Soon Chun Hyang Health Clinic

The air in Korea is quite dry during the winter season. This week I starting coughing like when I was in Hong Kong. When the air is too dry I cough like I have asthma or something. My Korean teacher recommended that I go to the clinic to see if they can help me.

So yesterday after class I decided to drop by. I had an exchange that hour and he was nice enough to come along with me and help out if the staff at the clinic had any problems understanding me.

It's very easy right when you walk in one of the medical students will hand you a piece of paper to fill out. All you need to do is fill out your name, major and student number. Then you wait, unless there is no one in front of you then you can go in right away. There were about 5 people in front of me and it didn't take too long at about, approx 15 minutes and it was my turn.

When I went inside I explained to the doctor or med student (I'm not sure really...) what my problem was in English. My exchange partner translated a few lines in Korean. I know the doctor can understand my English, but his speaking is very low. He asked me one question in English, student? And when I asked him can I explain to him in English my problem he gave me a nod and said go ahead.

In the end my point went across and he prescribed me some cough syrup. The clinic will give you medicine and it's enough for 1 days worth. If the problem persists you'll need to go in again to get more OR you will just have to go to the pharmacy down the road to buy more. Medicine here isn't too expensive but it's nice that they will give you some medicine for free, even if it's just one days worth.

One warning is that if you are allergic to any sort of medicine you will need to tell them because they don't really ask you any of those questions. I don't have any problems in my medical history so for me it was fine. But if you have taken medication before or you know you are allergic to something definitely say something in the beginning.

Also I know other international students have gone to the clinic alone to get medicine so it's not a problem, but like I mentioned if you have allergies or what not that may require a lengthier explanation it might be better to see if a Korean friend can go with you to translate.

Many of the Koreans I have met here are very nice and are willing to help so don't be shy!

English Exchanges

This week we started our English Exchanges and I think I will have a lot of fun with all of mine. Every year the hours of exchanges seem to change depending on A. how many international students are actually in the program and B. how many Koreans sign up for the program.

This year we have a possibility of 14 hours a week with 2 Korean students each (total of 28). However another new twist this year is that the Korean students got to pick their own exchange partners. There has been an imbalance in schedule due to this fact. Some students are more well received and they almost have the maximum number of exchanges, some others have very few.

International students are feeling the unfairness of the scheduling and the administration staff said changes are to come so the update will be soon to come.

Aside from that I love the Exchange hour. I have 11 exchange partners totaling 7 hours for the week. It's a mix bag of 1st year students all through 4th year, an even ration of female to male, and some hours I have 1-1 and some 2-1. Their English levels range quite a bit as well, but I don't have anyone too beginner so a conversation flows really easily.

I got to know my Exchanges this week and remembering their names are the hardest part unfortunately. I want to remember their Korean names so it's going to take me quite a few times before I get them all down. I meet so many Korean students everyday that unless I keep seeing them over and over AND say their names over and over I tend to forget...

I hope to take pics with my exchanges soon!!! Update to come =)

Classes - Quick Intro

Although it looks like I've just been eating and shopping I do take classes here! School just began so I've seen the syllabus for all my classes. I have a few required classes and then 2 electives. We must take the full capacity of courses (18/19 credits), but we get to choose our elective classes.

First off we have CID (Cultural Internship Discussion) we meet once a week for an hour. This is a time to discuss and just talk about the exchange program, what to expect from the program, how to interact in Global Village (our dorms) and possible ways to prevent culture shock or customs to be aware of that may be vastly different than North America. The English Exchanges are also attached to this class to give it 6 credits. The exchanges are when we have one on one (possibly one on two) time with a Korean student and we teach/have conversations with them in English.

We haven't started Exchanges yet, so I will update about that when they begin on Monday.

Next we have our Korean Speaking and Writing classes. They are broken down into 3 levels beginner, intermediate & advance. When you are new to the program they automatically put you into the beginner level. However, if you have a bit of Korean knowledge you can take the Korean placement during our orientation and see if you can move up a level. We have to buy a textbook for this course but their textbooks are cheaper here. Fun Fun Korean 1 - Textbook is 28 000 won and Fun Fun Korean 1 - Workbook is 18 000. I am in level 2. The speaker teacher gives us a quiz every Monday and the writing teacher gives a lot of homework so it balances out. Both teachers are super nice and speak 90% in Korean. When we seem really lost they will repeat the instructions in English.

Then I have Beginner Korean Dance. We have to take a culture class that is worth 1 credit and is 2 hrs each week. The other 3 options are Taekwondo, Calligraphy & Traditional Korean Instruments. This class so far seems very cool! The teacher is really nice and is a great dancer, from what I have seen thus far. We will be learning the Korean traditional fan dance and the 3 drum dance. She also wants to show us clips from dances from around the world so we can compare the different styles to traditional Korean dance. Later we will also get to try on Hanbok (the Korean traditional clothes) and do the fan dance.

The above are the required classes. Then we have two electives. I choose Korean Society & Culture because it is in line with my major, Asian Studies, and Global Strategy of Korean Business. I picked that course because returning international students told me great things about that class.

Korean Society & Culture is a great class. The teacher gives us reading, no textbook, and we then have in class discussion over the various topics. We just watched a documentary comparing Western thinking to Eastern thinking. The video was very interesting and we were able to have some great discussion in class!

Global Strategy of Korean Business the teacher is very funny. We did not go in depth yet because last week on Tuesday was a holiday for this class we only had introductions. This class has the most people out of all my other classes. There are actually 3 Korean students, 1 Chinese student and then about 9 international students. I have feeling we will be having some great discussion in this class. Plus we will be going on two field trips to 2 major Korean companies to see how their factories and businesses are ran.

I am looking forward to all my classes!!! After just going to 1-2 classes I already am loving all my teachers and classmates. The group of international students this year are amazing. They are are nice and friendly. This is going to be an awesome semester! I'll give another update to classes later on after a few months. If you have any questions just ask and I'll try to answer as best I can.

Note: all classes are taught in English, except the Korean classes =)

Seoul 서울: Apgujeong 압구정, Gangnam 강남, a touch of Hongdae 홍대 & Insadong 인사동

Warning: Today's post will be extra long and picture filled since it will cover my entire weekend of fun!

On Friday after class I went to eat lunch with my roommate Soo Young (수영). We went to a really little restaurant called Our House (우리집) and we shared a giant chicken stew type thing. I forget the name in Korean but it was REALLY good and the portion is HUGE. We shared between the two of us but in reality it's really meant for a group of maybe 4-5 people.

Before & After!

Then I went up to Seoul to meet Irene (my Korean "teacher"). We went to Apgujeong (압구정) to hang out and eat dinner. We went to Rodeo Street to first check out some stores then head to the restaurant. I saw Googims the store! This is a brand I only saw online through Yesstyle but now I see it exists as a store in Korea as well. Rodeo Street is neat, it's a mix of independent boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. When we were walking around I saw many Japanese style Izakayas or restaurants, plus a few North American chains I didn't think I would find.

The inside of this one J-Pub looked so cool. Since Korea is all about presentation they really tried to make this place authentic. Irene took me to a restaurant called 산봉촤로구이 (sorry I don't know the English name) and we had 쇠고기삼겹살 (beef belly) and 냉면 (cold noodles) which this restaurant is famous for and it was FANTASTIC! This was a super delicious dinner, since it's in the Apgujeong district the price is a bit more expensive. For two of us it costs 39 900 = $39.90 in Canadian. However, it was really good and I wouldn't mind going again.

The food was great, the service was great and it's a nice relaxing atmosphere. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Afterwards we went to hang out in a coffee shop and grab dessert. I wanted to find a Cafe Bene because they are known for their waffles and honey bread, but it's a new chain so we couldn't see one. Instead we went to De Chocolate Cafe. The male servers have these cute little bow ties with their uniforms and they are super polite and happy when taking your order. The Ice Cream waffle here is the same price as home (as is most coffee shop waffles), but it was so delicious!

I was surprised how all the coffee shops have those little electronic trackers for when you have to wait longer for your food. It will light up when your order is ready. Even Dunkin Donuts, which is not high end at all, have them if you have to wait a bit for your order! It's pretty awesome actually.

After spending the night with Irene, the following day I met up with my international student friends and we went to Gangnam (강남) to try Dr. Fish. Last time I heard horror stories, but I decided I wanted to try it this time just to experience it. The name of the place is Book & Spa Cafe. You order a drink and Dr. Fish is just an extra 2 000 won. You get 20 minutes with the fish tanks.

Olliver, Pupae and I shared the Green Tea Patbingsu (팥빙수) and I grabbed a Vanilla Latte to drink. Patbingsu is like a snow cone but with real toppings not syrup. Basically they crush ice down and top it with a sauce, fruit, ice cream, corn flakes and other yummy things. You can get preset menu ones like this or some places will let you choose your toppings.

There are 2 different sizes for Dr. Fish, you get to try both of them out. There are larger fish and these tiny tiny fish. This is my reaction after putting my feet into the tank with giant fish. I am not ticklish anywhere except the bottom of my feet. I really had to hold it in and just try to stay still so the fish could do it's thing. Eventually I was able to just submerge my feet and enjoy. It's a really weird feeling. The big fish actually feel like they are biting you (but it doesn't hurt) and the little fish feel like electric shocks/vibrations.

There were many people just hanging out at the Cafe, not everyone gets Dr. Fish. If you order a drink and Dr. Fish there is also unlimited bread and cookies, plus regular coffee and tea!

From left to right:

1. Cafe atmosphere

2. Alison, Me and Jackie w/ the big fishies

3. Me, Akiko, Jackie and Olliver w/ the baby fishies.

Next we went to walk around Gangnam for a bit. Some went shopping, some of us went to take sticker pictures and some went to a bar.

For dinner Olliver took us to a 닭갈비 place and it was AWESOME. Chicken, rice, cheese filled rice cakes all mixed together to make a super combo of greatness.

This is seriously something you should try if you ever visit Korea!!! So yummy, perfect amount for 5 people.

Me & Mari outside the Chicken place. Yu, Perpetua, Me & Kristen waiting for our food to arrive so we can eat. I actually wasn't very hungry at this point but when our server started cooking our food I became very hungry all of a sudden.

1. Yu sporting a pony tail after seeing Perpetua tie her hair.

2. Cafe Slow (Tiff & Nat this one was for you!!!)

3. Stained glass windows and the Korean flag!

4. Olliver rocking red frames, OH YEAH!

Next we went to HongDae (홍대) to celebrate Danimal's birthday!!! I am so sad I didn't get to walk around since HongDae is one of my FAVOURITE areas in Seoul...I will for sure go back don't you worry.

Ho Bar III for Danimal's birthday.

Finally on Sunday I got to see Melanie! She is my friend from Vancouver and she is in Seoul teaching English. She had orientation and was busy settling down into her new place but she had some free time before her school started to come and hang out!

Emma and I met up with her in Insadong (인사동) and we went to SaDong MyunOk to have the GIANT dumpling soup. It was super delicious and I really only needed two dumplings, the third was very very very hard to finish.

After we strolled through Insadong and waited for our friend Tae to come and meet us. We saw one of the few Starbucks that is written all in Korean. Then we went to a coffee house that I saw on TV, We Got Married.

It's super cute called Byeol Da Bang Mi Seu Lee Coffee (별다방미스이) and it's right when you turn into Insadong from An Guk (안국) station Exit 6. You can write a message with your boyfriend/girlfriend and pin it up on this tree or along the walls. With your drink they also give out snacks as well.

Here is Melanie & Tae, Eun Young and Me, My chrysanthemum tea and Me and Mrs. Lee. I had a great time with them. After we also went to noraebang and it was very fun! Even though I took the express train I still didn't get back to school till about 8:30pm or 9:00pm. At this time I was STARVING since I was travelling on the train I didn't really have time for dinner. So when I got back to my dorm I rushed to Haeoreum (the Chinese dorm right beside us) and grabbed a hot dog from New York Hot Dog & Coffee. It was super delicious and cheap! Many students have told me to try it out and I finally did!!!

My New York Chili Cheese Dog =)