SEPTEMBER 9-14
day 22: 4D MOVIE & DRINKS ON A WEEKDAY!
Since we had Chuseok Holidays this week (and I don't have classes on Thursdays or Fridays) I didn't have class this past week! For some Tuesday fun we went to watch a 4D movie here in Korea called 'Into the Storm'. The movie itself was in English so we didn't have to read any subtitles, but the experience was anything close to what you would find in Canada! The 4D movie experience is somewhat like a roller coaster, the chairs are able to move in sequence with the movie and there are nozzles in front of your chair which simulate wind and water effects also in time with the movie! The theatres also offer really great popcorn variations, which range from caramel to salted popcorn! The movie was admittedly not good at all (poor script and acting were main factors) but since the movie was about tornadoes the experience was absolutely incredible :D I highly recommend it at least once while you are in Korea. | |
day 23: GWANAKSAN PEAK & DONKATSU IN kOREA
| The next day we decided to go on a nice hike but it turned out that we picked one of the more challenging hikes on the mountain. The Gwanaksan mountain is where SNU is located, so we initially started at the main gate and walked up the campus towards the engineering building. In comparison to the previous hike of Bukhansan, this was maybe the perfect hike to train for Bukhansan. The terrain was similar in that it had lots of stairs and rock formations in which you had to scale, and it also had breathtaking (but lower) views! In total it took our group maybe 4 hours total to do the climb and by the end the view was obviously worth it since it was such a nice day. After going home for a bit of rest and a shower we met up at Imo's restaurant to thank her for taking us up Bukhansan. At the restaurant she served Japanese style Pork and Rice (Donkatsu) which I'd been missing since I left Japan :D |
day 24: SUNDAE, office pub & karaoke
Since the past few days had been so filled with exercise, it was nice to have a day off to just relax and be on campus for no reason. I ended up sitting in on an Insurance Class which I'd planned on taking previously but decided against it since I hadn't done statistics since highschool. After sitting in and falling asleep during the 3 hour class I realized that it was a good decision that I dropped the course! For dinner we went to the cafeteria and I decided to try the Korean sausage: Sundae. However, what I encountered was something totally unlike what I was expecting. Perhaps a sausage of pork on noodles... but instead I got a plate of Sausage stuffed with noodles and pig's blood. Not to be too critical but It was not my favourite dish >.< There wasn't anything exactly wrong with the taste, it was more an issue of the tastelessness that I had... | |
On the bright side, we went for ice cream afterwards so I was soon filled with the tastes of chocolate :)
Also, on Thursdays, SNU Buddy organizes an event called Office Pub where students can have a beer and talk with buddies and other members from the other groups. Since it was the first Office Pub there were a lo of people and everyone had a great time, and we even ended up going to Karaoke afterwards!
Also, on Thursdays, SNU Buddy organizes an event called Office Pub where students can have a beer and talk with buddies and other members from the other groups. Since it was the first Office Pub there were a lo of people and everyone had a great time, and we even ended up going to Karaoke afterwards!
day 25: asan, chunan & food tour
| A friend of mine had visited Seoul before and on her trip she made a friend who lives in Asan city (2 hours away from Seoul by subway). We ended up visiting her in the morning, as her family had opened up a restaurant in the Galleria Department store. The city itself was definitely under construction as a budding new city centre. All around there were new buildings being put up! Her friend was so nice as to even make us lunch and dessert (my fav mango bingsoo!). After visiting her friend we went to the main city centre of Cheonan and bought the very famous Hodu Gwaja walnut cakes that are made specially in the area (SUPER DELICIOUS). |
When we finally got back into the city, we joined up with the rest of my group heading to a Traditional Korean Food Tour. On the tour we tried Pig's feet and more Sundae (pig's blood sausage). Pig's feet were not a scary concept for me because as a Chinese person I'm quite used to eating random limbs and things from various animals (i.e. Ox's Tongue, Chicken Feet). The thing that freaked me out the most again was Sundae which was blood sausage. There was nothing exactly wrong with the taste as the sausage was stuffed with noodles, but it wasnt particularly pleasing for my appetite either >.<
However, to top off the night we had a large dish of fried foods accompanied by some delicious Makoli :) so I went to sleep with a happy stomach for sure because everything tasted like Japanese shrimp tempura!
However, to top off the night we had a large dish of fried foods accompanied by some delicious Makoli :) so I went to sleep with a happy stomach for sure because everything tasted like Japanese shrimp tempura!
day 26: snu olympics & rooftop parties
To work off all of the previous day's fried foods we all joined in on the SNU Buddy Olympics! Groups 2 and 8 were put together to create the Red Team and we participated in a whole day's worth of events and games. Included were a strange form of dodgeball, basketball, Korean relay games and soccer! For lunch we ordered delivery JaJjangmyeon and fried chicken (which Koreans here call 'Chinese food' even though technically its not really Chinese food). It was great and super filling :D gotta love delivery! After lunch we finished off the games and then headed for our homes to meet up again for a BBQ pork dinner and Kimchi fried rice which was amazing -- to end the night we all went to a rooftop and had some drinks into the night :D | |
day 27: BRAZILIAN DAY FESTIVAL & SHINSEGAE
| Though the first day started on Saturday during the Olympics, some of us attended the Brazilian Festival Day to check out the food and music and visit one of our group members who was volunteering for the event. I ended up getting the Stroganoff which was great and packed with flavours. And of course the music was fantastic and filled with great beats and samba sounds. It really made me reminisce about my time in Panama which was not so long ago but feels so far away-> starting to miss those Patacones :s After the Brazilian day festival we attempted to go to Costco here in Korea but sadly it was closed :( Instead we checked out a department store in Gangnam to see some of the foreign products they had (but way overpriced!) had a great Bulgogi Pizza Baguette for dinner then headed home for an early night :) |