Thursday: I took my placement test and did HORRIBLY. I totally froze and freaked out. Dunno why. So I have been placed in the lowest class. Humbling, yes. Definitely. Afterwards, our program watched a show called Nanta, a kitchen rendition of Stomp. I've actually never seen Stomp, so I'm not quite sure how similar they are, but it's the same make-music-by-thumping-on-any-and-all-inanimate-objects concept. It was entertaining but apparently it's part of every tour package out there cuz there were way more foreigners than Koreans.
Friday: My uncle and aunt took me to dinner in this trendy part of Seoul, somewhat close to the old palace near City Hall. The area reminded me of the Village in NYC or Robertson Blvd. in LA. We had flavored rice mixed with a few mussels and 16 kinds of side dishes (banchan) plus pa-jun (it looks like a large pancake with veggies) and 2 types of soups. It was awesome.
We also got our homework assignments today. Not so awesome. This summer program is going to be tough!!
Saturday: We went to Myung-Dong, a very trendy area with tons of restaurants and stores. There were SO MANY PEOPLE. It was insane. We watched Harry Potter, and it was so funny because right when the kissing scene came out, some ahjuma (older korean lady) exclaimed "OH-MEH!" which is equivalent to OH MY GOODNESS. Haha ...we all got a kick out of that.
In the evening I had dinner with an unnie (what we call older, but not ahjuma, women) I just met through my uncle and she took me back to that trendy area. Haha ...we had a restaurant famous for the soo jae bi (a type of soup) and then we went to this bakery that has the BEST green tea chiffon cake. SO GOOD. Then she dropped me off at City Hall and I decided to walk down a man-made river in Seoul called chung gae chun (청계천).
This picture is the beginning ..or end of it, depending on how you look at it. And then I just kept walking until I hit Dong Dae Moon, one of the largest shopping districts in Seoul. It was 10:30 p.m. by then but it was PACKED!! So many people shopping. Crazy. I looked around the first floor of one of the large malls (I think there are 10 floors?) and I got dizzy and left.
Afterwards, I came home and attempted to do some homework and then I passed out.
Sunday: I'm going to check out an EM church in Kang Nam with one of my friends in the program, Miny. I'll let you know how it goes. Not too hopeful.
