Seoul Trip

Lots of pictures!

Before I start about yesterday's very long day out all over Seoul, I went to a 노래방 (karaoke room) on the 28th!! We only sang like 4 or 5 songs, but it was good. I managed to keep up with the lyrics in Korean which even impressed myself with that one. So of course, I sang BTS and then because I feel embarrassed picking Kpop, I chose Coldplay's Paradise. So that killed my throat, but that's alright. I don't mind. My voice is incredibly ugly over a mic though, to be honest with you.

Also, on Monday, we had the other orientation followed by a night of fried chicken and alcohol. I love. Chicken. Okay? Okay. There wasn't much and it wasn't stellar or anything, but it was chicken and since I love chicken, I was happy with it. The party afterwards was a lot more fun. I will never in my life forget that night or the people I spent it with. I can only hope that I have a lot more nights like that. Seriously. I'm greedy for more.

Back to yesterday's Seoul trip.

It was cold. So cold. And you know, I don't have a winter coat here. Because space in a suitcase and such. Next time I come to Korea and it's remotely winter seasony, you can bet I am bringing my coat. But it's supposed to get like 60 I think at the end of the week so I don't really want to invest in purchasing a coat. I'll just freeze for now.

Okay, so first stop on our tour was 창덕궁 (Changdeok Palace). Very pretty!

 Ahahaha there was supposed to be a palace in this picture, but well, that definitely was not a success.

 Yesterday was a national holiday in Korea, the Independence Movement. Lots of people were out and about to visit public monuments and I think it's really cool to be part of those people and experience that. I'm also glad that I signed up for Korean History as a class so I can educate myself more on this country.

I took a million and three pictures of this place as you can tell. But it's beautiful and I have a little thing for architecture, especially old buildings. New buildings aren't as impressive because of modern day technology, but they didn't have that way back when. Hence why I think this place and others like it are extremely impressive.

After a stop in the cafe for a cup of hot cocoa (my tongue is still burn from it, yay) with a purchase of a souvenir for a family member, we walked over to 인사동 (Insadong) for lunch! It was a cold walk, but the food completely made it all worthwhile. We ate a traditional meal including 잡채 (Japchae, noodles made out of sweet potato) and 불고기 (marinated meat, typically beef). Oh man, it was so good.

불고기! And side dishes I don't know. Well, left top corner was really spicy crab. I did not eat it...

Everything was so good. We even ordered extra meat on our own. We were a table of meatlovers, so...

After lunch, we were able to roam the streets for a little while. But because I was so full and chubby, I didn't get to eat any street food. Soon. We did stop in The Face Shop, which was really pleasant. One of the employees spoke fluent English and introduced me to some face butter for my Sahara Desert skin. And it was on sale! Also, I got more lip stuff and I put it on before class today, but I was little disappointed at the color. Until I looked in the mirror before leaving and saw bright pink lips. I was so shocked... Less is more in this case.

After 인사동, we went to 광화문 (Gwanghwa Gate) where the huge statue memorializing King Sejong, the creator of the Korean alphabet (한글) is located. We were all far too cold from having walked all the way there from Insadong. But we tried to make the most out of it.

King Sejong!

We were also invited to take a picture with a different group of tourists, because as the guy said, "We are all one here." I really liked that. Good vibes. Though we will never see that picture. I felt famous a little bit.

After that, we took the subway and went to prison.

Seodaemun Prison, now a history museum, (서대문형무소역사관). There is a sad history to this place. Japanese soldiers captured and tortured Korean Independence Movement followers here. Maybe it was the weather or the fact that a lot of death took place there, but there was a certain chill in the air.

I didn't take many pictures here, it almost didn't feel right.

A model of the facility.

This was when all of us were basically really cranky and many people were still suffering from the hangover they got from the previous night's party (me not being one of them oh yeah). Actually, our AGA members weren't all that inclusive and a couple of us weren't too thrilled about how they left us to go sit in the warmth while we roamed around freezing. I chose group J of the four groups and after seeing other group photos, I'm really jealous.

But then again, we were the only group that went to Namsan Tower.

It was truly breathtaking. Combining my love of lights and cities, this was amazing. We got our picture taken and split between the four of us, it was 10,000W not 12,000W, yay deals. I also bought probably the cheapest souvenir there... But it's cute. And not for me, but oh well.

Then we went home. We were outside for like ten hours but it was good, even if we were cranky and irritable. Mainly because class started today and we're just not looking forward to it.

I already had one class today, two more in less than an hour. So far so good though.

Okay but, Ajou and their security. We have to use our card to get out, not just in. We have to push a button to get out of the dang door and I didn't see that so I was oh no, why can't I leave??? And apparently we have to do something with our cards to get through the second of the front doors and I don't know what because I slipped in behind some other guy. Lots of work basically. At UWM you gave you card to get swiped in and you were literally done until the next time you entered the building. Also, having gender separated floors sucks, because that means only one elevator for females, one for males, and one for staff. It's almost as bad as North Tower at UWM, just that it's only 3 floors, not 26 floors and one elevator... The small things I guess.

And my I finally caught my roommate! She was a whirlwind and I was awkward. Like she burst in a hour ago, practically ripping her coat off and I was just chillin' here like, oh my god it's you! It was a little awkward. But then again, I am generally socially unacceptable, so. Better luck next time.

Gotta mentally prepare myself for class, toodles.