SEPTEMBER 16-22
DAY 29: MOVIE NIGHT
For a tuesday night, even though we all have homework, it was really difficult to turn down the opportunity to watch Sin City in a Korean Theatre. The thing about Asian theatres that really gets you is the fact that they offer so many more services than the theatres in Canada (for almost half the price!) Caramel popcorn has only RECENTLY just become a thing in Canada (and not even in all theatres) and the sweetness of caramel popcorn has been something in Asia for a very long time already! | |
DAY 30: TAEKWONDO
| Thus far, I've been looking into participating in as many after school activities that I can, as long as I have time. School here is not as strenuous as I thought it would be (especially my undergraduate level courses). However, I do have two graduate level courses which I think will become more demanding as time increases. Luckily the university provides a robust support system and huge library with lots of study space for students to study like crazy for 24 hours! Also, we have a lot of on campus convenience stores and restaurants that sell really affordable food with decent portions! |
DAY 31: HAIRCUT & MASTER CHEF
The Korean women are really well known for being well put together and always looking nice! A few friends and I arranged to have our hair cut at a local salon near the school as well as some manicures to round out the girls day! I'd never dyed my hair before but all the discussion about making changes while in Korea prepared me to finally dye my hair! I chose a more natural red/brown colour for only half of my hair, and decided to keep my natural hair colour on the top portion of my hair so that when I curled it, it would show hints of red and brown in the light. It really turned out well, and I was so happy with the results => Highly recommend it! | |
DAY 32: Gwanaksan 4 peaks
| As usual I had my weekly hike, and today we decided to do more of the peaks on the Gwanaksan mountain (the mountain that Seoul National University is on). The mountain itself has 11 peaks in total, but we went and climbed 4 of them because most of the peaks are quite close together. Each time I climb the mountain I really enjoy the immediate rush of satisfaction when I see such a beautiful mountain view of the university and surrounding city. Seoul has really captured my heart--especially with its breathtaking mountain views! |
DAY 33: PAINTBALL AND RAFTING
SNU Buddy organized a day trip to a suburban area where they arranged for us to go Rafting and Paint balling! The area was definitely suburban because it ended up being only half an hour away from the North Korean Border :s The paint ball experience was mediocre just because the course was very unkempt and we only had a chance to play on the course for 5 minutes! Rafting, however, was breathtaking because the river we sailed on was created by lava from a nearby volcano. As a result there were some really nice sceneries and rock formations. We even got to step out of the boat and jump off of some nearby cliffs! | |
DAY 34: NAMDAEMOON MARKET
| Famous for its streetfood, the Namdaemoon market offered some of the best eats that I'd had in Korea so far. Lots of things like Squid and octopus, as well as meats soaked in flavourfull sauces and spices. There were also a lot of desserts and fresh fruits available for us to eat! My favourite was the Hodok which is a bun type of dish stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables. I had the option with meat so there were little bits of bulgogi inside :3 After the market lunch we headed to the the South and East gates of the palace perimeter and took some nice photos with the traditional architecture. |
DAY 35: JOINT E-COURSE WITH TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY
Today was my first course using an electronic system that connects our class with Tsing Hua University in China. The course is on Global Communications and it covers a range of topics where we compare trends in South Korea and China. As it was our introductory course we spent a lot of time working out the issues with the system. So far my classes have only just started in terms of content and discussion, and I'm so far really impressed by SNU's more technologically impressive methods of education (like this joint e-course with Tsing Hua). Rather than the closed lecture systems of the western world, I now have the opportunity to learn and compare with perspectives and minds from people in other countries. Truly an eye-opening experience thus far! | |