Korea- WEEK 1

First off, keeping a blog is NOT as easy as I thought it would be, so I apologize for not updating it since I left for my NSLI-Y journey back in June. I've been sooo busy between school, program stuff, exploring, etc.. and by the time I come home I am exhausted. I literally fall asleep doing my homework sometimes. So this post will be very long because it'll be a summary of my first week in Korea (minus the in-country orientation we did).

Our flight to Korea got delayed so we arrived 8 hours later than we were supposed to. Originally we were supposed to land at around 6pm but instead we arrived at 2:30am. We stayed in a hostel for 2 nights while doing in-country orientation then met our host families on a Sunday.

My host family is wonderful♥ I have a little brother who is the cutest thing ever and so much fun. My parents are so sweet and try really hard to make sure I'm comfortable. I even had lunch (갈비) with my grandparents, and one of the first things we talked about was soccer/World Cup. Now that's my kind of family meal haha.

We started classes last Tuesday after our placement test on Monday. The test was a lot more difficult than I expected so I was put in 2A. At first I wanted to switch but I'm learning and it's not overwhelming like the next class up would be for me. I love both of my teachers and my class[mates] are a lot of fun★ We have literally cried of laughter multiple times already haha. 

I also met my supporter yesterday and he is so... I don't know how to describe him, but he's so great. Like we are seriously going to have such a fun time with him. My group has 2 other people in it, both in my class, so we're pretty comfortable with each other. Yesterday we did games with 2 other groups, ate lunch out, and got ice cream with our supporter~ I'm looking forward to tomorrow and every other Tuesday and Thursday ^^

So far I've been to quite a few areas in Seoul that those familiar with the country may know~ This is just a short overview of the places/what I did there. I'll make longer posts later as I get to know the areas more~

• Over the weekend I went to the 한강 (Han River) with a group of friends which was so nice cause we just sat by the river [which was gorgeous] and had fun together. We had Korean fried chicken, 떡볶이, and other foods/snacks while sitting there. We took a lot of pictures and laughed non-stop throughout the night. We literally were crying of laughter and rolling on the ground. I love these people and had so much fun being crazy with them♥ 

• I've also been to 홍대 (Hongdae) a few times, and that is a great place to shop in, but it's sooo crowded on weekend nights haha. There's also a lot of street performers in Hongdae which is fun. We went to 노래방 (karaoke) in 홍대 and I got a 100 on IU'S 좋은날 and Apink's Mr.Chu~ hehe.

• I've been to 명동 (Myeongdong) which was really fun as well. Myeongdong is probably one of my favorite places so far. It's another good shopping area and very busy. It's most fun at night I think. While there we bought cream waffles after eating 삼겹살♡ That was a night of goood food. Buy the cream waffles everyone! I need to go back there to shop... like actually shop. I live close-ish and on the same line, so I think I'll be spending a good amount of time in Myeongdong!

 

Favorite samgyupsal place in Myeongdong with Lauren♥ 

• I've been to 이대 (the area around Ehwa Woman's University), though not for very long, so I need to go back because shopping is pretty cheap there. I only bought moisturizer and a pair of socks while I was there... It was pretty early in the morning so not everything was open yet.

• I've been to 신촌 (Sinchon) cause that's where my school is, but yesterday I finally saw the shopping area of 신촌 and I am planning on going there soon. Sooo many good places~ I've mostly just eaten here, but there's definitely a lot of good (cheap) places to eat in Sinchon!

That's basically a short summary of what I've been up to/doing this past week in Korea. OH, and I've eaten a LOTTT of good food. If you're my friend on Facebook you have seen all my food pictures.. the food here is delicious♥

I'll attach some pictures to this post, but I've taken over 300 already so Facebook friends, you can see them all on my facebook!

★Thanks for reading this post and if you have any questions at all about NSLI-Y, Korea, Seoul, my trip, etc... please ask me and I promise I'll answer~ (Either leave a comment or use the "contact me" on the side.

First bingsoo of the summer at Caffe Bene

Me at Sogang University

My school's soccer field

Korean ice cream~