April Fools Day

So, Tuesday night I met up with Grace (see the post for Tues). So at 00:00 (12:00 am) I was with Grace and she wished me a happy birthday. Shortly after, we parted ways and I went to the bar that everyone was calling me from. I, however, wasn't really in a drinking mood. So, I stayed for a little while but not too long. Then, I went to bed and had a nice dream that ended when I woke up. Once I was up, I talked with my parents online and opened the birthday package they sent me. We talked for awhile but since my computer is rather old, we weren't able to talk for too long.

After I finished talking with Mom and Dad I called Grace and we met up by Campus Plaza. We had lunch at Han's Deli. I should note: Han's Deli is not really a "deli/delicatessen" - it serves pastas and a couple other things but no "cold cuts" or cold sandwiches or any kind. So, Grace and I ate and then went to Suwon station. We walked around for awhile and eventually went into a KFC for a drink and a sit (Note 2: The Korean KFC prideds itself on its cleanliness and freshness and is kind of a nice place to sit). We sat and talked in the KFC for awhile and eventually we went back to Ajou and Grace's appartment. She had bought me a cake and we (Grace, her roommates, and myself) shared it. It was good. We talked and Grace showed me some pictures and we talked some more (Note 3: Grace is good at English and I'm getting worse). She's Amazing (Note 4: "Amazing Grace"... yeah...). After I left Grace's Apartment I came back to the dorm, did some Korean homework, messed around on my computer (trying to get my Mandarin learning program to load), and eventually passed out (I was really tired).

So, between going to an Oasis Concert in Seoul, going to a North Korea vs South Korea futbal/soccer game, and spending the day with Grace... I think I picked the best one (Last note of the post: All three were options for Wed).

Tuesday Exploration

Tues, Mar. 31 - I went into Seoul with Evan. He had to drop off some information for an English teaching job he's applying for, here in Korea. We ended up walking around, like always. We stopped into a "Krispy Kreme" for a doughnut/breakfast. We found a really cool way to park cars. For lunch we had a type of pork soup. I think I had the spine. It was good. As we were walking we passed a bunch of cops and Evan really wants to "see" a protest. We traveled around a lot of Seoul and found things like a Dance Crew competition, (what we believe to be) an archaeological dig, a job that will kill you, a palace, and the U. S. Embassy... or something. We found the U. S. place on accident. Evan wanted a picture of the building behind it, because of the name, and the guard thought I was taking pictures of the security so he came over and told me to stop and wanted to see the picture. After a while, we met up with one of Evan's friends and her friend and had dinner. After dinner we came back to Suwon and had pizza with Shane. There I met up with Grace and parted ways with Evan and Shane.

A Busy Friday

Friday, March 27, 2009
I started the day to the sounds of an announcement saying everyone had to get out of the dorm. They were doing disinfection treatment and the side effects could include vomiting, dizziness, and/or... well... we won't share the last one. So I quickly showered and left with everyone else. We went and got food and then they had Korean 1. I decided to tag along for the class which turned out to be kind of nice. The teacher is nice and uses English (something that my Korean teacher isn't and doesn't). The class learns things, probably due to the use of a language they know. And Grace was in the class, though, I didn't talk with her other than saying, "see you later," at the end of class.

After the Korean class a few of us went walking around Suwon to find the fortress. In our quest to find the fortress, we found a church and went inside for a look. There we met a Canadian priest that showed us around the church. From the church, we could see the fortress wall. We walked to the fortress and messed around there for awhile. One of the members of this group, Alex, had a class to get back to so I went with him.

Once I got back to campus, I went back to the newly disinfected dorm and waited till it was time to meet up with the Friends Club. We, the Friends Club and the exchange students that chose to go, went to Lotte World. Think Disney Land meets Mall of America. It was fun but I had intended to meet up with Grace... that never happened. But I did get to hangout with Anh and Alex (the Alex from before was there too but this "Alex" is a different one... confusing... I know). Anh and I have been talking a lot (both from the U.S.A. and of Asian decent, etc.) and are pretty good friends. I forced myself to ride whatever my group wanted to ride. Oh, I should tell you that we had to stay in groups because there was only one ticket per group and you needed the ticket to do anything in the amusement park. So, I went on a bunch of rides I generally wouldn't have and found that they're not as bad as I once thought. Think: giant drop, roller coasters, and weird things that spin and see-saw (yes, I'm using "see-saw" as a verb). I still don't "like" them but they're not bad. At the end of the night we all went back to the dorm (about a forty-five minute bus ride).

Once I got back everyone that didn't go to Lotte World was out drinking and wanted those that did go to come out. I almost went but it was kinda late so I decided to do laundry (I know, that isn't a good thing to do when it's "kinda late"). But, while I was doing laundry I got to talk with Alex (the one mentioned at Lotte World as the "Alex" that wasn't the one from the fortress... there are three exchange students named Alex). So, we talked for awhile and I got my laundry done. Now, here I am. It's not officially late and I should go to bed.

My New Hair Cut

So, I got a haircut on Tuesday. It was really had to explain what I wanted to the people but they showed me some pictures and I picked one out. The end result looked nothing like the picture. It wasn't really "bad" but it wasn't what I wanted and it needed hair stuff to look the way it was supposed to. So, I figured it would only look that way once, since I don't have, and as a result, don't use hair products. I realized that it would look "different" after I showered and combed it back (like normal) but it was crazy. I looked like Wolverine from the x-men. So, today I tried just putting it down to keep from looking like a cartoon character. And here I am... Oh, and I went with Evan. Here's Evan with his new sunglasses and haircut.

My Friend from the Korean Village

I almost forgot to mention, I made a friend in the traditional Korean village. She saw me walking alone and came right up and sat next to me. She followed me around for awhile. Then we decided she should show me around the village. Eventually she took me back to her house where I met some of her family. They all seemed to like me.

The weekend trip (Sat 21 - Sun 22)

On Saturday we met at 9:00 and left for Gyeongju. I couldn't sit next to Grace but ended up behind her. We had lunch at Keum River Resting Area. Our first major stop was Bool Kook Sa Temple. Then we went to check in at Kolon Hotel. We had dinner and then went to the tomb valley of the Shilla Dynasty. There was an astronomical observatory, An Ap Ji - Royal Lake Garden, and the Kings' Tombs. Then we went back to the hotel for a party. After a little while Grace and I left the party and went for a walk. We talked for awhile and ended up discussing "us" and all the practicality issues and tried to weigh the pros and cons. Once she decided to go to bed I went back to the party and helped clean up and get the drunk people back to their rooms.

Sunday we had an early breakfast and checked out of the hotel. Things were a little weird between Grace and I but we ended up sitting next to each other on the bus, which was nice. We went to Bo Moon Lake and some people rented mini bikes and others went on "duck boats" (paddle boats that look like swans). Then we went to Yangdong village. A traditional Korean village that was still working. After the village we headed back to the university. The trip back took about five hours. Grace and I talked for a while and listened to each others music. Eventually we fell asleep holding hands. Once we got back to the university I walked Grace back to her apartment and then went back to my dorm.

Friday the 20th

On Friday I went into Seoul to meet Yong and his fiance "Julie". I put her name in quotes because it's the English version of her name and I don't remember the Korean version. I went with Evan since he knew the area of Seoul we were going to and is a good friend like that. We met for dinner at a pretty nice place that, we were told, is famous. After dinner we went to a park and played badminton. We played three games where the losers had to buy the winners orange juice. Evan and I ended up winning but we got the feeling that they let us win. Then we walked back to the subway and headed back. The subway and other public transportation systems stop running at midnight so we left around 23:30 to try and make it back. The subway was packed person to person and was a little weird. It stopped and kicked everyone off at one stop and everyone had to wait for the next train. Then we tried to get on a bus that would take us back to Suwon but we were two people too many for the bus. So we took a different bus and got back to Suwon but not the university. So we waited for a city bus to take us back to the university but they had stopped running so we took a taxi back. Oh, and we saw a police car go into the red light district with no real sense of protest.