YG Family Concert Depression ~.~

Ahh... it is crazy trying to get tickets to a concert! We tried to get tickets for the YG family concert... sales opened one hour ago... sold out TT_TT. I was even on gmarket when they went on sale! I was in class, but my professor even said I could try to buy quickly. However, the money I deposited into my gmarket account hasn't gone through yet, so I wasn't able to buy the tickets. By the time I was able to get back to the dormitory all of the tickets were sold out.

How can I get the tickets now? It is really depressing.... I need to find a way to get the tickets. There is no way that I am going to be in Korea during the concert when Big Bang is reunited and not go. Anybody have any experience with buying tickets from private sellers? TT___________TT

It is amazing how fast people can buy these tickets! I am hoping that some people bought in a panic and I will be able to find tickets soon. If Big Show 2012 is held, I am DEFINITELY making sure that the money is in my account well ahead of time and that I have no appointments during the time they come on sale!

Today is an upsetting day...

"Thought Bubble" - On how to learn Korean in Seoul.

This photo is completely irrelevant. I just miss putting photos in my posts.

I have been in Seoul for almost two months now, and was shocked to realize that I have actually learned very little Korean. For those of you who don't know (which is probably all of you, considering I never blogged about it), I have been taking the level 1A evening Korean class at Sogang University... even though I studied Korean previously. 

Now, there is a bit of a story behind this. When I signed up for my classes as an exchange student I was told that only Korean majors would be allowed into the regular afternoon classes, which go at a faster pace (in that they are longer and more frequent) than the evening classes. As a result, I signed up for the evening class with the intention of taking a placement exam. I later found out that another non-Korean major exchange student had been let into the afternoon class, but upon asking whether I could move to that class I was rejected. After taking the placement test, I was told that the level 2A was full and that 1B wasn't being offered. So I was put into 1A. 

Please don't misunderstand- Sogang's language program is a great program, but I have felt as if I am at a standstill in learning Korean. So I looked elsewhere to expand my language skills. 

1.Language exchange partners are a great asset in learning Korean. I regularly meet with three different language partners. It is a great way to learn because we can meet for lunch or coffee and enjoy ourselves with the mutual benefit of helping each learn about the other's language and culture. Especially when studying independently, language exchange is a great way to practice speaking and to clarify any conceptual problems that arise.

2. Never doubt the power of online chatting and texting. I try to regularly send messages to my native friends in Korean whenever I have some free time, and to hold basic conversations. This is a bit easier than holding a conversation in person in that you can take your time in responding, and it really helps with spelling and grammar. Plus you get to chat with your friends and it's a more natural way of learning than just staring at a book.

3. Take advantage of free podcasts. There are plenty of websites that put out podcasts for learning Korean, which are useful when you are on the go and tend to help with listening skills. I usually put a few on my phone and listen to them when I am on the subway or waiting for class to start. I also have a tendency to listen to them on my computer when I am doing menial tasks, such as cleaning or... dare I say it? Facebooking. 

TT.TT

4. Take advantage of clubs and classes. I take a kpop dance class that is entirely in Korean. Even back in America I did a Korean yoga video with my friends on most nights. For these kinds of things, it is easy to follow along visually, and it is great for language immersion. There are also many clubs designed to bring together Koreans and foreigners. The friends you meet through these clubs are usually more than willing to help you with practicing Korean or answer any questions you have regarding Korean culture.

5. Watch dramas and movies... with and without subtitles! I have been watching Korean dramas for a looong time (think since middle school), and I am pretty sure that hearing the language so much made it easier for me to grasp the language once I started learning. Once you have some basic knowledge of Korean, try watching the television or going to a movie that doesn't have English subtitles. Whenever I am eating alone at a place with a television, I always try to watch and pick up any words or phrases that I know. I also watched a movie in Korean without subtitles for the first time last weekend (which I will blog about right after this! ^^) which enabled me to focus on what was being said. I really had to work to decipher what was happening during the movie, which I think made it even more enjoyable! XD

6. Do noraebang. At first, study beforehand. Print out just the Hangul lyrics and romanize them yourself. If you can, try to translate the lyrics and compare them to an English translation online. Once you are comfortable with doing this, try just bringing the Hangul printout with you and singing from that. Start with slow songs and move your way up to faster ones- reading off a printout will be easier than on the screen because the video can be a bit distracting and the font is harder to read! Once you can sing these without stumbling much you should be fine reading off the screen :) This can be great for vocabulary and grammar, but it also really helps with your reading speed! 

7. Study Korean out of a book (or take a course in Korean). Although these other things help a lot, studying out of a book or through a course will give you the framework and the basics which are most important to learning Korean. These programs have been developed to really help you understand the language, and will make learning much simpler and much more structured.

8. Don't be afraid to speak Korean! I tend to get very nervous when trying to speak in Korean in a real life setting. Especially if somebody speaks to me in English first or doesn't understand when I say something the first time, I get nervous. When you get nervous, you are less likely to say things correctly. Most people will be happy to know that you are trying to learn their language. Especially if you have a coffee shop or restaurant that you regularly go to, try some small talk with the owner.

This is how I learn Korean. I take the 1A class three nights a week, and at home I study the 1B textbook. I am definitely planning on taking a Korean course over winter break, possibly at Sogang but I am also considering Yonsei. I don't regret continuing with the 1A class, because it helps me review and converse with other students in Korean for a few hours a week. The vocabulary is also slightly different than what I learned at home, so by taking the 1A course I know I won't miss out on anything. For a while I struggled with the fact that I wasn't learning as much as I thought I would and could not find the drive to really study on my own, but at least for now I think I have found a good place.

Myeongdong Gyoja

A little while back I was wandering through Myeongdong and happened to pass Myeongdong Gyoja. Because the restaurant is pretty famous for its kalguksu, and there was no line, I decided to give it a try. The entrance is pretty nondescript, and the restaurant itself is about mid-size. If you are lucky enough that there is no line, you will be directed to a seat- they have tables with barriers up for single visitors, or shared tables for small groups. Looking around, most people ordered a bowl of soup and a set of dumplings to share. The tables with more than two customers mostly ordered individual bowls of soup and one set of dumplings.

I was alone, so I decided to just go for the soup. The portions are quite large, and it would be quite a feat for one person to eat both in one sitting. So I ordered the soup, and was told that I had to pay first. It's not that uncommon to pay first in Korea, so I forked over my 8000 won and was quickly given some kimchi and water while I waited for my soup to come.

The soup came out after about a minute. The bowl was filled with plenty of noodles, with two dumplings floating around and some ground meat on top. I quickly mixed the meat in and took a bite. (Sorry, no picture! My phone died beforehand ><)

Honestly, I wasn't impressed! Maybe it was because my heart is set on spicy food, but it just tasted like any other soup, definitely not worth the price tag. The dumplings were the best part of the soup... And I found the kimchi to be quite tasty. It was nice that they provide refills on the kimchi and also on the soup broth, but I probably wouldn't come back here unless I was invited... and maybe if I am, next time I will try the spicy noodles!

Long Delayed.. Hallyu Dream Concert Post!

So... as you know, I attended the Hallyu Dream Concert last weekend ^^

I won't go into too much detail about the concert itself since it was aired on television and is probably on youtube somewhere or something... unfortunately, I was unable to get any pictures or videos! I decided to leave my DSLR behind and take photos with my iPhone, but it decided to break that day...

Taking a tour bus meant spending a LOT more money than I had to in order to get into the concert, but the tickets were worth it! The stadium was HUGE... I don't know how the people in the stands could even see! The tour bus meant getting VIP seats, which just means they were on the floor instead of in the stands.... but we got great seats on the floor! The stage had a "T" protruding from it, with VVIP seats between the stage and the end of the "T". My seats were only 6 rows away from the "T", so the stars who came out to the ends were really close... unfortunately, not many did.

While waiting for the concert to start, the idols actually walked through the stadium (in a blocked off area), so every few minutes everybody would jump up and start taking photos and screaming :) it was pretty cool to see the stars like that!

I would have to say the best part of the concert was the very end, when all of the stars came out on stage all at once and danced around. They sung( played? not sure) Arirang, and people rushed the stage and went right up against it. GD&TOP had left immediately after their performance, so they weren't there in the end :(


Hmm.. that was the most relevant thing that happened to me recently, so my next post will probably be catching up on activities I didn't blog about before ^^;;

Lotte Duty Free 11th Family Concert!

Every year, Lotte holds a free concert for people who spend a certain amount of money in their Duty Free shops .  This year, spending US$600 got you two A seats, US$900 got you two S seats, and US$1300 got you two R seats. Normally this event is somewhat difficult for foreigners to get into, but my friend was able to find us tickets online, so we were able to get S seats for only $40 per person!

The event was held at Olympic Park Stadium, and it was free seating, so we left the dormitory at about 9:30 AM in order to line up so we would get good seats. The line wasn't actually too long at that point... maybe because the concert wasn't until 7 PM!

The line ahead of us at the stadium

Since we were a large group, we took turns coming and leaving the line in order to pass the time... Olympic Park is very beautiful and we were able to have fun during the wait! Around 5:30 PM they moved the line towards the stadium and not long after that they began to let us in.

Pre-concert, the view from our seats.

I am really grateful that we waited, because our seats were really good! Our section was at the start of the bleachers behind the floor, and our group managed to get seats center stage in the second and third rows of the section. I was initially in the third row but the first row mostly moved after B2ST performed, so I was able to get into the second row after that :)

The lineup was:

B2ST

FTIsland

KARA

BigBang

According to the pamphlet they were only supposed to sing 3 songs each, so it was a pleasant surprise when each group did much more than that, maybe 5 or 6 songs each!

B2ST:

B2ST

B2ST

I remember them performing "Fiction" and "Shock"... but I was too caught up in the moment to remember the rest! 

FTIsland came next, and really put on a show! They are my second favorite band, so I think I went a bit crazy ^^... My favorite part was when they performed 빙빙빙- Hongki was dancing around as if somebody had lit the seat of his pants on fire! He is such a performer...

And here's KARA:

I'm sorry for the bad quality of my photos, I didn't want to lug my DSLR around in a concert hall, especially with free seating! So all of these photos are taken with my iPhone...

BigBang was amazing (favorite band <3) but my phone ran out of battery so I don't have any pictures or videos.... GD was running around with a hat and sunglasses so it was impossible to see his face!

Okay... that's all I have for now! Time for dinner :) More updates soon! 

Preview: Lotte Duty Free 11th Family Concert

Here's a preview:

Taken with my iphone, thus the bad quality...

I also attended the Hallyu Dream Festival Concert last night, but my iphone broke on the morning of the bus ride so I wasn't able to take any photos!! Should have brought my DSLR....

Gotta write an essay before midnight so that's all for now :) Expect a full post about both concerts soon!!!

Blogspot is in Korean!

Wow! Long time no see!

I'm sorry! I can't even remember the last time I posted here ><

I can't even go over all of the things I have done in Seoul so far, because there are so many! This place is amazing!!!

This is the view from my dorm room window :) Nice, right?

I will catch up on my posts soon! Expect to see posts about Lotte World, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Everland, the BLUESTORM concert, various restaurants, and more! 

A Busy Life is an Excellent Life

So... I have already failed as a blogger :p

Ok, not really... I only missed two days~ but if you compare that to the number of posts I already have... I have missed 40% of potential blog posts!

Anyway.

My Korean class is amazing!!! It is definitely pretty intense, which I greatly appreciate. The class is really not meant to be done in just a month, so each class is 3.5 hours long and there is a good amount of homework, but this is what I was hoping for, so I'm happy :3

From this point on, my summer will be filled with Korean and Horseback Riding... sounds like a fun combination!! Unfortunately, in a month it will switch from Korean to Statistics, but I will hopefully have enough time to work with Rosetta Stone on the side ^^.

I just realized that most of my paragraphs end in an emoticon... oh well~

I went out for Korean food with my friend K yesterday at Genghis Khan in Smithtown. The food was pretty good for the price, and I regret not taking photos! I just realized I haven't posted any photos yet on this blog... must be a pretty boring read, right? :p

Although I was informed that I was accepted to the program at Sogang, I never actually received an official notification of acceptance, which is one of the documents I need in order to get my visa. I emailed the admissions office about it tonight, so hopefully I will get a speedy response and be off to the city to get my visa sometime soon!

~83 Days~

First Class Upcoming!

Tomorrow is my first Korean class! After a bit of confusion regarding parking, I am so excited!!

On a side note, my puppy (herein known as K-Dog) is a nut today!! I want to sleep early in order to wake up for class tomorrow, but she's like a tornado! As soon as I put her in her crate she is going to bark like crazy :( so cute though xD she destroyed my room twice today! She is now big enough to reach my tables when she jumps up, which has made her destructiveness tenfold~

Although I love matcha in lattes and milk tea, I never tried making just plain tea with it before... isn't that strange?  I have some matcha from Matcha Source that I usually use in lattes or desserts, and today I tried making regular tea... it was delicious! I am definitely going to pick up some more matcha soon and make this more often!

My dog is scratching the walls to get out... I think it's time to go :P

~86 Days~

Getting through the days~

With such a huge event as going to Korea just on the horizon, it is hard to deal with the current drudgery of everyday life :( I feel like a sloth recently! The most exciting part of my day is planning what to cook for dinner ><

Thankfully, on Tuesday I begin my Korean class at Stony Brook University! While I am excited about this, I only realized today that I never figured out how to get a parking permit... Thankfully a friend who studies at Stony Brook has a temporary permit that I can use for the moment, and mine should be ready by my class on Thursday!

My textbook for this class is Integrated Korean: Beginning 1, Second Edition. I had purchased the exact same book in the first edition last year for self-study (which failed), but I had to spend around $50 to get the second edition because the books are different! Sogang uses their own set of textbooks, so I will be changing textbooks again in a short period of time~

Although life is a bit slow right now, it is going to pick up very soon :) Starting on Thursday, my life will consist of studying and horses!! I will have to start looking into getting a visa as well, and I am hoping to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met before I leave. Train fare is expensive these days...

I am watching Episode 2 of 최고의 사랑 right now... It's pretty good, but I just watched 49일 after having my wisdom teeth removed and loved it, so I haven't gotten into 최고의 사랑 too deeply.


***This is COMPLETELY unrelated to anything regarding this blog, but any other shellfish-allergy people out there that eat kimchi? I'm extremely severely allergic to all shellfish but have never had a huge problem with kimchi... (at most some discomfort) except I just bought a jar at Whole Foods that smells so much like shrimp that I'm scared to try it! Has anyone ever had a bad reaction?***

~87 Days~

It's Official!

On August 25th, 2011 I will be boarding a plane to South Korea!

For the next year, I will be studying business at Sogang University in Seoul... to me, this is a dream come true!

I am so excited becauseeeee

1. City Life

Seoul is such a beautiful city :) How could I not be excited about living there?

2. The Language

I have wanted to learn Korean for a long time, so living and studying in Korea will definitely help advance my language skills! I'll be taking one class beforehand, and Sogang is known to have an excellent language program, so I'm hoping this will help me get a jump start on my language skills! 

3. The Fooooood

I love Korean food.. is there anything more to say?? :)

4.  The People

I've heard so many stories about people developing the most lasting friendships during their study abroad in Korea :) I hope to experience the same thing!

5. The Music

I will be honest... Most of the music I listen to is Korean :) I live on the east coast, so it's pretty rare for Korean groups to come here... I am definitely going to take full advantage of any concerts in Seoul when I go!

6. The Fashion

Korean fashion is awesome... enough said :P

7. Hot Springs????

I want to go to one someday... lol

8. The Experience

Isn't this an amazing opportunity? xD I feel like this experience is going to change my life!

Of course, there are many more reasons why I am so excited about this trip, but I can't list them all. If you've studied at Sogang before, I would love to hear about your experience! Now there's only one more question...

Window or aisle seat?