I arrived in Bangkok at 1 am on Thursday night (Friday Morning). Before I left I realized that both of the hostels close to the airport I had placed reservations for had not confirmed (and they do not accept walk-ins after 12). I was a little nervous, but not enough to really worry. If I have learned anything in my travels, it is that everything seems to work out one way or another. The flight went really well and at the exchange counter I ran into Garret and Justin, two brothers from the mother country. They were in the same boat [View Full Entry]

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It is less than a week before I jump on the next plane and leave Seoul. I can’t believe how fast time goes by, a whole semester, just like that. I finished my final paper tonight and I have to check out of the international house in about 6 hours. I will stay with Jan till he leaves and the go to Ji hyang’s house and chill with her. I wish I could give you a nice long reflective e-mail about how my time has been here and what I have learned, but I am so exhausted. I don’t know how [View Full Entry]

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Of course the game was interesting, despite Togo’s disadvantage with the coach drama, but I think the most exciting part was seeing it in downtown Seoul with over 600,000 Koreans. The streets were blocked off as people flooded the ground sitting on news papers and shirts; everyone wore the red devil light up head bands as people sported the Korean flag as a variety of articles of clothing; people watched on the huge screens, some even from the tops of telephone booths. Going anywhere took so much time, as there were so many people. We stood along the side of a [View Full Entry]

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We got back to Busan around dinnertime on Monday night. It was the last night of our adventure and we stayed at a hotel on Texas Street, or some call it Russian street. There were a great deal of restaurants and it seemed like a haven for female clothes shoppers. We at barbeque for dinner and witnessed our first fistfight between two Korean men. Apparently one had just been fired and kicked out of the restaurant we were eating at (which was open to the outside and had rock floors) by the managing woman. So the guy came back with a [View Full Entry]

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Sunday afternoon we went to the port and took a fairy to Geoje-do, Korea’s second largest island. Once we arrived at the fairy terminal there, it was about 6:00pm so we went downtown to find a place to drop off our stuff and stay for the night. We were right off the main street and there was a lot of activity going on. There were a number of restaurants, but it was mainly clothing stores. We found this little place with amazing mandue (steamed dumplings) and then watched “The Rock” (Pretty Korean, huh?!). The Next day we went to the Prisoner [View Full Entry]

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Jan and I took the 3 hour KTX (Speed Train) to Busan on Friday morning. We had set this weekend aside to do some adventuring. It all started at the Seoul Station where trains and busses set off to all over Korea. They run from Seoul to Sokcho, Mokpo, and Daegu, covering the country as though they are the veins that sustain its existence. Busan is located at the most Southern tip of Korea. The city itself is not quite that different from Seoul. It has a subways station and towering buildings; there are street venders and even a Busan tower. [View Full Entry]

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So, Tuesday was my last fencing class. At first I had no idea what I was getting myself into and was worried sick about passing when to professor said we had to “fight for our grade.” We spent the first few weeks on footwork. This consisted of standing with your feet at a 90-degree angel and sliding them across the floor in an almost crouched position. One arm was held out front, bent parallel to the floor, while the other was held behind your head and above your shoulders—as you can see in the pictures. We would spend the two-hour class [View Full Entry]

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Have I told you how amazing my roommate is? Sure. She is a busy girl. Seven real classes, a teacher’s assistant, and an ambitious studier. I usually only see her after 11pm and before 9am. All other hours of the day, she is running off being productive, which is more than I can say! Yet, she has her relaxing moments where she usually indulges herself in Korean Soap operas and Movies. But, when you get down to it she is still Korean. And when I mean Korean, I mean she parties with the best of them…me:) We often have hot dance [View Full Entry]

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Here in Korea, “Membership Training” has a whole new meaning. Saturday morning, two busses full of 50 Korean and International students headed off to the HITE Factory and to the East Coast Beach for our MT. After a few hours on the bus, we arrived at The HITE Factory. The HITE is one of Korea’s most popular beers. It is cheap, tastes like water, and gets the job done (just like Soju). We had a grand tour of the Factory, but since it was the weekend it was fairly deserted employee wise. If you would have asked any one the real [View Full Entry]

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So, in the fall Yonsei has a huge sports day. It is so big that they have a fairly large sort of pep rally to celebrate several months before the big day. This event it called Akaraka. Over 20,000 students pour into an arena dressed in all blue and white (Yonsei colors). They let out their school spirit through songs and cheers. Since Yonsei is one of the most prominent schools in Korea, school spirit is something they definitely have, unlike Maryville. It is so big in fact that some of Korea’s most famous and popular singers come as the entertainment. [View Full Entry]

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