week 3, part one: starting classes and Korean birthdays!

HELLO! I AM FINISHING THE POSTS I WROTE BUT DID NOT COMPLETE LAST SUMMER. JUST PRETEND IT'S STILL JULY 2013 WHEN YOU'RE READING THIS. :)

My third week was quite eventful! My classes at Sogang University began and I also turned 19. "Bummer!" you may say. "Since the drinking age in Korea is 20."

Luckily for me, the lunar new year is also counted as a birthday in Korea, so my Korean age is 20. Thus I am free to drink at will! Those of you who know about my relationship with Liquid Courage (that would be you, Eric), rest assured that my inclinations still have not changed. I think I'm probably the only non-freshman at OSU who still has not been to a house party...to each his own, right? :)

week 2

I'm about two weeks behind on these events, which I do apologize for. Last weekend I foolishly ignored the tiny voice in the back of my mind that was trying to tell me I would not have any time at all to do this during the coming week.

Me: 0. Tiny Voice: 9999999999.

Anyway I'm actually quite lucky because my second week was much, much calmer than my first week, and can be reasonably condensed into a single post.

first weekend: Korean weddings & baseball cages

The original plan for Saturday was for me to hang out with JB's older sister Jin-ah all day because he had a friend's wedding to go to, but I ended up going with him instead. I was kind of unsure when he told me I could go because it would be pretty weird for me to just show up with a random friend of mine to an American wedding, but when we got there I saw why it was okay.

days 3 & 4: Hankang, National War Memorial of Korea, Gyeongbokgung & more

For those who don't know, South Korea requires all males to spend two years in the military and, for five years after they leave, participate in military training review once a year. JB has already completed his service, and on Thursday afternoon he had to do his yearly review, so I spent a few hours by myself studying and relaxing after a few days of having run around like a chicken with its head cut off.

day 2: Namsan Tower, Myeong-dong & Cheonggyecheon

Wednesday morning we set out for Namsam Tower, also known as North Seoul Tower, also known as That Giant Antenna Thing I Always See in Dramas.

day one: visiting Insa-dong and Bukchon Village

Yesterday began with me learning how to use the toilet. You may laugh, but that's probably because you've never seen this bad boy before:

So many buttons. So many choices. There's a button that, if pressed, will cause a little stream of water to be shot at your back door. I guess if you run out of toilet paper? I have not been brave enough to try it yet.

my new crib!

The family of four that I'll be staying with, my friend JB Lee and his parents & sister, live in an apartment in Jamsil (pronounced "jahm-shill") which is a pretty nice neighborhood (those of you from Cincinnati, think Hyde Park or maybe even a little nicer) in southeastern Seoul. It's about 40-50 minutes from Incheon Airport.