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Published: October 8th 2006
Orientation Banner
Thought this was niceWe've been here a month now...first impressions...ok...I'm definitely not going to lie when I say there were more things that made our eyes pop out than I could remember. We were constantly comparing things to what we knew and either making the weirdest face, laughing and/or taking a picture. I'm an honest person so everything from this point on might be a little biased from my point of view...consider this your warning....
I know that sounds mean, but let me tell you......if you heard a little dink-dink-dink-dink behind you, turning around only to discover its a korean girl on her 4 inch or so toothpick high heels running full speed down the sidewalk. Assembling the blur together into a stick figure with zebra spandex capri-ish pants, puke green shorts/overalls, a bright pink shirt-thing underneath and a lime green "hat". There are very few things that leave me speechless, but this was definitely one of them. I could only just try to get my camera out fast enough, but to my dismay, couldn't. At that point Renee and I just stopped walking, looked at each other with the I-saw-that-did-you? but-it-still-hasn't-registered kind of look. We could only keep walking...there was no way
POSCO Building
Everyone calls this the P-O-S Building...haha. Science and Tech I think. either of us could think of anything else for the hour or so. Quite a sight to see. Seoul is suppoed to be like the Milan or Paris of fashion in Korea....we have yet to see an outfit that compares. Fashion we knew would be different from the states, but seriously, no one in their right mind would even dress like that for Halloween. What would that costume be anyway? What would you say when people asked? Oooo! Oooo! I know! A closet of fashion from the 1920's to the late 90's sneezed on me! Just wow.
High heels is definitely the "thing" here with girls. No matter what "outfit" they decided is wear-in-public worthy, it is accompanied by the littlest tackiest pair of high heels. I'm not Valley Girl Barbie by any means, but even I can say enough is enough with it. I can't wait until winter to see the tacky-ass high heel boots they so crave as they stand in the shoe stores all googy-eyed and drooling. Don't worry, there will be pictures of them as they strut/sprint in the snow with them.
The campus here is at least 6 times the size of Centenary. It's
A gorgeous building on campus
We both agree it screams Harry Potter. about a 3-5 minutes to walk from one end to the other. It takes a good 15 minutes to walk from our dorm to one of our classes...not even halfway across campus...width wise. In New Jersey or Philly, a "hill" is pretty much a speed bump in shopping centers, every which way you walk here, you are standing in front of Mt. Fuji. Some of the inclines are easily 70 degrees, so you contemplate if it is absolutely neccessary to reach your destination at that point in time. I hope to god they have a great snow removal system here. There is no way I will be leaving the dorm if they dont. I have already had numerous injuries due to a less than acceptable system at good ol' Centenary.
Yes..classes. Besides the fact that sometimes I feel like I have the intelligence of a kiwi compared to the girls, I was very impressed with one fact the first few days. My name isn't the easiest to pronounce. People get it wrong all the time and I usually just give up. Koreans speak Korean as their first language..duh...if any of them speak English, it's more than likely broken...again, duh.
First class we attended the teacher rook role and being international students, we are at the bottom of the list. Renee was "Rainy" and then came me. I cringed because if she can't say a simple Renee name, I didn't want to hear how bad mine would be butchered. She said my first AND last name correctly without having me to say it first! Figures that I would have to leave my home country and travel across the freakin world to simply have someone pronounce my name correctly...first time.
Ewha Woman's University.....is the most elite school for girls in....the....world. That previous lack of information, during the stupid orientation, allowed me to react by almost falling out of my chair turning around so fast at Renee behind me to see the same face I was giving her. Professor Yoo is one of the most memorable women I have ever met in my life, but the "Ewha is the equivalent of Princeton in the United States" was complete bullshit. Wow...Centenary to the-best-school-for-girls-in-the-world is a bit of an enviroment change. Not a negative one, but definitely an eye opener. Out of the top 100 most influential women in history of the world
Our dorm again
An awesome view of the side with the alumni building in the reflection. or something list....55 of them graduated from Ewha. I am in classes with the girls that will rule the world in a few years. Again, wow.
Orientation was definitely the typical welcome to Ewha...blah blabbity blah blah blah....blah bullshit every school has. Not much to tell here but when it was over, there was quite a nice dinner set up for everyone. Now keep in mind, its not Centenary...so instead of everyone going back to their rooms and doing whatever until they go to sleep, they told everyone it was mandatory to meet at the front gate at 630 or so. I was skeptical about this so called rendevous, but I'm finally in south korea, so what the hell....right? Standing at the front gate amidst everyone feeling completely out of place because following directions correctly isn't exaclty my forte, but curiousity got me this time. As the Ewha Peace Buddies (yeah...i know...g-a-y) met us we started walking down the street. A few blocks later, I'm still looking around and we cross the street and enter a building. Ok, tangent time...due to the lack of horizontal space here, business are stacked on top of each other. Anyway, as we enter
Jazz Bar
The mustard colored building is where the bar was for orientation. All the way at the top. this 8 or 9 story really nice building, we go up an elevator...ok no big deal...still what the hell are we doing? Open up the door and there is a sign for welcoming Ewha international students on a door. Naturally everyone is like "What's in there?" Naturally...I open it first and disappear. It's a bar. Ewha rents out an entire bar to close orientation. Eat it Centenary. Our only rule: everyone has to order one drink so they break even with money....there was no problem enforcing this. This was the day before classes too...many people didnt make it. I however, unlike the germans, frenchies and aussies made it to class the next day, thank you.
Right outside Ewha is one of the best places for shopping for girls we were told. I'm not even going to touch on the fashion, clothes and accessories again, but look for pictures later. As anyone with more than two brain cells can figure out, one would normally pick a spot/store/street sign/building, etc that you will remember on the way back to get through the maze of streets again. Well there are no street signs, stop lights, business numbers and all the buldings look
La Cuisina
This is the campus restaurant. An extremely far cry from Tilly's. pretty much the same....fun. I, of course, asked someone how the hell a city survives without these two such things. "Only the highways and major streets have lights and signs"...::face::....next question "How would you give someone directions without street signs?" "Everyone has GPS and puts the address in" I guess I can't bash that too much then, GPS to me is still the coolest thing ever. It's not like one day they were taken away on a budget cut or anything, the city has been living without the signs and lights since it was built way back when.
If one were to do that to say New York one day, Manhattan would simply implode due to the cars piled up upon one another and squeezed between the buildings 27 cars wide and 143 cars high. The island would just sink in on itself. What would an explorer think when they found them? Headline: "Forget Atlantis! Dr. Schmo and crew uncoveres hundreds of human beings from the Pre-Technology Era!" Article: Further exploring inside of cars introduces a new culture. Tests reveal that multitasking did actually exist. Postures consisted of one hand still laying on the horn and other has a clenched
La Cuisina
The opposite of Tilly's food...sorry Linda fist with one finger still standing. Further studies will discover meaning of this body language...." Hello, Kodak Moment...how are you today?
Speaking of New York, people are well, bold. They wake up (if they even sleep at all), go to work, get home, go to sleep. Getting from one place to another without hesitation, the light changes, they drive or walk. Shopping consists of pretty much knowing what you want and getting it, going home. Simple enough. The first day of exploring the area a bit, I felt as if I should have brought a motorized wheelchair. Then at least if it stopped working, I could still push it faster than they would walk. The walking toothpicks are strolling down the sidewalk holding hands (its the culture...if you are very close to someone, you hold hands everywhere and doesn't matter if its guys or girls) without a care in the world. Renee saw my eyes a few times and would just start giggling. There were some streets that I would walk a step or two and just stop. Walk another step or two and stop. I mean, they live in Korea, they can read the signs and know what
La Cuisina
Again, sorry Linda...but what wouldn't you see at Tilly's? hint: look up each store sells, etc. I have no clue whats around the corner, down the street or shafty alleyway. I can't read the hieroglyphics and can't stop and "ask for directions" and I can walk faster while getting around than they can. I'm sure it was a sight to see from Renee's perspective. Drives me crazy to walk slower than I want to...absolutely insane.
I have to admit I was a little sleepy before this paragraph, but now im wide awake. I was listening to dashboard, now its the peppers and incubus.
Moving on....
Prices for shopping get me too. Not in department stores or larger established stores, but the little ones, set up places along the sidewalks or if you pay with cash, people bargin prices. I was talking to a fellow american one day and she brought a price from about 40,000 won to about 25,000 won. Not bad at all...only a woman could bring a price down that low. Ive picked it up and have gotten some pretty good deals myself.
One thing I like more here than in America is currency. I would easily rather use theirs than ours. Won is used with coins
Youn & Soo Won
Two of the best girls we know! of 10, 50, 100 and 500. Most commonly used bills are 1000, 5000, and 10,000. They have higher denominations, but everyone uses credit/debit cards for larger purchases so even MAC machines only distribute the 10,000. When you buy something, the price is an even amount. Example: a box of cereal...Korea: W3,000. You give the person three 1,000 bills and walk away. America its more likely to pay $5.86 + tax. Give them $5 and count out the damn change or give them $6 and wait for the damn change. It's a lot less of a hassle with even amounts. I'm pretty sure I'll miss this the most when I leave.
Americans lose a bit in the conversion with WON from Dollars. We were told to look at the number and drop the last three zeros to give us the rough equivalent. Therefore we would then have the 1, 5, and 10 dollar bills and the penny, nickel, dime and fifty cent piece. That made a world of difference. I havent spent any of my coins yet. I have a piggy bank almost completely full already and I have about three months to go. I'm going to save all the
Mine is the 5th one in on November 10th
One of the very few times my name has ever been on the board at school and I'm not in trouble, lol coins I get and cash them all in the last week I'm here to see how much they came out to be.
The Metro (subway) here is a world of difference. Not nearly as bad as SEPTA or the New York one. I have yet to see a dirty old man living in/on boxes or newspaper. There is actually a staff that cleans the stops and the actual cars all throughout the day. I have actually seen them and they actually do what they are supposed to do. I'm sure it's not the most glamorous job, but Renee and I appreciate it more than most people would. Seoul is the size I think of like Rhode Island or something crazy. you can get anywhere in Seoul and other parts around it using the Metro. The farthest stop on the longest line from our school is about two hours (we've taken it). Other trains will take you anywhere in Korea. The public transportation is the pinnacle of efficiency and organization.
Koreans are very trusting with each other. More times than enough, we have seen people leave something of value, suitcases, children, pets, groceries, or shopping bags aside and walk
Seoul Sunset
Walk out our front gate...look right. This easily made my top five favorite pictures I have ever taken. away for a few moments in a very crowded area without thinking twice. The muscles in my eyes have to be so strong by now from all the times they have popped out and back in again. I can't help but compare yet again to New York. Im sure you can figure this one out.
People are always selling things along the streets, sidewalks, subways and anywhere people will pass. I have seen everything to an intricate stand so maticuliously set up to just a few newspapers on the ground with one sitting behind their possessions. The ratio is about the same for men and women, but they have their nitches. Women happen to be more in front of grocery stores selling their home grown whatever, along the sidewalks selling hair accessories type of things, and other area with little rice cakes or treats. Men will be more apt to the subway with a cart like thing selling anything from what we think were pot holders to flashlights to pedmoeters walking from car to car down the line.
There are so many things that blow us away even to this day, but we know we wont forget them.
Don't leave an empty plate near me
Sir, you seem to have something on your face, but I have to say the unibrow really brings out your eyes. I love traveling more than anything...ok not more than photography, but still. I love to just see how these people have been living for so long and how they have adapted their lives to the culture. I still feel like a little kid sometimes because I find myself almost starring out of sheer fascination. I absolutely love all things Korean at this point and if I could somehow live here for a few years, I would jump at the chance. Even if that never happens, Renee and I already decided that every few years we will visit. Now that we have settled in and are familiar with everything, I promise there will be many more entries and less than a month apart...hearts.
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Holly
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Sarah, you should be a writer or a photo journalist. I really enjoyed this blog.