other exchange students at a nearby bar where I met some Koreans who frequent the E-Lounge (English Lounge) in our library.  We then proceeded to the noraebang and spent an hour just singing and tiring ourselves out before walking back to the dormitory in time for the 1 am curfew.

Wednesday was the first official day back after mid-term exams, and for some reason it felt really good to have classes again.   I guess I like the structure and order of school.  After my classes finished, I went to meet up with a friend who had come from Hong Kong.  She and her other friends were in Seoul for three days and they asked me to join them for dinner.  We went to 광창시장 Gwangchangshijang near 남대문 Namdaemun and had tastings of three kinds of food - 김밥 kimbap (rice rolls similar to sushi), 빈대떡 bindaeddeok (green bean pancake ...soo good) and  육회 yookhwae (raw beef strips).  The first two items were really delicious, but the raw beef wasn't really my thing.  I ordered a bowl of 냉면 naengmyeon (cold noodles) instead.  At the beef restaurant, one of the owners started asking us how to say things in Cantonese after finding out that we were from Hong Kong.  It was really funny hearing him pronounce the words wrong, but I honestly applaud him for trying to learn it.  I guess you learn whatever you can and whenever you can; that guy will definitely go far.

It was really nice to see my friend again, and to meet her other friends as well.  After dinner we went to Doota, one of the biggest shopping malls in Seoul.  The group of friends spent a long time looking around and trying unsuccessfully to bargain with the shop keepers.  That's one of the things here - you don't haggle that much.  You can ask for discount but it's seen to be rude if you start haggling.  I guess that's the one of the differences between Koreans and Chinese people.

Thursday was really tiring, but one of the best days during my week.  I had originally planned to visit my buddy's home and have dinner with her family, but her mum thought I was coming next week instead.  It didn't matter though, because we ended up going sight-seeing in Seoul instead.  First we went to 청게천 Cheonggyecheon which is the small river running through inner Seoul.  There were lanterns hung up everywhere in preparation for Buddha's Birthday.  Apparently it's really beautiful at night time when the lanterns are lit up, so maybe I'll go have a look when it's closer to May 10th.

After that, we went along 광화문 Gwanghwamun which is the gate right outside the biggest palace in Seoul.  There's a massive statue of King Sejong and statues of the three inventions he's most famous for - the sundial (pretty sure that was invented by someone else ...), celestial globes and of course, Hangul.  There's also a huge statue of one of the best soldiers of Korea.  I can't remember his name, but he was the one who defeated the Japanese back when they invaded....so I guess that's pretty important.

We arrived at our destination - 경북공 Gyeongbukgong - the biggest palace in Seoul.  This was the place where the king and queen used to live during the old days.  It was humungous.  And SO pretty.  I don't think I've ever seen so many trees in one place since arriving in Seoul, and the flowers were all blooming and out.  It was also really peaceful and quiet which is another thing you don't get a lot in Korea.  My buddy kept saying "Oh I feel so refreshed now" (sounds kind of funny in English but makes better sense in Korean) and I knew exactly what she meant.

Walking around the entire palace would have taken over two hours, but we had other places to go so we left after only an hour.  We were looking for 북촌한옥마을 Bukchonhanokmaeul Bukchon Hanok Village, but it was already six o'clock and we were really hungry.  She took me to this restaurant which is famous for 수재비 soojaebi (noodles in hot soup) and it was soo good.  Especially since the weather was kind of cold, the hot soup and 'noodles' (it's similar to 餃子皮) made me feel SO much better and energized.  

My buddy didn't actually know where the village was so she asked a couple of policeman.  They were entirely unhelpful so we had to walk around and look for signs ourselves.  Eventually we walked into the right place and behold - silence.  There are actually signs saying that you shouldn't make noise as to not disturb the residents, so it was extremely quiet.  Even though there weren't signs saying you couldn't talk, my buddy and I felt compelled to speak in whispering voices rather than normal volume.

Part 2 will be up soon....

LAZY UPDATE #7

Hmm...I keep falling into the trap of being too lazy to write down what goes on most days so I end up trying to remember everything and feeling overwhelmed by all of it, which will explain the lack of posts.  That, and I get distracted by other things e.g. watching series and my other favourite pastime ;) .

Last Saturday the International Office took all the exchange students in Chung Ang University (Anseong campus included) to the Korean Folk Village 민속촌 minsokchon.  This village is where they shoot a lot of the olden-day dramas and movies like The King and the Clown and Sungkyunkwan Scandal.  The surroundings are pretty much what you would have found in the olden days - straw huts, medicine shops, community entertainment arenas, noble's houses etc.

The office had organised some interactive activities for us: making a cup out of clay, a tour around the whole village and 떡 ddeok (Korean rice cake)  making.  The clay cup experience was really fun.  Each of us got a slab of rectangular clay, which we then had to mould into the shape of a vase/cup and decorate it however we wanted.  They said it took one month for the whole process to be finished - making, firing, glazing - so we'll get them back later.  The ddeok making was pretty fun too.  In the beginning it was a big lump of mixture, and volunteers went up to pound it with a huge hammer.  Afterwards they cut it up and we all tried it.  I liked it, but a lot of the Caucasian students didn't really like the chewy texture.  Cultural difference, maybe?

That night I went out with some friends for a Chinese dinner and some drinks afterwards.  Dinner was okay, but it made me miss my grandma and my mum and their home-cooked meals.  I always scoffed at the thought of people missing home-cooked meals because I always had them, but now I really really miss them!!  Afterwards we went to a little cafe with a very relaxed atmosphere and proceeded to be the loudest group in the place, but what else do you expect from a bunch of foreigners right?

On Monday night, I had dinner with a friend I had met through Samil Church but who is currently pastoring at another church.  It was a really spontaneous dinner which turned out to be really really fun.  I had posted up on Facebook that I wanted Korean barbecue and Amber immediately replied that she did too, so we made plans right there and then.  I really thank God for leading me to Amber during my stay in Seoul because she's someone I know who will be able to help me if I have any troubles.

On Wednesday I went to have a really early dinner (4:30 pm) with Jenny because we both hadn't had any lunch so we were starving.  Initially we were going to eat samgyeopsal, which turned into pizza but then we ended up eating chicken.  We went for coffee afterwards and did some studying.

Yesterday was a very 'scary' day for a lot of people.  The weather forecast predicted that the rain which was coming contained radioactive particles in it, so everyone was very freaked out and cautious about covering themselves up.  I still don't know what I think about the radiation situation.  On one hand I am pretty nonchalant about it since I've never really had any direct connections to radiation or events where radiation affected people I know, but there's also that paranoid side of me where I'm freaking out because I don't want my babies to be deformed, you know?  It's a very messy situation in my brain right now, as usual.

On another note, I think I'm going to try and start writing more on here.  I dislike the fact that I only update what I do as opposed to what I've always blogged about i.e. my thoughts and my opinions.  I feel like I've changed a little bit since I've gotten here, but I don't know if it's a good or bad thing.  Sometimes things come and go so quickly that I don't really think about what I do or the consequences from my actions.  I don't want to be like that anymore.

LAZY UPDATE #6

Wow, I really haven't been updating very much, have I?  I seem to go through phases of wanting to post everything I do in my life on here and posting absolutely nothing, which is either because I'm lazy or because nothing has actually happened.  Well, this time (as like many other times) it's because I've been lazy.  It's also because I don't take any photos of where I go so I feel like I have nothing show.  Pictures make all the difference you know.

Last Saturday a small group of us went to watch a documentary screening of "63 Years On", which was organised by the House of Sharing.  It was about the role of comfort women during World War II and the organisation tries to raise awareness through screenings such as these as well as other public events like tours and protests.  For me, it was interesting because I've always had an interest in this area - child prostitution, human trafficking, corruption etc.  If I ever make it as a lawyer, this is the area I would really want to focus on.  Sure the torts cases are fun and they're easy money, but what's the point in studying law if you're not making a better world, right?

Afterwards we joined up with a lot of other people and went to 노래방 noraebang (karaoke) in Shinchon.  It isn't the first time I've been to karaoke before but it was the first time in Korea - how do I say this....it was interesting? I'm not someone who can open up and just sing in front of anyone so the whole night I was debating inside my head whether to sing or not, but we only had the room for two hours so by the time I wanted to sing we had to leave.  But it was still a lot of fun watching my friends sing (or try to sing....) to the classics and dance around the screen like it was a moshpit.

On Sunday I went to church and had one of the best days I'd during my week.  I always feel really safe when I'm at church.  I think it's because I know that they are people who have the same mindset as me, so I can loosen up a little and know that I don't have to be on my guard on all the time.  Anyway, I met two Chinese girls, Muse and Amanda (Guangzhou and Hong Kong respectively), and they joined us for Bible study and dinner.  It was reeeeeeally strange because we were mainly speaking Cantonese (another girl at church speaks Cantonese as well) among the four of us while the rest of our group - Amber (Korean), Chris (Korean-German) and Chance (American) - had no idea what was going on.  And seeing how we're in Seoul, I guess Cantonese is kind of weird.

I was supposed to see a movie with my friend on Sunday night as well, but we ended up going out on Monday instead because she was really busy.  We went out for dinner (tacos), watched Red Riding Hood (don't watch it) and then ended the night at Paris Baguette for coffee and cake.  Or rather, I ended the night with coffee and cake and she watched me eat it.

Yesterday I had lunch with Jooyoung, my buddy, and we had ........PHO! I was craving pho last week and had no idea that there was a little shop tucked away in one of the many streets near our school which served it.  The flavours are pretty similar, but their noodles taste a bit different.  Not weird, but different.  Afterwards I went to Apgujeong to try to find Rodeo Drive, the famous shopping area where everything is expensive.  I spent two hours walking around the same area because I didn't realise I actually had to go inside rather walking around outside.  I think I'll talk more about it when I go there with other people and actually have time to browse.

LAZY UPDATE #5

It's the weekend!! This week has been pretty quiet for me, compared to the first and second week.  It still surprises me when I realise I've only been in Seoul for three weeks - that's not even one month!   During the first few days, it felt like a rush to see and do everything I needed and had wanted to for a long time e.g. food, shopping, sight-seeing.  But things have fallen into a comfortable pattern now.  I sleep, I eat, I go to classes, I shop, I eat, I sleep.  It's becoming a little bit more home-y, I guess.

Interesting things that happened this week:

1. Yesterday I went to the Immigration Office with Jooyoung (my buddy) to put in my registration form for my alien registration card.  The application process took less than an hour, which I didn't expect at all because they had told us it could take up three hours if we didn't register online (which we didn't because it didn't work :( ). On the way back to the subway station, Jooyoung and I had some pretty interesting and funny conversations about our families and how we grew up.  When I first met her I felt like we had a lot in common, but after getting to know her I realise we're almost the same.  I'm glad God gave her to me as my buddy.

2.  On Wednesday night, I went to have a look at the university's dance club - Dance P.O.zz.  Words fail me when I try to describe what I feel like when I see other people dance, so I'm not even going to try.  I'll just say that they were amazing and I wish I could be like them.

3.  Today I walked into a shop called Jamilro and got a shock when I realised they had a website and they actually did photo shoots inside the shop.  The backdrop of the pictures in their website? I SAW IT IN PERSON.  It's very exciting stuff you know.  I've seen a lot of Korean online shopping sites so to see the place where they actually took the photos is pretty cool.  Although the stairs in the pictures where the models are posing are so scary.  진짜 장난 아냐.  I also chatted with the owner of the shop - in Korean - and it turns out her daughter is going to Australia! Well, that's what I think she said.  When I say 'chatted', I really mean that she was speaking proper and complete sentences and I replied with two or three words.  But I'm still happy that I understood most of what she was saying, even if I couldn't really say anything to her.

4.  This one is about my friend, Sanna, who is an exchange student from Finland.  A few days ago, she went to get a haircut and colour from one of the hairdressers around our campus area.  She had gone out for a very, very long time and we were wondering why she was taking so long.  When she finally came back, her hair cut was really nice, but the colour looked a little off - in the light, it looked a little gray blue (her hair is blonde).  She told us that the first time the hairdresser dyed her hair, the end colour was white-blonde with yellowy-orangey tips on the end.  Sanna wasn't pleased and said "Noo! Can we change it please?!"  So the hairdresser said OK and proceeded then to change Sanna's hair into a lovely light BLUE.  Sanna: "Nooo!!" At that moment both Sanna and the hairdresser were completely horrified.  Because you see, it was the hairdresser's first time to dye blonde hair.  In the end she was able to change the colour back to blonde-ish, but you can still see shades of blue when her hair is in the light.

And that's pretty much all the 'big' things I've done.  Little things include walking the mountain behind the university every second morning, missing breakfast because it finishes at 8:30 am (so early :( ) and watching Dream High whenever I am free, which is a lot of the time actually.

P.S The photos are pretty random - some are from Hongdae, some are ones taken inside our student union hall and the others are just what I see everyday around the campus.

LAZY UPDATE #4

Wow...apologies for not writing anything for so long.  Lessons have officially started - as in, since we can't add any more classes to our schedule the teachers have finally started to teach some substantial material.  Which also means homework and studying have commenced.  I can imagine your faces right now.  What? Homework? Esther? STUDYING? Yes...sigh...it's true.  I have conformed to the Korean education system and am now anxious about staying ahead of classes.  My mum will be so proud.

On Sunday, a group of us decided to go to Namsan Tower/Seoul Tower to have a look around.  The weather was kind of cloudy that day, so we spent thirty minutes in the lobby of our dormitory apartment trying to figure out whether to go or not.  In the end we did, and we had fun.

When we got there, half of the group took the cable car up while the other half walked 30 minutes up the stairs.  Guess which group I was in?  That's right, because my legs were so tired from walking around on Saturday, I decided to kill them even further and take the stairs.  Honestly it wasn't that bad.  When you're with a large group of people, the atmosphere is so different than trudging up steep stairs by yourself. There were a lot of people there that day, and lots of activities going on such as a traditional Korean play, a man playing on the flutes and lots and lots of food stalls set up everywhere.

Namsan Tower is also famous for it's wall of love-locks.  For those who don't know, couples will buy locks from the shops up there (or take their own lock because it's cheaper) and write little messages on them.  They put the lock either on a tree or on the fence along the wall, and then throw the key away as a testament of their ever-lasting love.  We had a few couples in our group, but I think only one couple bought a lock.  The couple in my pictures isn't from our group, by the way.  They were a random couple which I asked to take photo of.  The girl was like "Oh? Why......???" but the guy was like "Sure!"  I ended up taking a photo for them on their camera as well.  Bless me and my great camera skills.

I'll give a short summary of what's happened this week, but unfortunately I didn't bring my camera around with me so no photos.

1. Monday: I attended a class called International Communications for the first time.  Even though the lecture is in Korean, the teaching materials are in English, and the professor also tries to throw in some English for the exchange students benefit every now and again.  Speaking of which, the professor took the exchange students out for coffee after class on Monday as a sort of orientation to his class, and also to get to know us.  There were three exchange students and another Korean girl who had returned last year from living in Canada for seven years, so we all kind of chatted for a bit.  Ji Eun, the Canadian girl, also happens to be in most of my classes which means I now have at least one friend in all my classes :)

2. Tuesday: Another first time class - 'pre-production'.  In this class, we're going to learn about making a short film and writing synopses.  Because I'm trying to learn about everything going on in media, I figured taking this class would help me with the behind-the-scenes camera and footage area.  I've always been interested in this kind of field anyway, so I love it.  On Tuesday night, Sonya (American-Korean exchange student) told us she had heard about this AMAZING spaghetti place near our dorms and that she had gone there at lunch time but was turned down because it was too full, so she wanted to go for dinner.  It ended up being as good as she said, and by the time we left there was a huge line waiting to get in.

3. Wednesday: At night time, I finally visited COEX.  I don't know if we actually went to the right place though, because COEX is supposed to be massive, right?  The place we went to was big, but it wasn't that big.  Either way, Sonya and her boyfriend wanted to buy a pair of Toms from Åland so we did.  


4. TODAY: I went shopping at Idae today.  I'm going to Hongdae tonight.  Happy tiiiiiimes :)


P.S.  There were a lot of children running around at Namsan Tower on Sunday, so I took some photos of them.  There's something about children which seriously tickles the insides of me and makes me all happy and joyful.  Plus they have amazing clothes and can pull off anything.