Running Around

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Remember how I said I wanted to thank Mandy by taking her out to dinner? Well today was that day. It started out like any other day here. Though it was a Saturday, I braced myself for another 12 hours of classes with breaks in between only for lunch and dinner. I got to class on time (thank god, because they really keep tabs on us!), and managed to stay awake until lunch time. Lunch time came. There was curry rice, beef, kimchi (as always) and rice noodles... all things I absolutely love. After my roommate and her friend, Ronnie, scarfed down lunch, we decided to explore the area around campus for the first time. Actually, if you read my first blog, you'll know that it was technically my second time (F*#%ing cab driver!!!!).

We went to the campus gates and just started walking in one direction. We found a few stores, but only one of them said, "Cool," so we had to go in. Now, some of the people reading this have probably been thinking, Thanks for the blocks of text, Jen, now where are the pictures?? Well, if you're on my Facebook, you may have seen that I actually uploaded a pic of the Cool store. How? Well, after we went in, I found a mini SD card! I had been searching for one since I got to Korea. Since I left mine at home and my phone hasn't been able to take pictures without it, there have been no pics to post!

While walking back, we saw a school, and I took pictures like the worst kind of tourist.

After being annoying, camera-wielding tourists, we headed back to campus for class. We were late, and, expectedly, they marked us as such. Classes went on for another few hours, and finally, it was time for dinner. My groupmate, Mark, and one of his friends came with me. Mandy had suggested a place called TimeWorld Galleria. We took a 15 minute taxi ride there, and met Mandy in front of a "waterfall." It's in quotes, because it was like 30 degrees all day, thereby freezing said waterfall. My parka and faux faur-lined gloves were not enough to keep me warm.

So, I jumped on Mandy and hugged her and told her how happy I was to see her! Then, we all went inside. OH MY GOD. It was like I was in a dream. There was a Starbucks and McDonald's and shoes and makeup and purses everywhere. It was the shopping Mecca of Daejeon. I will be going back! We didn't have much time, though, so we headed to the downstairs dining area. It had everything! Bakeries, gelato places, "Western Food," Japanese and Chinese food, and even a Burger King. I was adventurous and ordered something Korean. It turned out to be too spicy for me, but I tried to eat it. I am pretty sure there were some chewy tentacles in it, too, which didn't help. I just kept reminding myself that I've eaten calamari before, so this is no big deal.

We looked at the time and it was already 10 minutes until class was supposed to start! I could not afford to be late again, so we all headed out. Mandy gave me her business card. Yay! So, we piled into the cab and it got us to campus in THREE minutes. 3! The other taxi had gone the long way, I guess. We got out of the cab, and started making a mad dash for the classroom. Amazingly enough, we made it just as the attendance sheet was being pased around. A lucky break!

After our last Survival Korean course, I got some Korean M&Ms and headed to the dorm to write about the day and upload some pics for you all to see. Hope you enjoy!

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Photos

My Dinner
Spicy tentacles and onions, white rice, fish and seaweed soup, and some side dishes.