FRI and SAT: Tour of 한겨레 중고등학교. Ghetto Korean Experiences.

Today I joined with four other members of the Hana Center Volunteer Team (we need an official name soon but we can't think of one... anyone have ideas? Wellesley for Peace Between the Koreas? -__-) to go to a North Korean boarding school. Which is in South Korea, just to clarify, in a place called 죽산.

Can I just express how I wish I could've eaten Korean food for lunch every day, too? Their school lunch was amazing! We had 삼계탕, 숭추, 단무지, 밥, 불고기, a spicy cold noodle salad, and 수정과 for dessert.

Lovely things about the typical Korean education that America needs to adopt:
*Students cleaning and taking care of the school. (It sucks, but it creates ownership, responsibility, and awareness of how one impacts others.)
*Teachers move from class to class, not the students. (It is more efficient.)
Wearing inside, and outside shoes. (I hate it when water is trekked everywhere in the halls and classrooms... it is gross.)
*Competitions between grades for the cleanest bathrooms. (I like clean.)
*All the lights are turned off in the halls and classrooms and bathrooms when not in use. (A no-brainer, yet it doesn't really happen in America.)
*Fun activities every Tuesday and Thursday, like yoga, calligraphy, martial arts, etc. I am definitely taking the calligraphy class. I hope it is good.
***Unrelated, but even the toilet paper and napkins here are smaller and thinner than in America. Which promotes less waste, since I constantly find myself tearing napkins and paper towels into small pieces so I don't waste the whole thing. Equaling Korea is pretty environmentally conscious, which I love.

I'll probably think of other stuff later, but yes, I love that Korea pays attention to waste management and energy conservation.

Anyway, the school itself was pretty normal when compared to other Korean schools, apparently. About 100 kids, girls and boys live on different floors... since it was our first time I didn't take pictures. However, I'll take some in two weeks, once I go there. I'll be living with the students for a whole week!

After our lunch and tour, we left to go back to Ewha. It was me, Daisy, Grace, and the Grace from BU, and we went to a 부대찌개 place. 6,000 Won for one person. But I didn't eat, because beforehand, I bought corn from a vendor, misheard her, ended up paying 2,000 Won for ONE cob, was depressed, and thus ate nothing. Except for the corn. Which was good, and filling, but still... I was depressed. I misunderstood what I was getting and for how much... I will be more careful in the future. 2,000 Won calls for two cobs, come on!

After walking a little in the area, we decided we wanted an authentic Korean experience. Which means, of course, 술 (alcohol), and 과자 (snacks) together. So... after fruitlessly looking for a cheap place to get some soju, we ended up going to... wait for it... 7 Eleven.

We bought a bottle of 막걸리 (rice wine), a bag of shrimp chips and a bag of sweet potato chips, and some sort of soda that had a ticket on it for a free hot-dog. With these things in our hands, we traipsed out of 7 Eleven and proceeded to drink and eat at the plastic table that was set up right outside of 7 Eleven. The alcohol? Terrible. (I don't know if it is because it was bad 막걸리, or if it is because I'm not used to the taste of alcohol, or maybe because of both, but it wasn't that great.) The chips? Great. The atmosphere? Totally gangster and exactly what we wanted.

Great quote of the day came from Daisy: "So... the first time I drink alcohol when I'm legal... is in front of a 7 Eleven, with 막걸리?!"

Please note none of us drink alcohol, meaning we are weak sauce when it comes to finally being able to drink it legally. AKA Daisy became super sleepy after a couple sips. -__-;;

Then Grace wanted 뗙볶기. She and BU Grace go to get some, while Daisy and I stayed where we were with the bottle. As soon as they left, a group of old men came, sat at the table next to us, brought out soju and beer and vegetable crackers that they had bought from 7 Eleven, and proceeded to drink and smoke it up. There weren't enough plastic chairs, so one guy sat on two plastic cartons he stacked into a reasonable sitting height. Um... please don't say I've just looked at my future in 50 years. It was a little depressing.

Because of the smoke we moved to a park in the same area with the chicken and 뗙볶기 (cooked rice cakes with meat and veggies) that Grace and BU Grace had bought. This, too, rang authentic for us. We wanted to play a drinking game, but since the 막걸리 tasted so bad, and because none of us knew any drinking games, that was an epic fail. Good thing the bottle was only 1,400 Won. We didn't feel TOO bad about pouring the rest down the gutter....

EDIT: I didn't make a post for Saturday!

SATURDAY:
7:30 am: Get woken up by Jen. She is telling me to get up and eat breakfast. I'm very confused.
7:35 am: Jen comes in to wake me again. She tells me to get up, eat breakfast, and go back to sleep if I must. I look at Shannon--she is just as sleepy and confused.
7:40 am: Shannon and I trudge into the kitchen. There is a big breakfast of toast, omelette, watermelon, salsa for the omelette, a dduk (rice cake) stir fry, coffee, and milk.
7:45 am: Jen explains that her mom has jetlag from their trip to Spain, which explains why her mom was up at 3 am in the morning and suddenly decided to clean out the fridge and stuff us with breakfast. Shannon and I exchange glances of disbelief, and... is it awe?
8:00 am: I want to sleep, I really do, but now I can't because I just ate. And I can't sleep after just eating. Shannon decides to try and find an ArtBox (a stationary store) because she wants a backpack.
Some time later: We walk from Seongnae subway stop to Shinchun (NOT Shinchon) station, two stops away. The humidity makes my whole face shine with perspiration... or is it condensation from the air?
Around noon: We finally find ArtBox. Since Korea doesn't really use street names, we had to ask a couple people. They don't have backpacks, but I do buy a 600 Won journal to keep track of what I'm spending.
1:00 pm: Shannon is going to head back, but I have plans to meet Daisy and my friend from MIT, Ernie.
2:00 pm: Ernie and Daisy meet me at Shinchun, in Tous Les Jours.
2:30 pm: After wandering around, and waiting for Ernie (he wants to make a photo journal of every picture of Kim Yuna [the Korean ice skater and number one Korean celebrity who won the gold at the Olympics, for those who may not know] and you can imagine how many pictures of Kim Yuna advertising cell phones, bread, dish detergent, etcetera there are) we go to a 삼겹살 place for lunch.
3:00 pm: Have just been thinking for the last half hour how sketchy this place is. No one is here, it is big but the walls are peeling, the floor is peeling, there is only one guy manning this place... I am concerned.
3:02 pm: Get served food. Okay, looks legitimate. I'm still going to examine every piece of lettuce for dirt though. It is obvious the guy just washed the stuff.
4:00 pm: Finished lunch/dinner, now walking around Shinchun again. We end up going to McDonald's because Daisy needs to go to the bathroom. And Ernie wants a 600 Won ice cream cone. 아이스크림콘. Two floors, and packed with Koreans? Whyyy?
4:30 pm: Meet up with a friend from BU, Jon Pak. We go back to the Tous Les Jours I was in earlier to just chill and catch up.

6:00 pm: Part ways with Jon and Ernie. Daisy and I walk back to the apartment in Seongnae, after we make a short detour into the mall part of Lotte World. I still don't understand why so many women in Korea wear 4-5 inch heels. It seems so tiring!
7:00 pm: Get to Jen's place (the apartment). Jen asks us if we want to share some 막걸리 with her. We agree, hoping it'll taste better than what we had last night. We also have shrimp chips and spicy strips of squid with us, true Korean style.
9:00 pm: Daisy is about to pass out, when she only had maybe three ounces of alcohol? The taste wasn't that great, but it was better than what we had yesterday. I stare at Daisy while she is dozing off, wondering at the potency of alcohol.
9:24 pm: Skyping with my friend from Tufts, Bryan. We're trying to figure out which church to go to tomorrow.
10:00 pm: I force Daisy to wake up and leave. She insists on not staying over, so I have to.
10:03 pm: Daisy decides to buy a watermelon for 5,000 Won from a street seller. I'm bemused.
10:07 pm: I say farewell to Daisy, and return to the apartment. My Asian flush is gone.
1:00 am: BEDTIME!

Supermarkets here are scary...

Today I had 장어 (eel) for lunch at 풍천장어 in Jamsil in front of 영파여고 with red-leaf lettuce, rice, miso soup, and kimchi, along with some other vegetables. Dang good. A little pricy, but worth the experience.

Then I accompanied Jen to a manga/dry-cleaning store. Um... I would have never thought to put the two together, but I guess it works? There are so many volumes in that little rectangular area that there are even sliding bookshelves, like in Beauty and the Beast (when Belle is borrowing a book). This was the first manga bookstore I had been in--and now I realize just how many manga series there are. SO. MANY.

Later I visited Home Plus, which is kind of like a mix of Whole Foods (as far as the feel) and Costco (because there are samples everywhere) but not like an H-Mart (there weren't other little stores on the outskirt of the main shopping area, although there were eating areas). I went there with Jen and her mom to buy yogurt and shampoo and was astonished at how busy it was, how there were different floors that were connected via flat escalators (for shopping carts) and how everyone is yelling! There are random workers located near different things and all announcing why you should try their ware. I would say it is like being attacked, all the time, to try things. I felt so stressed out! And of course all the Koreans are kind of harried, rushing to get into line or get a sample (I never got a sample because other people always ate some first, it was ridiculous).

Two things that I love and appreciate about Korea already. One: Most households have to recycle (the apartment I'm staying in is SUPER intense. You have to separate food, plastic, metal, paper, glass, and trash, and put it all in different bins. There are garbage places dotted all around this complex of apartment buildings for residents to trundle off their stuff). Two: The subway is way nice and easy to use. Why can't Boston up its game...

After coming back from the adventure at the supermarket, I left to go to Ewha for a meeting with the Hana Center volunteer team again. We met, had dinner, debriefed on how our time at the Hana Centers yesterday was, and then afterward went to noraebang. Apparently, if there are no customers waiting for a room, the place generally increases the time you can stay for free. I was surprised because I thought that was nice of the noraebang place--but I guess since they don't really lose money, it doesn't really matter.

Tomorrow I'll be going to 한겨레 중고등학교 to get a tour of the facilities. Not exactly sure what it is, so I'll update with more details later.

And it starts!

Sunday I just chilled. Monday I met with Karin to get my cell phone, and then stayed in the Ewha area at San Churro.

I got a complimentary iced chocolate drink because the cashier and I bonded over not being from Korea. She was from Japan, but had worked in Australia for San Churro, and now was working in Korea at the one and only San Churro, expanding the business.

After reading and eating my churros, I met with most of the other Hana Center volunteers, and we ate dinner and had our meeting at Ewha University. Very pretty buildings! Not sure about the campus as a whole but I was very impressed with the student center. Apparently it is based off of a "Red Sea" sort of concept.



Afterwards we went and took sticker pictures. Which are awesome and completely promote narcissism but who cares, they're sticker pictures! I hope that someday Wellesley will invest in getting a booth on our campus. :)

Tuesday I met up with friends. :) I (completely on accident!) ran into my friend Bryan from Tufts while I was waiting to meet my friend Yoonyoung from Ewha. Since I met her at CoEx Mall, we ate at a 냉면 place there. What is so amazing is that it only had soup, noodles, some cucumber, and pickled white radish? turnip? but it was SO DELICIOUS! Very refreshing. Ah, so this is what legitimate 냉면 tastes like.

Afterward I met my friend Hannah from Wellesley at 동대문. Even though I thought I would be prepared, I wasn't--the sheer amount of THINGS you can buy there is overwhelming. O__O I really wanted to eat the fried squid on the street there... sigh.

Today was the first meeting with Hana Center officials. We traveled to Gyeonggi-do's government building to meet them. Before that however, we had lunch--some of us got sandwiches from Isaac, a toast sandwich chain that makes sandwiches filled with egg, or cheese, or patties made of bulgogi, or hotdog, and coleslaw with sauce... or some combo of those.

What's funny is that while we were startled at how quickly they took an interest in us, they too were uncertain about what to expect. They anticipated completely white, blonde, blue-eyed, English-speaking girls from Wellesley. Imagine their surprise when a translator wasn't needed and we understood everything (well, I understand 60%) and were all Korean! Later, we all split into teams of two and went to visit the different Hana Centers. We were a big surprise to the people there as well.

The Hana Center is actually where North Koreans go after a 3 month period in Hanawon. Hanawon is mandatory and doesn't so much teach as register them, check their backgrounds and get their legal stuff settled. The Hana Center isn't mandatory--the first three weeks are intensive education, and then for eleven months following (it might be nine months) is normal education.

The specific Hana Center in Bundang (분당) we visited was actually a small portion of a bigger community center. We got a tour of the facilities and, quite honestly, I was impressed! The classes and services available were nice (not awesome, but good) and the program that helps North Koreans assimilate have a broad range. Yoga, opening a bank account, riding the subway, visiting Lotte World, buying food, going to the library, getting your hair done--all these experiences and more are provided, since it is all new.

After our meeting and our special tour, my friend GiYoon and I ate at a place that give a special of 2 주먹밥, a bowl of 우동, and a bowl of 불고기덮밥. All that for 11,600 원!

Tomorrow I'll be meeting with the volunteer team for dinner and debrief on what happened at each of our respective Hana Center locations.

Praise the Lord that we were all safe and that the meeting went well! Yay!

Second Day

Went to sleep at 1 am because Shannon and I walked outside for a while. Park Rio Apartments are really awesome, there are all these pathways in between the many, many buildings that are all part of the complex with 3D art, playground, sitting areas, and even exercise equipment (which is super random and doesn't work because there is no resistance. If I get a chance to take pictures I'll upload them later.)

I CANNOT STAND THE CICADAS HERE! They are noisy all the time. I researched them a bit and discovered that they can technically make a human have permanent hearing loss if it "sings" right next to your ear (unlikely). I'm just glad there are other bugs, fish, and even people who eat them. They need to be used for some sort of good, so at least they're feeding other living creatures. Who are quieter. And less ugly. Cicadas are really big. T_T

I met my sister's friend, Karin, at 2:00 pm to say hi, hunt down a suitable hair salon, and eat dinner. We went to four different places of the (what seems like) scores of hair salons around Ewha University. The perm took about 2.5 hours and didn't turn out the way I wanted because apparently there is a new perm, volume magic perm, where they curl the ends in. I didn't understand what they were saying so I just kept nodding and now I pay the price. Maybe after I dry it the way I want it'll look better.

For dinner, Karin and I met up with her BBC (Brooklyn Baptist Church, which came from the BBC in Boston) friends and ate samgyupsahl (삼겹살) at a place called 솥뚜껑 (Pot Lid). Yum yum.

Now I'm back at the apartment after a dinner that made me shiver in happiness. Thank you, farmers of red-leaf lettuce and makers of kimchi. They made my samgyupsahl so good. And thank you Karin, for being a great unni. :)

Tomorrow I'm meeting with the Hana Center team and finally get the lowdown of what I'll be doing until August 16th! YAY!

First Day

Woke up, helped Shannon clean Jen's apartment (we dusted, vacuumed and mopped!), bemoaned the fact that it is the monsoon (장마철) and super humid, and hunted down Meal Top (밀탑), a place with supposedly good bingsoo in Apgujeong (압구정).


Meal Top (this name is strange) was on the fifth floor of the New Hyundai Department Stores (신현대백화점) and packed! We had to pick a number... 478... when the number being called at the time was 340 or something like that. Since we had to wait for a long time we went on each floor and walked around.

The place definitely is not for the casual shopper, the stores are really elite and everyone is dressed really nicely.


The bathroom was really nice, if small. When locked, the door lights up! And I was staring at a tiny little urinal shaped like a pig wondering if it was a urinal or not and then realized... hey it is for little boys who accompany their mom! Wow, I would have never though to do that. Mainly because that's awkward. But I guess it is nice for the boy.


We got the green tea and coffee bingsoo. Pretty good tasting but simple. Dduk, ice, pat.


There is this weird trend of thick flip-flops that have multicolored balls on the front that was apparently popularized by Girls' Generation (SNSD). Um... why?! The balls unfortunately remind me of fungus X_X

I see random white males running around. Other than them, haven't seen non-Koreans yet.


And... this is only one of the many ads we saw for plastic surgery. :(


I just ordered from KyoChon Chicken because Shannon wanted fried chicken. SO DELICIOUS! Don't worry parents--I'll work out after this.

Successful conversations with Korean natives = 3, for today. WOOT.

Edit: Just went and visited the Olympic Park at 11 pm at night. Very cool and lots of open space! I should have brought a camera.

Landed!

I'm in the Incheon Airport now, waiting for my friend Shannon to pick me up. Singapore Airlines did a good job, the service was great! I regret not getting up or going to the bathroom the entire ride though. -_-

Today I'm probably just going to settle in... and finally brush my teeth. And then tomorrow, I'll open a bank account, get a cell phone, and hopefully do something fun!

I've been people-watching like mad and Korean women are really stylish! I feel like I have to actually care about what I wear now.

Flying...

is a surefire way to put me to sleep. What is it with me and moving vehicles? I'm already getting drowsy in anticipation. ^-^

I'm at the Salt Lake City airport, waiting to start my trip to Seoul. I'm so excited that I'm acting very calm, even though my stomach is going crazy right now. That may be because of the coffee I had this morning, though.

Can I take a moment to rant about how overpriced airport food is? I got a turkey sandwich, thinking it would be $5 at best, but it was almost $10! RIDICULOUS! But I digress.

Research shows that setting goals when going/studying abroad is a good way to make sure that you leave feeling... well, fulfilled.

So, my goals for the rest of the summer:
*Stay disciplined in my daily walk with God
*Get through culture shock ASAP
*Get closer with the other Wellesley team members
*Achieve a deeper understanding of what is going on in North Korea
*Make meaningful relationships with the South Korean college students and North Korean refugees I will meet
*Find a good church

My goals for the semester:
*Drastically increase my Korean fluency
*Be as immersed in the culture as possible--I don't want to be a tourist!
*Be more healthy
*Balance schoolwork and my social life better
*Grow in my relationship with God!
*Get a job
*Not go bankrupt or bend to the urge to track down Minho from SHINee :)

I think these are doable, don't you?

"In the beginning...

God created the heavens and the earth." -Genesis 1:1

Hello everyone! This is Christine Lee. Welcome to my blog! Here I will record my travels in South Korea over the next five months.

I originally created this to record my study abroad experience at Yonsei University this fall. However, I will also be documenting my experience participating in a government-run program that teaches college students about social media and North Korean issues, which will run from July 26th until August 25th. While my study abroad orientation cuts into this at August 16th, I will do my best to keep all of you up-to-date on what is going on. More explanations and details to come! Thank you for visiting!