Motivation to Learn Korean

It has been a long time since my last blog post.  But it has been quite the crazy adventure so far.  And during these adventures I have been able to see similarities and truths in the videos and the articles I read about Korea before arriving.

All the blogs I have read and video blogs I have watched have joked about Korean cars wanting to kill you.  They have joked that if you are not a Christian, you become one in a Korean taxi.  And until recently I laughed along with these jokes and even made them myself, though I didn't really feel any sort of danger.

But a week or so ago, that changed.

The stress of studying so often gets to me, but de-stressing is rather easy.  Back home I would simply take a walk and listen to some good music.  I figured: hey! Even though I am in Korea I still have legs and I still have music!  I can do this!

Before I left for my walk my roommate and I discussed our own personal horror stories about going out late at night.  Always a good idea before trekking into the dark!  "I'm just going to stay nearby," I promised, "And I will be back in twenty minutes."

Rather than going to the nearby park to circle it a bit, as the stories had scared me away from places devoid of lights-posts, I walked up some stairs, around the back of the building, and then back down to where I started, never allowing the dorms to leave my sight.

Head back?  I wondered after it had been just about twenty minutes.  Nah...I'll make one more loop.

I waited patiently to cross the street until there wasn't a car in sight.  Doubling checking once more, I stepped into the street.

I loud noise met my eyes.  What on earth?  It sounded so close and so ominous.  Silver took up half of my vision and it wasn't until I stumbled backwards onto the curb, heart pounding and knees shaking, that I realized the sound I had heard was my body bouncing off the hood of the car.

It what seemed to be slow motion, I watched cars driving by, the street suddenly busy once more.  The security office across the street came in and out of view as the cars rushed by, the light inside the office cast shadows across the street.

What and awful dream...I thought to myself.  What a strangely realistic dream...

But it wasn't.  The car that had hit me slowly moved down the street, questioning as to whether or not it should stop.  He eventually did.

My back went week and I placed my hands on my knees for support, breathing hard and trying to process what exactly had happened.

No one got out of the car.

With as much composure as I could muster I tried to wave the man on, terrified to be yelled at after having been hit by a car.  He got out of the car anyway.

"It's okay.  It's okay..." I said in Korean, shaking my hand back and forth.

"You're okay?" He asked, stepping up onto the sidewalk to meet me.

Cars continued to rush past us despite the fact that it was a campus and not thirty seconds away from the dorm rooms.

I nodded to him after a few deep breath.  "I'm okay..."

"Where are you going?"

"Dorms..."  I probably knew how to make that into a full sentence, but instead I just pointed and said a single world.

He nodded and said some incredible long sentence to me in Korean.

That was the point that I had to start fighting back the tears.  "I don't understand Korean."  I shook both my hands at him defensively, physically moving back a full pace.

"Ahh..." he said in understanding.  "You are a student here?"

"Yes," I said, but all I could think was: Please just leave.  Let me go home.

"You are okay?" he asked.

"Yea..." my brain gave up on Korean and English came out for the first time during our conversation.  "Just scared..."  I put my hands over my heart to show what I was saying, but felt my heart racing against my rib cage.

He laughed uncomfortably.  "I was scared too."

I don't recall exactly how we finally separated.  But I turned away quickly and crossed the street cautiously.  I hurried back to the dorms and made it to the elevator before I realized the pain in my knee, though I made it all the way back to my room before I started crying.

People have told me over and over again that I should have gotten his information.  I know that I should have.  But at that moment, I wouldn't have been able to ask for his information in English, let alone in Korean.  And that got me thinking: in the States, I wouldn't have to.  In the States the pedestrians who had been on the other side of the street would have stopped.  At least some of the passing cars would have stopped.  Those in the security office sure as hell would have come out.  I wouldn't have had to ask for anyone's information.  I've seen it a million times with fender benders.  My friends have had it personally happen to them, and there is always some third party stopping to get involved.

My roommate and I have had lengthy conversations on this topic since.  I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Korea.  I love it here.  But a large portion of the Korean population does not want to get involved.  They will walk by people passed out on the streets, or people fighting, or a girl who just got hit by a car.  It is part of their culture to mind their own business, whereas in the Pacific Northwest, we make it a point for everything to be our business.  Both of these things can be good and they can be bad.

Please, if you plan to go to another country, at least learn the things you need to say in such circumstances.  It isn't what they teach in guidebooks, textbooks, or even classes, but try to make it a point to know how to ask for someone's information in case you are calm enough to remember to ask.

As for crossing the street in Korea, that deserves it's own freaking blog post...

Care Package

     When studying abroad you (and I feel safe making this a generalization) will understimate how much you will miss food back home.  I am lucky enough to have the support of some amazing people to keep me well fed and happy.

     Thank you guys!!!

Do you want to...?

     In the States, if someone asks the question it is just that: a question.  Though it usually serves as an invitation as well, the asker usually wants to know a preference.
     I have learned enough about Korean culture in my short time here to know that when my seniors at the geumdo (Korean sword fighting) club asked if Candy, a new friend, and I wanted to "go for drinking" after practice that we were obligated to do so.
     My stomach tied itself into knots and I truly didn't want to go.  I had prior plans to meet my two close friends here in Korea for a movie and then a stop by a local suljip (alcohol house).  But after misunderstanding the schedule we were told in Korean, we had already showed up a half hour late to practice, and I desperately wanted these people to like me.
     "Oh course!" my mouth said without thoroughly consulting me first.
     "Absolutely," Candy replied.
     Our senior nodded without a smile, "Good."
     With rushed apologies we hurried to the dorms to shower since we had not prepared for the surprise drinking trip.  Both Candy and I chose to dress casually, which was definitely the right choice, and we left to meet them for chimek (chicken and beer).
   It had taken so long for me to decide on which club to attend.  In trying out for the club I was initially most excited about, I would have had to miss out on the opportunity of four other clubs to maybe be accepted into the first one.  As we walked toward Sinchon this came to my mind.  I worried that I had made the wrong choice.
     It didn't help that Candy and I made it the fifteen minute walk to the front gate and waited in a tunnel lit by advertisements, but didn't recieve a response as to where we needed to meet.  Candy glanced at her phone, checking either for messages or the time.  Whichever it was, she sighed and looked back up to me.  "Do you want to just go back?  I'm okay with just relaxing at the dorms."
     I glanced across the street to Yonsei University's front gate.  There was a huge group of people waiting to cross in our direction.  "Why don't we wait to see if they are in this group at least."
     Candy agreed and I breathed a sigh of relief.  I didn't truly believe that they were waiting just across the street, though I hoped.  Though I don't like beer and don't eat chicken, I wanted to make a good impression on the club.  I wanted to be part of something at Yonsei University and couldn't explain exactly why I felt it had to be this group.
     Thankfully, before Candy could suggest just forgetting the whole ordeal once again, we got a text and a map of the chimek restaurant.
     It was dive-y.  The boards of the floor were worn by shoes scuffing across it.  The lights were dimmer in some places and flickering slightly in others.  The tables were positioned quite close together.  I wouldn't be eating the food and (I thought) I wouldn't be drinking the beer.  But I smiled anyway because I freaking love dives.  The people are friendlier, the food is usually better, and I never have to feel out of place.
     My club member made me feel just as welcome.
     US Americans have an awful habit of assuming "everyone speaks English" in foreign countries.  This is not true at all.  You can survive with English in Korea, yes, but you would have to point a lot and certainly would not get to know many of the people.  My club members did not all know English, but they were so warm and accommodating and gave their English their best go in order to include Candy and I more.
     If anyone reads this and wonders if they should join a club abroad, then my advice is to absolutely do it.  If the culture you has chosen is Korean, or like it, wait until the inevitable first trip out as a group to pay if possible.  I paid beforehand but was so lucky with my group of people.

Ewha Mural Village

     Glancing at my watch for the millionth time, I cursed under my breath.  Combining starting off in the wrong direction and the traffic that kept our bus from moving faster than the ajummas outside on the sidewalk, my roommate and I were already twenty minutes late to our "cell group meeting".
     Both of us had signed up for the Mentor's Club at Yonsei University before coming to Korea and, by some sort of luck, had ended up in the same "cell" as they called it- Cell 5.  At the club fair the Mentor's Club tried to stop us and convince us to join their club.  "We're already members," the three of us had said.  But only steps later, we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to discuss the issue of me never receiving a mentor as well as the fact that all the other cells had met up to do fun and exciting things, while we had not since the first night.
     "What cell are you in?" the mentors asked when we explained the situation.
     When we said that we were members of cell 5 they shared a knowing glance, it wasn't the first time they had heard it.  They promised that it would be fixed and, sure enough, the next day we received word of our first cell group meeting since orient ion.  We would be going to Ewha Mural Village on a Saturday that everyone was busy.  Though we weren't completely sold, my roommate and I came to the conclusion that if we were the ones to complain, we better show up to the meeting.
     But there we were, an hour into a bus ride that was supposed to take twenty minutes, and arriving a full half hour late.  My roommate continued to text her mentor, but eventually stopped getting a reply and we had no idea where to meet them besides at station three of Hyewha station.  When we eventually got a hold of someone they very kindly agreed to come down to meet us.
     It wasn't far off from the station (straight out the stairs walk about 50 yards and turn to your left, then just down the street), but the hills and stairs certainly made sure we got our workout in.

                                          

     These were just some of the stairs that filled our day!  There were less decorative stairs that were far worse, but I was just happy when we began to arrive to the murals.  And I had to admit that they were far more beautiful than I had expected.  I was so glad that I had felt obligated to attend.

     Some murals were cute and whimsical (actually, most of them were).

                              

     And some were simply not what I had expected.  This three dimensional piece was just some of the surprising ones that showed up throughout the village.

     The view was quite beautiful from the top of the village.  Possibly even worth climbing said stairs.

      The one above, I took specifically for my father.  So you better be reading my blog!!!

     This one was my favorite piece.  If I was close enough to get the full detail, I lost the whole picture of the mural.  To me the faces looked so happy, though they weren't grinning from ear-to-ear or placed on a neon-bright background.  The tears in the paint and the age of it just gave it even more character.

     After we left the village the group decided that it would be good to have an early dinner, I think the mentors were spent and wanted to go home.  But not even the walk to the restaurant was boring because there was a large group of children playing on these statues (?).   

     That's right friends and family.  Those are mosaic poops.  There was a larger poop, that was also more colorful, but there were still children on it.  I thought taking a picture of mosaic poop decorations was strange enough, I didn't need to add photographing someone's children to it (though they let their children play on giant, colorful poops...so they may not have space to judge).

     The group, about twenty of us, made our way to a Korean barbecue restaurant.  Once again, the mentors had already ordered for us.  Frustrated, I asked those at my table if it was Korean culture to order for your group and they assured me that it wasn't, but since we were such a large group, it was easier to do so.

     Before coming to Korea I was under the impression that it would be equal parts meat and vegetable, but this is not the case.  Above is the meal that was served.  At the top are two strips of mushroom and a piece of onion.  Besides this there was lettuce to wrap the meat in and kimchi (though this is nearly always cooked with fish sauce).

      The mentors were nice enough to let my roommate and I order nengmyeon (ice noodles) instead, though our group shot us dirty looks when our meal combined came to 5,000 won, half of what each individual had to pay for barbecue.
     After most of the group dispersed, six of us stayed together and split some patbingsu (Korean shaved ice).  This is shaved ice topped with sweat red beans and other things.  Our "other things" was dok (rice cakes) and assorted nuts with a scoop of ice cream on top.  I avoided the ice cream but later found out that the beans are cooked with a good portion of condensed milk.  My stomach will not be happy tomorrow.

      And of course you cannot pass the tent making bbobki without buying some!  I am sad to announce that we did not successfully break out the star (which results in a free bbobki), but was also simply relieved when I was not the one to break it.

     Not a terribly flattering picture.  You cannot tell here, but I certainly feel healthy and happy in Korea, but the stairs and heat were not good to me.

     My mentor still remains a mystery that may never be solved.

Club Day

     It was hot, but not unbearably so as it has been for the past couple weeks, only hot enough to remind me that I had forgotten sunscreen and to make me wish I had purchased that fan at the convenience store.
     "Excuse me," someone said in Korean.
     My friends and I turned to look at who had been speaking, and if they were speaking to us.  A smiling man in his mid-twenties handed one of my friends and me a fan with his club name and registration information printed on it.  "Oh, thank you!" I replied back.  We turned to leave but he stopped us once more to hand our other friend a fan as well.
     I shook the fan as we began down the pathway again and it produced a cool stream of air.  "This is much better than the ones at Daiso."
     "Good thing you didn't buy that one!" one of my friends said, waving her own fan without trying to read the club information.
     The main road entering the front gate of Yonsei University is little more than a single lane wide, though Korean drivers always find a way.  On either side of the road is a section of grass followed by a pathway nearly as wide as the road itself.  On both pathways, white and blue striped tents filled the walkway, leaving only enough space for a thin line of passersby and one enthusiastic club member drawing you into their club's tent.
     My friends and I had just heard of a girl a few days prior being turned down to join a club.  We assumed this was because she was an exchange student and was not allowed into certain clubs.  This clearly had not been the case because we were beckoned in towards nearly every club.
     My friends, being both of Asian decent, one Korean and one Chinese, were called in with excited Korean.  I, on the other hand, was yelled for in English nearly every time.  Dance here, play instruments there, and volunteer everywhere!  There were probably a dozen clubs I was interested in, and of those eleven of them were excited at the prospect of my friends and me signing up.
     I didn't realize the school had so much to offer outside of courses.  I suddenly regretted signing up for fifteen credits.  I wished I could quit classes altogether and attend every club instead.
     The information booth gave us a sheet of paper to fill in with six stickers from different clubs.  It seemed that it was my role to enthusiastically sign up for information on every other club, while my friends followed behind asking, "Do you have stickers?".  Collecting all six stickers needed gave us an opportunity to win a bike or a video camera.  This was clearly meant for the regular Yonsei students (what were international students going to do with bicycle?!).  But we turned in our stickers anyway and entered in for a chance at the prizes.
     I cannot think of a better way to meet Koraen students than by joining a club made up of mostly Korean students!  Some clubs were excited at the prospect of signing up some international students such as my friends and me, while others were either too nervous to speak to us or were simply cold towards us.  We simply wrote these people off as the type we probably wouldn't end up getting along with anyway.
     I probably signed up for a dozen different clubs, and am excited to join at least two or three of them.  The rest of the week and the following weeks is to be filled with not only our initial coursework, but orientations, meet-ups, workshops, and auditions for the different clubs around campus.

First Day of Classes

Registration for Yonsei University is ridiculous.  I have heard from many people that it is the same at the other Korean universities as well (worse at some).  Instead of registration opening and remaining open, you play red-light green-light with registration that is open for hours at a time as though it was a cafe.

I am certainly not alone in my frustration.  Those around me loudly voice theirs as well, asking question after question about when exactly registration will reopen, and why such a date was chosen.

And wait lists? Forget it.  You either get in during that tiny window before the spots fill up (for my chosen classes it was less than thirty seconds), try again during the next registration period days or weeks later, or take the form to your professors in hope that they will sign you into the course.

Solace comes in the fact that the professors know how frustrating this system is.  Though it was only the first day, I did not hear of a single student getting turned down to sign into the classes.  This open and close system means that students cannot drop classes they have decided against either.  This left my first class of the day with plenty of spaces, the professor announcing that she would be allowing anyone who wanted into the class to sign up.

Yonsei has a wonderful Korean Language program at the Korean Language Institute (KLI).  Generally, the intensive is four hours daily for ten week periods.  However, if you take these classes as an exchange student the classes occur with the regular semester (sixteen weeks) at two hours a day.  Either way, you take the same test that took nearly two hours.

There is a writing portion, which is approximately half multiple choice and half write in, as well as a speaking and listening portion.  The listening portion is an interview.  The group of nearly 400 students who planned to take KLI were broken up into groups of about a dozen and sent to different classrooms.  I was unfortunately the last to be interviewed.  This was such a shame because I could not answer more than two pages of a test that was about 13 pages, so I mostly stared at the linoleum floor until it was my turn for the interview at which point I said in my most nervous of Korean that "level one is fine".  She laughed, asked me a few questions and her face told me that she agreed.  I thanked her, left, and went to stuff my face with the amazing pasta sold just under our dorms.

Bau Cafe

Yesterday I had a very unique experience.  In the States, at least in the Pacific Northwest, cafes aren't all that popular.  I used to think that they were until coming to Korea and seeing the difference between cafes and coffee shops.  Coffee shops, which seem to be quite predominant where I live.  In a coffee shop, you may enter and order your coffee and perhaps a snack.  Though no one forces you to leave, generally, one wouldn't stay for long.

A cafe is an ordeal, but not in the negative sense.  You may order many different kinds of drinks and also many different kinds of foods, outside of the simple muffin or scone.  And, especially if you are in Korea, a cafe has a reason for you to stick around.  In many cases, this is a theme.  Such as a dog cafe.

Bau Cafe is one such cafe.

To get there we got off of Line 2 at Hongik University stop number 3.  The directions we received said to "look around", and that it would be on the ground floor.  It was, however, not this obvious.  When you come up the stairs of stop 3, Bau Cafe will be behind you on level B1 of what looks like an office building directly behind the stop.  To find the sign you will have to look up (though it is on the same side of the street).

Despite our confusion, this trip was worth it.

The dogs of Bau Cafe

You must buy a drink to stay, so I purchased a grapefruit juice.  It was good, but it wasn't 6,000 won good, which is what I paid.  However, among other things of the same price, it was the cheapest thing on the menu.

If you want lots of attention from the dogs, you can purchase some treats for 3,000 won.  If you do, you will get TONS of attentions for as long as you have treats.

I don't think these women knew what they were getting into.

But, if like us, you are a poor college student and refuse to pay a single won more than you already have, you can still get lots of attention.

Some dogs just want attention.

But some dogs you have to force attention on them.  Just a little.

Both of these dogs vying for my love did not belong to the cafe.

With people bringing in their own dogs, there is more than enough to go around.

The ledges along the walls allow the dogs to jump around from one table to another.

Or to simply take a nap right by you.

All in all, I would completely recommend.  You won't go here for your morning coffee unless you are really loaded, but my friends and I had a wonderful time!

Won Is Real Money

Some of you are thinking, well duh.  Of course won is real money, you purchase things with it.  But already I have fallen into the trap ignoring the fact that spending won is equivalent to spending dollars.  In the States my money is shaped a certain way.  It has a certain size and weight and color depending on how much it is worth.  Though the dollar bills are not all different sizes, numbers, usually 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20 but sometimes 50, or 100, inform me of how much it is worth.  The faces are recognizable.

But in Korea, the bills are all different sizes and colors.  The number are ones I rarely or never deal with at home.  Numbers like 10,000 or 50,000!  They are the kind of numbers I would see on scratch-its and think "yea right" before revealing I had won two dollars!  The faces are people I would have never recognized, and even after museums and tours I recognize only Admiral Yi Sun-Sin (on the 100 won coin) and King Sejong (10,000 won note).  All of these aspects separate the Korean won from the US dollar in my mind.

Instead of turning my nose up at a difference of two or three thousand won, as I would were it two or three dollars, I simply hand over my colorful money and go about my day.  Though I understand I only have a finite amount of money, won has become much easier to part with.

I have set a strict budget, 150,000 won per week, everything included.  Doing this I am able to write down each of my purchases and keep in perspective how much I have been spending through the week. Though it is a bummer at the end of the day to write down each and every purchase with a descriptions, I feel that it has helped begin to realize that won is real money.  Though that didn't keep me from handing my money over the the makgeolli guy.  Stupid, friedly makegeolli guy...

Not An Evergreen In Sight (First Couple of Days)

This is a messy, crazy, unorganized account of my time here thus far.

The first day you will arrive and you won't have much free time.  You have to figure out your way to the school.  For me this was a shuttle bus from Incheon Airport to Ehwa.  Yes, I am studying at Yonsei, but if you take the Ehwa exit you can easily enter through the West Gate which is so much closer to the dorms!  There is a bit of a hill, but it is nothing compared to the trip through the Main Gate with all your bags (don't do it!).

When they announce your stop (which they will do first in Korean and then in English) there is a button above your seat to press to stop the bus.  After that it's two blocks and then one huge hill to get to SK Global (or, if you are less fortunate, International House).  If you are most people you likely go out and explore! If you are a sane person you sleep after 2 straight days without!

The next day is full of orientations.  No really.  It was full. We started at 10am, broke between 12 and 2pm for lunch (where I ordered in Korean not once, but twice.  The woman laughed at me, but I guess it was good enough because I got my correct order). Afterwards you return to orientation.

At this part of the program they discussed the different tours you can go on.  MAKE SURE YOU BRING MONEY TO ORIENTATION!!!  You have to pay right away for the tours that range from 5,000-30,000 won each and there is only space for about 50 people per tour and there were about 700 study abroad students.  This orientation goes until 5pm!  Afterwards, you are given the opportunity to buy your spots on the trips (this will be done in a mob, not in a line, and those from parts of the world who are good at pushing will be before you no matter how early you are!  I am from the Pacific Northwest and we lack this skill. I couldn't, but if you can stomach it, be pushy because everyone else will) followed by an optional campus tour.  I recommend the tour.  Our tour guide did not speak English, but read something I couldn't understand from a piece of paper.  Bring your mini map they give you at orientation and just keep on eye on which building is which so that you will be more familiar.

But oh wait, there is Mentor's Club afterwards.

Note: Mentor's club will keep you out until at the very least 2am this day.  However, it is very, VERY worth it!

They talk to you about Mentor's club, break you up into groups, teach you how to cheer at Yon-Ko Jeon (which deserves more space than a paragraph and I will speak on later).  At 7 they take you to food.  Nervous to order? Fear not! They have already done so for you!  Need something specific? Too bad! Sit down, shut up, and stare awkwardly at the chicken that they have placed in front of you.

After this there is "Welcome Night" or "Buddy Night".  The choice of names is based on whether or not you were in the Mentor's club (hundreds of us were), which makes you not just an exchange student, but a buddy!

This is not your everyday orientation.  The mentors at my other schools had a strict code of conduct that would not have allowed for this night to happen.  We went to Barfly (a bar that plays American music) and for 5,000 won got a shot and a cocktail, though for 10,000 you could have gotten a shot and three cocktails.  This will likely not be necessary, and I will explain why momentarily

Kabang is bag in Korean.  When they yell that at you it means you can't go to the dance floor with your backpack and you will be forced to check it.  It turns out that it was free that night to do the bag check, but that wasn't my only deterrent. Being paranoid, I had brought about 100,000 won with me that day.  Though I had been bleed pretty dry by the events of the day (10,000 for a t-shirt, 30,000 for a tour, 3,000 for lunch, 10,000 for chicken I didn't eat, and 5,000 to get into barfly), I still didn't want to check my money.  I don't trust people in the States to check my coat, so why I am expected to trust someone with my backpack which held all of my money, my SK Global cardkey, my new student ID, important paperwork, and my passport?

But I did.  And everything was fine.

Next was 4 hours of dancing.  "No way!" you may say, "There's no way these people from all different time zones were energetic enough to dance for 4 hours.  Apparently we were.  After the first hour or so, our mentors took the mics and announced there would be a dancing contest.  A pole-dancing contest.  The winners would be awarded a bottle of jager.  My group looked at each other.  They must have misspoke. That's fine, English isn't their first language.

Four winners were chosen!  Four bottles of jager were passed out.  This spurred the idea of people buying their own bottles.  If I won a bottle of liquor, that would simply ensure my friends and I would drink A LOT! But these people used it as an opportunity to become incredibly popular,  passing their bottles around whenever they entered a new dancing group.  I certainly did not need more than my 5,000 won's worth of drinks.

Eventually we dragged ourselves back to the dorms.  We left "early" around 2am, and three of us found our way back to the dorms, using Severance Hospital as our north star!

The first two days were a stark contrast to my third.  My agenda was empty.  I had a ton of time to miss home and my wonderful family and friends.  I missed people smiling and making small talk.  All of the gawking on the streets bore into me, but I would turn and expertly the Koreans would have already looked away.  I embarrassed myself at the vegan restaurant by coming in early as I didn't have a watch and had to clue what time it was.  When I tried to leave I pulled desperately on the door for a good ten seconds before I was informed that it was a button.  "Kamsahabnida..." I said as I ducked out.

I spent the rest of the day nursing my pride and too scared to leave the dorm building.

If you are studying abroad, keep yourself busy.  There is too much opportunity to start getting homesick, yes this early.  I spent most of my second day feeling bad for myself, wondering why I had come.  I didn't speak the language.  I could have easily traversed the same scenario had I been in Japan!  It wasn't until the end of the day that I started my list of "Phrases to make tomorrow better!" and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish for the next couple days.

I miss home already, but I know that this will get better, and it will get easier.

One Generation Too Far

My name sat in the same address book as all of the other names.  In the most careful of handwriting, my address and phone number followed along with a description of who I was.  "Teresa's daughter, Granyma's granddaughter."

I was seated directly next to my youngest aunts, who are only a few yearss older than I am.  Next to my maternal grandmother, they always seemed to have the most appeal.  "How do you like your job?" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Look how pretty you've gotten."  They took the tiny address book and filled in their joint information before passing it on to me with a sweet smile.  I returned the smile and followed their example with slightly less alluring handwriting.

My youngest brother sat next to me at the table.  He wrinkled his nose as the sight of the book and passed it down without touching the pen.  He had no interest in this extended family who asked our name and association to our grandmother each event.  We hardly missed one and sat next to our mother who we looked just like.  It was frustrating to watch everyone around us receive perhaps not a warm welcome, but at least a familiar one, while they would give us a look of confusion or no eye contact at all.  At weddings, funerals, dinners, and reunions alike, my brothers and I were non-entities.  We were a generation too far from Granyma for anyone to care if we came, or usually even who we were.

As I watched my brother pass down the book dismissive, I wished that I could be like him.  I wished that I didn't care that these people who were barely even related to me couldn't or wouldn't remember who I was.

With my information separated by only a thin blue line from my aunts' information, they still managed to skip me.  Boldly, one of my aunts announced today that she was headed to our family reunion.  A reunion I had received no information regarding.  I cannot blame my aunts, and I do not blame them.  Having had this happen since I was young I couldn't help but always look and wonder what it was that made me so unappealing to all of those people.

Such snubbing normally would warrant a scoff and some shit-talk, but it is strange to think that these people will never know nor care that I leave the country in ten days.  It is enough to make one feel very small indeed.

Visas Go In Your Passport (No, really).

I was so worried upon receiving my packet back from the consulate, some items seemingly untouched and some items most definitely untouched (my official transcript was not opened).  They took the money order as well as the visa application, so I took this as a good sign, but I was so confused as to why my visa had not been returned with everything else.

With much anxiety, I waited.  Besides the tasks of registering for classes, packing, and finally dragging myself onto a plane, the visa was the final piece to my study abroad puzzle. My packet of paperwork and passport was returned to me last Thursday and I quickly made the impatient decision that I would wait until Monday evening to be sure I got nothing in the mail and then send an email to my ever-helpful team at OSU helping me get to Korea.

I felt guilty sending my query to the director of my program as I have had so many questions that I am certain they dread each incoming email from me (and there are sure to be more before August 21st, and perhaps after as well), but I was concerned that something had gone wrong with my visa.

This process will make you paranoid like that.

Some will think this is a "duh" sort of statement.  I'm sure my best friend knew this, as he boyfriend from Chile just recently got a visa.  But I did not ask her.  I was trying to keep my crazy hidden (as if there is a chance of that...).

The response I received made me feel absolutely ridiculous.  "Did they return your Passport with the Yonsei acceptance letters?  If they returned your Passport, look inside.  Your Visa should be in there!  (If they did not return your Passport, then we have a problem.)"

Luckily I was too relieved to be embarrassed.  Most will likely scoff at my revelation.  But hopefully it will ease the mind of one person who, like me, is brand new to this.

Chapssalddeok: What could have been

Queries from friends and family, and my dismally small amount of playing money for Korea, have started me thinking about fundraising again.  My friends are excellent bakers, and I, despite refusing to follow a recipe, can hold my own as well.  It seems to only make sense to hold a bake sale to try to make a little bit of extra money so I can afford to leave my dorm room during my time in South Korea.

Though I am sure I will make cupcakes, cookies, muffins, and other popular baked goods, I thought it would be wonderful to make some traditional Korean desserts as well.  One of the desserts I was looking to make was chapssalddeok (Korean mochi).

The wonderfully descriptive recipe that I found was this one: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chapssalddeok.

Despite how seemingly simple and well laid out this recipe was, it stood no chance against my first attempt.

I did not get through the entire recipe.  When I had "finished" the filling portion, I realized that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong...

This is what the innards should have looked like:

This is what mine looked like:

It was chunky and runny.

And tasted like what I would imagine kidney bean butt tastes like.

Yes, I said kidney bean and not red bean.  The internets told me that the difference between kidney beans and red beans is negligible.  I would like to say that this is a lie as to not take responsibility myself.  In the end, the awful concoction ended up in the garbage.  Just for the sake of hammering the point home, this is what it looked like going into the garbage.

YUM!

Perhaps I will try again...but not today...

Wire Transfer Woes

After a lot of work (so much work...), I finally have my visa application out and my dorm money sent through wire transfer.

Really, the visa application was merely a matter of getting it done.  The only confusion here was that I purchased mailers for both ways, one to send to the Korean Consulate, and the other for them to send right back to me.  Neither of these was necessary.  FedEx will put it all in one of their mailers.  If you want to be able to track your package on the way back, which I highly suggest since your passport will be in it, you need one of their mailers for the return as well.  I really have no idea what all they will be sending back so I simply went with a USPS flat rate mailer.  We joked that if they send me a complimentary brick along with my visa and passport, I will be set!

The hard part came with the wire transfer.  When staying in one of Yonsei's dorms, which is now required as they no longer allow international students to stay off-campus, you will have to wire money in order to pay the housing cost.  For my first term, Fall 2013, the cost was 1,650,000 KRW.  They give you all the information you need for the wire after you have been accepted to stay in the dorms which you can print out from SK Global's site at "MY PAGE".

I will spare you the many problems I ran into an the array of misinformation I was given, and instead tell anyone else thinking to study abroad and who needs to wire money to their school that Western Union does not wire money to a bank account.  You must go through your bank and pay their much higher fee (mine was $40).  My bank was would not tell me the exchange rate because they don't want to be held accountable if it changes from the time they send the money to the time Yonsei receives it.  My advice is to figure out the exchange rate yourself and then round up to be on the safe side (I rounded up four dollars).  I was told that Yonsei will not be giving me a refund if I end up sending too much after my USD is changed to KRW.  But rounding up a few dollars is a whole lot cheaper than finding out you are under and having to spend $40 more in order to send another wire transfer.

This part of the process was approximately 0% fun.  But hopefully if someone runs into this you are saved a tiny bit of headache.  Though it was a pain, it sure feels nice to be done.  But do you know what will NOT feel nice?  My TB test tomorrow.

Fundraising and Other Failures

I was convinced that my summer would be so free.  But that certainly hasn't been the case.  Ten hour days have really taken it out of me, and the paperwork for studying abroad has not stopped.

I got the "PASS" for SK Global house dorms.  This means I now need to pay them the equivalent of about $1500 for the first term, and also that I must complete my first wire transfer of my life.  It is times like these that I wish I had gotten some form of scholarships.

Rather than exciting fundraisers such as a bake sale or a spaghetti dinner, I have been cleaning people's houses, doing yard work, and picking up extra hours at work.  It isn't very much fun, but I feel fairly confident that I won't starve.  But other than that my focus has been on not finishing my visa application and neglecting to wire my dorm money.

On the positive side, I do come with advice for anyone considering study abroad in South Korea.  One of my carpool buddies for the pre-departure orientation is currently attending Yonsei University for the summer and had some important advice for me.

1) Bring bug spray.  In the first night she got herself covered in bug bites.
2) Don't bring a lot of clothes.  Clothes in Seoul are apparently dirt cheap.
3) Bring your own towels.  South Koreans only use tiny towels.  This may suffice for them, but I prefer something between a beach towel and a parachute to dry myself off.

It seems so weird that in only 5 weeks I will have my own set of advice that I will wish someone had given me.

Day of Lasts

Today was a very hard day.  I went to volunteer this morning for my last day at The International School.  Afterwards, I went to take my Hans Christian Andersen final for my last class of the term.  And finally I drove to work to pick my nanny-kid up from school for the last time.

It was my last day to see the kids at The International School that I have worked with for the past six months.

I have been picking my nanny-kid up from school for the past two years and, though I will still be working through the summer, I won't ever pick her up from school again.

And my next class I take will be in Korea!  I keep saying it, but it hasn't quite sunk in.

Housing Application Tedium

The housing application for my dorms were supposed to open tomorrow.  However, I realized only moments ago that South Korea is a slightly different time zone than Washington state. It is currently 3pm June 10th there (15 hours after the applications opened).  I quickly logged in to get to the SK Global house application and was prepared for a very, very long application.

Department: Exchange Student

Term Applying for: Fall

Room Type: Twin

Done.

I am certainly not complaining.  But what am I supposed to obsess about now?  Perhaps actually starting my fundraising fun-stravaganza.

Making It Official!

It is finally official! I received my admission packet in the mail and was prompted on the Oregon University System website to commit to my official study abroad program.

I drooled over my Yonsei University folder

and committed to go.

I only wish they hadn't used the word "commit".

Now I simply need to get the funds since I am now obligated to pay them.

Time to begin the next adventure: fund raising!

Good News and Bad News

So far, this application process has come with plenty of good news.  However, it has been my experience that good news is always followed by just slightly more bad news.  So I shall create a good news sandwich (sandwiched by bad news...):

I will not be receiving the Gilman Scholarship.  This is kind of embarrassing news too because it was announced to me by study abroad adviser that last term 9 of the 12 PSU students to apply received the Gilman.  There is also an incredibly competitive girl who likes to ask if I got my scholarships.  Perhaps it is pure interest and friendliness.  But I can't help help but doubt she is without her own motivations.

I got my official acceptance letter from Yonsei!  So as long as I do not blow this term and send them transcripts with a bunch of failing grades, I will be attending South Korea's second best university! (I don't want to hear any of this "tied with Korea University" shit.  This is my good news damn it!  I will be going off this list [ http://studykorea.learnhub.com/lesson/18716-top-10-universities-in-south-korea ]), thank you very much!

My acceptance packet will not come until some time next month and I cannot apply for my visa until I get this packet.  So more waiting!

"There's still time to apply to study in Australia this fall!" and "Why Korea?"

An email today boasted that I have not missed my opportunity to study in Australia.  Maybe if Yonsei rejects me I can go there.  Not because I have this overwhelming desire to go to Australia, but because I know I won't be able to handle the gnawing embarrassment  of staying in the US after I have announced to everyone  I will be going abroad.  I don't know how well I will pull off: "What? Korea?  No, I said I was going to Australia all along!  Language books? I...um...am studying Australian?"  But I will give it my all!

This is not to say there is anything wrong with Australia.  It simply does not top my seemingly arbitrary list of places to travel.

I keep getting the question, "Why Korea?"  To me this is a strange question.  I never got this question while studying Japanese.  When my boyfriend mentions that he is starting to study Spanish no one ever asks him why.  But last Sunday, at Oregon University System's study abroad orientation, I received this question at least half a dozen times.

Two other students and I had met in Tualatin, twenty or so minutes south of our shared university, Portland State, and carpooled the additional hour and a half down to orientation.  My GPS had assured me that it was a two hour drive, but it had not taken into account our determined driver. We sped down the road at 80mph in a 60. I pretended to be cool and not notice how fast we were going, but inside I was a ball of nerves.  I may have agreed to pay for half of the gas, but I was not splitting a ticket with anyone!

Early in the car ride the question had come up.  I think I was even the one to start it.  "So," I began in awkward way that would tell a bystander I didn't know these people at all, "why China?"  I was relieved when he responded quickly with, "You know, I don't know," and then continued with his long story of how exactly China had become the place for him to study.

The driver and I both plan to study at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.  The difference is that she has already received her acceptance letter and will be leaving for summer term very soon, and I am still waiting (always waiting).  The question of "Why Korea?" was posed to me next.  After an almost obligatory  "I don't know", my answer looked something like this:

Well, I started studying Japanese first.  Being a college freshman I was terrified to sit in that Japanese class on my first day of college.  This all changed when who would become my favorite teacher to this day walked in.  Despite the best efforts of my high school French teacher, I fell in love with language.

I studied Japanese as best as I could, despite the frustration of having nothing in common with my classmates.  I didn't like anime, at least not in the way they did.  I didn't like Japanese food, in fact I was (and am) vegan and therefore cannot eat approximately 98% of all Japanese food.  I didn't read manga.  I didn't wear cat ears or a tail at all, let alone in public.  I love the United States, and could not handle those classmates who dismissed my and their culture as rude, stupid, and inferior to that of the Japanese culture they loved so much.  This was't everyone in my class by any means.  But until second year, when our class had been weeded down to a mere seven amazing people, it was difficult to deal with.

These things conspired to diminish my enthusiasm for language study, but with two years behind me of language study, I figured I may as well still apply to teach English in Japan after getting my degree.  This is when my friend from South Korea intervened.  "Why not teach in Korea?" she asked nonchalantly during only the second time I had ever met her.  The next hour or so was spent hearing and seeing all about Korea and I was hooked.

I was excited for every part of Korea by the time that orientation rolled around.  The version given in the car ride to my fellow carpoolers was condensed, but my blog does not have that same luxury.  Though the amount of words was less, the amount of passion was not.  I turned to the driver.  "What about you?  Why Korea?"

She laughed.  "I'm Korean."

And this was enough.

The orientation was an amazing experience.  Before and after we went to our separate country rooms, we all mingled together and talked about our excitement about studying abroad and where we would go.  Between these times I was in a room of students going to South Korea.  Some were going to Ewha Woman's University in Seoul, but most of us were future Yonsei students.  We discussed everything we could possibly think of, from Korean nightlife to working abroad, to laws, to food.  After this we joined back together for a general safety presentation and then moved to our (surprisingly delicious) lunch.

This time all of the students going to South Korea stuck with one another.  Once more the question of "Why Korea?" came up.  I gave my answer and asked the girl the same as well.

She laughed.  "I'm Korean."

And this was enough.

Am I Studying Abroad?

Excellent question! A question I actually still don't know the answer to.

What I have found is the process of possibly studying abroad involves equal parts paperwork and uncertainty, both of which I have had plenty. The email I received today said "Please see the email below – Congratulations!! We will let you know when the Admission Package arrives!" However, the below message (which came from the school I would be studying at) said, "As for Chelsea, we will also email admission result within this week."

This has been a theme. One person might say not to worry about it, that I will be going to Korea come Fall term, while another will warn me not to purchase my plane ticket yet. So until I have an official acceptance letter I am going to remain on the edge of my metaphorical seat.

The only solace this email brought me was that by Tuesday, less than a week from today, I will know if I've been accepted to attend Yonsei University come August.