My Seoul

Today was pretty fun. We ate our first Korean meal in the country and we met our supporters who took us on a tour in Seoul. My group consisted of my supporter and another girl. Our mission was to go to the fish market of all places and take a picture with a fish. That was NOT fun. Anyway so everyone was saying YES. It was hilarious yet very very disturbing and scary. Then we ate dinner and dessert and hiked our way all the way back to the youth hostel and boy was it far and steep...and we didn't have the luxury of taking a taxi either ><. Anyway and today I exchanges my money at the bank and withdrew money from the ATM machine also. It was really interesting. Earlier in the day we also went to the US Embassy. Anyway, today was an event filled day and now I have to wake up early because of yet another orientation. So yeah. Sleep time x-X

PDO In NYC

So the PDO went well and I've met a ton of new people. This will be a really fun trip. We are going to the airport technicallyjihachul - korea subway route map later today. New York is in two words "fabulously ghetto" which really you're in a really nice part of town and then just like that you're in a shady part of town. Anyway, I guess it's New York for you. The Columbia campus is really nice and the architecture is really nice too especially the library/admissions office. The only thing is like people smoke everywhere in New York...maybe I just think that because I'm from Indianapolis but really...secondhand smoke is one thing I don't enjoy. On a side note, there's this girl obsessed with the Hello Kitty café in Seoul which I have now recently promised to go to as long as said girl aka 아줌마 calls someone 아저씨 ㅋㅋㅋ this will most definitely be interesting. Anyway. So today we went exploring after the PDO and we went to some "hobo" park where there apparently are a bunch of hobos although I didn't see any. Well. That's all for now- oh but gosh the day I got to NYC, we had to ride this shuttle and oh my gosh, New York City driving is CRAZY. I wouldn't be able to drive here and be sane or drive in a lane either...considering everyone drives between two lanes. Okay. Hopefully I will update soon but I think the hostel we are staying at in Seoul doesn't have wifi :(

Trois Jours

No...sorry to disappoint but I'm not going to France let alone do I know any French (quite a pity I must say).

So...This morning I FINALLY got my host family information.  I'm living in a district of Seoul called Songpa-gu.  It's south-east of the Han River and also...*drum roll please* an hour and ten minutes away from Sogang. ...-_-;....Yeah...uh...that's an hour and ten minutes on a subway system that ranks #3 in the World by usage.  My long lost dream of getting lost on a subway is finally going to come true.  Anyway, not going to complain (I'm not...trust me.). 

Songpa-gu was at the center of the 1988 Seoul Olympics so it has many Olympic-ish things in the area (Olympic Park, Outdoor Art Statue Garden, the Olympic sports facilities, etc.).  '

Songpa-gu is also historically important being the 500-year-old capital of Baekje (one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea)  Oh, did I mention.  I'm going to be living pretty much right across the street from all of this. (hehe) Also- Lotte World is very very close to Songpa-gu.  AMUSEMENT PARK :D  Lotte World is the World's largest indoor amusement park.  There's also an ice rink and many other features not to mention the outdoor attractions.

My host family consists of a father, a mother, and a daughter (aka my host sister) who is 22 (23 in Korea because of the system they use for age).  She's a college student and so far from what I know, she seems like a very outgoing and nice person.  I'm lucky to have an older host sister (many people have younger siblings and as adorable as they are, they can't really take you places)...hopefully she'll take me exploring in Seoul!  She just ended her 7th semester in college last week so besides her internship, she should (hopefully) be free. We'll see though. 

As for my host parents...not much is known about them because they speak almost no English.  Greeeatttttt.
Stay tuned to watch Diane's Failure in 6 Weeks... entertainment you can't get on TV. Legit.

On a side note, I finally started packing...I think I have too much to pack in a suitcase.  I decided on one suitcase (not to mention the carry-on and purse) and if I need room on the way back, I'll just buy a bag and stash some things in there.  Of course, I may end up mailing big fat large ginormous K-Pop posters to a certain crazy Big Bang/UKISS/B2ST/Everykpopboybandinthehistoryofwhatshethinksiscute fan girl.

ANDDD => I got my new camera today!

Took the picture using my iPhone.  No, there is not that big white dot on the actual camera.  That was the flash on my iPhone.  Don't complain people.

I'm afraid this post was a bit too long...sorry for boring everyone but hey- you made the decision to read this not me :P

Four Days.

Wow, I'm going to be leaving for the PDO in 4 days.  That's crazy.  I haven't even started packing- seriously, I don't even know what to pack.  The fact that I won't be in the country still hasn't hit me yet. Neither has "packing," I mean, what is this "packing?"  I need to make sure I pack anything and everything so I'm able to survive in Korea- but I can't pack too much because like Abby says "you won't have any friends to carry your bags for you"...which really is true as bad as it sounds.

Anyway, I doubt my sleep cycle will be normal before I take off...I've been staying up until like 8AM...Crazy I know but I know plenty of other people who stay up that late too.

Anyway, I'm excited for the trip but oddly enough I'm not that nervous or rather I'm not nervous at all.  We'll see what happens.  I'll be sure to blog often (perhaps every day if I have wifi)...

11 Days, what?

Here I am sitting at odd hours of the day writing another blog entry. (It's 5:09 AM and no I do not wake up this early, I am indeed not sleeping yet.) 

There's only 11 days left before I hit the airport to get to New York.  I'm not so nervous yet.  I've talked to many of the people I'm traveling with and we're all super excited.  The fact that I won't be in little ol' Indiana for 6 weeks hasn't hit me yet.  I'm super excited to go shopping in Korea and go to all the amazing sites but I suppose I'll miss everyone back home~...I don't know how I'm going to deal with getting back to Indiana on the day before school starts- not to mention that SPANISH is my first class. ¿Ayúdame?

So. I was supposed to get my host family information TWO WEEKS AGO. Yet, apparently I won't get it until this Saturday. ¡Necesito información ahora!  (Note: I fail at Spanish. The extent of my Spanish is "help me" and "I don't know".) Oh well, I guess one must be patient right?  

Let's see, what else. I need to think about what to pack.  I need to finish my journals for 1984 and I need to go take my government final at school.  By the way, did I mention- I finished essentially 18 weeks of government in 3 days and 15 minutes.  I was going to take economics but I decided that just might be a bit too ambitious of me especially with the upcoming trip and the fact that who knows if I actually learned anything in online government. You know what's annoying?  Grammar, spelling and CONTENT mistakes in an online class that is supposed to be teaching you.  Yeah. Annoying- especially when those mistakes rob you of a few points.  Oh if only you saw the resources they give you. 

Anyway. I will start my vlog next week...I will make myself start it.  I'll post the address when the time comes. 

Korean Song of the Day: Break Down - Kim Hyun Joong
**Warning: This song is not for the faint of heart :P hehe.

I officially end this post at 5:33 AM and FYI- I am not tired yet.

18 Days and Running

Well. I am still waiting for my host family information....I better get that soon.

On a side note, yesterday I went to a bonfire/deck party/goodbye party for myself.  It was fun but gosh I hate mosquito bites. 

I really need to start shopping for Korea. I need to get so many things- (and I should probably make a list of things to do for my friends since I'm literally coming back at like 12AM on the day before school starts.)

On a side note, I'm totally busting through online government. I am in the middle of unit 5 of 7 units. BWAHAHAHAHA. Yes. Now I'm thinking of doing online econ before I go also. Oh the options...

The only thing is, I'd be missing out on AP Econ at school and I mean I'm already missing out on AP Gov and those two classes would probably be the more exciting/fun classes in my senior schedule. (Yes this sounds very nerdy and lame but the people who teach those classes seem to be fun teachers so I digress...)

I really need to start my vlog but honestly I really don't like talking to inanimate objects unless necessary + I don't like looking at my face.

Word. Peace out dawg~!

Summer Days (Drifting Away)

Updates :)

I received my plane seat assignments and anyone who has been talking to me for the past 24 hours knows I've been going crazy with trying to find the best seat to sit in from Tokyo to New York. Yes, I just said Tokyo. I'll be in Tokyo for a few hours on the way to Seoul and from Seoul! Anyway, so I gave up my aisle seat for a bulkhead seat....hopefully the extra leg room will counter the fact that I have to sit next to people.  Oh and as an added bonus, the TV projector screen will be right in front of me.  I also switched from sitting with my group on the Seoul-Tokyo flight to sitting next to a window.  It's only a 3 hour flight and I'm dying to see Tokyo from the sky!

ANDDD -> I find out all the info about my host family NEXT WEEK!

Speaking (writing) of next week...IOA...online Government in 16 days?  This just might be suicidal but it just might work.  Hopefully it does work though because well...if it doesn't, at least I can drop the class in 15 days with a free refund and no F attached.

Yup. So that's all for now. On a side note, I went laser (LAZAR) tagging today and got 1st in one of the games I played.  Bwahahaha.  

That's all for now.  It's 2:43AM and I have officially rid my computer of viruses. :)