FOOOOOOOOOD!!! :D

Since I've been in Korea, I have obviously eaten a lot of Korean food. I made this post to show you some of the foods that I've eaten so far (sadly I don't remember the names of all of them, but I try).

The first dish I had is still one of the spiciest things I have had while here! It was a chicken dish with chili paste, veggies, rice cakes, and much more. We got it at a shop in Myeongdong:

And now this is something that I usually have for breakfast (milk and samgak-gimbap). There are a whole bunch of different flavors of milk and of the gimbap. I usually chose between choclate milk, strawberry milk, and caramel macchiato milk. For the gimbap, I usually choose tuna and mayo or bulgogi flavored (though the kimchi flavored one is good too).

This next dish was just simple Korean BBQ. We went out one night and thought it was a good idea...and it was. Cooking your own meat and drinking with friends at the same time is a lot of fun.

One day, it took us an hour just to convince ourselves to walk into a random restaurant because we were too shy about just walking in. We ended up at a really good place that had a lot of seafood. The dish shown was cabbages and chili paste/sauce mixed with a whole bunch of seafood (oysters, shrimp, octopus, etc.). It was spicy, but it was just mild enough that I really enjoyed it.

Two of the biggest meals I've gotten are from going out with the school/ISA. The first picture is of what I had for lunch uesterday: two bulgogi sets and a duck set. There were six of us a the table and we split the bill at the end of the meal. The second picture is of only the first portion of the meal we got while out with the school. They later added on this fluffy egg dish, and bowls of soup.

The last dish, that was actual 'food' was a kind of hotpot(?) that was served to us when we went out drinking with our groups.

And finally, for the main event, we have three different types of bingsu that I have had while here. The first one is a mixed berry bingsu that I had yesterday with one of my suitmates and a friend. The second one is a mango/cranberry bingsu that I had two days ago while we were exploring the city and the last one is a coffee caramel bingsu that we ordered with injeolmi toast (white bread toasted with sticky rice cakes inbetween).

These were the only foods that I took pictures of so far, but if I have anything else that's different from these, I will take pictures and make a post about it as well! :D

Mini Post about my room! :D

I share a suite with four other girls; we have one bathroom and three rooms total. I share a room with a girl named Maria (she's super sweet) who was born in Mexico, but now lives in California. The room next to us is inhabited by two girls named Zara and Kaitlin (who is from Florida as well!) and then the last room is a single bedroom for a girl named Charene (if I'm spelling that right).

All of us are pretty quiet people. We usually don't talk much, even if all of us are in the suite. Though anyone is usually up for adventure or food if you ask them.

(I don't have a picture of my other two roommates, but these two are Maria (front) and Kaitlin (back))

The view from my room is fantastic though! I can see the city at night and the moon also just became visible the other night!

The room itself is pretty big. We each get out own desks, dressers and chairs. We have a balcony that connects to the other double room and we have bunk beds (I sleep on the bottom one).

Sometimes it's just nice to stand on the balcony at night and listen to the city while looking at the lights. I never knew I would love living near/in a city so much.

P.S.

Here are some pics of the people I've become friends with!

The Start Of My Adventures!!

On August 22nd, I flew into Incheon, Seoul. I have now been here for a week and am finally getting used to the atmosphere and food!
I came to Seoul from a study abroad program from my home university. I will be studying at Korea University until December 20th! I start classes tomorrow and am a little nervous about what's to come, but at the same time I'm really enjoying the adventure!

For the past couple of days I have been touring around Seoul with my school, with ISA, and with friends. I have seen a lot of tourist places and a lot of markets. I've tried tons of food and have had a bunch of fun so far!

Also I love my roommates so far. We don't really talk that much, but at the same time we are all nice and relatively quiet lol

(The girl in front is my roommate, Maria, and the girl in back is one of my suite-mates, Kaitlin)

From here on out, this specific post will be about the places I visited. After this, I will make a post of some of the things I have eaten so far since I've been here!

-One of the most notable places I visited (I have been there twice now) is  the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty (built in 1395).

I went here with just the school group and then I went again with the ISA groups of KU and Konkuk.

This first picture shows the ISA group and the second picture shows the group I went with the first time. 

-Another place we visited, which I have come to absolutely adore, is the Cheonggyecheon stream. It is the largest stream in Seoul and it is really beautiful and peaceful. We sat under a bridge for a while and kept our feet in the water to cool down from the heat. 

At the end of the stream was the plaza and on that day, they were holding the Thai Festival. We got to see a couple of performances and enjoy the atmosphere for a while before moving on.

- We also traveled to Gwanghwamun square so that we were able to see the statues of King Sejong (the creator of Hangeul) and Admiral Yi Sunshin (naval commander noted for his victories against hte Japanese navy during the Japanese invasions of Korea).

- One of the most fun/comical things I have seen since I've been here is the performance of Cooking NANTA. 

This was a musical type performance that reminded me, somewhat, of STOMP the musical. They used kitchen items and the 'kitchen' itself to make music and comedy skits. I laughed so hard at one point that I was literally crying. It was a show that really involved the audience and if you are to ever have the chance to see it, DO IT!

- The last thing I want to add on, is the experience I got have trying on Hanbok (traditional Korean wear). My ISA group got to try on Hanbok and get pictures taken. It was a lot of fun and we all looked really pretty with them on!

(please excuse my awkward stance in the full body picture)

All of us spent a good hour taking pictures of ourselves and others. It was hot to wear, but we all thought they looked gorgeous on.

Annnnd that's it for the post of experiences. I'll add more on as I continue to do more!