Apologies and Updates

I'd like to begin with a sincere apology. My previous post, entitled "Police State", was inappropriate given the realities of the conditions of true police states. My use of the term was an ignorant attempt at describing what I believed to be a "heavy" police presence in the country of South Korea. Once again I apologize for my insensitive and disrespectful comment.

I suppose I must also apologize for the lack of regular updates, but to be honest that would be a waste of time. To apologize would mean that I would do my best never to repeat the mistake and while the apology above is a sincere promise to think wisely before criticizing a country, I can't make a similar promise to update the site regularly or even frequently. Or maybe I can and I just don't want to. Either way, I'm wasting too much time with this. Updates:

I started classes. They're going well. All the material is in Korean. This includes Lectures, Textbooks, Assignments, Homework. Everything. It has been effective in teaching me the language. The written "alphabet" isn't too difficult. The characters all have a consistent phonetic counterpart, so pronouncing a word will be easy so long as you know what "sound" a character makes. There are a few irregular cases, but even those are simple enough to grasp. Grammar takes some getting used to as words aren't in a similar "place" as they are in English. There are also special articles that denote what part of speech a word is (Subject, Object, etc.) All in all it's fun, and I'd like to expand upon it more in the future.

My desk. My name is written out in 한글. 조슈아, pronounced "Joh-shu-ah"

The class room we study in. Empty.

The class room we study in. During break time (쉬는 시간)

The Right side of the class room, with students in their seats.

The Left side of the class room. The empty chair in between the two students is mine.

As for events and trips: We took a trip to the south of South Korea, near the coast. An area by the name of Haenam (or maybe Jindo, the destination changes depending on who I asked.). While there, we saw a festival reenacting a famous Korean battle. It was neat, until a Helicopter and Jet Ski came in to ruin the historical accuracy. Or maybe their inclusion made it better. In any case, I had fun wandering around with my two partners in crime and our new friend, Hue (or Hill, I couldn't understand his pronunciation) from Vietnam. He was from Chungnam National University. The two schools (Kyonggi and Chungnam) were given the opportunity to go on this trip through Korail who, despite their name and specialty, transported the passengers via Bus. I didn't care too much for the bus ride, though the festival and little side trips were fun if brief. We also got to stay in a traditional Korean motel, which was interesting. Sleeping on a floor with nothing but a mat to rest on is an interesting experience as is Korean television. But that's a story for another day.

The next event (and my final update for the night) was the Kyonggi Festival held here on campus a few weeks ago. It was a pretty big deal with a large stage set up on the soccer field and tents perched all around the field's perimeter where students served fellow students and teachers with food and drinks. The stage shows ranged from amusing to amazing and there were even Korean stars who made appearances. Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar to Korean pop culture so I couldn't appreciate some of the more reputable performers, but I could vouch for their talent. As for my own personal experiences, I was pulled to the stage myself to introduce myself (in Korean) and for my troubles I received a gift card. I still haven't spent it yet. I also drank alcohol for the first time in my life (I know, pathetic). I tasted Souju, which is Korea's national brew. The taste wasn't too bad, but it burned in my throat, chest and stomach as it slowly went down my digestive tract. Not an experience I'm eager to repeat, but interesting nonetheless. That about wraps it up for tonight. I'll see you all, when I see you.

Police State

The first thing I noticed as I left Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea on my way to Kyonggi University was a seemingly endless series of cameras all lined up along the highway. A single sign, preceding the series of cameras, has the word "CCTV" on it;those were the only words on the sign I understood. Having been here in South Korea for almost 3 weeks, I've noticed cameras like that all over the place. From market streets, to subway stations, even some sidewalks are all under surveillance. It is a little eerie to me, but the Korean people don't seem to mind.

Then again, nothing seems to bother the Korean people. They move with such urgency no matter what they are doing or where they are going. Despite this, so long as they're walking, their movement is organized. Put them in a car however... let's just say the following day after arriving at Kyonggi, I already witnessed a car accident right outside of the dorms. To be fair, it was the only accident I saw and it was not that serious: just a fender bender. Still, there were several bus rides that made me a little nervous when the bus stopped mere inches away from the car in front of it. Add the non-stop honking, the frequent lane changes, the narrow streets and the large number of mopeds and it's a wonder anyone prefers to use an automobile at all. I suppose when your other options are walking or the subway, a car isn't so bad.

That's not to disparage Korea (or really, Seoul's) subway system. I had read prior to coming to Korea that it was ranked among the top in the world and while my experiences are limited to New York, I would have to say Korea has New York beat. Departure information is presented in both Korean and English and some trains also include blinking maps or television sets that help passengers get where they need to go. The trains themselves are nice.They are air conditioned with cushioned seats available assuming you don't board the train during a heavy traffic period. Another neat "feature" of the Metro system, is that if you use the subway and then get on a bus (or vice versa) then the first fare is free. If you switch trains (or buses) then you'll have to pay for that fare. Pretty sweet.

That's about it for this entry. I apologize if it was a tough read. I don't have any related pictures and this post was whipped up pretty suddenly. I see now that if I want to have more quality posts I might have to spend more time on them. In that case, I might have to take back my "promise" to update regularly. With that said, I start classes tomorrow so I might not have time to give the posts the attention they deserve. Hmm... I'm sure it will work out. It might take some time, but I'll be sure to continue to improve the blog. Until then...

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.