New Years Update

It was a long time in coming, but here’s the update on the new year. I’m taking Korean classes at SKKU now and they’re going very well. We just finished our midterms this past Friday and I think I did pretty well on them. Football is still canceled. Still spending lots of time with the girlfriend, or trying to at least.

For our New Years celebration we went to Gangneung, a city in the north that borders the sea. They have a giant hourglass there that they rotate for the start of the year. It was a lot of fun to watch, but very cold. We stayed there all night and joined in for all the festivities. I guess it’s a very popular place to go. In the morning, around seven thirty we watched the sun rise, again very cold and this time with waves at our feet. However, it was a lot of fun and a really good experience.

Recently I’ve started trying to cook, so far making spaghetti with chicken and chicken stir fry. Both were pretty good, although I’ve been informed that next time I do the stir fry I need to cut the peppers smaller. Live and learn. I’ve also learned that cooking here is much more expensive than eating out at restaurants, at least for me.

I recently went to Lotte World for the first time with the Korean classes. Coming from the land of Six Flags, Universal Studios, and Disney World it was a bit small in comparison, but for one day it was probably the perfect size. Again, had a very good time there with my girlfriend, acted as a shield so she didn’t get wet on one of the rides, and had my first Korean Pizza Hut pizza. It’s was good.

Hope everyone is having a good new year so far. Next update when I actually having something more to blog about! Sorry for the long break!

Finals Week Update

Well it’s been about two weeks since the last update, and for that I apologize. Been pretty busy the last few weeks, but hopefully things will start slowing down. Didn’t go to Namsan like I think I said I was going to. Also didn’t go to the football team MT. Indeed, I’m not sure where I’ve traveled to since the last update, if anywhere. I can’t remember if I mentioned going to Ilsan or not, but just in case, I went to Ilsan, the largest man-made lake in Korea, and it was really beautiful. During the summer it is supposed to be even more impressive with a large singing fountain, waterfall, and fish in the otherwise shallow lake.

I also went to Itaewon for the first time recently. It was… mediocre. Hearing so much English, especially spoken with an American accent, was a bit of a shock. I went with two football guys, and we of course ended up in a pretty nice bar. Unfortunately, with the western bar comes drunk westerners, and there were a few jokes I had to explain after we left. I was happy to leave Itaewon, and have no intention of going back.

In other news, have a girlfriend now. She’s a Japanese dental assistant, in Korea to learn Korean language. I don’t speak Japanese, and she doesn’t speak English, so we’re pretty much limited to talking in Korean. It’s pretty interesting and humorous, especially for Koreans. It’s also really good practice, which is pretty important. Thursday I have my Korean placement test, and I’m really really hoping that I’ll make it into level two at least.

My first two finals are done, both of which were fairly easy. I only have one final on Thursday left, plus the placement test also Thursday. Also have a four page paper to finish. After the final Thursday my semester is officially over! I’ll be able to relax and enjoy my time off until school starts again! Next Monday… dang you Korean language class.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The title pretty much says it all. Today’s the one day I’m allowing myself to be really American. Had a chili dog for lunch, drank a coke and Green Apple -ade (because I couldn’t find lemonade conveniently), and going to TGI Fridays for dinner. It’s about as American as I get here.

So, looking at this year, I think there’s quite a bit to be thankful for. First and foremost, I’m in Korea, my parents allowed me to go to Korea, and I’m loving it here. I’ve made some really great friends, both Korean and European. Our team won the Seoul Championships. My granddad had a successful surgery. Definitely a year to be thankful for.

In slightly less positive news, the team lost its first playoff game 6-7. We lead for all except the last 2 or 3 minutes, but unfortunately in football these things happen. So now the season is over and I have a lot of extra time.

Still single, despite thinking for a little while I might not be. Thankfully, being a foreigner it’s incredibly easy to meet new people, and there’s nothing holding me back from traveling, meeting new people, or anything else.

This weekend, we’re going to go to Namsan and Seoul Tower, followed by Ilsan on Saturday. Sunday no real plans yet, but I’m sure I’ll get something soon enough. One presentation on Monday and then I’m done with school work until final exams. The placement test for Korean language is the 13th of December, so I need to start preparing myself for that. I think I’ll do well enough to get level 2.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Go Cowboys!

Kang Chon, MT, and a general update

As I mentioned in the last post, I was going to an experience known as MT. It was held in a city called Kang Chon, which is very famous locally for MT. MT stands for not only membership training, but also a phrase in Korean that basically means drinking and puking. While not my experience, I imagine it is pretty accurate for a fair amount. The night basically consisted of eating and drinking, followed by drinking games. From 7 or 8pm to around 4 in the morning. I decided to stop pretty early, luckily. We then woke up around 9 in the morning, and headed home around noon.

I’ll be honest, it was enjoyable but not as much as I was expecting.

The trip to Kyeong ju was cancelled, at least for this weekend. This isn’t a bad thing though, because this weekend is going to be fairly busy anyways. Tomorrow I have football practice, Saturday I’m headed to Kang Nam, and Sunday is football practice in Suwon. I’m really looking forward to going to Kang Nam Saturday. I haven’t been to that part of Seoul yet, and we’re going to go to a place for a Tarot card reading, followed by going to a place called Doctor Fish. I guess at Doctor Fish you put your feet into an aquarium and fish eat the dead skin off your feet while you eat your meal. Should do wonders for my feet, especially after football. We’ve been joking that my feet are going to be so bad all the fish die.  Also looking forward to it because it’s with some very pretty girls.

Next week, I’ve got a blind date (I think, it has been set up under the pretense of being a language exchange) on Tuesday, and I’m going to a “hand bell choir” performance on Friday. Unfortunately, going to the performance means that I won’t be able to attend practice on Friday, which is especially bad considering that’s the practice before our game. Saturday we’ll be playing a team from Busan in the first round of the national tournament.

That’s it for news. I’m continuing to learn lots about the culture, the language, and everything else that I came for, but if you asked me to name things I’ve learned off the top of my head, I think I would struggle. So much of it is just done while living daily life. I still make lots of mistakes, but luckily a lot of them are forgiven just because I’m a foreigner, and every mistake teaches me a little more.

Small shout out for my granddad, who had a successful surgery recently. Thinking of you in Seoul!

Halloween Update

Aside from a few small foreign parties, Halloween isn’t really celebrated in Korea. And given my dislike for the foreign parties, I haven’t attended any. Thus, no Halloween pictures. Sorry fellas.

Life has recently consisted of presentations, class, and football. What this basically means is that aside from continuous updates on  what is happening at football practice or what position I was in when I fell asleep in class, there isn’t too much to talk about. However, given it has been about a week since my last update there is enough to cover for this entry to be fairly interesting.

This week has seen my personal stress levels rise, as my American upbringing is finally starting to lead to culture clashes with the Europeans. In addition, due to football and me being me, I’ve been fairly tired and thus even more irritable. And to top everything off, I haven’t been hanging out with my Korean friends as much as I’d like, due to how busy I am and how busy they are. I think I’ve mentioned before that I really enjoy seeing my Korean friends and typically hang out with them more than the Europeans, so the shift over the past week I’m sure didn’t help the situation. Things are starting to return to normal, luckily, and now I’m seeing the Koreans more which makes me incredibly happy.

As far as school goes, the only really exciting thing, or at least could have been exciting, was a trip to the Korean Exchange (KRX). Unfortunately, KRX was pretty dull. We went to hear a conference on a variety of exchange topics, from oil to bacon, but they were dreadfully boring. The bacon talk was completely reading what was on the slides, with no extra explanation and not even a hint of passion. On top of that, after every sentence he would take a small break and allow a lady to translate into Korean. The next talk, which I left before, was on Japanese oil trade I believe, and I was told that the slides were in English, the presentation in Japanese, and the translation into Korean. I’m glad I missed it. We were also given a short tour of KRX, which is now basically empty as almost everything has been automated. The tour was the best part by far, but not what I was hoping for. It was basically a museum tour. There were no business men, nobody yelling or fighting for a better location, just smooth automated emptiness. My next field trip is to a prison in a city just north of Seoul, so hopefully that will be a little more exciting… but only a little. Perhaps enjoyable is a better word to use when referring to prisons…

Over the past week it has also become increasingly apparent that everyone is really adjusting to life here. A lot of the Europeans (shockingly in some cases) are getting Korean girlfriends or are dating other exchange students. People are starting to make their own travel plans just for the weekends. Of course, while everyone else now has a girlfriend, I’m still single. Still flirting, still meeting new people, but still single. On the other hand, my travel is increasing pretty rapidly. This weekend I’m going just outside Seoul for a thing called m.t. or membership training. It has nothing to do with any kind of training as far as I know. Rather, it is a chance for members of a club or group to spend the weekend getting to know each other better. I’m looking forward to it. The following weekend I will be traveling to Kyeong ju (although I’m sure I spelled it wrong), one of the old capital cities. A friend from one of my classes invited me and some other foreigners to go. It should be a good experience, especially going with a Korean. I’m also working on plans to go to the DMZ in the next few months.

On a different note, the weather has become markedly colder again after a brief warm spell. I’m very happy because now all the leaves are starting to change colors and everyday it’s becoming more beautiful. I can’t wait to get outside Seoul and into the mountains because at this point they should be really incredible.

I’ll try to give updates a little more regularly now that my presentations and midterms are over and I’m starting to become more active again.  I think that I should have quite a bit to talk about over the next few weeks.

Seoul Football Champions!!!

The SKKU Royals are now the Seoul University League Champions! Yesterday we won our game 21-0 against Han Yang. It was a great game for us, me included. Not only did I get my first tackle, I also helped in a fumble recovery and even got to play a few minutes at wide receiver. No plays were passing to me, but I got to play which is a start. After the game was the award and trophy presentation ceremony, followed by a lot of celebrating. Up next is the National Championship tournament, starting sometime in November. No practice this week because of midterms. Also this week I think I am going to order my team letterman jacket. Wide Receiver #32 baby!

In slightly related, but not really, news, Seoul has gotten very cold since Friday. I don’t know exactly how cold, but when I can see my breath I consider it cold. I’m actually kind of happy because I really like my cold weather clothing.

In a last bit of news, the team photographer, a former team member, made me a Korean name. I’m proud to say that I’m now Song Seon, with song pronounced with the o like in own, and Seon like son or sun. I guess the meaning for Song is somebody with great prosperity, and Seon is honest and a good heart.

Before I forget, this past week I was busy with presentations, but I think they all went fine. Otherwise no big news. Like I said, this week is midterms and I have one Monday and one Tuesday. No other plans yet, aside from lunch with the football guys. I think it is safe to say that I’m getting a very different experience and education than what all of the other exchange students are. I think I’m one of the few that spends more time with Koreans than with other exchange students too. I love it.

Hongdongji Play

Today my friend from Kazakhstan and I were treated to an incredible experience. One of my friends from the festival graduated with a major in set design and is currently working on a masters in theater production (or something like that). As such, he has quite a few friends in the theater world here in Seoul. Thursday night he invited me and a friend to come to a play that one of his friends is in, so I invited my Kazakhstan friend because we were planning on meeting to discuss a presentation anyway.

We met him at Dongdae Ip Gu, and then travelled to the National Theater. Like I said, the football team has my camera so unfortunately I don’t have pictures, but it was very nice looking. There are actually three different theaters there. He picked up the tickets for us and after that we went in and watched.

The play, called Hongdongji Play, is kind of a fusion between traditional Korean play and modern play styles. It featured a great use of satire and humor, large puppets, and wonderful music all performed by actors. The play was in Korean, but there was a monitor on the side that had English translations of everything. The translations were perfect, going so far as to change the jokes a little to make sure that they made sense in English also. Truly, it was the best experience I have ever had at the theater. The play was very unique compared to anything else I have ever seen, and it was incredibly well performed. I highly recommend checking it out if you can, though I’m not really sure when showings are, or how to get tickets.

After the play we met two of the actors who also were the people that reserved the tickets for us. They were both very nice, but as always they were nervous about speaking English. However, they were both really happy to meet foreigners and really wanted to meet again. They also assured us that next time would be a better experience because they are funny guys and it will show next time. They’re also starting a new play in late November, so I should be going to see that also. I invited one of the guys to play football with us if he wants to try it, but I’m not sure if he’ll try it or not. All in all, it was a good night with a great play.

Going to the Championships

The SKKU Royals are going to the championships, and I couldn’t be any more thrilled. I’m still only playing kick team, but I suspect that I’ll be getting some time at split end (the left wide receiver) soon. Or at least I hope. At least I got a hit in this last game, though not the tackle. Tackle went to the guy right behind me who luckily had my back. It really felt good to finally get a hit in though. This next game they’ve told me that I have to get a tackle, so the pressure’s on.  The championships go from November to January.

Of course, after the game was dinner followed by drinking followed by more drinking. This time I realized I hit my limit and stopped relatively early. However, we got lots of great pictures on my camera. Unfortunately, the football team has my camera at the moment so they can put the pictures on the website. I’ll be getting the pictures up on Facebook once I have my camera back, and eventually I’ll get them onto Photobucket.  However, that probably won’t be until Thursday at the earliest, for reasons I’ll go into below.

This week is going to be hell for me. Tuesday is a 20 minute presentation on Korean social stratification, followed by a full class presentation/discussion on Wednesday about Globalization and Social Welfare. I’m not looking forward to either one, but once they’re finished life should be much more peaceful.

Ballal Han Festival

For the past two weeks I’ve been helping out with a school festival, organized entirely by students. This was the festival that I did the modeling for the poster for. Pictures are up on Facebook.

I don’t really feel like going into too much detail because the festival was four days long and it would take hours for me to type about everything. I’ll simply say that I thought the students did an incredible job, and for the organizers I think it was a very big learning experience. Dealing with sponsorship issues, advertising, organizing, etc. led to a lot of stress for them, but the did an incredible job in pulling it all off. We’ll see what the students thought once the results of a survey come in, but I was quite impressed.

The festival featured concerts by students and professional bands, movies, a cafe with tarot card readings and other small performances, some guest speakers, and 3 different plays. The cafe did very well, making a profit after the second day which makes me happy because that’s what I spent the most time working on.

In other news, the last game of the season is played tomorrow, and if we win we move on to the  Seoul city championships. Unfortunately, our two main quarterbacks are both injured, but I think our replacement will be ready and fine for the game. He’s fast, strong, and good on his feet, and he has a good arm. One of our main defensive linemen, an incredible player, also has a leg injury but I think he’s planning to play anyway. Our kicker, one of the injured quarterbacks, is also going to be doing kicking despite a broken thumb. These guys constantly amaze me, and I really hope we win tomorrow for their sake. I’ve been moved to wide receiver, which means that I won’t get any play time again because I’m still learning the plays and techniques. However, I think I’m improving on the kicking team so I at least get to be a little excited for that.

Also tomorrow is the SKKU international day and the SKKU alumni day, which is going to have some very famous artists performing including IVY. I doubt I’ll be there because of the game, but in the small chance that I will I’ll be sure to write about it.

I’ll move pictures from facebook to photobucket soon so that readers can take a look. Just probably not today. Still have football practice and have to put more money on my phone.

Busy Busy Busy

Small update, just in case I can’t update later this week. Monday through Thursday I’m working in the Movies section of a school festival so I’ll be doing that from about 8pm to 1am or so. I’m not completely sure on the times. In addition, I also have a presentation Thursday afternoon, so I’ll be working on that in my very rare free time. The presentation is 10 minutes on the free trade agreement between the US and Korea. Shouldn’t be too hard, but it will take time. There is also, as always, football practice. This week, we’re just practicing Wednesday and Friday, since today (Sunday) we had a game, which we won. If we win our next game I think we move on to the Seoul city championships, followed by the national championships. Also, I should, finally, be picking up my laptop, hopefully with only about 30,000 won in taxes.

 Basically, this week is crazy for me, so don’t expect updates until next Sunday because I really don’t know when I’ll have the time. Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it before, dinner after the festival is over is definitely a go. Coupled with the win today, I’m incredibly happy.