a favor

hi. how are you? long time no write.

i've been trying not to write here when i am in a bad frame of mind because i just write stupid negative venting crap, as you've probably read before. i apologize for that. and i'm sorry there hasn't been much to read lately.

i have a favor. please send some positive thoughts my way, if you feel like it. i am having a tough time at the moment. in a nutshell, things have not gone as planned. (which probably means they are going as usual. ha.)

i'm still at the hostel. rod and i are scrambling to find a place to live. i've not been able to study enough due to housing, stress, trying to find part-time work, blah blah blah. there is a good chance i am going to do very, very poorly on mid-term exams next week. if i don't pass, i lose my scholarship. if i lose my scholarship, i can't study anymore. if i can't study, i don't know what i'll do.

you know me. rather dark (aka, super negative). a major character flaw. so. i am trying really hard to stay positive. but i think i need some help. positive thoughts are appreciated.

thank you many.

~s

oops.

rod got here safe and sound tonight, which is very good. his apartment is apparently a small room in a dorm-style boarding house, which is not good. not what he expected. i'm going to stay at this hostel, i think, until he can find a different place to live. if his place is really a small dorm room, there's no way both of us plus all of our suitcases are going to fit.

i like it here a lot, i really do. am still disappointed. was looking forward to finally unpacking and settling down. have been living out of suitcases since mid-june. but. what can you do.

so. to do.

~ get a part time job asap, because rod and i will probably have to pay rent now, provided we can find a place that doesn't charge too much key money (key money is like a security deposit, except that instead of one month's rent, you pay one or two years of rent in advance.)

~ find a place to live

~ keep studying. i think i've learned almost 150-200 words or phrases in seven days of class! ^^ there's a lot more to go. :) it's fun, though!

i love seoul

friday went out for dim sum and dumplings at a really good chinese restaurant in the Myeongdong shopping district. there's a small chinese neighborhood there.

j (australia) in a box.

dumplings & kimchi.

din tai fung sign.


yesterday i got up and went hiking with two adoptees at the hostel. came back and took a nap, studied a little bit, then went out for a late dinner, a drink at a bar, and 2 hours of noraebang. got home at 6:30 am. i love this city! in the twin cities, i'd be dead on my feet by 1 am. here, you can stay out all night and it feels like just a few hours. so much fun. ^^

hiking photos.



j. (chicago) and k. (norway), at the top. in a weird, it's-a-small-world event, k. is the ex-boyfriend of a friend of a friend in minnesota. how random is that?

i slept 'til 1 today, then got up and did laundry and studied. am still studying. my vocabulary is slowly growing. i can remember the words for water bottle, pencil, glasses, hat, pants, desk, book, dictionary, etc. i am having a hell of a time remembering the words for eraser (ji-oo-gae), copier (bok-sa-gi), landline phone (chun-hwa), and refrigerator (nang-jang-go). erp.

sunset was beautiful the other night. view from the hostel roof.


the hostel.

okay, i have to go study a little more and then it's off to the IMAX to see The Dark Knight. :)

have a good sunday!

love,

~s

study (gohngbuhaeyo)

i've started school! it's really hard! ~lol~

class is taught entirely in korean. we're not allowed to speak english/chinese/japanese/french/etc. the other students in my class are from china, taiwan, england, mongolia (2), east timor, japan (2), indonesia, serbia, new jersey, and boston.

my goal is to study 2 hours every day. i think i've done about 1.5 hours today. my brain is fried. i've been ready to sleep at 8 or 9 the last two nights. my brain must be out of shape or something. it wants to rest. ~lol~

will keep this short. i really like class so far. i have a lot of studying to do, though.

photos from the weekend...

saturday night in cheonho-dong, drinking beer at the Han River park with my old co-workers and their new co-workers.

under the bridge. there was a young korean man playing his guitar and singing radiohead and nirvana songs. he was brilliant. so talented. beautiful singing. it was a really lovely night.

back on the mountain, though not as high. overlooking Gyeongbokgung palace.

look! ^^ he was walking backwards so determinedly, willing his parents to look at him.

insadong painter.

man. have you ever seen more bored looking children? yeeps. i suppose this isn't very interesting to small kids. i think it's cool. but i'm not a small kid.

gyeongbokgung bedtime. i can't remember the name of the statues. they sit along every rooftop of the palace, guarding against demons and evil spirits. i think.
now it's my bedtime. after i study a little more. good night!

~s