Trip Home

This hopefully won’t be SUPER long but I reckon it’ll be pretty long. I’m already forgetting details since it was basically 24 hours of traveling and I slept in my bed last night. But here goes nothing:

Okay so I woke up in the hostel around 10:00AM I think. After getting ready and packing my stuff, I took the sheets/pillowcase off my bed and put it in the basket then checked out of my room. Then I hung out in the basement until Kayla got here. But in that time, I met this guy from Germany named Robert. He was confused as to why I was watching a kdrama on mute but listening to my iPod. So then we started talking. He’s only going to be in Korea for three or so days then he’s going to Tokyo (for work, I presume). So he was asking me all about Korean culture and history and that was nice. Then Lin (Sophie) came downstairs and joined us and the three of us were talking. Then finally Kayla came (after momentarily getting lost) and since I wasn’t sure how to get to the subway from here, Lin and Robert acted as our guides. So I said goodbye to Ailee and set off. When they took us down to the subway (we were going to a special line–the line which is the AREX, the airport railroad express) we hugged some more. Robert is like lost in the times and doesn’t have a Facebook and nearly forgot he had an e-mail address. And instead of typing his e-mail address into my iPod (since he couldn’t really use a touch screen) he wrote it down on a piece of paper lol. Cutie. So I waved goodbye to them and promised Lin to see her again someday. Then Kayla and I went on the train.
The train wasn’t so bad, it was 45 mins tops and it was a pretty nice setup. But Kayla and I were both starving (having not eaten all day). We got to the airport around 1PM then literally got lost in the hugest airport I have ever seen for 2 hours until we finally found where I could check in my bags. But this airport (ICN–Incheon International Airport) is SO BIG that it has an orchestra (that was playing “Let it Go” by the way), a bowling alley, and a movie theater. Probably more but we didn’t explore much. People thought it was weird that I got to the airport so early but like I’m glad I did because I got so lost. While in line to check my bags in, I saw Emma and Ryan (Emma is on my flight, except in business class, but Ryan was just helping her like Kayla was helping me). So I waved at them. But like I wonder why she’s on business class…it’s not like she needs the leg room. She’s seriously the tiniest person I’ve ever met. =P After checking my bags in, Kayla and I went to Lotteria to get something to eat. I should’ve been eating there instead of Burger King. I much prefer the burgers. Well then Kayla walked with me to my gate. But there were these guys in front of us: one white guy and two Asian guys; they all looked the same age (nearly our age if not a bit older). But the white guy was hugging them and sobbing. It was so sad and pathetic. Kayla and I wondered about their relationship. I assume they met while studying abroad and made a really good bond and now he has to go home. But he ended up being on my shuttle and he was still tear-stained. Poor baby.
The flight to Dallas wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be. It kinda flew by. I think because I took it 2-hours at a time. (It was 11 hours in total). 2 hours I would sleep, then I’d watch a 2-hour movie, then sleep, then movie. So I watched “Jersey Boys” and then the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie. And I beat my record. Last time I only used the lavatory once but this time…not even once. I’m skilled, bruh. Or weird. Either way. However, I managed to sleep through 2 of the 3 meals served on the plane and that wasn’t good. Oh well. But hey look at this beautiful picture of mountains when we were flying over Washington state:

Oh, and the girl that was sitting next to me was this sweet, very quiet Korean girl. She didn’t speak that much but I noticed that she really sucked at sleeping on planes and she didn’t have any neck pillow. So I finally lent her mine and it really helped and she used it the rest of the flight. I’m glad I could help. =) When I got to Dallas, Customs took freakin’ forever. And there was all this racket about this little grow-your-own-strawberry kit I had gotten for one of my aunts. They sent me to agriculture and there they confiscated it. Like do you really think the strawberry kit is going to be the downfall of the United States? I don’t. But whatevs. So then I met up with Sasha and her mom drove me to my gate again. Sweetheart. Then Sasha and I exchanged gifts. She gave me this jar full of notes on popsicle sticks which I thought was the cutest thing (considering usually it’s me who gives those kind of gifts)! I love gifts that are from the heart. We then sat and chatted for about an hour and that was nice. Then finally we departed. The flight to Tampa seemed much shorter. My eyes were really tired so I just slept, no problem. It seemed like time flew by and we arrived. Then I took the shuttle bus and voila–there was my mom, sister, and a great family friend! I felt bad for not being enthusiastic but I think they knew how tired I was. So we went to baggage claim and then got in the car. They had gotten me food and omg it has that American taste. That savory taste. So lovely. xD
Then we drove home and I got the cutest welcome from my dogs! Even the oldest one, Dopey, who’s usually not that excited to greet me came and made some excited wheezing noises and got all excited. It was the cutest thing! Then of course, Caleb, my baby, was just whining and grumbling up a storm. And Roxy was jumping all over me. I stayed out with them for a while until I was sufficiently covered in black fur and dirt. (They’re farm dogs). I’d also hugged my dad. Then I said hi to the dove, Mandira, and our last surviving cat, Pamela (who actually seemed happy to be pet by me–I didn’t think she’d miss me). Then I went and said hi to our umbrella cockatoo, Noah, who is always the cutest to say hi to. Then I took a much needed shower. Then I ate some home food and sat on the couch with my mom, half-watching some Lifetime movie on TV, half-chatting. She also rubbed my feet which was really nice. Then I finally went to bed.

And that is the end of my journey.

There will be one more blog post that is like a sum-up but I don’t know when I’ll bother to write it lol.

Last Real Korean Meal

Well, I was woken up at 6AM by the European girls who were SCREECHING as they entered the room. The room, which was dark, they swiftly turned all the lights on as they entered. Despite the fact that everyone else, including myself, was asleep. Nice. Way to be considerate.
Well after that, I managed to fall back asleep and woke up at 11:30AM. Then I got up and walked to Sinchon where I was meeting Martina at the Burger King. I got there a bit early and accidentally ate my lunch before she got there lol. Oh well. Then she went with me to Artbox so I could get the last gift for the last person on my list. Then she walked me back to my hostel. I hugged her goodbye. Gah, I hate goodbyes.
When I got back to my room, I chilled on my computer shortly (as I warmed up), then took a shower. I’m not very fond of the shower here but then again it’s not the worst in the world so meh whatever. After that, I went back on my computer and edited some thing Martina had written (she wanted me to help with the English). Then I sent it back to her and watched a couple shows on my computer.
Then I met up with Ailee and we went into Hongdae to get dinner. We went to this place called “Crazy Tteok” where we got some cheesy tteokbokki dish. Though it was “mildly spicy” it was spicy enough to make me cry so I can only imagine the other levels lol. I also got some yummy french fries. Then we walked around a bit and went back to the hostel. But then we went down into the basement and hung out the rest of the night. Tonight there was some kpop award show on so lots of us were gathered around for that. I met some flamboyant guy named John who knows about nearly everyone in kpop. I liked him at first but then he started saying mean things about Eat Your Kimchi and then started picking on other groups/things I like so I soon got annoyed. I didn’t want to let him ruin my night but he kinda did.
So I said goodnight to Ailee and Sophie at 11:40PM and went back to my room. Plus, I’d rather spend time on my computer than watching a bunch of groups I know next to nothing about.

Welp, tomorrow is my flight home and thus my last entry. ^^ Wish me to not have too much stress.

More Fun Than I Expected

Okay firstly I have to say that after I went “to bed” last night, I actually woke up two hours later and messaged Ailee (the girl I’d met on tumblr) who wanted to meet up with me in the basement (since she’s doing a work-exchange at this hostel). So I totally did. She said it was her first time hanging out with so many Western people. I guess it was pretty full in the basement since it was a Friday night. At first I sat with her and one of her friends that seemed very uninterested. But the friend left soon. Then her Chinese guy friend sat down and he attempted to converse with me (his English is about as good as my Korean). She gave me this yogurt drink and some sprite. Then this group of friends at beside us and we started talking to them. There were 2 guys from France, 1 girl from NYC, and 1 guy from England. The two guys from France have been friends for a couple years but they met the girl while studying in Tokyo and the three of them traveled here together. They met the English guy while at the hostel.

So that’s all of us. From left to right (excuse my spelling) it’s Neville, Jacque, Chinese guy (forgot his name–oops!), me, Ailee, George, and Ashley. I wish I knew how to share a video in here because soon after we started talking, Neville picked up the guitar and started serenading us. Ashley called him a jukebox and that was exactly what he was! Any song we named he could play. He even played the strange tune that sounds in the subways here in Korea. Crazy! And for words he didn’t know he’d just majestically mumble lol. He’d get really theatrical too and jump up and shake around and make creeper faces. It was brilliant!
We stayed out in the basement until like 4AM, then I finally went “to sleep”.

Well today I got up at 11:30AM, then met up with Ailee and her friend Sophie (from Cali) to go to the Eat Your Kimchi studio. Today, Martina and Simon are opening their studio to their fans and selling all their merch much cheaper. So of course I had to go! Despite being naturally bad at directions, I managed to remember and lead the two of them to the studio (which I knew was in the clubbing area of Hongdae). There was actually a line and I came to find out that the studio is much smaller than I expected! But omg I finally met Spudgy!!!! (their dog). What a total cutie! Old dogs are the best.


I got some cute videos of Spudgy too, but I guess I’ll show you them later. We also met this girl, Leah, in the stairwell (she was an exchange-student at Sogang University in Sinchon, and like me is going home on Monday). We ended hanging out with her most of the rest of the day. But yeah, Ailee walked up to Martina first and asked if she remembered her, it took Martina a second but she did. Before I could even ask, she looked at me and said “of course I remember you, you’ve met with us a couple times”. Yay, she still remembers me! I hugged her again. I then asked Simon if he remembered me, then showed him the picture of when we first met and then he was like OH YES! And then I hugged him again. I really love the two of them. I hope they’ll remember me whenever I return to Korea.
But yeah, the studio was nice. Small but nice. It was nice to finally see where the magic happens. Then, Leah, Sophie, Ailee, and I walked around Hongdae a little bit. We stopped in Forever 21 then we stopped in the one store I’d meant to stop in all semester but never did: Condomania. Yes, it’s what it sounds like. I nearly bought something for my sister just to make her laugh but seriously that store was creative! Then we went to the You Are Here cafe and noticed several others we’d seen in the studio were there (we all had the same idea). I got a slice of carrot cake. Then Leah left and Ailee and Sophie and I went to the Japanese Ramen place I love for dinner. Now I’m back here. I plan to hang out with them a bit more in the basement later, but right now I’m going to take a short nap.

But anyway, the title of this is because I feel happier now than I have in Korea for a while. I really like living in a hostel. I’ve already met some really great people. It feels like the Korea I first felt when I first arrived here.

Kimchee Sinchon Guesthouse

I couldn’t wake up this morning. I meant to wake up at 9:30AM but instead I actually got up at like 12:30PM. Whatever. Martina went to breakfast and brought me back a muffin from Dunkin Donuts. I spent most of the morning on my computer, delaying the fact that I had to move out. Then I got the rest of my stuff together and Martina helped me move out. I have two suitcases and two carry-ons so having another person was really helpful.
It was cold but we started sweating early on lol. I was struggling carrying the big suitcase down the stairs into the subway but this passing-by ahjumma started picking it up. I told her (in Korean) it was okay and I was fine but she wouldn’t listen to me. So we carried it down together. Korean women are so strong. I’m going to miss the niceness of Korea. Anyway, having Martina help me out was so appreciated. It didn’t take too long to get to the hostel especially since we took the subway. It’s in an interesting location. It’s pretty much between Hongdae and Sinchon. Nice. So after I got settled in, Martina went with me to Burger King (also so I would know how to get to the busy part of Sinchon from the hostel). I ate dinner and relaxed a bit. Then she walked me back and hugged me goodbye. We plan to hang out on Sunday before I leave. So hopefully that wasn’t “goodbye”. Then I tried to get on my computer but my charger wouldn’t work. Then I realized the other girl in my room was having the same trouble so I told the guy working at the desk. There was also an alarm going off on our floor that I told him about. Within time he fixed both. Nice.
But yeah this hostel is pretty nice. I like the location, the bathrooms are decent, and although I’m in an 8-person all-female dorm, it’s pretty comfy. It’s a little chilly in here but it’s not too bad. I’ve met 5 of my roommates. One is from Japan. She seems pretty adorable. 3 are fellow Ewha students (one had recognized me, though unfortunately I couldn’t reciprocate) and I assume are European, but they all seem friendly. And 1 I met shortly so I’m not sure where she’s from or what she’s like. But yeah. Free Wifi! And the linen is pretty nice. And there’s no curfew or what-not. Seems pretty cool. I’ll be here until Monday so I’m glad it’s easy to get comfortable here.
Well now I’m just on my computer but I think I’ll be heading to bed soon because eh why not.

EDIT: OH MY GOD HOW COULD I FORGET! So I got my care package today from Hannah’s friend Kyung Ha Shin and along with some neat snacks and a cute toy I got (only close family will understand this) THE BLOODY MARY LYON PIN! WHAT?! NO!!!!!

Nobody Ever Likes Packing

I woke up at 9:10AM today so I could get an early start on my busy day. I so wanted to keep sleeping though…Anyway, I got up and immediately went down to the laundry room to clean my clothes. That whole process took almost two hours. Especially since some girl didn’t come to take her clothes out of the dryer. So after waiting for 22 mins I just put her stuff on the top of the dryer so I could use it. Honestly, people, is it THAT hard to be considerate?
Afterwards, I went to the Shinhan Bank to see if I’d be able to keep my bank account open without getting charged (since I plan to return to Korea) and it turns out that after withdrawing all my money out of it, it stays open for 5 years. Sweet! And it was nice to know that I actually have more in there than I thought! So then I went shopping to try and get the rest of the gifts for friends/family. I got most of the stuff I needed but I still need two more gifts (I gave up because it was too cold).
So then I ate some rice and started packing. Oh my god I hate packing. But somehow I managed to finish in like 4 hours. Then I was just exhausted. So I relaxed on my computer a little while.
Then I met up with Kayla for dinner. We went to Alice House and I got perhaps the best chicken burger I’ve ever had there. They must’ve known it would be my last one. 😦 I then got perhaps my last crepe. Then I went with Kayla to get a rice burger and tteokbokki. Then she lent me her scale so I could make sure my suitcases were under 50 lbs and they are so that’s good. Now I’m just waiting for Martina to come home (she’s at Everland right now), because she’s going to be helping me move tomorrow and I need to know when she wants to do it. I am really tired though, so I hope she comes home sooner than later.

But yah, it’s sad to see everyone leaving.

EDIT: Well, I fell asleep. Then was woken by Kayla. Then went back to sleep. Then woke up again and watched more of my show and ate rice. Then Martina came home and I gave her some of the stuff I didn’t have room to pack (/didn’t want). Then I remembered I had this bowl full of change so I went through it and it turned out to be worth 26,000won (like $25 dollars)! But knowing I didn’t have room for that weight, I split it up and gave half to Martina.

So Sad to Say Goodbye :(

Everyone’s leaving! =(

Right so I woke up today and took my final for my online class. Then I did particularly nothing. I ate a lot of rice and ramen in my room. Later on I went with Kayla to get a crepe and bubble tea, then bought more rice and some potato chips. Then I met up with Max to have our last deep talk since his flight home is at 3AM. So we met up at 10PM and talked until 12:30AM.
It was sad. I hugged him a few times and we took some selfies (which he still needs to send me). But it’s really hard saying goodbye to one of the few people I really grew close to here. OMG and he gave me a card that’s really sweet! ❤ I really hope I can see him sometime sooner than later. I miss him already.

But yeah, that was about it. I came back to my room and took a shower. Now I’m headed to bed because I have a LOT to get done tomorrow.

보고 싶을 거예요!

Oh god I feel like I’m going to cry. We’ll get to this in a second.

Well first I had my Korean Speaking Final. I got there pretty early and ran into Laura who was WAY more stressed out than me. I kept telling her “you got this”. Then I went outside my classroom to wait there and sat next to some of my classmates. They all were really excited/sad about leaving and lots took pictures with each other. One of them even started crying. Sweetheart! I started to feel sad that I hadn’t gotten closer with the people in my Korean class but even so they still seemed to care about me and hugged me and told me they would miss me. I’ll miss them too. I really liked those classmates.
The final itself wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t as stressful as the midterm. The pronunciation part I think I did perfectly. The main conversation (based on a convo in the book) wasn’t too bad. But omg what a fail in the last section–where she asked random questions. So she chooses to ask me about my favorite season and at first I think “yay, okay I can talk about this”. But then somehow I manage to forget any more descriptive words for fall. So our conversation went a bit like this:
Teacher: What is your favorite season?
Me: Fall.
Teacher: Why do you like fall?
Me: Because it’s chilly.
Teacher: Do you prefer fall or spring?
Me: Fall.
Teacher: What’s the difference between fall and spring?
Me: Fall is chilly.
Oh well haha. Hopefully she has a sense of humor. =P Afterwards, I stopped in my room shortly to charge my iPod and catch up on my Youtube subscriptions. Then I met up with Kayla to go to my favorite bibimbap place (most likely for the last time). This is why I’m sad. When we got there and sat down I finally got the card out and gave it to my favorite ahjumma. She seemed confused at first, then totally gratefully flattered. She patted my back and told me I was too nice then went in the back (probably to read it). When she finally came back out, she came right up to me and started hugging me and said “사랑해” (I love you) a couple times. That was my first time hearing that in Korea and the hugs from her were so unexpected. The message in the card I had written to her (in Korean) pretty much said:
“Hello!
I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you. Oftentimes, I come to this restaurant just to see you. I really wish I could speak better Korean so I could actually communicate with you. (I had a Korean friend help me translate this). It’s actually people like you that motivate me to keep learning Korean, because I really wish I could have a conversation with you beyond ‘thank you’ and ‘hello’. I’m leaving Korea at the end of this month and I’ll really miss you. I hope you’ll remember me! I think you’re really sweet and considerate and you brighten my day every time I see you. Thank you for being so accepting of me and welcoming me so warmly. You became like my Korean mom which helped me stop being homesick. So thank you so much! I hope you have a happy life. =)
Sincerely,
Wren (Your favorite customer and admirer)”
I was hoping I’d make her day, and it looks like I did. ❤ She sat down next to us and tried talking to us some more. I think she said something like my Korean is pretty good I just don’t speak it enough and I should practice more and study harder. (Oh, she also had stirred Kayla’s dish today and even made a perfect bite for her and fed her haha so cute!). She kept going to the back then coming back and patting my back and talking to us. She brought me more food (of course lol) and even brought us some coffee today! Then we asked her if we could take a picture with her and she got all flustered and said she had to look prettier first. So she took off her apron and went to the back to “look nicer”. We heard her tell the other workers that she had to look nice for her photo. OMG she’s such a cutie. When she finally came back, she had lipstick on. So I took a photo with her then Kayla took a photo with her. She didn’t smile as much as she does in real life, but here you go:

Isn’t she a cutie? =) Well when we finally left I asked if I could hug her again and we hugged, and then I hugged her a couple more times. I told her “I’m going to miss you” (which is the title of this blog) and she said the same then told me to take care. She walked Kayla and I completely outside, still patting our backs. Then we waved goodbye. As I left, I wanted to cry. I seriously will miss her. I will miss her most in all of Korea. She is my favorite person in Korea. I wish I could buy her a house or a vacation or something. She told us she’ll be working on Christmas. She deserves to never have to work again. What a sweet old lady. The saddest part is, I’ll probably never see her again. 😦
So yeah, I feel rather sad now. But afterwards, we went shopping a bit. I got most of the rest of the gifts for family/friends. Then we decided it was TOO COLD and went back to our rooms. When I got back to mine, I wrote this down and chatted with Martina for a while. Then I cleaned my room (because it seriously needed it) and organized my stuff so it will be easier to pack in a couple days. Martina and I chatted some more then I went with Kayla to “dinner”. But really we just got a crepe and bubble tea. Isabel was working at the crepe place and she thanked me for the card. 😉 It was WAY TOO COLD today though! And again for some reason I’m really tired again…

But hey! Classes are done! I have one more final and it’s my online class but it’s nothing to worry about. Cool thing is, no more waking up early. xD

It’s Slushing

Well, my Korean Reading and Writing Final was today. It was pretty easy. I’m glad I didn’t waste too much time studying for that because I didn’t need to. Afterwards, I went back to my room and ate some rice I had bought the night before. Then I took a nap. Then I woke up and took a shower. Then I relaxed on my computer for a while. But when I got hungry for dinner, and none of my friends wanted to accompany me, I realized that it was snowing pretty heavily outside. So I ate more rice to hold off the hunger. Then before it got too late, I layered up and went outside. It was slushing. Not raining. Not snowing. It was like falling slush. Which made the ground super dangerous to walk on. So I walked very cautiously to get food.
I got a crepe first and spoke with Letitia. I gave her the card I’d written for the staff there. She seemed confused, but hopefully she’ll read it and realize it haha. We chatted a bit about Korea and about our homes. Then I went to the convenience store to get more rice, ramen, and kancho cookies. Then I went back to my room. It’s only 8PM but I kinda wanna sleep…

Uncooked Ramen Is Still Good

Okay so I basically did nothing today. I woke up late and did some homework, studied a bit for finals. Then I did a lot of nothing. I finally left the room to go get dinner with Kayla. I got some of those fish-shaped pastries. First time getting the street-food version of them. Red-bean filled. Nice. I also got tiramisu bubble tea and then I bought some rice and ramen from the convenience store.

Now just finishing hw and studying more then I’ll go to bed. But yeah, I think I prefer uncooked ramen to cooked ramen…

Shopping!

So I didn’t want to wake up today but I knew I had to because I had big shopping plans today. So when I finally got up, I met up with Kayla and we went to Alice House for lunch. I must have been in a good mood for some reason because I showed her the video of wood ducklings jumping out of their tree for the first time (and despite having seen that video many times) I was laughing so hard I was crying and drawing lots of attention to myself. I also had my first sad moment at the realization that I’m leaving Korea very soon.
Then we took the subway to Hongdae. I was happily surprised to hear the familiar sound of Salvation Army bells ringing so I gave my spare change to them. I didn’t know they did that in Korea too. We walked down the streets of Hongdae near the clubbing area. I bought many gifts in this area (one for myself). But I can’t talk about the gifts because they belong to people that are reading this blog. But I can assure you that each were specially picked for the person. I only buy things for people that “stick out” to me and seem special to me for that person. I still need to buy a couple more people things but I’m mostly done. After shopping for a while, we went to the You Are Here cafe so I could warm up with some hot Korean Blackberry Tea. It is COLD TODAY. Like so cold that I brought hand warmers. (I later found out it was 18 degrees fahrenheit + wind). Lame.
I also bought a candy cane for the equivalent of 10 cents so that was cool. Then we went back home. I sat on my computer for a while, chilling and relaxing and warming up. Way later, Kayla and I met up again to get very late dinner at Burger King. I thought we got the same thing and ended up eating her burger when she got some really cheesy one. I felt so bad that I took her burger but she wouldn’t eat it after I took several bites from it! We sat in Burger King much longer than we meant to, chatting like we always do. Then we finally went home. It’s TOO COLD.

But yeah, then I finished a movie and now I’m going to bed.