Back in Korea, and busy as a bee

I just got back to Korea last week, and life is fun as usual. America was a blast. I made sure to visit a Korea-town in every city I went to. I had $8 ddukbokki in NYC, and saw $10 soju in LA. Scary stuff. As usual since this is a Korea blog I wont write much about the US, but it was fun.

Ddukbokki in NYC

$10 soju

The day after I arrived I took my placement test at Yonsei University to begin studying Korean.
I had just gotten back and remembered no Korean mind you, but happily, I was placed into level 2. Seems about right. If I had pushed a bit more it might have been level 3 but I would have severe gaps in my grammar knowledge. Well, the bad news is the closest stop to Yonsei is Sinchon, and I live in Nowon. That's about an hr and a half commute. Because from Sinchon station its still about a 20 minute walk, or I could take a bus. Either way- Horrible.

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How you know you're turning Korean

Disclaimer: Ok so I know it is impossible to "turn Korean", there are certain cultural aspects that I as a non-native Korean will never ever understand nor embrace. However, in my title I am referring to some of the more subtle characteristics I have picked up and not even noticed until another westerner points them to me. It comes with living in a place for a year and a half I guess. And when I leave and go back to the states, people are probably going to go WTF.

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Hero: the Beatles-Loving, Korean Kid-Singing, 3-year old Child Prodigy

So this is pretty old, but I am kind of in love with this kid now. I want him to be my son. It's ok since my secret plan is to adopt a k-baby anyways.

He's famous for singing Hey Jude, which if you don't already know is a world famous Beatles hit. This child prodigy was only 3 years old (at the time of the videos). His name is Ha Yeong Woong. He's also known as Hero

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Magoksa Temple Stay with Adventure Korea

I decided that I wanted the experience of staying at a temple before I left Korea. Many companies organize temple stays, but I decided to do one with Adventure Korea . (I went on April 10, 2010 - and since I was the only Karamel colored person on the trip I've probably just given away my pseudo-anonymity) It was pretty easy to sign up for the trip, and then you have to make sure you pay* before all the seats are taken.

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Holy Mackerel: The Shocker of the Century (+ Korean Drama-Coffee Prince)

Well at least for me.

Can you guess which one is the girl? (read to the end to find out).

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and trip to african cultural center..

I woke up after an insane Saturday night that included Itaewon and getting lost in Hongdae before partying in Hongdae, to an unusual email. Feeling flustered about it I decided I couldn't go back to sleep so instead I decided to head out on this trip that I had read about online on facebook.

It was a trip to the African Cultural center.

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