accents

It's one thing to speak and understand English.  It's another to communicate with and embrace the backgrounds of other English speakers.  Who says American English is the norm?

Los Angeles and Sydney represent

With German girls at "the bar" (더빠). some creative name isn't it?

Pcs, why

must you do this to me?

I realized my mind is so cluttered with many different thoughts sometimes that I forget little things even a few seconds after.

Snapshot of Sinchon I took last week. Perfect image to describe my status.

If you can guess what pcs means, I'll give you kudos

Academic Update

I lahb my classes. I like East Asian Studies.

International Relations in EA- taught by ROK's ambassador to Australia.  Close friends with ambassadors to Singapore and some European countries.  He is so humorous and gives practical examples.  Couldn't make it to first class so he video-recorded himself.  Humble professor actually.  I like

Intermediate Japanese- found out that the prof is actually an alum of UCLA! He thinks our class of 6 students (iknow -_-) is inadequate for the intermediate level and I agree (including myself).  But he is a nice Japanese man

Korean Language and Culture- Easy. Funnily arrogant and prideful (in her ancestors through her surname) ajummah professor.

Politics and Society in North Korea- So I picked up this class on the last day of enrollment in a scurry of finding a decent last course that will keep me in the study abroad program.  I go to class this morning, and ...............I become the TA. 

International Conflicts and Cooperation- Taught by the same professor (Korean man with British accent) above and I also got to be the TA for this class Heh.  Good stuff

During the first week of trying out new classes and professors, I came to understand that Yonsei professors teaching courses in English actually have very prestigious educational backgrounds.  As a side note, however, most are extremely proud of it and talk about their past as if it were a lecture topic.  

Today was an academically eventful day.  I got to stumble inside a class where I met a professor who laid out many opportunities before me.  The past couple of days Ive been huffing and puffing about why I ended up in Korea.  Life seemed very mellow partly cause I chose it to be.  But today proved to me that every day is a new day filled with surprises if you allow them to unfold. 

Never before have I texted with professors nor shared a meal (and have them pay) with them until I came here.  Cool : )

coinky...dink?

The world seems so small when you run into a familiar person more than 6k miles away.  Three encounters speak for themselves-

-My Japanese TA back at UCLA.  I took her Japanese classes for two semesters and she wrote me a letter of rec for my study abroad app for Japan.  She was in her graduate program in Korean while she was TAing for Japanese..... and I ran into her at a school convenient store at Yonsei.

-High school friend who was studying here for one year.  Wasn't too close so didn't plan to meet... but ran into him right before my class started in the hallway.  Time, place, what are the chances...

-Today I saw an old friend J1 befriended back in Japan summer 2010.  Was waiting for the service to start at Onnuri when I saw 3 Japanese guys walk by.  From the back it looked like my friend but I thought, no way he'd be in Korea!  and what do you know... I look down to play with my phone and look up, and he's staring wide eyed at me. Too crazy

how to write it all

I love to write but I just can't write about everything.  My mind has been actively thinking, analyzing, and wanting to write it all down but my physical body won't let me.  I've just lost the willpower to write during the past couple of days.

Glad to be back though.

I feel like my life's been thrown out into the air the moment I switched my program from Japan to Korea.  Everyday is a new day and out of my control.  Maybe it's a good thing.  Spending 8 days with my long-separated relatives really spurred my thoughts on the concept of family.  Lol until now, I never really valued nor cared deeply about family, they were just people I just happened to live with and were stuck with (sadly to say).  But seeing my grandma age and have to use a stick to walk around (as well as losing her memory bit by bit) made me realize that there is time for everything.  One can live the present life however he or she wants, but that time will never come by again.  I guess I'm trying to say don't waste the years when the innocence prevails knowledge, youthful energy abounds in the body and mind, and passion drives actions and attitude.  Don't try nor want to grow up so fast because you'll only lose your opportunity to find yourself.

---

For some reason, I could care less about taking pictures in Korea.  Usually when I'm in a new environment I want to capture culture shocks and interesting shots, but no.  I don't really care here...
Also I have yet to get used to this lifestyle of constantly meeting new people.  Befriending people while in the China summer program was worthwhile and lasting, but here there are just way too many people.  These brief introductions of oneself are no bueno..... so I am just waiting for time to pass and see the realities of these friendships.

Korea's been alright. Nothing too big going on yet and I'm waiting for them to unfold.  But I do enjoy the times I spend with my relatives here.  Moved around quite a bit from family to family during my short 8 days of stay with them before I started school.  It was fun being educated on Korean culture and listening to complaints and past memories.  I also have not drunk so much makguli in the past as I did with my uncle (big dad, as I call him) and his family.  Oh how good they treated me in many ways... family is good.

Anyways since I didn't take much pictures, here are some that others took-

korean-american, korean-australians, and korean-singaporean! (now I have a mutual friend with Jayesslee haha)

River rafting with UCEAP. Soo fun though we were dragged in many times

two goofiest friends that I'm so glad to have met and have kept me faithfully sane

and of course the post can't end without a picture of a bingsoo

That is all.