first impressions

Today was the first day I did not feel exhausted. The construction outside the dorm is slowly becoming background noise and my original habit of imagining the worker/action/etc that corresponded with the sounds I heard is fading. Now I just picture the legless man in Shinchon crawling down the hallway of the dorm when people walk by.

My first days in Korea were difficult. The combination of jet lag, homesickness, and a sense of foreboding made me shy, irritable, and generally miserable. I was excited to meet new people, but I couldn't get out of my own head or find much energy to communicate effectively. Thank goodness I'm adjusting to the time difference and classes have started.

Bulgogi grill~~


Perhaps I am actually still culture shocked, but when I walked around Shinchon the second night, the crowds, noise, and smells did not surprise me. I think I have unconsciously ignored the many peculiarities of the country that originally fascniated me. This is my third trip over, and it seems that Korea has lost some of the romance and mysteriousness I associated it with a few years ago. I have found that "feisty" perfectly describes Korean people.

Of course, once you've had the soju hangover, you will never forget how nasty it is...


Korean food, however, is delicious as ever, and I have dined out at least twice a day!!!!!


Chen and Inus at a mad busy restaurant. The waitstaff would not let us touch the food. Many eateries in Korea have table grills where the meat and toppings are grilled fresh in front of you. I guess we were so obviously foreign, they felt sorry for us or something...


I don't have any terribly amusing stories besides the club we went to for a birthday party on Saturday. Four other girls and I made a perilous journey from the dorm to Hongdae, a nearby neighborhood known for a plethora of clubs. My four inch heels, the walking, and the 20,000 won ($18) cover charge culminated in overpriced drinks (8,000 won/$6 for a heinekin!), a smoky, deserted dance floor, and awkward Korean techno heads swaying in straight lines. Half of the international students showed up and about half of them left immediately after glimpsing the innards of the club. The group of girls I was with was accosted by a strange little Korean man who kept on half-removing his shirt and waving his scarf around in the air. I stayed for an hour, then left with Inus, an Austrian student who has traveled all over Southeast Asia. We went to the nearest convenience store and bought a huge bottle of beer and snacks, then shared a taxi with a random American guy who happened to speak Korean back to Shinchon. As quickly as possible, we hiked back to campus and devoured the beer. Phew.

I had been warned about the "dancing" in Korean clubs, but I thought it only "happened" when the clubs were too crowded to move. Seriously, they sway back and forth and the more creative ones add in a few side steps to change it up. The music was so so and all in all, it was awkward, overpriced, and more awkward. Apparently M2 is a very popular club in Korea, and Inus and I missed the 1230 crowds just in time.