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| Kyung Hee University |
Two months and two weeks have breezed by it seems, as I settled into my new life. Immediately, I was thrust into the routine of four-hour language classes twice a week, and four-hour lectures on Korean culture, history, and their copyright system. The theme for the next six months appears to be: when you can, try something new. And as I struggled to memorize the Korean alphabet, familiarize myself with the culture and the food and just settle and fit into my new life in general, I began to forget to see things from the eyes of a tourist, a stranger, but to embrace what Seoul had to offer.
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| Amidst the hurried and harried pace of student life, one stumbles upon gems such as this pond at the back of the Main Building of KHU |
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| A dragon and a bell (Korea House) |
I easily slipped into a daily pattern of going to school and the office, and most days, I would spend the end of the day just sitting in front of our dormitory doors, chatting with friends, and struggling to communicate with words but succeeding with gestures with the sweet old ajusshis who guard our dorm. Before I came here, I had read accounts of people who came to Korea and came away with impressions of rude people who were always in a hurry, and yes, Korean life appears to be on express bpali, bpali most of the time, but for the most part, the people I have met have all been very kind, and eager to help. Maybe because I live in essentially what could be called a university district, and the people around our dorm are used to foreigners, but aside from the occasional little shove you get if you're too slow or are in the way of the subway door, I have not encountered rude people. Or maybe its because I'm also Asian and my default action when I cannot be understood is to try to gesture instead of speaking more loudly in English, especially when my paltry supply of Korean words run out or the little old ajumma talks too fast.
Life in Korea has been and continues to be an adventure. From eating yummy pajeon and drinking sweet makgolli in some of the restaurants that serve the best pajeons in all of Seoul (and discovering that these restaurants are in fact, located at the street next to where our dormitory is located, and yes, it took me about a month and a half before I figured that the street near Hoegi station that people were talking about was in fact, the street after ours), to trying soju and beer, to learning to eat pickled radish and appreciate fiery kimchi and its various permutations, to discovering cozy little family run restaurants that serve spicy but tasty soups nestled in the side streets along our area, to getting on a train armed with nothing but your transit card, some cash, and the subway map on the way to exploring wherever your fancy takes you, I will always be forever grateful for the fact that this opportunity landed on my lap.
Some days, when I reflected on how my life has been, I realize, the Universe, or what ever force or Being out there that determines what we deserve or what to give us, does give you what you ask for, not when you ask, but when you need it. Things work out for the best most times, and patience is the key. As funny as it seems, living in pbali, pbali Seoul has taught me that, and I continue to learn and live its lessons every day.
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| The city lights compete with a luminous moon (Seoul at night, viewed from Namsan) |
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| Seoul at Night (viewed from Banpogyo) |
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| through a glass, darkly (a bird's eye view of Seoul from the viewing deck of the Seoul N Tower) |
Two months and two weeks have breezed by it seems, as I settled into my new life. Immediately, I was thrust into the routine of four-hour language classes twice a week, and four-hour lectures on Korean culture, history, and their copyright system. The theme for the next six months appears to be: when you can, try something new. And as I struggled to memorize the Korean alphabet, familiarize myself with the culture and the food and just settle and fit into my new life in general, I began to forget to see things from the eyes of a tourist, a stranger, but to embrace what Seoul had to offer.
I easily slipped into a daily pattern of going to school and the office, and most days, I would spend the end of the day just sitting in front of our dormitory doors, chatting with friends, and struggling to communicate with words but succeeding with gestures with the sweet old ajusshis who guard our dorm. Before I came here, I had read accounts of people who came to Korea and came away with impressions of rude people who were always in a hurry, and yes, Korean life appears to be on express bpali, bpali most of the time, but for the most part, the people I have met have all been very kind, and eager to help. Maybe because I live in essentially what could be called a university district, and the people around our dorm are used to foreigners, but aside from the occasional little shove you get if you're too slow or are in the way of the subway door, I have not encountered rude people. Or maybe its because I'm also Asian and my default action when I cannot be understood is to try to gesture instead of speaking more loudly in English, especially when my paltry supply of Korean words run out or the little old ajumma talks too fast.
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