So I thought that when I came back from the States I was finally going to be able to keep up with my blog. You see before the only reason why I didn't was because I was lazy, and that was all about to change...
My life did change, big time. You remember I mentioned I would be starting Korean classes at Yonsei. Well I did. The commute has been killing me. I did find a shortcut. I can go to Seodaemun station, and take a bus that drops me a 5 minute walk from my campus, instead of 20. Much better. In order to fit in boot camp, I go to the 6.30 am class, but since I live so far away I have to leave my house an hour earlier to make it on time. So with work I have been doing 16 hour days. Yeah if you do the math, wake up and 5 am. Boot camp. Class 9-1. Teach 4-10. Try to fit Korean homework somewhere in between. On a good day I'm in bed at midnight...
With all of that I have still managed to keep up with the work. I think it is because I had such base of Korean before. We had midterms, but the weekend before was Halloween, so instead of study I went out for a night on the town and got wasted. Fail. That left me in bed all day Sunday recovering, until I dragged myself to the wolfhound for some good old hangover food (double fail). Meanwhile my classmates: some of whom study 4-5 hours/day, all stayed in. This is particular important because of what will come after this. But first...
For Halloween I was Robyn Da Hood (robin hood ripoff). The costume was a bit too sexy, Kind of not my thing. I went on a boat cruise first, followed by some heavy drink in itaewon. I wanted to make it to Hongdae to dance but after some heavy drinking (agwa bombs, jager shots and long islands) well that was a fail. I made it home somehow...
My buddy!
A tale of two Robins
Friends: (L) Urkel (R)Ketchup (fun story behind this)
Messed up: (L) My friend who I didn't recognize originally
(R) Gadhafi
Monday was a review day, and the next two days were the actual review tests. Some of the things were from level one that I actually never learned, but in the end even without studying I was fine. I got 100 on Reading and 97 on listening (both tests you get information and have to put it in the right place) but much lower 87 on writing (points are subtracted for every spelling mistake) and 85 on the speaking (she said my fluency and tone are fine, but I used a lot of "informal" language, or forgot articles: I was a bit annoyed, as I used the right words just informally, and also many native speakers often omit articles, but I am over it). Still I had one of the highest averages in the class. But the latter proves my point, I understand Korean fine, I just still can't speak it that well yet. In class I am a translating machine, and I know the most random vocabulary... but my sentences still contain a lot of errors. The more I practice the better I get. Also learning some basic rules that I may have skipped since I previous learned in more casual settings may be useful in future. I am finally learning how to speak to adults instead of just children...
I also tried moving, but I have decided to give up on that until my lease is up. I would have saved up more money then. I plan to move to hongdae. I looked at places, so I hope some will still be available when I want to move.
So it is safe to say that I am busy as a bee, and I apologize for the infrequent updates.
미안해요
But there is good news. In a few weeks I start work part-time. So I will be less stressed. But also, I soon go on winter vacation, which means I'll have so much free time I won't know what to do. My long lost extended family that resides in Nigeria (my mom's side) have decided to reconnect with me and offered me a trip to Nigeria for Christmas, so that is another interesting prospect.
Be on the lookout for more
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