Shinchon/신촌 + Night Out in Hongdae/홍대/Hongik University

Haven't posted in a few days, but here's a recap on the weekend (+Thursday):

Had chicken in Korea for the first time on Thursday (not really the weekend, but w/e):

Noms.

On Friday night, I met up with some friends from DC in Shinchon/신촌 and even went to Sogang University/서강대, where President Park went to college.

Kimbo, Miran, and I.

The famous Albatross.

Campus photos.

Creepy sculpture in the Shinchon/신촌 metro station.

Last night, a group of friends from KU went out in Hongdae/홍대/Hongik University, which has a vibrant night life. It was a fun experience:

Shiloh and I on the very very long bus ride to Hongdae/홍대/Hongik University.

Group photo! Stole this photo from Reena!

And to end this post, here is this awesome guy who was dancing in the streets of Hongdae/홍대/Hongik University:

Immigration Office Nightmare

So Shiloh and I went to the Seoul Immigration Office's Sejongno Branch today. We got there by 8:30 (30 minutes earlier than the office opens), but there were people already there since 6AM. We were #120 and 121 on the list. I waited for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS just to submit my paperwork for my "Alien" (that's really not a nice term for foreigners) Registration card. It was absolutely ridiculous. I can't even pick up the card until the 23rd! Government bureaucracy at its finest...

Oh, and FYI. For the D2 student visa alien registration card, you need:

• application form
• 2 passport photos
• copy of your passport AND visa
• school certificate of enrollment 
• passport 

Here's a picture of the full waiting room, which remained this full for the entire duration of my five and a half hour stay:

What a nightmare. In the meantime, I got quite a bit of reading done. Then, Shiloh and I went to explore. The rate was about 20 people/hour at the office, so we went and had some fun:

Shiloh's 빙수/bingsoo...So much 빙수/bingsoo

We happened to find this traditional bell:

Zoom in for a description of the bell.

These guys got to ring the bell and even got a certificate.

Loved their outfits. Real traditional!

This guy did not seem to enjoy his job.

They were having some fun with it.

Shiloh and I in full on tourist mode.

They kicked us out...

Delicious chicken galbi fried rice.

Huge, but funny looking building. 

We went to Daiso to get some random things and went back to the immigration office to turn our documents in at 1.

Although everything turned out all right, I'm still pretty frustrated with how long they took. Apparently, the Sejongno Branch is the smaller office, so I don't even want to know how long the wait was at the main office, which I heard is far away. You can only go to the Sejongno Branch if you live in certain districts.

Lesson from today: My Advanced Readings in Korean professor is right. She described the odd nature of Koreans as both fast/efficient AND slow/inefficient. Koreans are so good with technology/math/school/etc., but they couldn't open more than 2 desks for the hundreds of students waiting to get their registration cards... It doesn't make any sense. And why does Korea University require our registration card in order to get our student ID? Do they not realize that foreigners can't get phones (I'm lucky I have family here), bank cards, or just about anything without  our registration card, which we can't even apply for until school starts? Do they not realize that it takes 2+ weeks just to get the registration card? We can't join the gym, go to the library, use the study rooms, or do anything without a student ID. Why can't they make our lives easier instead of more difficult? They really should take better care of us foreign students when they benefit (point system) from having us. Being a foreigner in Seoul is tough when it comes to paperwork.

Rant complete.

First Few Days at KU

The first few days at school have been uneventful. Classes don't really start until next week because of the add/drop period. I think many students don't even come to class this week. Classes have been about 15-30 minutes each, where the professors only introduce themselves and their syllabus. Some professors don't even come to the first class. I'm pretty happy with my schedule. The classes seem interesting, but not too difficult at all. We'll see as the semester progresses...

As I walked onto campus, I met up with my fellow AU-KU friend, Shiloh. We were basically twins today ㅋㅋㅋ:

I think I'm adjusting pretty well to life in Seoul. However, there are still many things that I don't understand. For example, this bell in the bathroom stalls:

What is it? What is it for? I don't get it...Let me know if you do!

After class, a few of the international students in GSIS hung out at Serendipity cafe right across the street from the KU main gate. The cafe is very neat. It has 3 floors and window seats with a wonderful view. I like studying here, but we didn't get much reading done today because we kept getting distracted.

Shiloh and I also went to E-Mart. It's actually quite convenient when I take the 144 bus. The bus system in Seoul is awesome. The buses come every few minutes and they go everywhere. The 144 bus goes directly from the 안암오거리/Anam Circle to the 성가복지병원/sung-ga-bok-jee hospital, where there is an E-mart right by the bus stop. Seoul transportation is absolutely phenomenal compared to the nightmare that the DC metro is. I wish I could switch the transportation systems when I go back to the US, but unfortunately, it'll take more than a miracle to make the DC metro improve.

To end this post on a sweeter note, here is a picture I forgot to post of gelato 빙수/bingsoo/shaved ice with 떡/dduk/rice cake and sweet red beans:

Yum :)

경희대/Kyunghee University + 홍대/Hongik University + 평양냉면/Pyongyang Naengmyun

It's been a few days, but I've been so busy with work and meeting up with people. I need to give you a recap on the past few days.

My good friend, Hyungchang, gave me a tour of 경희대/Kyunghee University. The campus is gorgeous. The building are quite majestic and the landscaping is phenomenal. However, I didn't take any photos because he said that spring is the best for visiting. I will return in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom to take many photos. After the campus tour, which was very short because we didn't feel like walking up the big hills, we went to eat 파전/pajun/Korean pancakes with 막걸리/makkoli/Korean rice wine:

 This street near 경희대/Kyunghee University is known for 파전/pajun/Korean pancakes and 막걸리/makkoli/Korean rice wine.

 You normally drink 막걸리/makkoli/Korean rice wine from bowls.

 We mixed 막걸리/makkoli/Korean rice wine with 사이다/sa-ee-da/cider. For short, it is called 막사/maksa. Koreans like to combine words like this. 

 파전/pajun/Korean pancakes

This is my friend Hyungchang!

The next day, I went to 홍대/Hongik University to spend time with one of my really good friends, who I studied with in France, named Goeun. She showed me the area around 홍대/Hongik University, and I had a great time. Some parts of the 홍대/Hongik University area are extremely busy and crowded, but other parts are a little quieter. Here are some pictures: 

 짬뽕/jjambong/Korean Chinese spicy seafood noodle and soup dish that was white instead of the traditional red. 

 덮밥/dup-bap/rice with steak on top

 The start of our walk that turned into intense shopping around 홍대/Hongik University.

 This is Goeun! She loved those glasses ^_^

 On weekends, bands play on the streets, but as it was Friday, there weren't that many. 

 We considered stopping at this cafe, but decided not to because of the creepy dolls >.<

 I loved this cafe. It was adorable and the drinks were delicious. 

 빙수/bingsoo/shaved ice with sweet red beans, corn flakes, and rice cake & 복분자/small strawberry juice with lemonade.

 This was so pretty

 Adorable lace coaster.

 This is the 합정/hapjung, which is where there's a big shopping mall with Home Plus, one of Seoul's biggest supermarkets. 

 I couldn't believe they had Jamba Juice here! At home in DC, this is also pretty new. 

 The flowers at Home Plus were beautiful. I wish flowers were this pretty at the supermarkets in the US. 

So. Much. Hello. Kitty. SO much. There was much more in Home Plus than this wall, but I thought this wall summarized it in one picture. So much. 

On my way home, I noticed some pretty interesting things. First, men and women in Korea have so much skinship. That's what they call it in Korea. It's essentially the physical relationship between people. As I've mentioned in a previous post, there is no personal bubble in Korea. Women hold hands with each other when they walk down the street, men have their arms around each other, and it's completely normal here. Yet, many Koreans are homophobic. It's a shame that some Korean people can't just respect and accept the way some people are, especially when they have so much skinship with their own gender. However, I hope that will change with time. LGBT rights are human rights! 

Just to show you, here's a picture I took of some Korean men walking down the street: 

This is quite common. 

Another interesting/funny thing I saw was this: 

Did they seriously just combine Chef from South Park and Dexter's Dad from Dexter's Labratory? I laughed so hard when I saw that. 

Today, I went to go eat 평양/Pyongyang style 냉면/naengmyun/Korean cold noodles with a 동생/dongsaeng/younger sibling (literally, but commonly used for a younger friend). I had never had it before. In the US, I've had South Korean style 냉면/naengmyun/Korean cold noodles. It was very good. Compared to the South Korean style, the taste was a lot more simple and natural. It was also not very sweet. I thought it was delicious. Also, when you eat it, you don't need a spooon. You sip the soup from the bowl. 

 평양/Pyongyang style 냉면/naengmyun/Korean cold noodles.

제육/jae-yuk/boiled pork 

So the past few days were packed full of activities. Tonight is the first night I can just relax and catch up on work and studying. School starts on Monday! :O