Day 39

This may be tmi, but I sat on a heated toilet today. It was awesome.

Day 38

Lesson: you can't always trust who you think you can trust. That's what I've recently learned. If I could take back everything that I said, I would. I would've kept my trap shut. But it's too late for that. There's nothing else I can do, except have better judgement.

That's what I realized on Saturday night at the Global Angels MT. It was interesting to see a more rural area of Korea and see how real Koreans party. I didn't have a really good time though because I wasn't in the mood. The entire time, I was worrying over a friend and my swollen, mosquito-bitten finger. I'm glad Krissy went though, or else I wouldn't have had anyone to talk to.

All I know is that I don't think I'll be going on any more MTs. At least not anytime soon. And definitely not to the rural island we went too. As much as I enjoy being in nature sometimes, I could never grow out of being a city boy.

Day 35

I've probably had an average of 5 hours of sleep for the past two weeks. And that's with action packed, tiring days. To save me time from thinking, I'm just gonna list most of what happened.

- learned how to play Starcraft

- sat down for hours watching Kpop shows

- watched the most rain I've ever seen in my life pour down

- cooked a dinner for Chuseok downstairs in the kitchen

- chased a Chuseok fairy

- did things my mother would be apprehensive of

- did laundry

But perhaps the most exciting thing was going to Lotte World! Lotte World is basically the Korean version of Disneyland. Most of the rides were ripoffs. Mickey and Minnie Mouse were morphed into Lotty and Lorry (Raccoon?). Pirates of the Caribbean turned into a Sindbad ride. Indiana Jones was Egyptian themed, but we found the entire cast of the Temple of Doom in another ride.

Are you sure we're supposed to be here Dr. Jones?

What amazes me about Lotte World is how everything is indoors. The entrance is literally in Jamsil station. And there about four different floors with different rides on each. It makes it pretty difficult to navigate, but I applaud the complexity.

There's even another area outdoors that has a similar castle to the one at Disneyland. To copy even more, Lotte World put the castle on their tickets, just like Disneyland does.

The best story of the day was my little tiff with Roger. While we were in line for the Atlantis roller coaster, he was being grumpy. When did decided who we would sit with on the ride, we ended up together. Unhappy with the seating arrangement, he sat with Kelsey instead. I decided to just shut my trap and enjoy the ride. Once everyone got strapped in and our car moved up towards the hill, Kelsey and Roger were talking in the row behind me and Karina.

"He didn't want to sit with me."

Umm... what? And that's when I turned around. The two of us started arguing. Kelsey told us to stop. She said she was about to cry. Karina got worried. And all of a sudden, the car just blasted us up the hill without any warning. The tension was broken (sort of) and I almost knocked my teeth out as my head whipped forward.

It was a pretty lol moment thinking back on it. He apologized later and the day ended with me shoving a taper into his ear in the middle of the supermarket aisle. Awkward.

Random Halloween castle. It's under a giant dome!

Ice skating rink

:'(

We all got some form of headgear. I <3>

Sleeping Beauty's Magic Island's Castle

These pictures aren't mine, but I enjoy them. (From Caitlin, Kelsey and Krissy)

Too cool

Popping bubbles courtesy of the girl in the skirt.

Mickey & Minnie Lotty & Lorry

:D

Day 25

The following was taken from my EAP Angel Report. I'm getting 1 unit for this, folks. It's about 9 units too little.

Sometimes, it's hard to accept that you're not meant for the job that you thought you would be for. When I saw that EAP Angels had a volunteer opening at the Ewha Women's University Childhood Center, I jumped at the opportunity. When I was in high school, I worked with kids ages 4 to 8 for three years. Working with young kids is something that I find very gratifying. I thought, “This is going to be really great.”

As soon as I walked into the door of the classroom, I realized that I was going to have my work cut out for me. The biggest difficulty, and the only difficulty was that my Korean language skills are extremely limited. I just started learning Korean in class just a few weeks ago. All the children were so young, which meant that their English skills were probably just as limited as my Korean skills were.

One thing that I find interesting about kids is that you'll never know what they're going to say next. It seemed like when I entered the classroom, I was entering another world. It was somewhat intimidating to be around them. All the kids were chattering away and I knew nothing. Even though I was older than them, I felt like a stranger who had no idea what was going on. It's frustrating when you're supposed to be helping someone, but you can't even understand the language. I tried my best to read books in English to them. We also made some rice cakes.

But as much of a stranger I felt, I also felt very welcome. To me, these kids were very different from the kids I was with during high school. They were much more well-behaved for their age. One boy would take me by the hand and show me to the bathroom. I thought that was really sweet, considering I'm a tall stranger who could have easily scared him. As a guy, I'm a pretty rare sight for these kids. In a way, that does make me feel somewhat useful, but I know that I have to do extra work in order for it to pay off. Although the first day was pretty frustrating, I'm still very determined to put everything I can into the job.

To be honest, I'm surprised I was able to get through the day without passing out. Last night, I attempted to get a cell phone. It was literally in my pocket, ready to be played with when they realized that I'm still a minor in Korea and can't have a cell phone under my name. Everything was extremely confusing because the workers barely spoke English, but they were really nice to use (i.e., they gave us a lot of free stuff, including a box of ramen). But the good news is that I can get someone else to open the contract for me. The workers made jokes that Krissy had to be like my mom. So I will be getting a phone soon. It's waiting in a bag for me at the store.

I also did one of my favorite things last night for the first time: have a conversation that lasts (almost) until sunrise. Frank and I had a pretty epic, monster-sized talk that lasted 5 hours. It didn't seem like that long, but I guess time and conversation fly by at the same rate. In the end, I slept at 5:30am and had to wake up at around 8:00am for my stressful volunteering job. I haven't slept since.

"Good looking people always get more attention."
"... Huh?"

Day 23

"사랑은 언제나 아이야이야 아 픔도 있는 거야."

Just thought I'd endorse this while I'm here. Their new album came out last week, as well as three new music videos. It's so much, but it's not enough! I need more!

But moving on to other things, I went rafting and cave exploring this weekend with EAP. The rafting was so much fun. The rain poured down on us and everyone was soaked before even stepping into the Donggang River. For the most part, it was a pretty calm paddle down the river, seeing a bunch of rocks that looked like animals. I wish the currents were more intense, but I realize that I still can't swim so I might not have done well. Either way, it was an amazing experience.

Rafting on (brown) water. Yayy!!!

After rafting, we stayed at a really nice Western hotel. It was only 2 per room and the beds were so comfortable. More comfortable than the brick that SK Global House gives us.

On Sunday, we went to the Hwaam. I expected it to be a more natural-looking cave sans the little mascot, but it was still interesting to look at.

omg so magical

The rest of the day consisted of a 5 course lunch. I think it was ₩50,000. I looked at the menu and the most expensive was almost ₩2,000,000! We then stopped at a small village where I bought new hi tops for only ₩20,000!

Day 20

I skipped class today so I could go to the 연고전 baseball game against Korea University. I don't regret skipping class at all, because it was really fun and exciting. It was more like a massive baseball dance party. Almost everyone was standing up, dancing nonstop. Even in the rain. everyone kept going. The game was really good too. The very last inning was tied. Korea was up at bat with bases loaded and two strikes. The last pitch was beautiful and it ended up in a tie.


Yayeveryonewins!!!1!!1

Such. heroes.

Day 18

Koreans dance in K-pop videos. Koreans dance in competitions. Koreans dance at concerts. Koreans dance while doing school cheers. Koreans. dance.

You'd think that a school would have only a few cheers for its sporting events, but no. Yonsei University has full-fledged song-length dances. My friends and I stumbled upon an auditorium after dinner. A bunch of students were practicing cheers for 연고존. Little did we know, we'd be getting a workout. Dancing, jumping, bouncing, etc. nonstop for about 30 minutes. I was exhausting. But it's truly amazing how much school spirit these people have. Their energy is amazing and I love it. I could never do that at UCI.

Last night, I grabbed a poster off a wall from a building. The poster is a bunch of pictures of the Yonsei hockey team. I'm not quite sure whether the poster was advertising the hockey game or the hockey team's skin, but it's too lol to pass up.

Day 15

Fyi, 15 is my favorite number. That makes this post special. Tyvm.

I went to noraebang for the first time last night for Roger's birthday. It was pretty awesome, considering I usually say I'm not a karaoke fan. My Wedding Dress dance was an epic fail, but at least I did it. I won't post any pictures on here though, cause the color of my face is dramatically different when I'm intoxicated... Not cute.

But this is.

<3

Sometimes, I wish I could watch all the things that go on at home. I know my grandfather probably wishes he could see me. You see, he's been sick with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It basically means that his nerve cells are giving out on him. He can barely move half of his entire body. There is no cure.

I didn't get teary eyed when I said goodbye to anybody. Not even my mom. But I did when I said goodbye to him because I could tell that he was too. It's sad to think of what he'll be like when I get back. He's an amazing person that doesn't deserve this. Everything I have is because of him. I probably wouldn't even be in Korea if he was not my grandfather. He's the greatest.

Day 13

I'm definitely liking all of my classes so far. Here's a breakdown of what I'm taking.

1. Political Communication

2. Law & Society

3. Korean Social Welfare

4. Intro to Music and Its Meaning

5. Beginning Korean

My schedule looked so beautiful with all five of these classes. I would start class at 11am everyday. And I would have a gap everyday before Beginning Korean. But after everyone displayed their concern, I decided that 19 units wasn't a good idea. I think I just wanted to have the perfect-looking schedule. If I kept the 19 units, I would start class everyday at 11am (with the exception of morning volunteering on Wednesdays). I would have a gap everyday before Beginning Korean and I would finish that at 6pm everyday. Sadly, I had to dismantle it, but I probably won't regret it. I pretty much have all of Monday free now.

Beginning Korean is an awesome class too. I have it everyday for two hours, but it flies by pretty fast. I feel like I'm in kindergarten again, learning my vowels and consonants. Intro to Music and Its Meaning is also really enjoyable. All we do is listen to classical music and learn about how different pieces are formed. Even though I don't know how to play it, the piano is my favorite instrument. It's really nice how my teacher has a keyboard in class and plays it to help us learn. I've always liked classical music, and now I'm getting into it even more. I'll be so sophisticated by the end of the semester.

Day 12

Sorry, I know this has nothing to do about my adventures in Korea. But I've always wanted to write about this and I'm in writing mode. Bear with me.

Get a Real Major

"Sociology... Umm... so that's sort of like Psychology, right?"

I'm always a little peeved whenever anyone disses Sociology, intentionally or unintentionally. Most people say it's a useless major, but they can't even tell you what it means or what students actually learn in a Sociology class. Well, I'll tell you. Sociology is the study of human society. How do we, as human beings, create the world we live in today? Not in the tangible aspect. But in the aspect of how we function together as interrelated parts? In the aspect of how we fall apart through conflict. In the aspect of how we symbolize and attach meanings to different things in the world.

Nobody ever seems to wonder about how our world works. Everyday, we just accept the lives we live and run with it. Sociology plays a role in our lives every single day and we fail to realize how important it is. Do you know why all the Black kids live in the same neighborhood? Have you ever felt awful for eating meat after learning what they do to farm animals?? Can you tell me the difference between Weber and Marx's theories???

Sorry, that wasn't quite fair.

"So what do you want to do with a Sociology major?"

Honestly, I haven't completely figured out what I want to do periods. I know I want to travel the world. I want to understand how different people live everyday. I didn't choose my major with the idea that I want to be a social worker. Many majors don't even relate to one's eventual profession. My dad majored in Accounting and now he works as a technician. My uncle majored in Chemistry and now he sells insurance.

All I know is that Sociology isn't necessarily going to be a dealmaker when it comes to finding a job in the future. It's not fancy or impressive-looking. But to me, it's a subject that I value very much. It has given me so much insight into the world. Before starting college, I was pretty naive and knew little about the world and its problems. All I could tell you was that genocide is undesirable and a wide spread of tuberculosis would be nasty.

If anything, Sociology has contributed more towards personal growth rather than my career. That's why I've never changed majors. I take the classes because I care about what they have to say. My professors merely present me with information. The learning for me comes afterwards. Sociology teaches me how to stand up for and defend what I believe in. To me, that's more important than constructing a molecule out of plastic.

"Oh!! Wait, what??"

Hey, if you still don't understand, I'm sure Intro to Sociology doesn't have any prerequisites.