A retrospective (of sorts)

So I realize that I was absolutely terrible at updating my blog while I was in South Korea- yes, the trip is over and I've been back in the states for awhile now. You see, I was so busy experiencing all of the things Seoul had to offer that by the time I got back to my room (typically in the wee hours of the morning) I was so exhausted that I had no will to write down what had happened that day. Since the excitement had died down and I'm back to a semi-normal schedule I've decided that I will go back and write about my experiences in a retrospective sort of manner. My thoughts will probably be much more coherent- especially now that I've had time to process everything that had happened. I won't feel so rushed or like I need to write down every little thing. It should be good.

So here it is. Attempt number two.

I hope you're still interested.

Leanring the language. (Day 2)

안녕하세요!!



King Sejong sculpture in the center of Seoul

So here is a piece of information for you:

Today in our first lecture we began with learning the basics of the Korean language, or "Hanguel". The alphabet, itself, wasn't established until the 15the century by King Sejong. Up until that point, Koreans were using Chinese characters for writing (which is much more difficult) and as a result, only the rich were literate. King Sejong established the new alphabet with the lower class people in mind. The efficiency and methodology behind the design is quite beautiful.

The vowels are made up of a series of points, horizontal and vertical lines. The reasons behind this are remarkable! The horizontal line is connected to the earth (the essence of yin) and the point is connected to the sun and the heavens (essence of yang). The vertical line represents the upright human (the connection between heaven and earth). Beautiful, right?

So we learned all of the basics... vowels, consonants, dipthongs, etc. We also were taught how to write out the characters out and how to read them. We got to practice a lot with our Korean counterpart. Eun Ji was my partner for the lecture and she was so helpful and patient. It's amazing how many more vowels and consonants the Korean language has than English. There are little nuances in the vocalization that is practically undetectable in English.

Practice is what's on the agenda from now on. I've learned enough to hold a conversation and everything that is important for a proficient shopper. :)

I cannot wait to practice more!

Sejong's alphabet

A close up.

You can see the clear distinctions between Hanguel and Chinese characters



PS- I'm doing my best to catch up on my time here. I've been so busy living the experiences that by the time I get back, I am exhausted and have no energy for blogging. So, they will be posted, I promise!

Until then!

Officially Day 1 (and we don't play around)

So after torturous amounts of time on airplane after airplane, I finally arrived in Seoul late last night. We were picked up at the airport and then it was about another hour long drive until we reached the campus. I got settled in... met my RA, C.J., who is so sweet and terribly nervous about being an RA. For the dorm situation we have a suite and each suite has four rooms and there are 2-3 people per room. My roommates are two girls from Korea and, as of now, they are so nice! Their names are Se Jin and Eun Ji. I'm sure I'll be writing a lot more about them in the future. (Pictures too, probably)

Alright. Let's see if I can properly sum up my day. So we started early with breakfast at 8am and right away I had the opprotunity to try Korean foods. I had kimchi for the first time (and then continued to have it with every meal) and also this rice soup called Jok that is kind of similar to grits. It was all soo great and my worries about not enjoying the food have been put to rest. After breakfast, all of the Cedar Crest girls decided to explore the campus and wander around the nearby neighborhood. The campus is absolutely beautiful and reminds me of a larger version of Cedar Crest. There are trees and gardens everywhere. Later in the day we had our opening ceremony where we got the chance to meet everyone who is participating in the BIP. There are students from the US, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Russia, China, Japan (and of course, Korea) so I imagine it will be an interesting 4 weeks.

In the evening a group of Korean students took us to N. Seoul Tower which is this amazing tower (kind of similar to our Space Needle) that is a the top of a mountain. It took us about an hour by bus and subway to get there but it was completely worth every minute of the trip. Once we got to the top of the mountain we could look out and see all of Seoul. It was late in the evening so all of the buildings were lit up and  the view was just incredible. There is this interesting tradition there that couples participate in. What they do is take a lock and a written message and attach the message to the fence and then throw the key over the edge (a symbol of their unbreakable love). There were thousands of locks running along the fences and even some that were turned into tree-shaped sculptures. It was such a cool thing to see. Afterwards we took a cable car back down the mountain and made our way back to campus.

I can say that my first day in Seoul has been absolutely amazing! If this is what the entire trip will be like, I can say that I will be so pleased. I'm excited to see and learn as much as I can. Ah, tomorrow starts the first day of our lectures. Each leacture will be about 2:30 hours long. Tomorrow morning will be a lecture on Korean language. We'll learn the alphabet, syllabel composition, vocabulary and basic expressions. So next time I post I might have a thing or two to say to you in Korean.

Until then. I'm exhausted. Annyeong!

The big day. (So big, in fact, it will technically take two.)

So let me first start of by saying, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

And now that that is out of the way, we can get down to business. Tomorrow is the day that I leave for South Korea. It's been a hectic two (ish) weeks since my last post but I finally think I am ready to go. The hardest part (and I called it earlier) was the packing. I definitely had to lighten the load a bit.... yeah, so it was a lot but the point is that I did it. Small accomplishments.

I've been so anxious these past few days. I'm definitely a little nervous. It's been years since I've been to another country and this will be my first time doing it alone (the traveling, I mean). Oh, but I did find out that another girl from Cedar Crest and I will be on the same flight from Tokyo to Seoul so that is comforting.

Alright, I'm exhausted. I'm going to get a couple hours of sleep before the big adventure.This is my last post from the U.S. Next time you read I'll be half way around the world! I'm sure I'll have much more interesting things to say at that point.

We shall see.

Funny dreams and what I know thus far.

I can't believe that it's already mid June. I thought I'd be desperate to make time move faster so July would get here but as it turns out, I have just over two weeks to wait. I'm a little anxious at this point. I know this because I've started to have these ridiculous dreams. They go into overdrive when big events are coming up. There was one in which I was told I'd have to perform Thriller all by myself at my friend's wedding reception and another in which I was thrown into the drumline (by an admissions counselor) and had to play the snare for a competition. I don't know how to play the snare... nor did I have the appropriate uniform. I know they have nothing to do with Korea but the underlying feeling of anxiety and lack of being prepared is definitely there. My subconscious is wonky.

In all actuality, I think I'm doing pretty well as far as preparations go.

      - Passport, check.

      - Airline tickets, check.

      - Insurance, check.

Those are the important things. Everything else is pretty secondary. I need to get a few gifts. Pack appropriately (I have a terrible tendancy to overpack so this will be a challenge). I'll have a camera and my laptop. No cell phone though, so if you'd like to chat you'll either have to A) wait or B) get a Skype account. 

There is a 13 hour time difference, by the way. Ex: Noon on the East Coast = 1 am the next day in Seoul. We can plan accordingly :)

So here's what I know. On July 2nd, I hop an 8 am flight from BWI to Newark. From there, I get on another plane, this time heading to Tokyo, Japan. I think it's roughly a 15 hour flight. I have a little bit of a lay over in Japan. During that time hopefully I do not get lost. Then I have a short plane ride from Tokyo to Seoul, arriving around 9 pm on July 3rd and effectively losing an entire day of my life. Wrap your head around that. It's weird. 

But it's a good thing I enjoy air travel.

So I might be jumping the gun a bit...

I'm going to South Korea for summer exchange program (Bahrom International Program) with six other women from my school. We leave on July 2nd and will be in and around Seoul for roughly a month taking in all that the city has to offer. I thought I'd keep a running blog containing all of the exciting adventures we'll embark on so that:

1. I have a nice record of all that is happening and

2. All of you can stay updated on the shenanigans that will ensue.

I'll be updating this blog pretty frequently in the time until we leave and (hopefully) daily while in Korea.

Hope you enjoy it (I know I will).