Day 3: Gangnam, Anam (02/25/2014)

I decided to explore the city on my own today just to test out how well I can navigate around the city. I went to Gangnam to find a cafe called Namu Guneul that offer a service called "Fish Pedicure". Unfortunately, I didn't find the cafe even though I was at the exact location to where the map pointed at on my phone. Despite that fact, I still had quite an adventure going up and down and seeing the area. The highlight of my trip is inside Gangnam station. This station is HUGE! I think if I were to go back (which I will), I can spend the whole day shopping and eating at the station. Outside of the station were a lot of international high-end stores and fancy cafes. I personally do not think there is much to do in Gangnam unless you are into drinking and nightlife. The roads are a little difficult to navigate because there aren't a lot of cross roads and you have to break down the whole Gangnam area into smaller areas to explore around. Every time I wanted to cross over to the other side of the street, I would have to go back down to Gangnam station and go up another exit/gate. I didn't take a lot of pictures of the area since I was too busy looking for the cafe, but I will definitely visit there at least once more and will post more pictures in my later posts.

I met up with my friend in the afternoon for lunch back at Anam. Surprisingly, there is a restaurant that makes delicious GamJaTang (pork bone soup)right outside of my residence. I normally wouldn't order GamJaTang in Toronto but after one try here, the dish made it to my top food to eat list. The owner was really kind too knowing that I'm not that great with Korean.

There is also a nice cafe near by the residence called Serendipity. Their coffee and drinks are quite cheap for the quality provided. The environment is also decent as a hangout spot.

That pretty much sums up my day before orientation.

Day 2: Anam, Myeongdong, Home Plus

I officially started exploring today. Since I was still a bit jet lagged, my morning started super early. After talking to my sister and boyfriend, I decided to head out to do some exploring around the area. There are tons of convenient stores along the streets with lots of snacks and to-go food to purchase. I bought some sweet potato chips, and flavored corn chips just in case I get hungry at random times. I also got a case of soy milk for my everyday breakfast. Surprisingly, there's a lot of Chinese who work around this area. Ever since I arrived, I practiced my Mandarin more than my Korean.

Later on, I had kimbab for breakfast with another exchange student at a small restaurant called Ip Time. It only costed us 3,000 Won each ($3 CAD) and was enough to keep me full until lunch.

                                                                                                             

As I walk to Anam Station, I came across a Starbucks that is promoting a seasonal Cherry Blossom Latte. Since the advertisement captured my interest, I decided to try it. If you think Starbucks is expensive in Canada, try having one in Seoul. A short costs around 5,900 Won (nearly $6 CAD), but it was worth the try.

The T-Money card acted as my travel pass to get to different destinations in Seoul. I loaded 10,000 Won onto my card to take the bus and subway.

The fun and exciting part starts when we began to head to Myeongdong. Myeongdong is a famous outlet shopping area in Seoul. Even though it is a Monday, there are lots of people roaming the streets. I visited a bunch of skin care stores including: The Face Shop, Skin Food, Etude House, and Tony Moly. They also have clothing stores that are in Toronto such as H&M, Zara, and Converse, which are more expensive to purchase. Along the streets of Myeongdong, I bought this chocolate snack thing that looks like a ball (the name is too long for me to remember). The lady smashed the ball into edible pieces and I ate it all before I can take a picture. I also bought some cute earrings that I couldn't get in Toronto.

We decided to have Dakgalbi for lunch. The dish is a mix of cabbage, shrimp, squid, mussels, chicken, and rice cake cooked in kimchi sauce over a huge pan in the middle of the table. The restaurant we went to is a well known restaurant in Korea called Yoogane.

After a long trip in Myeongdong, we went to Home Plus at Wulkok station. Home Plus is similar to the Walmart Superstore in Toronto. It sells everything from groceries to household products. The only difference is that their products are not as cheap as Walmart's. From examining all the products found in Korea so far, I find that shopping in Korea is not as cheap as I thought. Many products are priced the same as they are in Toronto. The non-Korean brands are even more expensive that what I could get in Toronto. I couldn't even buy fruits for a healthy breakfast because they are just too expensive here ($1/apple and $2.50/3 bananas). However, Korean skin care products are priced a lot cheaper. They also give you a lot of free samples, which you normally wouldn't get in Toronto.

After all the exploring, my navigation skills have definitely improved. I'm also more comfortable with the spider web subway system here. I think I may be able to explore on my own...after a couple of more practices with my friends. (More pictures will be uploaded soon)

Day 1: Anam, Seoul

I remember just a couple of months ago, I kept wondering what Seoul would be like and imagine all the different things I can do in Korea while watching Korean dramas and variety shows. Now that I'm here, it feels like I've entered a whole new world. I'm glad I got here successfully and safely and my flights actually landed earlier rather than being delayed. When I arrived at Incheon International Airport, students from Korea University Buddy Assistants (KUBA) greeted me and once all the exchange students arrive, we took a coach bus to our resident. On our way to Anam, I met two friendly girls from Finland and London. It was interesting getting to know them because we are all different majors and from different countries. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do much yet because I didn't like the residence I stayed in the first night. It was too quiet for me, and the location of the residence is inconvenient for me to get to school. So I moved into Crimson House this afternoon and I'm loving this place. Crimson House is just a 5 minute walk to Korea University's main gate and mainly hosts foreigners/exchange students. They even have a Facebook group so we can communicate efficiently. I did experience a little bit of jet lag (the only reason why I would update my blog at 1 AM here), but I'm sure I'll be able to adjust to the new setting in a couple of days.

In the morning, I will have breakfast with one of the girls I met, load up my T-Money so I can get around, and do some shopping for my necessities. Hopefully, after this trip I will be better at navigating around!

My room at Crimson House