Crazy Weather

Hey all. Just a quick update throughout today. Many of you may have heard that Typhoon Bolaven is heading my way.

9:21 AM: As for right now, we're just getting a lot of wind; but I've been told this is just the beginning. The main storm will be here right as I need to go to class. Go figure. Many classes have been canceled, but I'm not sure if my two classes are included there. I guess we'll figure that out when we get there!

11:00 AM: Tons of rain right now. Also tons of wind. Still have no idea if classes are cancelled. My roommate's two classes are cancelled but I haven't heard anything about mine.

1:50 PM: Walked through super strong winds to get to class only to find out that it was, indeed, cancelled.

3:08 PM: Sitting inside, watching the sky churn. No more rain but still copious amounts of wind.

August 29, 2012: The rest of yesterday passed very windy but uneventful. Other parts of the country like Jeju Island and also Okinawa in Japan got totally hammered by the storm. The TV is always on somewhere here and it's been focused on the typhoon, so I've seen the destruction some of the other places nearby are encountering. Luckily, my school is fine, just a little battered from the wind. Everyone is here safe and sound. Onto the rest of the first week of school!

Truth Hall Dorm Tour

I have successfully survived my first week in Korea! However, I did not bring my video camera, so you'll have to enjoy still pictures instead.

Here's the tour!

This is what the front entrance looks like from the far window. You can see the bunk beds off to either side and the area right inside the door for your shoes. The toilet is to the left and the sink and shower are to the right.

This is on the left side (from the above photo). Three closets, each numbered, a small fridge, and a small set of cabinets (also numbered) for more of your stuff.

Each closet has a small mirror, bar with a little shelf above, hanger rack, two little drawers, and a shelf.

             

 There are washing machines in Truth Hall, but only one dryer, as far as I know. So we dry our laundry on this nifty contraption! It expands and you simply hang your clothes out on it and let them air dry.

The sink isn't terribly big, so it's a bit crowded for three girls and all their stuff. Luckily the desks have a ton of space to store things. There is a towel rack off to the side, there, but we still haven't got a towel to hang up. That door to the left leads to the shower. The door you can see in the mirror, leads to the toilet.

The shower seems really small! There is a mirror and a small rack for some shampoo and whatnot. That rack up above the shower head is where you store your towels and clean clothes while you take your shower. My taller friends say it's quite a bit of a challenge to shower here, as they are much taller than the shower head and there isn't a lot of movement space for shaving your legs (sorry boys! But I did say this blog was from my personal perspective!)

The room for the toilet feels very small. There is a little sign for you to read while you do your stuff, saying not to throw trash or anything but toilet paper into the toilet. It even has cutesy little pictures.

The light switches for the shower and rest of the room. The bottom right switch is for the shower. Now you know which one to hit in the morning without waking up your roommates!

This is the little fridge. The cafeteria isn't always open (I'm looking at you, weekends) so it's helpful to keep some 김밥 (gimbap) and other snacks or drinks in here. Your roommates can help recommend some of the tasty foods.

You will climb that ladder (awkwardly, at first) to get to your bed each night (or morning, depending on how hard you party). Being only 5'4", I don't have trouble hitting my head on the ceiling, but I can see how that could be a problem if you're much taller than that. The desk is bellow your bed and it has so many little cubbies for your school and other stuff. 

Your bunk, just like the closet and cabinet, is also numbered. Being the only foreigner in the room, you are likely to be assigned the number 3. Your key card to get into your dorm will have your room number, followed by your bed number.

The set up underneath the desk. There is a surge protector provided...for Korean style plugs. There is also an ethernet jack. The wifi in the room is a little spotty and doesn't always work easily. Surprisingly the interent connection here isn't as fast as I expected it to be. But it still works!

Oh boy was I relieved to find that my adapter/converter thing would fit in here. I was super reluctant to plug it in because I kept hearing horror stories from the other students that they were frying their electronics. It took quite a bit of force, but I did manage to get my American surge protector plugged into the adapter and it works just fine. 

Taken from the front door area. My bunk is the one on the right, my roommate's are on the left.

The view from my window. Everything is so green here! But in trade off, it is ridiculously humid; Coloradans beware.

I'm pretty sure this is the guy's side of the dormitory. You can kind of see off to the right there, the walkway between the dorms. But guys cannot come into the girls dorm and vice versa. I actually went most of yesterday without speaking to a single male. It was a strange experience for sure.

So that's it! I hope you enjoyed the dorm tour. It's been really rainy outside this last week and we're finally starting to get some sunny weather. Unfortunately, that means that it's really hot and really really humid. The air conditioning seems to not always work; it's a central system, so some mysterious entity controls how hot or cold I get inside.  

What to Pack for Your Study Abroad in Korea

Patrick Star introduces today's topic

One week ago yesterday, I lugged my not-quite-50-pound suitcase, duffle bag, and backpack to the airport and onto the plane. The next day, I was in Korea. Today, I'm going to go over what I packed and what I have found useful so far. I'll make another post for what I packed that was useful and what was not once I return to Colorado.




To start, here are two lists, one I made myself and the other from UNC.

• electronics
• adaptor/power converter
• power strip
• ipad
• laptop
• ipod
• camera

• entertainment
• knitting
• phrase book

• Bathroom
• makeup 
• deodorant
• face cleaning wipes
• face creams
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• hair ties
• bobby pins
• twisty bobby pins
• hair styling products
• razor
• hair towel
• feminine products
• moleskin
• blister bandaids
• regular bandaids
• wisp toothbrush 

• gifts:
• scarves
• UNC stuff

• clothes
• tennis shoes
• walking shoes
• flip flops
• jeans
• shorts
• shirts
• dresses
• skirt
• socks
• underclothes
• workout clothes
• pjs
• tights
• leggings
• sunglasses
• towels
• North Face fleece jacket
• halloween costume
• headbands

• Rx
• prescription medications
• otc cold medicine
• advil/aleve

• Random
• water filters
• lip balm
• sunscreen

Generic Packing List

*Remember you will be doing laundry

• Shirts (about 10)
• Pants (5-6)
• Dress Pants/Skirt
• Dress shirt/ sweater
• Socks/Underwear
• Rain Coat
• Winter coat
• Long underwear
• Gloves
• Hat
• Walking shoes
• Dress shoes
• Flip flops
• Belt
• Backpack
• Watch
• Travel pillow
• Safety pins
• Sewing kit
• Tape
• Travel toiletries
• shampoo and conditioner
• deodorant
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• face wash
• floss
• Nail clippers
• Wash cloth
• Basic first aid kit
• Feminine products
• Condoms
• Hair dryer
• Prescription drugs
• Sunglasses
• Perscription glasses
• Sunscreen
• Enough contacts and solution for the time you will be gone
• Pens
• Dictionary
• Book or magazines
• Passport
• Copies of important documents
• Local currency
• ATM & credit card
• Security pouch
• Camera
• Computer and cords
• iPod, cord, headphones
• Gifts
• Pictures from home
• Power converter

Sorry for such a long list, but if you're going to be in Korea for five months, you will need a lot of stuff. Now, I didn't bring everything on this list, but most of it I managed to fit in my suitcase (by rolling my clothes instead of folding them), duffel bag, and backpack. 

There are so many places online to look for this same sort of information. My favorite, for its entertainment and informational values, is this video by Eat Your Kimchi. From Busan with Love is another great resource that I used for packing my suitcase. The Daily Kimchi has another great list of packing ideas.

I hope this video and post were helpful to you! Please feel free to ask about anything and I'll do my best to answer. 

Tasty Vegan Noms

In preparation for my study abroad, I had a going away party with family and some friends this past weekend. My mom was kind enough to supply a meat and cheese plate but I've been doing a (mostly) vegan diet for the past month and a half. So, I decided to make some food that I would be able to eat and that hopefully other people would like, too. Little did I know that this was the most popular dish at the party and there was almost none left over of a double batch. Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it out. (Copied almost directly from the cookbook)

From: The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook by Neal Barnard, MD and Robyn Webb

Udon Noodle Salad
Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

What you will need:

• 20 snow peas, trimmed
• 1 (8 oz) package udon noodles
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili paste (I prefer to use gochugang, a Korean red pepper paste, and I usually use a full teaspoon. But be careful, it packs a bit of a punch. You can find this at your local grocery store, most likely)
• 1 chopped cucumber (you can peel it if you want or leave the skin on)
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 chopped bell pepper (any color)
• 6 scallions, sliced

Step 1: Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the snow peas and cook for about 30 seconds. You still want them to be bright green and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water and put them in a bowl of cold water (this stops the cooking). I usually get a big bowl and fill it part way with water and add a few ice cubes. Set aside. 

Step 2: Cook udon noodles according to the package directions (go ahead and use that same pot of water. Yay for not dirtying to many dishes! My grandma would be proud). Drain and rinse under cold water. This stops the cooking so they don't get all mushy and gross. When the noodles are drained, put them in a large bowl. This will become your serving bowl.

Step 3: In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, agave, and chili paste (or gochugang)

Step 4: Now, the book says to toss the noodles with half the dressing and then, in another bowl, combine the veggies and toss with the rest of the dressing. They all go together in the end, so just toss noodles with half the sauce then put the veggies right from the cutting board into your serving dish and add the rest of the dressing. If you like getting your hands a little messy, use your hands to mix everything together. Or just use salad tongs or any other utensils.

Step 5: Eat! It's delicious and perfect for a hot summer's day. 

If you make it, let me know what you think! This is an easy dish to modify, so if you don't have all the vegetables listed above, anything will work. If you don't want to do it vegan, feel free to add some meat! Or tofu. Or whatever you think is good. Have fun and experiment with it. 맛있게 드세요! (Enjoy!)

One Week (sorta)

At the end of this week, I will sit through the longest airplane trip of my life: First, Denver to San Francisco. 2(ish) hours, not too bad. Then a 4-hour layover, still not too bad. Finally, San Francisco to South Korea: 17 hours! Commence internal screaming. And here I thought the hour-long drive from Lakewood to Greeley was bad. Guess I ain’t seen nothing yet.

Welcome. If you're still in the dark, I am going to South Korea, and I'm going to document it for you! Huzzah! I am an anthropology student from the University of Northern Colorado, doing one semester abroad in Jochiwon, South Korea. How much fun is this going to be? I plan to not only blog about the steps proceeding this point of stressing out about the long plane trip (maybe I can spare others the pain?), but also to blog about my time at Korea University Sejong Campus and my experiences returning to the warm bosom of United States in December, greeted by cheering, adoring fans begging for my autograph. That's how it will go, right?

So, here we go. On the steps-leading-up-to-the-hellishly-long-plane-trip side, I plan to cover some topics such as packing, getting a visa and passport, food (so many delicious noms in Korea!), and perhaps even perform the ever-lauded dorm room tour. Any questions? LET 'EM RIP! Email me or post a comment and I will do my best to answer, either with text, pictures, or maybe even a video!

So, everyone packed and ready to go? Oh wait; wait for me! 가자! (Let’s go!)