This past week I flew to Jeju island for the Chuseok break and when I returned I had a new roommate! To be honest I was little bummed at first because giving up my second closet was very sad, but she's really awesome so it's worth the sacrifice. Her name is Joe (that's her English name, her name tag on the door says Pho Sze, needless to say I prefer Joe) and she's from Hong Kong. We really haven't had that much time to sit down and talk but she seems really cool. She's just at Yonsei to learn Korean, rather than to get a degree. She is not enrolled in any other classes, just the morning Korean class from 9-12, so she has plenty of free time. Valerie had such a huge course load that I barely got to see her, so it will be nice to have a roommate who's actually around.
Joe's English is good, but not nearly as great as Valerie's. It's okay though, we have good laughs over some of her cute mistakes and I enjoy helping her. I think the funniest thing Joe said to me was "Last time I was in Korea I couldn't find meat, I NEED MEAT!!" It was hysterical and then we laughed over the fact that we both hate vegetables. She said to me, "I hate vegetables; I just can't eat them. Does that make me weird?" Perhaps she's my long-lost twin from Hong Kong?
Today I had my first group presentation! For my sports medicine class we've been working in groups on a research project on the ACL which is the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. It basically connects the tibia to the femur and is used to absorb shock during motion as well as to provide a stable range of motion for the leg. The presentation went really well, but boy am I tired! My group worked basically all night last night to put the finishing touches on it and I didn't get to bed until after 2 am. Then we met again at 8 am to rehearse the presentation until class which was at 11. I couldn't understand why we needed so much time to rehearse but then I realized that since English is my group members' second language, presenting a project like this in English is a very different experience for them. It was really inspiring watching them devote so much time to practicing the correct pronunciations. They asked me many, many questions about the English grammar on the power point and my job, aside from researching, developing and presenting a rehabilitation program, was to edit and put the finishing touches on the power point.
Like I said, my job was to come up with the rehabilitation program for our project, and so after researching the topic I developed an aqua aerobic therapy program for our "injured athlete", Jason. It was a bit scary at first getting up to present because I am the only Caucasian in the class. Also I was unfamiliar with the technology system in the classroom, which is very modern, but it was basically just a touch-screen monitor and my group members helped me navigate through the system. All in all, I believe my group did really well. Something that stood out to me was that a different group presented their project in which they included a video clip that was in Korean. The video had English subtitles though, and they told me they subtitled it themselves so that I'd be able to understand it. It was really nice of them and it meant a lot knowing that they had done that.
The best part about today was getting back from class and having a package waiting for me in the lobby of my dorm! Thanks to Aunt Amy and Aunt Linda, I got the best package ever with all my favorite American snacks! And hidden at the bottom... drum roll please... CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH, my favorite cereal!!!! I ran downstairs, and by ran I really mean I stood in front of the elevator and yelled at it to hurry up, then went to the convenient store (conveniently located in my dorm) to buy milk. So I had a wonderful appetizer of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but don't worry, I didn't spoil my dinner because I only had a little bit. This box has to last me 2 and half more months!
I know you're all wondering about Jeju! My trip to Jeju was really incredible, I had such a wonderful time touring the island with Andrew. We didn't even want to leave! I'm definitely going to blog about it very soon when I have a bit more time (and perhaps a bit more sleep!) So stay tuned!
P.S. It seems Aunt Amy and Aunt Linda were pioneers in the international package-sending process, but don't be intimidated by their success and audacity! Don't be shy, if you'd like my address just ask!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
A Day Out with Professor Chun
Today is the Korean national holiday of Chuseok, which is similar to our Thanksgiving. It is a harvest holiday where Koreans pay hommage to their ancestors and they all gather together as a family. Because of Chuseok we have Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off from classes, but most professors cancel classes on Monday and Friday as well. My only class on Mondays is Religion and Culture 1 with Professor Young-Ho Chun and so he decided to invite the class to come with him as he puts it, "to experience culture". He invited the entire class, but most students went home for the holiday or had already left to travel for the week, so it was just Rosie, Professor Chun, and me!
We all met Monday afternoon in the lobby of our dorm, SK Global House. Professor Chun is a visiting professor from the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City; he also lives in SK Global House because the top floor is made up of apartments for visiting professors. We took the city bus to Insadong which was really great because Rosie and I had never taken the city bus before. Professor Chun explained how the bus system works so now we think we'll be able to conquer it in the future. The bus system uses the same T express card that the subway uses, so we just swiped to get on. Although, the bus is slightly more expensive, the subway is 900 won and the bus is 1,000 won, which is only about 78 and 86 cents, respectively.
We got off at the Insadong stop which was only two stops away from the Blue House, which is the South Korean President's residence. Insadong was very cool. The entire main street was all vendors, crafts, traditional restaurants, and antique shops. It was fun to look at everything and Rosie and I definitely plan on returning to do some gift shopping. We stopped at this one stand that was making a traditional Korean dessert. The guys at the stand did this entire demonstration where they showed us how to make it and even poked some fun at us Americans! The dessert was made of honey wax which they sculpted and molded into a very thin, almost stringy shell, and then filled with almond paste, and others with a peanut paste. When they transformed the hard wax into the soft dessert, they exclaimed, "Since you're American this is where you'll say OH MY GAWD, JESUS CHRIST, WOWWW!" We all couldn't help but laugh, it was so funny. Professor Chun bought a pack of the delicious honey dessert and we all shared it.
We then took a taxi to the next site that Professor Chun wanted us to see, a traditional Korean temple in Insadong that is famous for its secret gardens. Unfortunately when we got there we realized it was closed in preparation for Chuseok. Professor said that he hopes we can return later on in the semester with the whole class. We then walked along the Cheonggyecheon Stream which is a big landmark in Seoul. The stream runs through the center of the city, beginning at the Blue House. Until 2005 the stream had been completely covered and paved over, and it wasn't until the mayor at the time, Lee Myung-bak decided to invest in a huge restoration project to uncover the stream. Professor Chun explained that it was a huge political gamble, but it turned out for the best because that particular mayor, Myung-bak, is now the President of South Korea! As I was reading about this project I came across an online blog which I found really interesting, also it has great pictures of the stream.
http://dianhasan.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/reinventing-the-urban-park-cheonggyecheon-stream-seoul/
We then walked around a bit more and we even got to see the old Seoul National University campus. The University has since moved to a different part of Seoul, but the SNU Medical Center still remains in that area so it was neat to see that. I have to say though, it does not even compare to Yonsei University's Medical Center, which appears to be way bigger and much more modern.
We then traveled back into the heart of Insadong, back to the marketplace and Professor Chun picked out a lovely Korean restaurant. After walking for so long we were all happy to sit down. Professor Chun asked Rosie and me what we liked and went ahead and ordered for us. He even asked if we wanted beer or Soju, but Rosie and I both declined. We all shared this big pot of Korean stew that cooks at your table. It was delicious! It had noodles, beef, radish, tofu, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and a few other items in it. Every time our bowls were only half-way empty, Professor Chun would put more stew in our bowls! We certainly didn't go hungry, we left stuffed and extremely satisfied! Our professor treated us to dinner, which was extremely generous. During dinner we had great conversations and we got to learn so much about each other. Professor Chun is Korean born but left Korea in 1967 to go to university in the States, and he hasn't been back since. He's taught in Germany, Italy, and Kenya, and a few other locations, and he has also visited Israel multiple times. He even told us that he believes Kenya makes the best beer in the world! He was offered this position at Yonsei University and thought it'd be a great experience to come back to Korea for a few months. Most visiting professors stay for at least a year, but Professor Chun is only staying for one semester because he has a wife and daughter at home in Kansas. His daughter is a sophomore in high school.
After dinner we got back on the bus and headed back to campus. It was a really special day for many reasons. It was so nice that Professor Chun took us out, but also we got to learn so much about his life and he got to learn so much about Rosie and me.
Here's a picture of Rosie and me standing in the stream and the other is of me and Professor Chun.
We all met Monday afternoon in the lobby of our dorm, SK Global House. Professor Chun is a visiting professor from the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City; he also lives in SK Global House because the top floor is made up of apartments for visiting professors. We took the city bus to Insadong which was really great because Rosie and I had never taken the city bus before. Professor Chun explained how the bus system works so now we think we'll be able to conquer it in the future. The bus system uses the same T express card that the subway uses, so we just swiped to get on. Although, the bus is slightly more expensive, the subway is 900 won and the bus is 1,000 won, which is only about 78 and 86 cents, respectively.
We got off at the Insadong stop which was only two stops away from the Blue House, which is the South Korean President's residence. Insadong was very cool. The entire main street was all vendors, crafts, traditional restaurants, and antique shops. It was fun to look at everything and Rosie and I definitely plan on returning to do some gift shopping. We stopped at this one stand that was making a traditional Korean dessert. The guys at the stand did this entire demonstration where they showed us how to make it and even poked some fun at us Americans! The dessert was made of honey wax which they sculpted and molded into a very thin, almost stringy shell, and then filled with almond paste, and others with a peanut paste. When they transformed the hard wax into the soft dessert, they exclaimed, "Since you're American this is where you'll say OH MY GAWD, JESUS CHRIST, WOWWW!" We all couldn't help but laugh, it was so funny. Professor Chun bought a pack of the delicious honey dessert and we all shared it.
We then took a taxi to the next site that Professor Chun wanted us to see, a traditional Korean temple in Insadong that is famous for its secret gardens. Unfortunately when we got there we realized it was closed in preparation for Chuseok. Professor said that he hopes we can return later on in the semester with the whole class. We then walked along the Cheonggyecheon Stream which is a big landmark in Seoul. The stream runs through the center of the city, beginning at the Blue House. Until 2005 the stream had been completely covered and paved over, and it wasn't until the mayor at the time, Lee Myung-bak decided to invest in a huge restoration project to uncover the stream. Professor Chun explained that it was a huge political gamble, but it turned out for the best because that particular mayor, Myung-bak, is now the President of South Korea! As I was reading about this project I came across an online blog which I found really interesting, also it has great pictures of the stream.
http://dianhasan.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/reinventing-the-urban-park-cheonggyecheon-stream-seoul/
We then walked around a bit more and we even got to see the old Seoul National University campus. The University has since moved to a different part of Seoul, but the SNU Medical Center still remains in that area so it was neat to see that. I have to say though, it does not even compare to Yonsei University's Medical Center, which appears to be way bigger and much more modern.
We then traveled back into the heart of Insadong, back to the marketplace and Professor Chun picked out a lovely Korean restaurant. After walking for so long we were all happy to sit down. Professor Chun asked Rosie and me what we liked and went ahead and ordered for us. He even asked if we wanted beer or Soju, but Rosie and I both declined. We all shared this big pot of Korean stew that cooks at your table. It was delicious! It had noodles, beef, radish, tofu, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, and a few other items in it. Every time our bowls were only half-way empty, Professor Chun would put more stew in our bowls! We certainly didn't go hungry, we left stuffed and extremely satisfied! Our professor treated us to dinner, which was extremely generous. During dinner we had great conversations and we got to learn so much about each other. Professor Chun is Korean born but left Korea in 1967 to go to university in the States, and he hasn't been back since. He's taught in Germany, Italy, and Kenya, and a few other locations, and he has also visited Israel multiple times. He even told us that he believes Kenya makes the best beer in the world! He was offered this position at Yonsei University and thought it'd be a great experience to come back to Korea for a few months. Most visiting professors stay for at least a year, but Professor Chun is only staying for one semester because he has a wife and daughter at home in Kansas. His daughter is a sophomore in high school.
After dinner we got back on the bus and headed back to campus. It was a really special day for many reasons. It was so nice that Professor Chun took us out, but also we got to learn so much about his life and he got to learn so much about Rosie and me.
Here's a picture of Rosie and me standing in the stream and the other is of me and Professor Chun.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Everland
This past Sunday I went to Everland with Ariane, Felix, Peter, and two of our Korean friends whose names I unfortunately cannot pronounce, nor spell. Everland is a big theme park outside of Seoul and many call it the "Disney land of South Korea". It was a beautiful park and we had a lot of fun, but it definitely did not have the same magical feeling that Disney World has. We took a bus out of Sinchon station that brought us directly to Everland. We then boarded a shuttle from the parking lot that brought us to the main gate. The actual park is completely hidden by trees and mountains, and the shuttle ride felt like an attraction in itself, the driver was zipping up and down these tiny, narrow roads extremely fast!
Everything was already decorated for Halloween, even the animals' cages at the zoo had pumpkins in them! We did a few rides in the beginning which were a lot fun, but unfortunately it began to rain so most of the outdoor rides closed. We ended up doing all the inside rides which was fine because a lot of them were really cool and we probably would've overlooked them had the weather been nice. The park has an upper and lower section and we took the "Sky Way" to get from one section to another, which was basically just like a ski chair lift, but it gave us an awesome view of the whole park and the surrounding mountains.
We spent a lot of time in the zoo area, which reminded me of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The animals were fun to look at and my favorite were the polar bears. We took a safari trip and saw lions, tigers, bears. The highlight of the animal section was doing the two water rides that were still open, one of them was a big raft ride and the second was basically a smaller version of splash mountain.
Each section of the park was themed and there was an American themed section, creatively named "American Land". We ate lunch at the Western-style burger restaurant, but unfortunately my American lunch still had a Korean flavor to it. This section was decorated with old posters and billboards of Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Cash, people like that. Also there was a lot of street signs for decorations and a bunch of cliche-looking traffic lights in this part of the park. I think it's a little funny that when the creators of Everland thought of stereotypical American items, they thought of street signs and traffic lights. It's a little ironic actually because Koreans are horrible drivers, so perhaps they would benefit from the civic organization that America is apparently known for.
Even though it rained we still had a lot of fun. We finished up the day by catching the final showing of one of the park's performances. This of course did not have the same Disney feel to it, but it was still a good show. The Everland characters, a few cute, but unidentifiable animals (two of which resembling a Minnie and Mickey) opened up the show with a some songs and dances but the coolest part were the gymnasts. The middle few acts consisted of a bunch of gymnasts doing flips over one another, some crazy stuff with a rope hanging from a ceiling, and then some human pyramid stuff. It was really cool what these performers were capable of, sometimes I got so nervous when they were in the air that I could barely look, but none of them fell or even messed up!
We got back on the bus, exhausted, and slept all the way to Sinchon. The first picture is of the woman at the main gate who collected our tickets, what a great outfit! The next is all of us with an Everland character, and the other one is a shot of the Sky Way.
And how can I forget the polar bears?!
Everything was already decorated for Halloween, even the animals' cages at the zoo had pumpkins in them! We did a few rides in the beginning which were a lot fun, but unfortunately it began to rain so most of the outdoor rides closed. We ended up doing all the inside rides which was fine because a lot of them were really cool and we probably would've overlooked them had the weather been nice. The park has an upper and lower section and we took the "Sky Way" to get from one section to another, which was basically just like a ski chair lift, but it gave us an awesome view of the whole park and the surrounding mountains.
We spent a lot of time in the zoo area, which reminded me of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The animals were fun to look at and my favorite were the polar bears. We took a safari trip and saw lions, tigers, bears. The highlight of the animal section was doing the two water rides that were still open, one of them was a big raft ride and the second was basically a smaller version of splash mountain.
Each section of the park was themed and there was an American themed section, creatively named "American Land". We ate lunch at the Western-style burger restaurant, but unfortunately my American lunch still had a Korean flavor to it. This section was decorated with old posters and billboards of Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Cash, people like that. Also there was a lot of street signs for decorations and a bunch of cliche-looking traffic lights in this part of the park. I think it's a little funny that when the creators of Everland thought of stereotypical American items, they thought of street signs and traffic lights. It's a little ironic actually because Koreans are horrible drivers, so perhaps they would benefit from the civic organization that America is apparently known for.
Even though it rained we still had a lot of fun. We finished up the day by catching the final showing of one of the park's performances. This of course did not have the same Disney feel to it, but it was still a good show. The Everland characters, a few cute, but unidentifiable animals (two of which resembling a Minnie and Mickey) opened up the show with a some songs and dances but the coolest part were the gymnasts. The middle few acts consisted of a bunch of gymnasts doing flips over one another, some crazy stuff with a rope hanging from a ceiling, and then some human pyramid stuff. It was really cool what these performers were capable of, sometimes I got so nervous when they were in the air that I could barely look, but none of them fell or even messed up!
We got back on the bus, exhausted, and slept all the way to Sinchon. The first picture is of the woman at the main gate who collected our tickets, what a great outfit! The next is all of us with an Everland character, and the other one is a shot of the Sky Way.
And how can I forget the polar bears?!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Yon-Ko Jeon
Last weekend was Yon-Ko Jeon!! Yon-Ko Jeon is kind of like a Korean acronym, it stands for the Yonsei University-Korea University Games. Each year the two schools take part in a multi-game sports tournament and it’s a really big deal in Seoul! YU and KU have been rivals for a very long time and each year the Universities come together to compete and then celebrate afterwards. If you remember back to my post “Blue Knights”, it was about the cheering practice that was in preparation for Yon-Ko Jeon. Well the practice certainly paid off; at all of the games almost all of the exchange students were cheering right along side the Yonsei students!
The first event was the baseball game. Friday morning we all met Mentors Club outside of the global lounge (Mentors club is the club on campus that pairs up with exchange students and runs a lot of their activities, they also help get the exchange students involved in the campus activities) and boarded about a million coach buses, and all made our way to the Olympic Sports complex in Seoul. The summer Olympics were held in Seoul in 1988, the facilities were beautiful but definitely dated. It was hectic at the stadium, but exciting at the same time. When we got there we were immediately bombarded with free stuff! Students and faculty of the University handed out Yonsei visors, rain ponchos, breakfast muffins, caramel latte drinks, and this year’s Yon-Ko Jeon program book. Also later on they gave everyone a boxed lunch, which was catered by the Seoul Plaza Hotel.
The stadium was packed, and even though it was raining we spent the whole morning singing and dancing to all of the Yonsei cheers while YU and KU played. Before the game started though there was a beautiful opening ceremony with some speakers from each university and some ceremonial cheers and dances from each university’s cheering team. KU scored 3 runs pretty early on but YU still played very well. We left after the 6th inning to rush over to the basketball game, which was held in the Olympic stadium. The game ended with KU and YU tying 4 to 4.
The basketball game was also really cool. It was a nice change to be sitting in a dry, air-conditioned stadium, and also it was nice to watch a faster-paced sport after a few hours of baseball (not that I don’t love baseball!). We were on our feet cheering the whole time, which was certainly necessary because YU won the game, but by only a few points! It was so exciting and when the game was over; the YU basketball team got up on the podium and started singing the cheers with the Blue Knights. After that they returned to the court and picked up their coach and swung him by his feet and his hands. It was quite a sight, and I was told that it’s a YU tradition. When they threw him up in the air (with the intentions of the team to catch him) they actually dropped him! Of course they picked him up right away and dusted him off but it was hilarious, it reminded me of the bar/bat mitzvah chair tradition.
After the basketball game we were starving so the group and I went to a Korean bbq restaurant in Sinchon. Everything was very good, but we were so exhausted that we could barely enjoy ourselves. We headed back to campus and some of us put on a movie. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day-Off with Andrew, Kia, and Jim and then headed to bed.
Festivities began early the next morning as well, but I decided to sleep in a little bit and then go with Rosie and Andrew to meet up with the group a little later. The soccer and rugby games were held at Mokdong stadium instead of the Olympic complex, because this year the Seoul Design show was being held at Olympic stadium on Saturday and so they needed to find an alternative location. We arrived in time to meet up with the group and catch the very end of the rugby game. Yonsei won! Shortly after, the soccer game started and although the cheering was really fun, the game was kind of a letdown. The Yonsei soccer team was not nearly as good as the basketball or rugby teams were. KU beat Yonsei 2-0, but it was still fun just being there.
We cheered for a bit more and both Universities’ performed in the closing ceremony and we headed back. When we arrived on campus the nighttime festivities were in full swing! The main road through campus was lined with food vendors giving away free kebabs, hotdogs, beer, waffles, and ice cream. Everything was delicious! There were even a few Korean artists who performed on the stage that was set up right in the middle of the main road! It was quite the party, although we didn’t know whom the artists were, it was still a lot of fun to party with our fellow Yonsei students.
The funniest and perhaps strangest part of the night was when Andrew and I somehow managed to get this big group of passed out Koreans to get up and dance. There’s a huge academic building right on the main road and under the awning there was a big group of students laying down, basically passed out—too much cheering and too much drinking! Well Andrew and I just didn’t think that was acceptable and we each stood up on a chair and told them all to get up and start dancing with us! And believe it or not, they listened, they all got up and we all started dancing to the music, which at this point were just fancier versions of the all the Yonsei cheers. When the songs were over all the Koreans rushed over to Andrew and I started hugging us and shouting how cool we are. They also wanted to take pictures with us. It was like we were celebrities to them, or perhaps just saints. This one guy told me in very broken English that he forgot how much fun Yon-Ko Jeon was. Not a bad way to end the weekend. We hit up a pub in Sinchon after the concert was over and then headed back to campus for some well-needed sleep.
The Yon-Ko games were a really amazing experience. Part of what made the weekend so special was having the “big school” experience. HWS is such a special place, but in terms of school spirit at athletic events, nothing can compare to Yon-Ko Jeon.
The following pictures are just a few of the great shots of Yon-Ko Jeon. They were taken at the baseball, basketball, and ruby games. Yonsei University's colors are blue and Korea University is red.
The first event was the baseball game. Friday morning we all met Mentors Club outside of the global lounge (Mentors club is the club on campus that pairs up with exchange students and runs a lot of their activities, they also help get the exchange students involved in the campus activities) and boarded about a million coach buses, and all made our way to the Olympic Sports complex in Seoul. The summer Olympics were held in Seoul in 1988, the facilities were beautiful but definitely dated. It was hectic at the stadium, but exciting at the same time. When we got there we were immediately bombarded with free stuff! Students and faculty of the University handed out Yonsei visors, rain ponchos, breakfast muffins, caramel latte drinks, and this year’s Yon-Ko Jeon program book. Also later on they gave everyone a boxed lunch, which was catered by the Seoul Plaza Hotel.
The stadium was packed, and even though it was raining we spent the whole morning singing and dancing to all of the Yonsei cheers while YU and KU played. Before the game started though there was a beautiful opening ceremony with some speakers from each university and some ceremonial cheers and dances from each university’s cheering team. KU scored 3 runs pretty early on but YU still played very well. We left after the 6th inning to rush over to the basketball game, which was held in the Olympic stadium. The game ended with KU and YU tying 4 to 4.
The basketball game was also really cool. It was a nice change to be sitting in a dry, air-conditioned stadium, and also it was nice to watch a faster-paced sport after a few hours of baseball (not that I don’t love baseball!). We were on our feet cheering the whole time, which was certainly necessary because YU won the game, but by only a few points! It was so exciting and when the game was over; the YU basketball team got up on the podium and started singing the cheers with the Blue Knights. After that they returned to the court and picked up their coach and swung him by his feet and his hands. It was quite a sight, and I was told that it’s a YU tradition. When they threw him up in the air (with the intentions of the team to catch him) they actually dropped him! Of course they picked him up right away and dusted him off but it was hilarious, it reminded me of the bar/bat mitzvah chair tradition.
After the basketball game we were starving so the group and I went to a Korean bbq restaurant in Sinchon. Everything was very good, but we were so exhausted that we could barely enjoy ourselves. We headed back to campus and some of us put on a movie. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day-Off with Andrew, Kia, and Jim and then headed to bed.
Festivities began early the next morning as well, but I decided to sleep in a little bit and then go with Rosie and Andrew to meet up with the group a little later. The soccer and rugby games were held at Mokdong stadium instead of the Olympic complex, because this year the Seoul Design show was being held at Olympic stadium on Saturday and so they needed to find an alternative location. We arrived in time to meet up with the group and catch the very end of the rugby game. Yonsei won! Shortly after, the soccer game started and although the cheering was really fun, the game was kind of a letdown. The Yonsei soccer team was not nearly as good as the basketball or rugby teams were. KU beat Yonsei 2-0, but it was still fun just being there.
We cheered for a bit more and both Universities’ performed in the closing ceremony and we headed back. When we arrived on campus the nighttime festivities were in full swing! The main road through campus was lined with food vendors giving away free kebabs, hotdogs, beer, waffles, and ice cream. Everything was delicious! There were even a few Korean artists who performed on the stage that was set up right in the middle of the main road! It was quite the party, although we didn’t know whom the artists were, it was still a lot of fun to party with our fellow Yonsei students.
The funniest and perhaps strangest part of the night was when Andrew and I somehow managed to get this big group of passed out Koreans to get up and dance. There’s a huge academic building right on the main road and under the awning there was a big group of students laying down, basically passed out—too much cheering and too much drinking! Well Andrew and I just didn’t think that was acceptable and we each stood up on a chair and told them all to get up and start dancing with us! And believe it or not, they listened, they all got up and we all started dancing to the music, which at this point were just fancier versions of the all the Yonsei cheers. When the songs were over all the Koreans rushed over to Andrew and I started hugging us and shouting how cool we are. They also wanted to take pictures with us. It was like we were celebrities to them, or perhaps just saints. This one guy told me in very broken English that he forgot how much fun Yon-Ko Jeon was. Not a bad way to end the weekend. We hit up a pub in Sinchon after the concert was over and then headed back to campus for some well-needed sleep.
The Yon-Ko games were a really amazing experience. Part of what made the weekend so special was having the “big school” experience. HWS is such a special place, but in terms of school spirit at athletic events, nothing can compare to Yon-Ko Jeon.
The following pictures are just a few of the great shots of Yon-Ko Jeon. They were taken at the baseball, basketball, and ruby games. Yonsei University's colors are blue and Korea University is red.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
World Cup Stadium
Last Tuesday, Andrew, Kia, Jim and I decided last minute to go to Seoul's World Cup Stadium to watch the Korea national soccer team play Iran. We had a really great time! We took the subway just a few stops to Mapogu and when we got off the subway we took the escalator up and we were right inside of the stadium! It was a really enjoyable night because the humidity cooled down a bit. After wandering around for a little while, trying to figure out where to buy tickets (not many stadium employees spoke English) we finally got in the right line and then got our tickets. The stadium wasn't too packed, so we decided to move down a few rows since most of our section was empty. We were on the bottom level and had a great view of the game. The game was referred to as a "friendly" match since the teams are not in season.
The stadium itself was really nice. It was built in 2001 for the 2002 FIFA World Cup games. It was cool to be there because it was my very first time seeing a stadium that was specifically designed for soccer. Although the crowd wasn't huge, there was tons of Korean pride; everyone was wearing red (Korea's color) and the big Korean beer companies were even giving away free beer! Iran beat Korea 2-1 and when the game was over we got onto a very packed subway train and headed back to campus.
The pictures below are of the opening ceremony before the game, and then a shot of the game-time action!
The stadium itself was really nice. It was built in 2001 for the 2002 FIFA World Cup games. It was cool to be there because it was my very first time seeing a stadium that was specifically designed for soccer. Although the crowd wasn't huge, there was tons of Korean pride; everyone was wearing red (Korea's color) and the big Korean beer companies were even giving away free beer! Iran beat Korea 2-1 and when the game was over we got onto a very packed subway train and headed back to campus.
The pictures below are of the opening ceremony before the game, and then a shot of the game-time action!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
"Let's Celebrate!"
Yesterday, my first class was Sports Medicine, 11 to 12:50 in the afternoon and we started our first project of the semester. Justin, our professor (he insists we call him Justin, but I'm still in the habit of calling him Professor) split the class up into groups of about 6 or 7 by allowing the seniors in the class to take turns each picking a group member from the class. Thankfully I wasn't picked last and the people in my group seem really nice! We started brainstorming ideas for our project, a case study on a male athlete who is recovering from ACL repair surgery. Our group is to prepare a 30 minute presentation in the upcoming weeks covering our treatment and therapy plans, as well as research on the anatomy of the knee and the mechanics of the injury.
After working in our groups for about 30 minutes, Justin said, "Class, let's celebrate! We're ordering Chinese food for lunch!" The class erupted and went crazy. No joke! Picture about 30 Asians screaming and hollering and jumping over the desks in the middle of class! I just sat there stunned, it was so funny! Justin took a tally on the board of the 3 options that we could choose from. They were all listed in Korean so I had my group leader pick something for me.
The food was delicious! It arrived in about 20 minutes and in case you didn't know, delivery service in Korea is huge! You can get anything delivered, McDonald's, pizza, Chinese, Korean, anything you want. Also, all the deliverers ride around on mopeds delivering the food (which comes in plastic bowls and plates, with metal silverware, not disposable dishes!) and then they come back about an hour later to pick up the dirty dishes. So strange! Korea is big on going green and conserving resources, and since mopeds use such little gas, I guess it makes sense!
My group members picked the perfect option for me. Pork-free and delicious! My lunch consisted of white rice mixed with some carrots, peas, scallions, and zucchini and some brown sauce, which they refer to as "chocolate sauce" because it looks like chocolate. The "chocolate sauce" had kind of a teriyaki-beef flavor and went deliciously with the rice. My group members told me that the department paid for our lunch, and that once in awhile professors will do this. It was a great treat and I believe that professors at HWS should continue this trend of ordering lunch during class!
After working in our groups for about 30 minutes, Justin said, "Class, let's celebrate! We're ordering Chinese food for lunch!" The class erupted and went crazy. No joke! Picture about 30 Asians screaming and hollering and jumping over the desks in the middle of class! I just sat there stunned, it was so funny! Justin took a tally on the board of the 3 options that we could choose from. They were all listed in Korean so I had my group leader pick something for me.
The food was delicious! It arrived in about 20 minutes and in case you didn't know, delivery service in Korea is huge! You can get anything delivered, McDonald's, pizza, Chinese, Korean, anything you want. Also, all the deliverers ride around on mopeds delivering the food (which comes in plastic bowls and plates, with metal silverware, not disposable dishes!) and then they come back about an hour later to pick up the dirty dishes. So strange! Korea is big on going green and conserving resources, and since mopeds use such little gas, I guess it makes sense!
My group members picked the perfect option for me. Pork-free and delicious! My lunch consisted of white rice mixed with some carrots, peas, scallions, and zucchini and some brown sauce, which they refer to as "chocolate sauce" because it looks like chocolate. The "chocolate sauce" had kind of a teriyaki-beef flavor and went deliciously with the rice. My group members told me that the department paid for our lunch, and that once in awhile professors will do this. It was a great treat and I believe that professors at HWS should continue this trend of ordering lunch during class!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Siloam Fomentation Spa
Last weekend we decided to have a "girl's day". Rosie, Samantha, Ariane, and I went to the Siloam Fomentation Spa, which is a traditional Korean spa. Although there are traditional spas all over Seoul, we chose this one because it was close to campus, only 3 subway stops away, and all the reviews said was "foreigner friendly". It was certainly an interesting experience, but I can't say I'd go again. Traditionally, when you enter the spa you're supposed to bathe yourself and soak in the baths. The baths are supplied with spring water from the Korean springs. That part wasn't really my thing, so we spent the majority of our time upstairs trying out the different saunas and fomentation rooms.
Korean spas are meant to offer a sense of hospitality and relaxation, and this one was also very family friendly. On the bottom floor is the separate locker rooms and baths and then upstairs were the saunas, ice room, salt and jade rooms, oxygen room, and a few others. There is also a restaurant, a few cafes, an arcade, business center, karaoke room and even sleeping quarters! All your everyday needs! We spent most of our time going back and forth from the "hot room" to the "ice room". The hot room was basically just a really hot sauna. There were all sorts of people in this room with us, some were even meditating. The ice room was exactly how it sounds, just a small room completely made of ice! We also spent a lot of time between the jade room and the salt room. The jade room was completely filled with jade pebbles so that you could lie down in them and the salt room was the same way with salt crystals. The picture below is of Ariane, Samantha, and me in the salt room.
What we concluded about these Korean spas is that they are kind of like the equivalent of an American YMCA or JCC. In the U.S., it is common for a family to spend time at the Y or the J, swimming, working out, or playing a basketball game, etc. The Korean baths represent a type of leisure/recreation that is characteristic of the Korean culture. So as it may seem strange to me that going to the Korean spas is a typical family activity, it is actually quite common!
Sad news, my awesome roommate Valerie moved out! She just couldn't put up with me anymore--just kidding! Valerie requested a single room back in the spring when she was registering for housing, except SK Global House filled up so quickly that they didn't think they had any more singles open. Well one opened up and since the University wasn't going to refund her money (singles are more expensive than doubles) she decided to take it. I thought I'd be lonely, but I realize that I spend such little time in my room anyways that it really doesn't matter. The good part is that I now have two closets!
Korean spas are meant to offer a sense of hospitality and relaxation, and this one was also very family friendly. On the bottom floor is the separate locker rooms and baths and then upstairs were the saunas, ice room, salt and jade rooms, oxygen room, and a few others. There is also a restaurant, a few cafes, an arcade, business center, karaoke room and even sleeping quarters! All your everyday needs! We spent most of our time going back and forth from the "hot room" to the "ice room". The hot room was basically just a really hot sauna. There were all sorts of people in this room with us, some were even meditating. The ice room was exactly how it sounds, just a small room completely made of ice! We also spent a lot of time between the jade room and the salt room. The jade room was completely filled with jade pebbles so that you could lie down in them and the salt room was the same way with salt crystals. The picture below is of Ariane, Samantha, and me in the salt room.
What we concluded about these Korean spas is that they are kind of like the equivalent of an American YMCA or JCC. In the U.S., it is common for a family to spend time at the Y or the J, swimming, working out, or playing a basketball game, etc. The Korean baths represent a type of leisure/recreation that is characteristic of the Korean culture. So as it may seem strange to me that going to the Korean spas is a typical family activity, it is actually quite common!
Sad news, my awesome roommate Valerie moved out! She just couldn't put up with me anymore--just kidding! Valerie requested a single room back in the spring when she was registering for housing, except SK Global House filled up so quickly that they didn't think they had any more singles open. Well one opened up and since the University wasn't going to refund her money (singles are more expensive than doubles) she decided to take it. I thought I'd be lonely, but I realize that I spend such little time in my room anyways that it really doesn't matter. The good part is that I now have two closets!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Gone to the beach!
This post is about last Tuesday's epic adventure to the Sogi beach. I know I'm a few days late writing this one, but it was such a crazy day, I think we all needed some time to process it. And classes started this week so I've been super busy! Okay, let me set the scene: It's last Monday evening and Rosie, Samantha, Jim, Steve, Andreas, Jason, Felix, and Andrew and I are all sitting in the common room and we're considering what to do tomorrow, on Tuesday, our last day before classes start. We looked into going to the Everland Waterpark but after we realized that admission to the park was 55,000W (roughly $50) we nixed that idea.
Our next idea was to go to the beach, and this was a winner. Relaxing and free, except for transportation costs. We researched a semi-popular beach destination that was close to Seoul called Sogi beach. It's on Sodu Island which is part of Incheon. We knew it would be a trip getting there, but we all decided it was worth it. We jumped on the subway a little after 8am and took it all the way to Incheon, which is a couple transfers and about 26 stops later. We arrived at Incheon and were told by the people at the tourism information desk that we could take the city bus which would make many stops, or take the Incheon City Tour coach bus which would only be a few dollars more and take us straight to the ferry port. The city tour bus took us ALL over Incheon, every port, historical site, and bridge; we saw it all! Well an hour and 55 minutes later we managed to get to the ferry!
By the time we go to the dock, the ferry was just about to leave so the officials waved us on quickly and we ended up not having to purchase ticktets! The ferry was very quick, only a 7 or 8 minute ride to the island. Once we reached the island of Sodu we hopped on a bus which was to bring us into town, where we could rent bikes from the community center. The bus driver did not speak any English so we were not sure at first if we were going to right place. The island was very small and after about 30 min we did indeed arrive at the community center!
The community center was merely a small shack in the middle of a deserted island. One restaurant, but it was closed, no stores and very few makeshift cottage-like houses. We all rented bikes for only 2,000 won, which is about $1.80 for the whole day. Some of the guys even tried renting the two-person bikes, but later traded them in for singles. These bikes were slow, dirty, broken, and none of the gears worked. Also, I later found out that my brakes did not work. But it didn't matter! We were happy to get to the island and very anxious to find the beach.
We biked up a hill and down some dirt roads for a bit until we found the resort that we were looking for. The resort was closed and completely deserted! Also, THERE WAS NO WATER! The beaches were dry and barren just about as far out as we could see. So basically now you have a big group of foreigners, standing at the top of this hill overlooking an empty resort and a dry beach, scratching our heads and wondering what the heck is going on?! So thankfully this man comes out of his house across the street, and in very broken English tells us that it's low-tide and the resort is closed for the season (Mind you, we DID research this place, but Korean websites are sketchy at best, who knew it'd be closed?). So perhaps at this point we could've headed back to the bus, defeated and beach-less, but instead we decided to embrace the situation and make it an adventure!
We knew that a famous landmark on the island was an old house that used to be the film set for a Korean drama series called "Full House" (not to be confused with the popular American sitcom, Full House, a.k.a. my favorite show ever!). We biked up a big hill and eventually stumbled upon it and it was pretty cool. The house was huge and it had many windows that we could see into. Inside it looked like a normal house, furniture and paintings, and even a flat-screen tv on the wall! Outside the house there was a small, elderly man just taking a nap on a bench outside the house. And he didn't even wake up when we approached the house and walked around!
By this point in the afternoon we were starving, so we looked for some type of restaurant or cafe but the only thing we could find was this little convenient store. It was basically a shack alongside the road, and there was a just one man running it. He seemed a little annoyed when we first walked in, he was counting money so maybe he got distracted and lost count when about 12 white people walked in. Eventually he started to smile and help us, probably figuring that any business was good business. We each bought a few beers and an instant noodle bowl (basically like the ramen we have here, very popular lunch food in Korea) and some cookies and chips. All very cheap by our standards, but we probably fed his family for a month! We sat outside and ate and talked and laughed. It was such a silly sight, us looking for a beach and now just hanging out on some random island. About every 30 min a car or moped would go by and they would always wave or honk. At one point this old VW-style van drove by and stopped, the windows opened and a bunch of small Asians stuck there head's out and started pointing and giggling at us. So strange! But we just laughed and waved back.
We then decided since we had the bikes that we should at least see the other parts of the island. We biked around and eventually crossed a bridge which brought us to a different island. This was one even smaller and less populated. We walked down to the beach at this point, still no water, although we did start to see it coming up a bit. We looked down and there were crabs running around all over! We tried to catch some, but no such luck. The water was continually getting closer, but this still wasn't the beach setting we had in mind. The sand was more of a gritty mud, and the water was grey and murky. Yuck! But some of us daredevils did decide to go in. Felix, Rosie, Ariane, and Jason all got in the water. They actually swam out to this deserted raft that was a few meters out. I just couldn't do it though, the water looked too gross! Those of us that didn't go in hung out on the cement steps that led down to the beach, and we even played the role of the medics when Ariane and Jason got cut up on the barnacles that were in the water. The cuts bled at first, but after they were cleaned and bandaged they weren't so bad.
By now it was about 4:30 and we knew the bus stopped running around 6:30 so we decided to head back. This was the part where I learned that my brakes really didn't work (Up to this point, I knew they were faulty, but optimistically told myself they would be semi-functional). We had to bike down this big hill as we were approaching the bike shop and convenient store and my brakes were not slowing me down! I screamed at first because I was going fast! But before I knew it we were on flat land again and I slowed myself down. Nothing like a little adrenaline to get your heart pumping! We returned the bikes and the old men were really grateful to see us again. Probably because we were the only people on the island!
We caught the bus back to the ferry and this time we actually bought tickets and paid. It was raining a lot at this point so we headed to the downstairs part of the ferry, and to our surprise there were very comfortable seats! We ferry ride was quick and then we got back onto the city tour bus, which was waiting for us a few blocks from the ferry dock. No tour this time, thank gosh, and so getting back to the rail station only took about 25 minutes. After what felt like a million stops later, we finally were back in Sinchon. Once again starving, we stopped at this all-you-can-eat buffet before heading back to campus.
And it wouldn't be the adventure it was if we hadn't stopped there. The food was pretty decent, pork and beef that you cook at your table, along with some other sides such as vegetables, dumplings, rice cakes and some soup. We were informed that if we took any food from the buffet and didn't finish it (i.e. it was left on your plate when the wait staff removed your plates from the table) that we would be charged 5,000 won for each plate. That's about $4.80 USD, which can really add up! So being the innovative foreigners that we are, we ended up taking the meat scraps and fat that we obviously weren't going to eat, but nor did we want to get charged for it, and putting them in our napkins and making trips to restrooms to dispose of them. It was quite a sight. But we managed! Also, they charged us for NOT ordering alcohol! How crazy is that, we were each charged about an extra 80 cents because we did not purchase the $4 bottle of Soju! Needless to say, we will not be returning there again.
We were all wiped out when we got back to campus, since relaxing the beach turned into biking around an island all day and running after ferries. However, all in all, it was an awesome day and quite the study-abroad adventure!
The first picture is all of us, minus Felix who was taking the picture, on our way to the island on the ferry. The second picture was taken by Rae from the bridge that overlooked our little swimming spot.
Our next idea was to go to the beach, and this was a winner. Relaxing and free, except for transportation costs. We researched a semi-popular beach destination that was close to Seoul called Sogi beach. It's on Sodu Island which is part of Incheon. We knew it would be a trip getting there, but we all decided it was worth it. We jumped on the subway a little after 8am and took it all the way to Incheon, which is a couple transfers and about 26 stops later. We arrived at Incheon and were told by the people at the tourism information desk that we could take the city bus which would make many stops, or take the Incheon City Tour coach bus which would only be a few dollars more and take us straight to the ferry port. The city tour bus took us ALL over Incheon, every port, historical site, and bridge; we saw it all! Well an hour and 55 minutes later we managed to get to the ferry!
By the time we go to the dock, the ferry was just about to leave so the officials waved us on quickly and we ended up not having to purchase ticktets! The ferry was very quick, only a 7 or 8 minute ride to the island. Once we reached the island of Sodu we hopped on a bus which was to bring us into town, where we could rent bikes from the community center. The bus driver did not speak any English so we were not sure at first if we were going to right place. The island was very small and after about 30 min we did indeed arrive at the community center!
The community center was merely a small shack in the middle of a deserted island. One restaurant, but it was closed, no stores and very few makeshift cottage-like houses. We all rented bikes for only 2,000 won, which is about $1.80 for the whole day. Some of the guys even tried renting the two-person bikes, but later traded them in for singles. These bikes were slow, dirty, broken, and none of the gears worked. Also, I later found out that my brakes did not work. But it didn't matter! We were happy to get to the island and very anxious to find the beach.
We biked up a hill and down some dirt roads for a bit until we found the resort that we were looking for. The resort was closed and completely deserted! Also, THERE WAS NO WATER! The beaches were dry and barren just about as far out as we could see. So basically now you have a big group of foreigners, standing at the top of this hill overlooking an empty resort and a dry beach, scratching our heads and wondering what the heck is going on?! So thankfully this man comes out of his house across the street, and in very broken English tells us that it's low-tide and the resort is closed for the season (Mind you, we DID research this place, but Korean websites are sketchy at best, who knew it'd be closed?). So perhaps at this point we could've headed back to the bus, defeated and beach-less, but instead we decided to embrace the situation and make it an adventure!
We knew that a famous landmark on the island was an old house that used to be the film set for a Korean drama series called "Full House" (not to be confused with the popular American sitcom, Full House, a.k.a. my favorite show ever!). We biked up a big hill and eventually stumbled upon it and it was pretty cool. The house was huge and it had many windows that we could see into. Inside it looked like a normal house, furniture and paintings, and even a flat-screen tv on the wall! Outside the house there was a small, elderly man just taking a nap on a bench outside the house. And he didn't even wake up when we approached the house and walked around!
By this point in the afternoon we were starving, so we looked for some type of restaurant or cafe but the only thing we could find was this little convenient store. It was basically a shack alongside the road, and there was a just one man running it. He seemed a little annoyed when we first walked in, he was counting money so maybe he got distracted and lost count when about 12 white people walked in. Eventually he started to smile and help us, probably figuring that any business was good business. We each bought a few beers and an instant noodle bowl (basically like the ramen we have here, very popular lunch food in Korea) and some cookies and chips. All very cheap by our standards, but we probably fed his family for a month! We sat outside and ate and talked and laughed. It was such a silly sight, us looking for a beach and now just hanging out on some random island. About every 30 min a car or moped would go by and they would always wave or honk. At one point this old VW-style van drove by and stopped, the windows opened and a bunch of small Asians stuck there head's out and started pointing and giggling at us. So strange! But we just laughed and waved back.
We then decided since we had the bikes that we should at least see the other parts of the island. We biked around and eventually crossed a bridge which brought us to a different island. This was one even smaller and less populated. We walked down to the beach at this point, still no water, although we did start to see it coming up a bit. We looked down and there were crabs running around all over! We tried to catch some, but no such luck. The water was continually getting closer, but this still wasn't the beach setting we had in mind. The sand was more of a gritty mud, and the water was grey and murky. Yuck! But some of us daredevils did decide to go in. Felix, Rosie, Ariane, and Jason all got in the water. They actually swam out to this deserted raft that was a few meters out. I just couldn't do it though, the water looked too gross! Those of us that didn't go in hung out on the cement steps that led down to the beach, and we even played the role of the medics when Ariane and Jason got cut up on the barnacles that were in the water. The cuts bled at first, but after they were cleaned and bandaged they weren't so bad.
By now it was about 4:30 and we knew the bus stopped running around 6:30 so we decided to head back. This was the part where I learned that my brakes really didn't work (Up to this point, I knew they were faulty, but optimistically told myself they would be semi-functional). We had to bike down this big hill as we were approaching the bike shop and convenient store and my brakes were not slowing me down! I screamed at first because I was going fast! But before I knew it we were on flat land again and I slowed myself down. Nothing like a little adrenaline to get your heart pumping! We returned the bikes and the old men were really grateful to see us again. Probably because we were the only people on the island!
We caught the bus back to the ferry and this time we actually bought tickets and paid. It was raining a lot at this point so we headed to the downstairs part of the ferry, and to our surprise there were very comfortable seats! We ferry ride was quick and then we got back onto the city tour bus, which was waiting for us a few blocks from the ferry dock. No tour this time, thank gosh, and so getting back to the rail station only took about 25 minutes. After what felt like a million stops later, we finally were back in Sinchon. Once again starving, we stopped at this all-you-can-eat buffet before heading back to campus.
And it wouldn't be the adventure it was if we hadn't stopped there. The food was pretty decent, pork and beef that you cook at your table, along with some other sides such as vegetables, dumplings, rice cakes and some soup. We were informed that if we took any food from the buffet and didn't finish it (i.e. it was left on your plate when the wait staff removed your plates from the table) that we would be charged 5,000 won for each plate. That's about $4.80 USD, which can really add up! So being the innovative foreigners that we are, we ended up taking the meat scraps and fat that we obviously weren't going to eat, but nor did we want to get charged for it, and putting them in our napkins and making trips to restrooms to dispose of them. It was quite a sight. But we managed! Also, they charged us for NOT ordering alcohol! How crazy is that, we were each charged about an extra 80 cents because we did not purchase the $4 bottle of Soju! Needless to say, we will not be returning there again.
We were all wiped out when we got back to campus, since relaxing the beach turned into biking around an island all day and running after ferries. However, all in all, it was an awesome day and quite the study-abroad adventure!
The first picture is all of us, minus Felix who was taking the picture, on our way to the island on the ferry. The second picture was taken by Rae from the bridge that overlooked our little swimming spot.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Valerie
Curious to know more about my roommate? Me too! Here's a little bit about Valerie Wan.
J: Where are you originally from?
V: Singapore, Singapore
J: How old are you?
V: 25
J: What has your education consisted of thus far?
V: I attended secondary school and junior college in Singapore, then I attended college at the National University of Singapore. I attended University of California San Diego and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cell Biology.
J: Why did you choose to study at Yonsei University?
V: POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company) offered me a scholarship at Yonsei to complete my master's degree in international studies.
J: What part of living in Korea are you most excited or nervous about?
V: Well I'm afraid that I'll turn into an ahjumma. (Ahjumma is a Korean word that refers to the grumpy, old Korean ladies who yell at people on the streets) But in all seriousness, I'm really looking forward to learning the Korean language.
J: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
V: Call me then, and I'll let you know!
J: If someone told you ahead of time that you'd be living with a 20 year old from the U.S., what would you think/what comes to mind?
V: Oh gosh! She's going to steal all my chocolate and stay out really late!
J: Where are you originally from?
V: Singapore, Singapore
J: How old are you?
V: 25
J: What has your education consisted of thus far?
V: I attended secondary school and junior college in Singapore, then I attended college at the National University of Singapore. I attended University of California San Diego and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cell Biology.
J: Why did you choose to study at Yonsei University?
V: POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company) offered me a scholarship at Yonsei to complete my master's degree in international studies.
J: What part of living in Korea are you most excited or nervous about?
V: Well I'm afraid that I'll turn into an ahjumma. (Ahjumma is a Korean word that refers to the grumpy, old Korean ladies who yell at people on the streets) But in all seriousness, I'm really looking forward to learning the Korean language.
J: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
V: Call me then, and I'll let you know!
J: If someone told you ahead of time that you'd be living with a 20 year old from the U.S., what would you think/what comes to mind?
V: Oh gosh! She's going to steal all my chocolate and stay out really late!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
My Classes
Yesterday was the first day of classes at Yonsei! It was a really exciting day; campus was the busiest I've ever seen it and you could tell that all the Korean students were happy to be back. The first class I had was Theory and Practice of Sports Medicine. I walked in and soon realized that I am the only white person in the class. Boy, do I stand out! The class was interesting though and the professor was very nice. His name is Dr, Justin Jeon and he's spent the last few years in the States studying the effects of exercise on cancer, cardiovascular, and diabetes patients. He studied for two years at Harvard Med, and what's really cool is that he spent some time developing an electro-stimulant rowing machine. Electro-stimulation is administered to athletes (we use it at school and I've received it on my back) to relieve muscle pain. Professor Jeon said that he's happy I'm taking his class, but he understands that being the only exchange student can be really intimidating.
Before my next class, I met Rosie, Felix, and Kia for lunch in the Student Union cafeteria. I had a rice bowl with some cabbage, a fried egg and some sort of teriyaki sauce. My next class was Religion and Culture 2: Christianity and The West. I have to take a class on Christianity for my Religious Studies major, and so I decided it'd be interesting to take it while I'm here since unlike the U.S., Christianity is only one of the major religions (accompanied by Buddhism and Confucianism) in Korea. The professor is Korean-born but she grew up in Argentina and studied in Italy. She's now back in Korea as a visiting professor. The class seems interesting for sure but I'm going to have to listen very carefully because her English is not perfect.
I then went straight to the next class, which I was not able to get into initially because it filled up so quickly. The professor told me it was fine if I take the class anyways and he signed Rosie and me in. This class is actually the pre-requisite to Religion and Culture 2, it's Religion and Culture 1: The East. The professor's name is Dr. Young-Ho Chun and he seems really cool; he reminds me a lot of Professor Dobkowski who is one of my favorite professors at HWS. Professor Chun is also a visiting professor this semester, and he teaches at the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. He has to go to a conference in Germany in October so he canceled a couple of classes, but me and Rosie are certainly not complaining!
The last class of the day was Imaginative Writing. I went to it anyways, even though I was pretty sure I was going to drop it since I was able to get into R and C 1. I think I made a good decision. The class doesn't seem nearly as much fun as I was hoping it'd be and I just didn't "gel" with the professor.
Today I had Religion and Culture 2 at noon and then I met Rosie for lunch at Cafe Kkini which is the restaurant in our dorm. We both had the Singapore chicken noodle dish. So delicious! My final class is Science of Nutrition and I had that this afternoon. The professor's name is Sooyong Park and she seems really easy-going. The class is largely made up of exchange students so I think she recognizes that we're in a different mind-set than that of Korean students. She was the only professor that I had that provided office hours for the students. I learned that professors don't typically post office hours here like they do in the U.S., but rather you're supposed to make an appointment with a professor on your own if need be.
So that's a wrap for my classes! I didn't get much sleep last night because Seoul was hit with a typhoon! We knew it was coming at some point but I was still alarmed when I woke up in the middle of the night. The wind was whistling and howling so incredibly loud that it sounded like someone was pounding on our sliding door! I got out of bed a few times to watch the storm from our window and it just looked like a flurry of green! The leaves were swirling everywhere so fast that you could hardly see anything else. Today campus workers have been very quick getting all of the brush cleared from the sidewalks and roads. I think it's pretty cool that I witnessed my first Typhoon!
Before my next class, I met Rosie, Felix, and Kia for lunch in the Student Union cafeteria. I had a rice bowl with some cabbage, a fried egg and some sort of teriyaki sauce. My next class was Religion and Culture 2: Christianity and The West. I have to take a class on Christianity for my Religious Studies major, and so I decided it'd be interesting to take it while I'm here since unlike the U.S., Christianity is only one of the major religions (accompanied by Buddhism and Confucianism) in Korea. The professor is Korean-born but she grew up in Argentina and studied in Italy. She's now back in Korea as a visiting professor. The class seems interesting for sure but I'm going to have to listen very carefully because her English is not perfect.
I then went straight to the next class, which I was not able to get into initially because it filled up so quickly. The professor told me it was fine if I take the class anyways and he signed Rosie and me in. This class is actually the pre-requisite to Religion and Culture 2, it's Religion and Culture 1: The East. The professor's name is Dr. Young-Ho Chun and he seems really cool; he reminds me a lot of Professor Dobkowski who is one of my favorite professors at HWS. Professor Chun is also a visiting professor this semester, and he teaches at the Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. He has to go to a conference in Germany in October so he canceled a couple of classes, but me and Rosie are certainly not complaining!
The last class of the day was Imaginative Writing. I went to it anyways, even though I was pretty sure I was going to drop it since I was able to get into R and C 1. I think I made a good decision. The class doesn't seem nearly as much fun as I was hoping it'd be and I just didn't "gel" with the professor.
Today I had Religion and Culture 2 at noon and then I met Rosie for lunch at Cafe Kkini which is the restaurant in our dorm. We both had the Singapore chicken noodle dish. So delicious! My final class is Science of Nutrition and I had that this afternoon. The professor's name is Sooyong Park and she seems really easy-going. The class is largely made up of exchange students so I think she recognizes that we're in a different mind-set than that of Korean students. She was the only professor that I had that provided office hours for the students. I learned that professors don't typically post office hours here like they do in the U.S., but rather you're supposed to make an appointment with a professor on your own if need be.
So that's a wrap for my classes! I didn't get much sleep last night because Seoul was hit with a typhoon! We knew it was coming at some point but I was still alarmed when I woke up in the middle of the night. The wind was whistling and howling so incredibly loud that it sounded like someone was pounding on our sliding door! I got out of bed a few times to watch the storm from our window and it just looked like a flurry of green! The leaves were swirling everywhere so fast that you could hardly see anything else. Today campus workers have been very quick getting all of the brush cleared from the sidewalks and roads. I think it's pretty cool that I witnessed my first Typhoon!
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