Introduction

Before I unleash the contents of my notebook containing some intimate details for each day I have been here in South Korea, I thought I would start with an introduction.

For those who do not know who I am, my name is Josh and I'm an unremarkable person given the remarkable opportunity to travel to South Korea's Kyonggi University to study for six months. So far, I've been at Kyonggi University for 15 days and my general impression is mixed. In other words, I have no real complaints though I struggle to find compliments. The terrain of the school is mountainous which makes getting around a chore especially since walking is the only option. The people are friendly, but only when you engage them first. Very few students seem to approach strangers for idle chatter. That gives me an opportunity to work up the courage to meet new people. I've been fortunate to have fellow foreigners take an interest in me so suddenly, but I must admit I haven't put much effort into making friends with the Korean students. But its only been 15 days and my formal Korean training has not even begun...

In any case, this blog has been promised for quite some time and I have failed to deliver in a timely manner. To make up for this, I'll post several pictures giving readers a chance to get a glimpse of what I will expound upon in future posts. I won't promise that this blog will be very exciting but I'll hope you keep following all the same:

To start, a poorly taken picture of the dorms where I reside. I start with this to show that I'm probably the worst photographer and because this is the first place I saw at Kyonggi University.

Next, my frequently spoken of "Chinese friends." In the foreground we have Lee Young, Behind him Wheng Wei, Behind Him Jin Tie (My Roommate). Across from him Xiao Pa's Roommate (I never got his name). And Next to him Xiao Pa. Keep in mind my spelling of their names could be horribly inaccurate. My apologies to my friends for these mistakes. This picture as well as the better ones seen below were taken by Lee Young.

This picture was taken at Kyonggi's front gate.

A Picture of the Market street just outside Kyonggi's front gate.

Me and the "China Crew" as Mariana dubs them.

Jin Tie and Lee Young stand with Mariana a girl from Spain also attending Kyonggi.

The Boys "Dream Tower" where I go to sleep at night. The 11th floor is where all the foreigners live and although access to the boy's tower is forbidden to men only, there are several ways for women to sneak in.

The Student Center housing a bank, a post office, a convenience store and... a beauty salon. Among other things.

Building 9. Home of the College of Arts.

A fountain topped by a turtle. The turtle seems to be a sacred beast at Kyonggi (and perhaps for Suwon and Korea itself.) The image of a turtle can be seen on other banners and logos throughout the campus and there is another sculpture of a turtle standing on a globe that I have yet to take a photo of.

I'm not sure what this building is for (I haven't gone inside, yet.). It looked nice though.

Mountains... if you are not prepared to climb these monsters on a daily basis then I can't recommend this place to you.

Wide view of part of the campus. Taken from atop the Office of International Programs (which shares its space with a soon-to-be-open cafe serving home-made American inspired dishes).

Another wide view of part of the campus. The red building to the right is the Library which I just gained access to today. I was a little disappointed with the amount of space provided for books but the variety of books was astounding. There were some other interesting things about it, but I'll save that for a future posting.

Finally, a gathering of some of the other Chinese friends I made. The only one whose name I know is "Anna", the girl whose standing at the center of the picture holding the jacket. Apparently "Anna" is her English name, but I don't know her Chinese name or her given/family name. 

Well I hope that was worth the wait. I'll do my best to make sure that updates are made regularly and frequently. Until next time.