Day 1 (Aug 23rd)

Oh...em...gee...

Today was crazy. So you know how I said I slept at 9:00pm? Well I woke up at 6:30am because I slept for a long time, took a shower, changed, talked to my friends and my cousin, and then went to the orientation they had for exchange students. Oh, if you haven't already known, I am now a foreign exchange student at Yonsei University for a semester. But...I haven't gotten to the crazy part of my day yet.

I walked...a lot. And ate...a lot. And drank...a moderate amount.

In a nutshell, the orientation was long and kinda boring (as orientations all tend to be). My favorite part of the morning was eating breakfast. I went out to eat with some of the girls on my floor. They're all really nice and according to Ana, Georgia is a random place to come from and I still haven't fully figured out why.
Anywho, I had kimbap (which is basically Korean sushi but I don't think my definition is doing it justice), and ddeokbokki (which is a spicy rice cake dish). They were both delicious and lunch cost me like $3 so I wasn't complaining.

After morning orientation and breakfast we went to a little market where everyone bought stuff they "needed" and then we ate lunch. Bibimbap is great. You guys should try it. To get to the market, we had to walk through Sinchon which was...an experience. Apparently the ajusshis don't care that you're crossing the street. They got places to be and if you can't walk fast enough, so be it. 

From there I went to the afternoon orientation (yeah I know, one was bad enough), where we took a short campus tour, got free sweet bread, and learned about the different trips the school offered us. There was a limited number of seats for the trip so...I bum-rushed the line. I mean, I felt bad because there seemed to have been people waiting but I think since I made a valiant effort to participate and fully immerse myself in my student exchange, I was rewarded. Yeah...still bad to cut the line. (Sorry guys.)

Okay so here goes the crazy part...which honestly wasn't so crazy. It was actually totally wicked!!! Jk. Not really on that level yet, but really, the night was fun. And it goes like this...

1. At the end of the 2nd orientation the "Yonsei Blue Knights" (cheer squad) taught us school cheers for a rivalry sports tournament. At first it was fun and great but then it got really hot in that auditorium and I'm sorry to say that the school spirit left my body.

2. We then met our "mentors" from the Mentor's Club (an organization to help exchange student integrate with Korean culture and do Korean things). We had dakgalbi (spicy chicken) for dinner with our group and I had 4 shots of Soju (alcohol). Yeah yeah, 1st day and I'm already drinking BUT Koreans like their alcohol and I was just "immersing myself with the culture". If you're wondering how Soju tastes, it tastes like light vodka...except stronger...if that makes any sense...(but of course, I wouldn't know how vodka tastes like because today was my first time having alcohol considering yah know...it's illegal in America.)

3. After dinner, everyone went to club/bar where everyone danced badly and we all had a free drink as well as a free shot of tequila, all for $5. Just so you guys know...most Asians have no rhythm. I was at the club for idk how long where they played a lot of hip-hop music you kind of just beef-it-up and jig to. Once people started dancing on the poles and some techno-ish music came on, I left. Because I had to admit, I was kind of tipsy and also tired.

4. But...I didn't go home. Me and two friends I made during dinner walked around downtown where we saw like a bajillion noraebangs (karaoke bars) and a lot of restaurants that sold chicken. Then we merged ourselves with some fun students who were drinking makgeolli (korean rice whine) and sprite. I don't think you're supposed to mix them like that but...it was good. After a while of being slightly obnoxious, we went to a noraebang where we sang Britney Spears and Beyonce very loudly...and badly.

5. After number 4, the night gets kind of uneventful cuz I just walked back to the dorm with a new friend I met and now I'm writing this post for the blog. But yah. That's about it for my day. It was eventful, fun, and...an experience.

Right now, I'm sleepy, my feet hurt, and I'm rebelling the shower. So, this about wraps up my day (and my post), and I'll update you guys tomorrow. And post pictures. Nighty night.

Pretty Part of Campus

Bibimbap, DakGalbi, and Ddeokbokki 

Party, Soju, and Noraebang