Movement By Lydia

If you watch Korean TV shows or dramas, I'm sure you have heard of and seen the Han River before. The Han River flows through Seoul and is a popular spot to hang out with friends or go on dates. People enjoy riding bikes along the rivers, grabbing food and hanging out with friends, watching performers, or just walking along the river. It's really pretty during the day and night, and during the summer it's refreshing to splash around in the little parks they have too! I mainly went to the area of the Han River in Yeouido (off of Yeouinaru Station). When we would go during the day, we'd mostly just walk along the river and explore the area (some rode bikes which is popular to do!). When we would go at night, we'd usually grab food first then find a place to sit and just hang out. The first time I went to the Han River was during my first week in Korea and I went with other NSLI-Y students. We were in Hongdae, where we picked up Korean fried chicken from our u...

This is the backpack I carried in Korea In Korea I ALWAYS had either a backpack or purse with me, and there were certain items that I ALWAYS had in those bags. This is just going to be a short post of things I found necessary and/or helpful to have with me while going around Seoul or going to school during NSLI-Y. In My Backpack:   Books: Kind of a given, but I always had my books (on school days). We had four books from Sogang, and I also carried two small notebooks and a folder I used for class and notes!  Pencil Case: Korea has some super cute stationary and pens  Planner: I use this adorable little planner (can be found in Korean stores) to keep track of my daily schedule and week/month/year/etc... Program Phone: You get a program phone, which should be with you at all times Personal Phone: I brought my Galaxy to use off wifi and for a camera (many people did too); it didn't have any data T-Money Card: Subway card. Carried that everywhere and kept ...

One of the coolest parts about living on Oahu is the wide array of activities the island offers. Most people think of the beautiful beaches when they picture Hawaii, but one of my favorite things to do in Hawaii is hike! There are so many mountains with beautiful trails and views of the island. During my time in Hawaii, I plan to hike as a much as possible and document those hikes here on this blog. P.S. I apologize ahead of time for the low quality iPhone photos. It is hard to capture the beauty with a camera phone, and for me, it's more about being present in the moment and enjoying all the scenery around me. Hike 1: Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail  Recently, my coworkers and I hiked the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail. The location of this trail is designated by the red pin on Google Maps in the photos. As you can see, it is located on the eastern side of Oahu. This hike offers an incredible view of Waimanalo, Hawaii Kai, and the windward side of Oahu.     Fast Fa...

For those not familiar with what a supporter is, a supporter is a Korean college student that you meet with two times a week to study Korean and go around Seoul with. Supporter groups are groups of 2-3 NSLI-Y students around the same level of Korean (usually from the same class) paired with a supporter.  Supporters are something unique to the NSLI-Y Korea program, though other programs may have something similar. They act as tutors, tour guides, and friends all in one! Supporters as "Tutors"  As I mentioned above, you meet two times a week with your supporter for a few hours, and it is up to them where you go. One of the supporter's main role is to help you with your Korean, so they have a little book that corresponds with the lessons you learn in class and work out of them. We mainly focused on speaking. We would go over vocabulary and grammar in their little book then do some kind of role play or question and answer to practice what we were learning. After ...

I usually make posts that list of cafe or restaurants in a specific area, but those are honestly such a drag to write and format sometimes. So, different than my usual cafe posts, this post will be all about the wonderful cafe in Hongdae called Mobssie (몹시) . The place is very well-known to Koreans for their delicious chocolate cake. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My friends and I set out to Hongdae after class one day to eat chocolate cake, and it turned out to be quite an adventure. My friend, who is a big fan of sweets, had done research and found a cafe with delicious, well-known chocolate cake so we went to find it. After about an hour of searching in this area of Hongdae, we asked a worker at a cafe near this supposed cafe... only to find out they had moved. Quite a disappointing moment. We were craving chocolate cake at this point, so we sat in a cafe searching for other...