Goodbye Jochiwon.

My first month here has been an amazing experience already and I have barely explored Korea. I can't believe how many new friends I've made. Today I had to say goodbye to all of them and I must say, it was way harder than telling my family and friends, "I'll see you in 6 months." Anyway, I don't want to get too sentimental here, so I'll just talk about what I've been doing this February.

Lectures. 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. It's been rough, but the mutual hatred created a strong bond with everyone.
Exploring Jochiwon. We had Sunday's off, so one Sunday we decided to wander around the downtown area. We found this little guy. If that chain wasn't so strong I would have taken him.

We also wandered into a market. Yea...there was a pretty good amount of seafood.

They have these karaoke rooms called 노래방 (norebang).  They're a ton of fun especially when you sing with professionals like these guys here. Jane, Faye, Sam, and Lena (from left to right). I will miss them :( 

I have a funny story. One night, about six of us went out. Keep in mind that our curfew is 11pm.  So it's about 10:40 and we are all heading back, not knowing if we're going to make it.  So we get a taxi. A taxi only fits four people. I volunteer to run back, because I'm just a really nice guy.  When the cab drove away, I looked around and realized I was the only one who stayed behind, which doesn't make sense because there were 6 people, and the cab only fits 4... Either I'm not as good at math as I thought, or some quantum stuff was happening. Anyway, I just starting jogging around Jochiwon.  When I realized I was running alongside of a highway, I realized I was running the wrong way. So I turned around. It is now 10:50 and there is no way I could make it back in time even if I knew where I was going.
So I see some business men getting off work. I ask them where Korea University Sejong is in Korean. They have no idea, which is weird because they're within 5 minutes from it. They're boss comes out. He tells me to get in the car. I ponder for a second, and then get in.

This is the man who saved me. He drove me straight there like it was his duty. He asked me why I took his picture and I told him people might not believe me and he just laughed. I reiterate...Koreans are very friendly people. I made it back at 11:01 and argued for a little bit that my clock said 11:00 and they let me off the hook. Phew.

I love Korean food. Make sure there is one close by before I return to the states.

A very sad day though. I made a lot of good friends these past two weeks and a ton of good memories. I'm sure we'll be getting together again somehow in these next 6 months.

Goodbye Jochiwon!

Seoul!!

Here are some pictures from my weekend in Seoul! :)

Had some delicious noodles and clams for lunch.

This man killed a lot of Japanese soldiers when they invaded South Korea 500 years ago

This guy was making fresh rice cakes on the street mmmmm

Django!!!

KU Sejong

Here are just a few more photos. This first one is a picture of the dorms I'm staying in right now.  The side facing us is actually the girls side.  If you look closely you can see a bridge on the 7th floor that connects both dorms.  There is actually a cafe in the bridge/walkway.  It's a place of socialization.  I'm on the 7th floor, so it's pretty convenient for me. 

This is the building that I have all of my classes in. I took the previous picture from the third floor...may three windows to the left from the center/entrance.  If you look closely you can see me in the window waving. (Just kidding. I took this picture too. That would have really freaked me out if I was in the window...) 

This sight is SO COOL!!! Unfortunately my camera isn't amazing. It's taken from my lecture hall (again...since I spend most of my day here).  But there are actually huge, beautiful mountains off in the distance, past the smaller mountains.  I think the fog acted as an obstruction...oh well.  I'm sure in a month all I will be posting are pictures of mountains. (you can look up picture of Boeun if you're curious as to where I will be staying).

Wanna know why Korean supermarkets are way better than our supermarkets? Because they don't take up a lot of ground space and have just as much stuff. How is that possible? Multiple floors. But how do you get the shopping cart from one floor to the next? ...

Ramp escalators.  They're also handicap accessible I guess...

One of the Korean Coordinators asked me if I wanted to go with him to pick up a package at the bus station. I, of course, said yes.  His name is Herbert (he refuses to tell me his Korean name, which is weird because it's really not a big deal, even to Koreans).  He's a really smart guy. He goes to Korea University Seoul, which is basically relatable to our Harvard.  His major is Mechanical Engineering.  I told him my major was physics.  He said, "I know nothing about physics."  And then we talked about Schrodinger for the entire trip there.... We both agreed we know nothing about physics (physics joke).  Anyway, here are a few pictures I took on the short drive to the bus station through Jochiwon. 

Btw. Koreans are terrbile and terrifyingly dangerous drivers, which is stereotypical, but they admit it too.  So I don't feel bad saying it now. 

I'm in Korea

In case you didn't know, the plane ride was long. A little over 15 hours from Chicago to Seoul.  We flew northwest over Alaska and then through Russia and China on Asiana Airlines.  I gave the flight attendant a piece of chocolate and she gave me a green pen that says Asiana Airlines on it.  It's a pretty awesome pen because it was my first gift from a Korean. While flying over the Artic, I got to look at this (I'm so lucky I had a window seat on this side of the plane).

We landed at Incheon Airport, which is just west of Seoul.  This airport was huge and awesome.  I grabbed the wrong bag after baggage claim. Luckily it was Kayla's (a girl who is also in TaLK), and not someone who would have packed illegal substances in their bag.  I would have had a difficult time at customs.  Getting the bag back was easy and hilarious.  There were about five Koreans who made it their mission to get me that bag.  You should have seen their excitement when I got it.  I wish I had more chocolate to give them. :(

After about an hour and a half at the airport, we took a bus to Jincheon (this took another 2 hours...). Sorry I don't have pics of Seoul yet!! I will have them as soon as possible, but I am nowhere near there right now. I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to travel there.  I can't remember when we finally made it to Korea University Sejong.  I was a little out of it (long trip).

My dorm room is normal sized, like any other college dorm, but it's new and fresh.  We have to take our shoes off at the front :D  And the floors are heated!! :D

Everyone in this program is really cool. It's hard to memorize so many names though. I do remember Jason though, but only because he is my roommate, and he's from New Zealand which is also pretty cool. 

At our opening ceremony we saw some pretty cool shows that were put on for us.  Mostly dancing, but there was also this Tae kwon do/Dance thing that was awesome.  I've never seen people jump around like that.  I am now a little afraid of Korean kids...I'm pretty sure they could all kick my ass.  But I'm going to love it here.