I'll take you to the...coffee shop?

So I've got one day of Sogang left--the dreaded oral interview on Monday, the most important test of the finals. Oh woe T_T. Then comes Tuesday's graduation day, which I think will be fun ^^.

But with all this talk of finals and homework and such, I should probably talk about places to study here. I mean, places to study universally can't be very different no? There's home, the library, and cafés, to name a few. I'm sure a park isn't a bad place too, though it could be a bit distracting. From Korea, though, I've gained the appreciation of studying in a café, something which I thought was nice and relaxing, but not too productive for me, when I'd gone in the States.
A picture of été, my favorite café I've seen so far in Korea (thanks to Jesse and Becky for introducing it to us). The couches are nice, the coffee's pretty good, and the atmosphere is overall very relaxing. My only complaint is that the nice couch area is also the area where smoking is allowed, which causes for uncomfortable smells at times :\.
Maybe there's something about paying insane amounts of money for a simple coffee that causes you to want to take advantage of the time you have there to do work ^^. But unlike any of the other places, I can do work for a long time in cafés.
We didn't actually do any work at this café but it looked like it wouldn't be a bad place to sit around either. Unlike at home, where sitting around gets restless, and you just have a desire to go on AIM and talk to your friends, or, in the case of small rooms in Korea, it just feels too stuffy and claustrophobic to do work, and you get a desire to fall asleep, cafés are open and airy enough to get work done.
And as opposed to the library, which is just too quiet and stifling for my taste and makes me sleepy and restless after a while, not to mention hungry, cafés have a very free atmosphere, which is conducive to conversation as well as work when you need to, as long as there aren't too many people around and it's not too noisy.
Also, sitting at cafés is a good way for me to hear a lot of current Korean music :). I've gotten quite a few stuck in my head now just from sitting for hours in cafés. Now if only I could figure out the names of said songs...
(Picture of Doughnut Plant, which has yummy doughnuts :])
So although buying coffee at a café in Korea (hoo alliteration) is expensive, there's always something very nice about sipping your coffee while whittling away at your work. And sometimes you get service, which is nice ^^. Once Jonathan, Min Jie, and I went and ordered some coffee, and surprise! We got a slice of yummy cake haha.

Now for picture summary of my final real week ^^:
Friday night Min Jie, Andy, Jonathan's German friend Florian, and I went to Jonathan's home to watch the opening Olympics ceremony. We had delicious samgyupsal (again) followed by the ceremonies ^^. Here's Min Jie sitting like a little boy excited to see his country lead the Olympics hehe.
Jonathan's place was really nice (and the same price per month as my small hasukjip, go figure--then again, there's electricity, water, etc.).
Not to mention 백석동 Baekseokdong in Ilsan is a really nice neighborhood, not to mention very clean, and having a nice park.
At night I met up with Thai friends for my first Thai meal in Korea! Here's some Poa Pia (Thai spring rolls) and some shrimp curry above, and pineapple fried rice and hobo noodles below. The food wasn't too bad...but it wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped it would be unfortunately. Going home to my mom's cooking will be one of the first things I look forward to :).
Following dinner we hung out at a café for a bit and followed it up with...yes, again, karaoke! 린 Rin is a big fan of Mariah Carey haha.
It's funny because sometimes 100 is deserved, but sometimes it comes up randomly, even if you miss a lot of notes o_O. I've always been curious about how the system works. Maybe I'll find out...some day...
린 Rin and 타니차 Tanicha, tired after a long 2 hour + 40 minutes of service session of karaoke haha.
Monday, being our final day of real class, I brought my camera to class. Here Lee Hye Jeon 선생님 explains/acts someting out and 바기 Bagi laughs uncontrollably (I wish I could remember what happened here...).
Our second to final dialogue, which is actually about parting *tear*
We get up to practice our dialogue--which we apparently have to use on graduation day haha.
Mmm, Let's Be cold coffee, 500won (about 50cents) from the vending machine. Kept me alive most days at Sogang ^_^.
Our "휴게실 Resting Lounge." A little small...XD
Andy eating toast! The believed toast of Korea haha. Made with ham, cheese, eggs, and vegetables between two slices of bread, all well buttered and toasted. Very popular choice for breakfast among students ^^.
Our REAL last dialogue, about how time passes so fast--how fitting, eh? And bittersweetly sad.
말하기 class! With Jonathan hiding behind Min Jie haha.
During our last real 읽기듣기 reading and listening class, 정영미 takes my camera and takes pictures of everyone doing work haha. Nice pictures too!
Mmm, 뼈해장국 Yummy pork bone with a very fragrant and pungent soup ^^. Funny enough, 뼈 means bone, but 해장국 means "a broth used to chase a hangover" hahaha, 해장 meaning "drinking to relieve a hangover" and 국 meaning "soup."
Rie's "art" with the pepper in her finished soup hehe.
Our 읽기듣기 class. I actually have no idea what we're doing hahaha. Making hearts I guess?
Mm 사천자장면, that is, Szechuan Jajangmyeon. Spicy and delicious ^^.
And its nonspicy counterpart, which is delicious as well!
Haha meant to post this picture in the subway post, but it didn't exist yet ;p. Notice how the train's almost at Daeheung? ^^
I took the train to meet up with Rhee-Soo (right) and her friend Phoebe for patbingsu 팥빙수 mm!
Wednesday after school, we head to 향진 Hsiang Chen's (who Jonathan affectionately calls 할머니 (grandma) because she's one of the few people older than him haha) friend's home (who she's staying in while her friend is away) to eat and do homework.
And we have such an oh-so-healthy lunch of McDonald's haha.
As you can see, we studied very hard...the pillow being an indicator of the nap I took from being so sleepy ^_^.
And dinner--equally healthy meal of chicken wings and fries haha. What a fast food day. I'll admit, it WAS delicious lol.
Our struggle to get out Hsiang Chen's friend's computer from the box to check it out (this struggle took about 10-15 minutes because it was so stuck in there haha).
말하기 class yet again. Lee Hye Jeon 선생님 changed her hairstyle for our final haha.
Awww, Greg and Reiko, probably the only couple that surfaced this summer actually haha.
Reiko takes us to a delicious restaurant. It's funny how simple greens, rice, seasonings, and soup can make such a delicious meal in Korea.
And who do we have here? It's James Kim! A Light Fellow from China! He's staying in Korea for a week before heading home, so we hung out. And because he was craving 순두부 (Soondubu, Korean tofu soup), I had to take him to the 순두부 house in Sinchon.
After finishing the 순두부, James proceeds to finish the sticky rice at the bottom of his bowl--which Korean has a special name for that I can't remember right now...
Ahh, I know, I'm a freak, TOO MUCH KARAOKE! But James wanted to, so why not, right? Hehe. Yes, Andy is asleep with stuffed animals.
Andy and James duet 아리랑 Arirang, Korea's most well-known traditional folk song, using their best 할머니 grandma voices hahahaha.
It was excellent--they managed to score 100 too XD.
Following it with an excellent rendition of "Bye Bye Bye" by 'N Sync, complete with gestures hehe.
Rie, amused by the spectacle, takes many pictures hehe.

So, next entry, my final week in Korea! It's been a great time here, but I do miss the States, home, and Yale ^^. But look forward to pictures of Sinchon next week, which I have neglected to take many of so far :).

Hodgepodge

So one thing that interests me is when you have foreign food being "famous" in a country. The natives seem to have never heard of a good deal of the food, or it's something "rare" in their country, or it's similar to another dish but with certain twists from the country itself. Yeah, that was really vague, but I'll use America as a good example.

Egg Foo Young, Chop Suey--these are supposedly American Chinese creations. Lo Mein is in China too, but my Chinese friend here says he hasn't heard that name, "Lo Mein" very often. That reason might be more the fact that it's more Southern food though. Then there's also California Roll, Philadelphia Roll, etc. which are good sushi rolls! But not Japanese (well, obvious from the name too ^^). Then Pad Thai is very different in Thailand, and not as popular as it is in America.

Anyway, I was just bringing this around to *Korean Chinese food*, which is very different from American Chinese food. Most famous is probably 자장면 jajangmyeon, which is cheap and delicious. It's noodles with onions, pork, and black soybean sauce, and is a dish in China, but rather different according to my friend. Very delicious but nonexistent in America (as far as I know) and everywhere in Korea but a completely different style in China.

Next is 짬뽕 jjamppong, a spicy soup with noodles similar to 자장면 and lots of seafood. Delicious as well, at least the one time I tried it :). Unlike jajangmyeon which is Chinese (zha jiang mian) jjampong doesn't have corresponding Chinese characters. Min Jie told me he's never seen anything like it in Chinese cuisine--and it doesn't seem very Chinese to me either. If anything, it'd be more of the Southeast Asian type of cuisine in my opinion.

Last is 탕수육, Korean sweet and sour pork. Yummy yummy! But a pretty different style from Chinese or American sweet and sour pork.

Regardless of differences though, adaptations of native foods tend to be delicious anyway--I mean, there must be a reason why they're popular :). I'd have pictures of these delicious dishes but sadly I didn't bring my camera to any of the meals in which I've had them. Maybe later :).

Okay picture summary time!
So Friday, the day after getting back from Jeju, I head to Myeongdong to meet Jonathan and Min Jie. Here's my first picture using the tripod I bought--I know, it took me forever to start using it haha.
We take the cable car up to the top and I snap a picture of Namsan Tower. Unfortunately it starts to rain ;\.
Pretty pagoda at the top as well.
Ahh unfortunately the rain causes some fog, but the city lights still shine brightly and strongly :).
Jonathan (with a ridiculous expression), Min Jie, myself, Jonathan's German friend, and his German friend's Korean friends. Phew, what a mix haha. And that umbrella is an indication of how strong the wind was too.
Ah Seoul, I'll miss all those pretty lights, though I have my own set of pretty lights to head back to haha.
On Saturday I hung out with my classmate Rie, Andrew, and her friend Mun Ik who is Korean and spent 4 years at Pratt Institute doing graphic design in New York and has now been studying in Japan for 2 years. Mun Ik, a total 부자 (puja, the Korean word for a rich person) was also an awesome 형 (hyeong, Korean word for an older brother of a guy--used metaphorically for friends too). He covered everything, refusing to let us pay, and took us to really nice places. It's pretty crazy how well seniors treat their younger peers in Asian culture--it's a very warm feeling that sets up a nice cycle of receiving and giving.
The Indian restaurant, Dal, Mun Ik brought us too.
Portions were pretty small for the price, but that's what happens with foreign food in Korea ^^, but it was mmmm delicious! Because Mun Ik had a car, he pretty much drove us around all day--both super generous and very comfortable. Not having been in a car (taxis aren't the same) since the beginning of my trip, it was quite relaxing to just be able to sit back in a (really sweet) car and just wait for the destination ^^.
Because karaoke is just so ridiculously staple, we ended up doing some. What is this, time number 5? Haha
Andy sings 너를 사랑해, a classic Korean pop song.
Not sure what Mun Ik's singing here, may have been 팥빙수 haha. Unfortunately, the karaoke place was a bit cheap and gave us only 10 minutes of service for our hour ;\, unlike Sinchon's amazing 30-40 minute karaoke place! It's ironic, though, that I'm complaining, considering America doesn't give service at all and it's ridiculous how much free stuff comes along in Korea--반찬 (the side dishes at every meal), service, etc. ^^

Now this part of summary lacks pictures because unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, but Sunday I hung out at a café with a friend I met in my level, Patchrin, or 린 씨 (Rin). She's from Thailand, and because my mom is Thai I know Thai to a somewhat competent level and we decided to meet up and hang out. So Rin, her friend Tanichat, and I hung out in a café and just talked in Thai. Not having used Thai casually for about a year, it was a nice experience to speak it again :). Also a different experience because the only people I've spoken to in a conversation in Thai are my parents, their friends, or my cousins, so it was the first time I was really making Thai friends--a nice experience ^^.

Monday was a bit ridiculous. Min Jie and I intended to take a bus to Jonathan's place to eat dinner. However, the bus we took ended up taking us all the way to 인천 INCHEON, where the airport is and about a 50 minute trip away from Seoul. Now how did that happen? Well, Min Jie thought the bus was going to 백석동 Baekseok-dong, where Jonathan lives. Well it did...only after asking a few people did we realize there was a Baekseok-dong in Incheon as well as one in Ilsan, where Jonathan lives--what a bad mix-up T_T. Ended up spending what, three to four hours doing NOTHING...at least Incheon had fresh air...hahaha.

So Tuesday, taking the bus with Jonathan this time, we headed to his place. Not only was it a great loft that had nice amenities, but it's the SAME price as my hasukjip--pretty depressing thing to find out haha. But now I know where to look for housing if and when I come back to Korea :P. After having delicious Korean Chinese food--my first time trying 짬뽕--we headed to the park, which was a really pretty one, reminding me of Battery Park near my own home, to play badminton. After not playing for a long time, it was pretty refreshing and fun to play it again ^^.

After a nice little workout, we headed back to Jonathan's place and shortly after I took the bus back to Seoul to meet up with Ryan and Andy to see nothing other than The Dark Knight, or 다크 나이트 (Dakuh Naituh) on opening day in Korea--yes, opening day in Korea was about 2 or 3 weeks after it came out in the US :P. The movie was great! No less than I expected after hearing so many people raving about it haha and of course the theatre was *packed*. Something that Andrew noticed too, when I found myself reading some of the subtitles, I realized that a lot of translation strays a lot from the original line, as well as how hard it is to translate some of those lines. Real shame but what can you do right? It reminded me of how much shorter our translators' English lines were than the Korean speaker's lines on the trips we'd gone on (Gyeongju, DMZ). Another reason to learn the language! Haha, that's the lover of languages in me speaking ;p.
Yesterday we decided to have a traditional American-style dinner of pizza (okay, pizza isn't really dinner, but...:p). Our first time having pizza in Korea (well my second because my ajumma had given me some early on), the experience was amazing! Who knew Pizza Hut would be a real restaurant with reservations and whatnot instead of a fast food store? Unfortunately the two pies were rather small, expensive, and hardly fed the six of us, but was just so delicious. Above is the BBQ chicken pizza with a cheese crust (ahh the cheese crust was HEAVENLY) and below pizza with fries hehe. Satisfying meal for the taste, but not so much for filling us ;p.
After that was, yes, another trip to Namsan, the reason being that most of us hadn't gone and this time it was actually not raining. When we reached the top they were actually doing this odd light show that caused some wonky effects.
I also found out this time, thanks to my high school friend Unikora who we met up with along with her brother, that these locks are actually put on by couples. Apparently, couples will write messages on the locks, lock them to this, and throw away the key, representing that they'll stay chained to each other forever. Very romantic notions lol.
Some people were PRETTY hardcore, like these guys--check out those HUMONGOUS locks with ENGRAVINGS on them. Eesh!
Of course playing around with slow shutter speed can create some pretty cool effects :).
I'll wrap up this entry with the remaining pretty pictures of the city I took from Namsan--this time without clouds and rain :).

Alas, I have 15 days left in this city. Wow, does time move by fast! Upcoming are our finals, eesh!