Learn to Conjugate The sun shone brighter, and you were shown a new outlook on Korea. I don't think the sun stopped by for a visit to show you Seoul. I'm just being a pill, but don't write that on anything important.
Adventures in Korea Hey Sarah!
I just got an e-mail update about your travel blog. I will have to take time and read about all of your adventures. I am so thrilled you are having such a momentous experience. I will need to see you in the fall with Naz and trek down to D.C.
Lady Gaga Actually, Lady Gaga is huge in Korea. They played Poker Face in a Korean hip-hop club I went to called SKA2 (don't ask me why) and it was awesome. She's done a couple concerts here too and I saw her on TV.
Why? I'm sorry, but isn't anyone else curious about the bird's story? I've been waiting for 2 days for some type of explanation. Where did it come from and where did it go? Was it a pet, guest, or trespasser? Did it come home with you after your "wild" night of partying? And most important, have you finally found the perfect gift to bring home to your mom?
LGg How many times have you heard Lady Gaga over there? You would think that the curfew would create a larger gap between mildly responsible people and party animals in that 1% of the group would have 95% of the fun since they stay out all night all the time.
I can understand! Hey Sarah,
What a nightmare... I would have done the same thing... run around town until the issue was solved.
If your future travels (or for any of your friends who read this blog), some things I do before I travel include:
--Give one of your parents or siblings access to your bank account (put them on the "ok" list with your bank so they can call the bank in reference to your account), so in a situation like this, they could call and say "don't deactivate the old card just yet"... this happened to me once to, and my Dad called and got them to reactivate the old card.
--Before you leave for a trip, call (or email) all of your banks and let them know where you are going and when, so they don't deactivate your account by accident after noticing international transactions.
--Set up a new bank account and keep just $500 in it and keep your main bank's ATM card hidden away. Just use the $500 atm card around town and have your parent/sibling refill the account periodically (give them money ahead of time to do this). This way, if the card is stolen or lost, you don't have to worry about possibly losing tons of money and you have an extra ATM card (your main one) in case you need backup.
--And, yes, travelers checks are great to take along. And, If you don't use them, you can just deposit them in your bank account when you get home for no charge, just like a regular check. (I usually do it in person at the bank though, just to make sure there are no questions.) Cash is also good to take. In some countries, they will only take $100 bills and they have to be newer clean bills (seems unfair, but they won't except dirty, old, small bills everywhere)
WTF They lock you out? That's... that blows my mind. On the one hand that means that when you go out, you really go out. And that's awesome. But obviously you can't go out regularly. And that just makes me sad. I donno what I'd do.
Probably sleep on the streets.
Well, I tried to put 20,000 won on my card to have for future trips. A subway ride is only about 900 won, which is less than 90 cents I guess. The exchange rate is about 1200 or 1300 won to the dollar currently.
University life Yonsei looks like it could be in the U.S. Whose architecture did they copy when building this university? Maybe they wanted to get away from Japanese influence after being under their control for 50 years.
What it is! When I was in the hospital, one of my Korean nurses said that Yonsei IS a top-tier university in Korea. Thanks for the pics of your habitat - now I can picture you better in my mind's eye in your real environment. How about a picture of your roommate?
Love,
Mom
How high is it? ..the hill! We need a picture! Is it equal to walking up our road and driveway once, twice, or is from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the rim? I agree with your name for the church and I think you should take credit for the artistic use of motion in photography.
Everyone here says "Hi", even Andrew. Daniel wants you to take care of your feet walking those hills (he came back from the Rockies with blisters on top of blisters)
Keep 'em coming I'll be impressed if you are able to keep devoting the attention and time to blogging, but I sincerely hope you do. There is something very real and raw about the overwhelmingness of it all that you have the ability to capture and subsequently others will benefit from... plus, I am a big fan and will be checking often. I might start nagging you with actual emails if you start lagging...
P.S. your boss was ALL OVER CNN today (4 different interviews!) David Straub was with Bill Clinton in North Korea!
RE: kimchi Odor-free kimchi?? never! that's an abomination. the odor is half, or more, of the charm. now, if they had non-stomach cancer-forming kimchi, i'd be on board. :-)
What about kimchi? I saw an article in the paper yesterday about a Korean woman who has come up with an odor-free recipe for kimchi. Let us know what your toughts are re. this side dish.
hi ! Hi ! I'm french and I know very well "the gorge of Verdon".
I like your photos.
Your blog is good.
http://isis-aime-osiris.skyblog.com (thanks =))
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Ma pauvre jeune fille So your 2nd Grand Adventure comes to its close (the 1st was your month in China). I can imagine how you must be feeling. Your time in Europe has been edifying and challenging with something new to experience around every corner and with each new day. By comparison, coming home to metropolitan Chicago seems a bit of a let down - everything here is so. . . normal. But remember we are going to be travelling this summer and you have your senior year at Fairfield to look forward to.
:) Sarah, I always love reading your journals. It sounds like you had a good time with the Swiss! I miss you a lot, and I'm excited for you to return! I'm really excited about our house for next year. I'm amazed that you went all the way to Switzerland on your own, but you have always been a "do it your own way" kind of person, something I always admired. Love you girl. Have a great day and rest of the week. When do you come back to the states?
Spending a month on sabbatical from work in Washington DC to take a Korean language course at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Previous entries from January to May 2006, when I studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France.
I have loved traveling ever since I was a kid and my family took road trips all over the US. In the summer of '05 I spent a month in China on a research trip with my advisor. Now I've returned to Asia to have another go at hot humid weather and tasty exotic foods in a vibrant city.
I've been on three continents so far- only four to go! Hope you enjoy the journals... full info
Susie
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Learn to Conjugate
The sun shone brighter, and you were shown a new outlook on Korea. I don't think the sun stopped by for a visit to show you Seoul. I'm just being a pill, but don't write that on anything important.