My Korea (^.^)~

This is THE travel blog, documenting my experiences in South Korea.

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Update as of August 6

My classes had kicked into high gear earlier so I was hard to keep up. I am still hanging in there alright. This upcoming week will be my last in the program.

I also couldn't give an update in July. Whoops. Just realized I forgot about Tumblr in the month of July. Teehee~ ((it's been so hot that I can't think straight 정신없다))

~ How the test are set up ~ The midterm included everything we learned from 2A Student Book. It’s divided into 4 sections: speaking, listening, writing, reading. The speaking test is just a short interview where they test your pronunciation and ability to make sentences. The other three are all tests on paper. You have to really listen closely during the listening test.

The final will include only material from 2B Student Book. And it’s structured similar to the midterm.

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💖 Being a Foreigner in South Korea 💖

- Do you get stares? Of course I do. I’m a walking Hershey bar. To be honest, 90% of it is mostly the older the people who try to stare the melanin off of my skin. The kids and teenagers are too young to really care about it.

- Are people racist? I’ve only had one encounter of racism. I was walking toward the subway exit and this random old guy came up to me. I can tell he was old because of his hair and most elderly out here go on hiking trips so he dressed to go hiking. Anyways, he just walked up to me and said in Korean “I hate your color/ Your skin is too dark.” … Excuse me, how does my lovely, milk chocolatey skin affect you? I didn’t come up and tell you that you smell like rotten pickled farts, so like who do you think you are? … Anyways I was so shocked that I simply walked away. I don’t have time for foolishness.

- What’s one thing you hate? For those who don’t know, most women in Korea wear makeup that’s practically white. Their skin could be like Taylor Swift but then wear makeup the shade that’s literally white as snow. The rest of the body looks as if it belongs to someone else. Not all women wear this type of whitewashing makeup but 65-75% do. Since I see it everyday, I have the experience to give my input.

- What’s one thing you love? Seoul and America are so different. It’s made me really branch out and be adventurous. Some things I would never do back home, I’ve done it here. Some things I didn’t know existed, they exist over here. Lol but yea.

- What one thing you wish you had from America? I want REAL chips!!!! Don’t get me wrong, they have Doritos and Cheetos here. However, the taste is so different. Also, the chips they have here could either cause a cavity or burn your tongue off. Also I miss the taste of greasy food. (I am slightly too American for some of the Korean cooking)

- What’s one thing you wish to bring back to America from Seoul? ((( The men … I mean yea 50% of the guys are my height or shorter but that other 50% are good looking tall handsome guys. And it’s really a diverse mix of people here too. ))) Actually, I want to bring over the strong sense of education. The people here in South Korean put HEAVY importance on education. When I am out at about 10pm, I am still seeing a bunch of kids just coming back from school or maybe tutoring. I would love to see America put more stress on staying in school and even continuing onto college. Knowledge is power!

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Insight from the National Gugak Center (국립국악원) ~ I really loved looking at the traditional style instruments. Asian atmosphere has this genuine authentic feeling. They also had a small exhibit about how their music has evolved through out history. It's really weird to think that people have lived the past and now their livelihood is displayed in a case. Are our lives just the future's display contents? ~ The picture of the long dress is called a 한복 (Han-Bok). It's a very traditional Korean style clothing. Typically, at Korean style weddings, the bride and groom are dressed in special colored hanboks. The women in the immediate family might wear a simple style hanbok.

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Status Update as of June 23

I am starting to feel the burn of this class. I’ve prepared a lot of mini essays, did a big presentation, and practiced grammar usage. I really like how fast pase things are but I need them to slow down just a bit. I need to seriously review every day because we get thru a chapter in two days. And there’s a lot of vocab to memorize. We will be starting Chapter 7, but I still haven’t memorized the vocab from Chapter 4 - 6. ((American coursework is so easy when compared to this stuff over here.)) It’s a slight struggle, but I’m doing well. ~~~ Anyways, I am looking forward to later on. I will be learning 사물놀이. (sa-mul-nol-ri) It is a traditional Korean music which includes four different instruments. I’m super excited for it, and I will tell you how things go afterwards.

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since you are in a summer program (less than 90 days I'm guessing) , did you have to apply for a student visa ?

No I did not. Since I am here for 85 days, I only check off that I am here for school and tourism.

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If you have questions, I will be glad to answer them :)

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FIRST WEEK AT SNU ~ Complete ~ I didn't think about how much work this summer session was going to be. It's kind of fast pase, but I am holding up alright. For now, at least. I am already preparing for two different projects. Anyways, I am really loving my life in Seoul.

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The start of a whole new beginning ~

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The Best Day ❤️❤️

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Hongdae Meet and Greet on Monday with MANY Famous YouTubers that were in Seoul. It's was an amazing day with so many people. (I will put up another pic too). - Playground Cafe and LGA Coffee near Hongik University - Please check out my Instagram for the specific locations and other stuff ((@kpopace))

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#apieceofheaven Strawberry Bingsu (Korean shaved ice) #hongdae (부평 Lga Coffee에서)

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LGA Coffee in Hongdae, South Korea

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Are you studying abroad at SNU solely for the summer ? I'm excited to come across your blog, there's not much out there about experience at SNU. also since I applied for the fall semester (still waiting to hear back tho lol)

Yes. I just wanted to do some small, so I am at SNU only for their summer session. I’m not sure what to talk about because I’m new to the whole blogging thing. But I am happy to answer any questions about SNU

- My classes actually start today!

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Placement test at Seoul National University KLEC

I forgot to make a post about this. Sorry! -- I am enrolled in the Regular Program at Seoul National University at the Korean Language Education Center for their 2016 Summer Session. Since I took college courses already, I wanted to skip Level 1 at least. (SNU is one the best schools in South Korea, so the leveling and placement scores are different than back at my university) Moving on, this test isn't graded, but it's only to see how good your Korean is. The test (배치고사) is kinda long but I did ok. The entire test is in Korean, even the instructions. There were simple questions, some specific grammar, vocab, and more advanced grammar points. Afterwards, there is a 10 min interview to be able to see my speaking and listening skills. -- In all, it took about more than hour to get thru all of that. And I passed into Level 2!!! I'm super excited to start classes on Tuesday :)~

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On a Friday in Seoul, a 45min bus ride will turn into a 2 hour ride

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A few (blurry) pictures of Namdaemun Market and Underground Mall. The trick is to walk to down the "scary" alley ways because there's more stores and restaurants in them. At first I was really scared, like why are people just sitting in an alley . . . My home is near Chicago so alley ways are some places you stray away from over there. But, it's the opposite at Namdaemun. There are a bunch of 'hidden gems' like cute clothing stores and side dishes (반전) shops. (As you can see, the guy in the blue seat knew what was up). Also, every corner I turned appeared another street to walk down and explore. I advise going early in the day, and avoid Fridays. AT ALL COSTS, AVOID BEING OUT ON FRIDAYS. (Some Korean people leave their cars at work and use the subway or bus system during the week, and then drive the cars back home on Friday. Traffic was HORRIFIC!!!)