Saying Goodbye to Korea...

So today was the last full day in Korea.  I am feeling extremely bittersweet as I am writing this.  I am so very excited to see my husband and pets--and I'm actually excited about getting back to work and meeting my new little ones.  On the other hand, I am going to miss this country that I have called home for the past 5 weeks and I will miss the amazing friends I have made.  This has been the best experience of my life and I feel like I have gained so much.  For once in my life, I feel like I have been challenged and I now have a huge drive to continue learning Korean.  

Some people talk about having reverse culture shock, and I can see that happening in the next few days as I adjust back to my normal routine and go back to speaking strictly English.  It's so weird to love another language as much I have grown to love Korean.  

So for my last day, I slept in a bit and just relaxed around Gonzaga.  Then I went off to Namdaemun Market to walk around by myself and just spend some time in my favorite place in Seoul.  When I got back, I met up with Amy and my roommate Katie and we went to Insadong.

We shopped a little, had refreshing drinks, and I had 1 last amazing hot dog on a stick.

Neat restaurant in Insadong

Love notes

This is the ONLY Starbucks in the world that is not in English.

Seriously--who can eat an ice cream cone that is longer than their body??

This is a one of those machines that buzz when your food is ready--not only does it buzz, but it shows advertisements!!

Really pretty scarves.

After Insadong, I went to the Han River to walk around and watch the light show.  Unfortunately, I was not able to see the light show--I guess it didn't happen.  :(  I did get to watch a really neat concert and spent some time enjoying my last walk in Korea.  The weather was beautiful, and I allowed myself some time to tear up a bit.  

I also had to take my last official selfie in South Korea...what a beautiful day.  

When I got back, I walked around Sinchon a bit and ran into Aaron and Ariel, so I had patbingsu for the last time with them and said my goodbyes to Aaron (Ariel is going with Kyle and I to the airport tomorrow).  After I got back to campus, I met up with Myeong Jeen, Vanessa, Valeria, Kyle, and Nicola and it was a very sad moment.  I will truly miss these people.  Tomorrow I will walk to the bus station with Nicola because she has to leave a little early.  We began this adventure together, and I would like to end it with her.  I feel very blessed to have had such an amazing friend to experience this with.  I know that I will be a hot emotional mess when we say goodbye, but I don't know how to stop time.  :(  Afterwards, I hope to walk around Sincheon one last time, eat something delicious, say goodbye to Matt at the dorms, and then head out with Kyle and Ariel.  

I know it seems so silly to be so sad, but I've never felt so comfortable in my skin as I do here.  It's not just missing "vacation" or being sad about missing friends....it's about missing a bit of who I have become.  I hope to take a bit of this culture with me back home and apply some of it to my own life.  Again, I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity and I will never forget the summer of 2014....

Days 28-31

Since I have literally been doing nothing but studying and getting ready for my final test and interview, I will spend a bit of time telling you my favorite things about Korea and my least favorite things.

Things That I Love About Korea

1.  I feel at home here in Korea.  There's always something to do here whether I want to shop for cheap, but cute clothes, eat Korean/American food, get amazing dessert, hike, see palaces and traditional areas, or just hang out with friends.  Everyone is always SO nice here and always willing to help.  I can't really explain it, but it just feels easier living in this country.

2.  I love the challenge that living in another culture with a different language presents me.  My brain likes to be challenged and I feel that most of my life, school and just day to day things have been pretty simple.  Whereas, being here, I have to really think about how I do things (such as handing objects and money to others with two hands or traversing the subway) and what I say.

3.  They are so concerned with recycling.  My roommate and I have 3 different types of bags.  The yellow bags are for compost.  The pink/clear bags are for trash.  Regular bags hold recyclables.  When we go to take out our bags, there is an area we take each...and we sort our recyclables.  They also usually don't give you bags at stores unless you ask for one.  OH--and how can I end without mentioning the amazing cup bags that they put your pop in when you order to take out in restaurants.

4.  I like that the food here is mostly all grown/made in Korea.  They don't put chemicals all over their foods and they don't treat their livestock cruelly by shutting them into teeny tiny pens.

5.  Food--some of the food is so amazing here.  I've really liked trying new things.  They especially have the most amazing desserts!  I would make a killing if I opened up my own Korean dessert cafe in America!  There are also foods in Korea that I would never find in the US that I am going to miss like crazy, such as banana milk.  Oh my gosh is it amazing!

6.  Price--everything is SO cheap here.  I can buy 20 shirts here for the price of 1 in America.  Food is also super cheap.  I can eat on $5.00 or less at most of the restaurants I go to.  I also love that everything is rounded here.  Why do we pay $3.67 for things or $9.99...etc.?  Almost everything here is rounded up.  On top of that, you can usually haggle with most of the shop owners for better prices!

7.  Exercies--I seriously walk everywhere.  If I need something, I can just walk a few minutes to get it.  I'm sure this is the same as living in New York, but New York is not on top of tons of mountains.  I'm constantly climbing up and down streets and stairs.  I'm in probably the best shape of my life right now.

8.  I think my favorite thing is that there is such a low crime rate here.  I'm not afraid of walking the streets alone in the dark.  I think people here have too much to do and too many other things to think about than hurting others.  People in the US have too much time on their hands.  I also love that at most of the places I've eaten at here or gone into would be places I would never dream of going into in the US because of just the look of the building or area around it.

9.  Noribangs are the best!  Who knew karaoke could be so much fun!

10.  Themed cafes are by far my favorite places to go and study and relax.  I really like that they have kitty cafes.  What's better than to have a kitty napping on your lap when you are studying?

Things That I Do Not Like About Korea

1.  Food.  Although I do like some of the food, I dislike some food as well--especially the side dishes that are served with everything.  I am not a huge fan of kimchi or pickled radishes.  I also usually dislike the broth that noodles and soups are served in.  I just really dislike fermented foods and spicy foods, so that narrows down foods that I like in Korea.

2.  Pushy people.  Korea is very fast paced and that means people here don't just stroll around and look in shops.  If you are going too slow, you may get jostled and pushed around so they can get ahead of you.  I know that they don't mean to, but I'm used to carefully going around people or saying excuse me.  Excuse me is not a word here haha.

3.  Squatter toilets are the worst.  Unless I'm wearing a skirt, I never know how to work one of these.  It's probably the worst feeling in the world here to go into the bathroom and there only be squatters.  Not to mention--they are usually super dirty.

4.  Koreans who are obviously talking about me behind my back.  I hate when I pick up enough Korean that I know someone is talking about me.

5.  Although I do like the respect that Koreans show towards their elders, I hate that I feel like it's quite sexist here.  I feel the same way in the US sometimes--such as when it's okay for a man to walk a block back home, but not the female.  That nonsense bothers me....especially if there is a situation such as the man being totally drunk and the female sober.

Anyways--I may add to my list, but for now, I'll leave you.  I may update once more before I leave Korea.  Oh my gosh--I'm ready to be home and with my husband and kitties and puppy, but I am not ready to be away from Korea.  I absolutely love this country...

Day 27 and Practicing Korean

I know that I have talked a lot about what I am doing here, but I have not really mentioned too much about my classes, so I'd like to do that.  I have done nothing but sleeping, relaxing in my room with my roommate, and studying today.

Language classes are very interesting because there is very little English spoken.  The only time there is English spoken is at our break times, when we have no idea how to ask our questions in Korean, or if we are all giving the teachers a blank stare because we have absolutely no idea what they said haha.  Our schedule looks a bit like this:

Language class with our first teacher: 9:00-9:50
Break: 9:50-10:00
Language class with our first teacher: 10:00-10:50
Break 10:50-11:00
Language class with our second teacher: 11:00-11:50
Break: 11:50-12:00
Language class with our second teacher: 12:00-12:50

I would also like to mention that our second teacher is actually from Italy and his Korean is awesome.  The first two hours are very laid back.  We are usually introduced to new vocabulary words each day as well as a new grammar concept or two.  Sometimes we complete worksheets together or we get up and speak with one another.

The second two hours are a bit more stressful.  Not only do we sort of go over what we just learned, but he introduces more.  I almost feel like our second teacher expects us to have memorized everything from the first two hours already.  I do like that he plays more games, though.  I learn better with songs and movements and games, so that is nice.

My favorite thing about KIP is that I don't have to get up and speak in front of everyone and there is not a lot of pressure.  My classmates are great and understand when I mess up and try to help when I have a question.  I also like that most of what I have learned, I can use right away in the city.

About every 2-3 days we have had test/review day.  I like that we are given time to review and ask questions about anything we did not understand.  I also like that if we have time after our 4th hour, our second teacher always go over "survival" Korean phrases and asks if there is anything we want to know.

The big thing is that I want to organize my notes better when I get back home and go back to review everything I've learned before going on.  I feel confident in most of the things we have learned, but there are still some things that I would have liked more time on.  KIP is very fast paced and definitely not for everyone.

So now I'd like to write a little bit in Korean about myself.  Dear Korean and KIP friends--please let me know if you see an error haha!

안녕하세요! 에리카예요. 미국 사람이에요. 집이 Dover에 있에요. 남편 이름이 저시으에요. 저는 두 마리 고양이 하고 개 있어요. 영어 선생님이에요. 그런데 현재 서강대 학교에서 학생이에요. 생일이 2월 27일이에요. 내일 운동할 거에요. 그리고 학교 에 걸 거에요. 그리고 친구와도 이야기할 거에요. 그런데 오늘 아주 피곤해요.

Day 26

Sometimes it is just nice to get out by yourself for a day and that is just what I did on Saturday.  I got to sleep in just a little bit and woke up really hungry.  I messaged Nicola to see what she was up to, but she was still asleep so I decided to get moving!  I took a quick shower and got ready.  I then decided that I really wanted to go back to Namdaemun market to take a video.  Also, lunch would be really cheap there and it's hard to go there with a group of people on a Saturday.

I started off in the subway and made my way over to Namdaemun market.  I went straight to my favorite stand and had a deep fried hot dog on a stick and another delicious in-side out pancake.  After eating, I spent a bit of time video taping and just wandering around the streets.

After I left Namdaemun, I went over to the Anguk station which is where you can find Insadong.  This is now my favorite district area in Seoul.  I thought Insadong was a good mix of Hongdae and the Namdaemun Market.

The subway wall art in Anguk.

Once I got about halfway into the shopping area, I noticed that most of the shops were all handmade or touristy type shops.  I loved that many of the street venders were even making this items on the street!

Coconut bubble tea....mmmmmmmm

This is how they do ice cream cones in South Korea!!

A picture of potatoes on a stick!

Flea market type items at a vender

Hahaha...cereal drink

After I left Insadong, I decided to head back to campus for dinner, but not before having to use the bathroom at a random subway station.  Look what I found--a squatter!  >.<  I had to wait to use the bathroom because I just can't seem to figure these out without having to strip in the bathroom haha.

If you've wondered how I can get around in the station, I use these very handy signs at the top of each subway section to figure out which direction each subway line is going.  Then, they have television monitors that tell you where each subway car is and how long it will take to get to the station you're at.  After on the train, they have little monitors that tell you which station you're at for each stop.  I used that for awhile, but I can now listen to the announcer in the subway car and understand it!  I can even understand if the doors are opening on the left or right!  I'm so excited to be able to speak and understand in Korean more.  

After getting back to campus, I went to McDonalds with Nicola for some chicken tenders, but that was about all I did on Saturday.  ^_^

Day 25

Today was one of my favorite days so far!  It started out with me feeling really exhausted from the night before!  I did make it to class (because I can't miss class--I would feel awful and lost) and loved it.  We learned a lot of words and their opposites.  There were a lot of useful words, but now I just need to memorize them.  

After language class, I went back to take a bit of a nap before MISO.  MISO is sort of like South Korea's broadway show.  There was very little talking and the music was AMAZING.  I had a hard time paying attention to the stage because I kept staring at the instruments in the pit!  I love traditional Korean music.  The performance and backdrops were also really awesome.  We were not able to take a picture once it started, so I'm sorry!  

After the performance, Nicola, Matt, Alex, Myeong Jeen, Kyle, Aaron, Ariel, and I chose to go to the Han River for a bit.

I LOVED this area.  There are obviously a ton of stations to go to in order to get to the river because the river goes on forever, but we took a random one.  There was a band playing, so we sat and listened to them a bit.  

A gold building!

After awhile, we became hungry and so Aaron (whose Korean is the best amongst us) chose to call a chicken restaurant in the area.  We ordered it as delivery and in about an hour, the scooter met Alex, Myeong Jeen, and Kyle at exit 3.  We listened to the music a bit more and ate delicious chicken, fries, and cheese sticks.

The music got a bit old, so we moved over to a grassy patch and played charades and just hung out until about 10:00 PM.  It was so relaxing.  I loved sitting with the hundreds of other groups of people and just hanging out.  There were also some couples that had tents set up!  I'm hoping to come back next week for the nighttime water light show!  Anyways, I need to go to bed because I have Seoul Trekking in the morning at 8:00 AM.  ^_^