Hunt for a one room

Alright everyone! So here's my story on how I found my oneroom.

There are multiple reasons I want to leave the dorm. The main reason is that it's a 7-10 minute walk from campus. I know that doesn't sound bad. But KU is on a friggin' mountain and I'm ready to pass out by the time I get to class. Plus, the walk back to the dorm is worse. It feels a million miles away PLUS there's a big hill AND 111 stairs to hike up. EXERCISE! YAY!

Also, the dorms are really strict about visitors these days. And even coming and leaving the dorm. I'm not even talking segregation. Because Korea is very segregated. Our "uni-sex" dorm is one building with two different entrances for each sex and two different study rooms/laundry rooms. Everything. That isn't really a problem though. I don't mind that too much. 

Also, I have been spending so much money on food. And there isn't a fridge or a microwave in the dorm so I could never cook food. I also REALLY miss vegetables. So I mostly wanted a oneroom so I could get some broccoli and start eating salads again. (I don't want to be part of the freshman 15 ><)

Don't get me wrong, the dorms are VERY nice. I'm in Frontier Building. I have a bathroom that I share with one roommate. The bathroom gets cleaned once a week and I don't have a curfew (since I'm international) the Korean students have to be back by 12:30 for some reason.

My parents didn't really want me leaving the dorms because they said I won't meet anyone once I leave the dorm. 

The thing is, I only have 2 friends that I actually MET in the dorm. Emily and Estelle,who, if you remember, were kidnapped by Keith's mom. Other then them, all of my other friends I met in class, on facebook or on the street. 80% of the international students I know live off campus anyway.

SO! I pretty much started off by talking to all of my Korean friends about how they found their oneroom... but they all told me that they dropped a good 2,000-5,000$ deposit >__< 
That wasn't happening. I found cheaper onerooms that were a few subway stops from campus, but my parents said they wouldn't pay for the apt if it was expensive or not near campus. 

I found one place that had the perfect pricing. $500 deposit and 480$ a month. But the only problem was it was kind of like a dorm. The landlord kept calling it a "public place." I didn't want to leave the dorms for another dorm-like atmosphere. Plus this place didn't allow visitors. There's 2 problems with that: 


1) all of my exchange student friends are leaving right after I move in and I promised them that we would have a sleep over. Yumi (my roommate) especially because I'm going to be in pieces when she's gone. So she's going to come and we're going to party hard in my apt. 

2) I have a boyfriend. 'Nough said.
Anyway, Chad and I dedicated one day to finding a oneroom for me. What we thought would take a whole day literally took like an hour. I wanted to be near the school just in case I ended up having to pay a 2,000$ deposit and I could sell my parents with how close it is to the school. So we called the first number we saw. It was full. But there were a million other "For Rent" signs. We basically stood in one spot and spun in a circle going from number to number. 

Most of them were full. The rest wanted a $5,000 deposit. I was about to loose hope when we called the last number on the street.

There was space at the end of the semester. We could come look at the room now. The deposit is $500 and the monthly bill if $400. 

PERFECT! We walked up the hill. I looked at the room. Talked the to current (foreign) tenants and gave half the deposit and signed the contract.  I HAVE A ONE ROOM!!!

I move in June 22. (18 more days!) I'm so excited. Yumi is going to come over and cook and we're going to have a blast. 

I cannot waiiiittt!!!!!!!!! I get to buy carrots and I Can stay in my room and eat and not have to leave if I don't wnat to.

and the best part is no more stairs because it is literally RIGHT ACROSS the street from the main gates of the campus. A 2 minute walk to my classes compared to 10. I'm so happy.

That's a long post. Hope you guys are actually reading this  O.o

If you have any questions feel free to ask~~~

xx

Classes~~~

So, I'm not sure if I have posted about all of my classes or not.

Since most of my posts were about a certain Korean boy that is no longer in my life. I feel guilty to all of my followers who only followed me because they want to hear about my wonderful Korea University.

So! Here's a post dedicated only to my KU life. 

------Mondays-------

On Mondays I only have class at 3:30 which means I can sleep in as late as I want (which usually isn't past 10 o'clock no matter how late I went to sleep that night).

I generally lie in bed and watch Korean videos or study some Korean before actually preparing for school. I bought a few children's books in Korean and during my free time I take out my big expensive dictionary (40,000W) and translate a page or two. It normally takes me 30 min to an hour to translate one page. The book I bought is maybe a 10 year old level and I'm pretty sure I'm at a 5 year old level... but I might as well aim high~~  ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 

I don't know what it is, but I always feel so legit when I use an actual dictionary and not an online one. I feel more studious and intelligent, you know?

Plus, using the dictionary,I see other words while looking for one which helps me expand my vocabulary. 


At around lunch time I text all of my friends trying to find someone that's available to eat with me. Generally it's either Christine (American) or Estelle (French). I am still in love with Korean food and never want to eat anything but Korean. Especially since my boyfriend (Chad) works at a Chinese restaurant and gives me free 자장면. So I go there often. Otherwise, I eat Korean bbq or dakgalbi (chicken stirfry thing) which are both VERY good. I don't know what I'm going to feed my vegan mother when she comes to visit..... I think there's like one vegan restaurant in all of Seoul...She's just going to have to live off of rice and bibimbap because Korea like meat.

Anyways, I normally end lunch at around 1 or 2 so I just go to a cafe and do some reading or homework before class starts. 

At 3:20 I head to my Korean speaking class. The teacher is SO pretty and SO young. I swear she's a student. She's incredibly nice and very funny. The class however, is way below my level. So I normally play on my phone when we are working on things I already know very well. Every once in awhile we'll do something I don't know. In which case, I take advantage of asking questions and participating.

At 4:45 class ends and I go to the classroom next door to prepare for Beginners Korean class. 

Mondays and Tuesdays we have an older male prof who is hilarious. I love him. He doesn't speak English well so he uses a lot of hand movements because, once again, I'm in a class below my actual level, so  there's a lot of debutante students who don't understand what he says in Korean. So he makes a lot of gestures. 


 At 6:15 I leave for dinner with either Estelle or my roommate.
After that, I either go back to the dorm or go to a cafe and wait til Chad gets off work so we can hang out and he can help me with my homework.

------Tuesday------
Tuesday, I have class at 2...HOWEVER... I am totally failing that class to the point of no recovery. 
It's an English lit. class and I feel severly hurt my ankle so I had to get physical therapy and the only time I could go was during that class Tuesdays and Thursdays. Before, I was already way behind on work and now that I've missed about 6 classes, I'm too far behind to even think about getting back. Plus, even if the teacher does accept me back in the class.. I won't be able to pass the final because I have missed too many notes.

Yay for failing my first class my freshman year. 

I'm so disappointed in myself. But now I know what college expects of me and I plan on studying my ass off next semester. I have to to get my GPA up after this class. 

Also, my ankle is still killing me. I have no idea what I did to it and neither does the hospital.
Tuesdays at 3:30 instead of Speaking I have Writing class. Which is above my Korean level and I LOVE it. It's the one class that challenges me. The one class where I actually feel like I'm learning Korean. The teacher is hilarious and she speaks ONLY Korean she doesn't even try to speak English. She speaks so fast too so when I understand what she's saying I am SO proud of myself. 

After that I have Korean beginners class until 6:15.

-----Wednesday-----
Wednesday I have French class at 10:30. It's basically a French class where we read and learn to translate into Korean,,, except I don't speak Korean. So the prof makes me read and then summaries in French because she doens't speak English. 

This prof loves me though. Because I speak French and lived in France. She always makes me answer the questions and walks with me after class. Last class we had a class lunch which was fun. They only spoke in Korean, but I love listening to Korean conversations to see if I can pick up anything. It was realy fun. Plus we ate at Chad's restaurant so I got to see him.

Then at 3:30 I have speaking class again.

6:15 Korean for beginners.



-----Thursday------- 

Thursdays I technically have English Lit. at 2
Writing at 3:30
and
Last day of Korean for beginners for the week.
It's generally an uneventful day. Sometimes I go to some sort of festival with my Korean friend Wonsuk. Or we just get dinner somewhere.



-----Friday----
At 10:30 I have French class again. I hate waking up early, but I enjoy that class. 

Then at 2 I have my 3 hour long history class. It is SO easy. The prof gives take-home exams and our midterm was to write a one page paper on an ancient Korean folk-song. Which was incredibly easy. You don't have to pay attention in the class. You just have to show up because he takes attendance. It's really boring though... 
I fell bad because he says this is the first time he's taught unversity students. He normally teaches business men or something. So he tries to make the class interesting but it's just not. It's so boring. The prof is really nice though and I love him for trying.

=====WEEKENDS=====

My weekends are normally very uneventful.... I have tutoring on Sunday and I hang out with my roommate or Chad all day. Or I just go to a cafe and work. Sometimes I go shopping.

Last weekend I rented a oneroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited. I move in June 22. I'll post more about how I found it later. I'm so happy to not be in the dorms anymore. I don't have to walk up those damn stairs!!!!!

So happy~~~~~

Anyways,, that's my week. Boring, right?

Hopefully you guys enjoyed this post. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Keith Cho pt 2 (not as exciting)

So basically after I punched him, he ran after me and made me go back to the restaurant. He told me he wasn't leaving, but he was recommended to go to Afghanistan. I made him promise he wouldn't.

Then we went back to his apartment and hung out with his mom. Keith is so cute around his mother,,, he can't act cool around me because I've met his mother and it's adorable. 


But we basically just hung out for an entire week. We went out to eat, we went to karaoke (we totally rock at it, I might add). He took me on a picnic. He let me take pictures!! When he came to visit me in France, he never wanted me to take his picture and I got really made at him... so now he lets me capture his precious face in photos :D :D 

...I basically skipped class all week >__< But, I mean, can you blame me?! He surprised me out of the blue, and I wasn't about to ditch him for stupid classes (sorry mom :p ) 

With all the tension going on between North and South Korea, Keith hasn't been able to call much which has been really worrying me.  I miss him and I want him to be safe. But he called me this morning telling me he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. I was so relieved to hear his voice. I had been freaking out all week. But during the call he told me he might be able to get a break once a month. So I might be able to see him again in May!!!!! If everything goes according to plan and we don't get blown up that it......

That was basically our week. Not that exciting for you guys, I know. But I loved it and I can't wait to see him again. I miss him so much.


Also, I died my hair,,, I post some pics soon. 

I got class soon, plus I'm trying to decide if I should leave the country or not. I don't really feel uncomfortable with the whole Korea situation, but maybe just to be safe, I might go to Hong Kong for a few days. 

Nothing has been decided though. Keith seemed very okay with the idea of me leaving the country,, which bothers me.... but no other Korean I know seems to be freaking out. So I won't either. 

I'll post again soon. Gotta run

xx

Another Keith Cho Text PT 1

SO…. 

Sunday March 31… I broke up with Keith. 

He called me early morning, no idea why. But I just started crying because I missed him so much. And for some damn reason my brain was like “Hey, Maggie, waiting hurts you, so just break up with the boy”

So… I did. I broke up with him. I cried and cried and then I hung up on him. He called me back a few hours later begging me to rethink. He told me he’d start calling more and he’d put more effort into our long distance. He said he’d start talking to me and telling me what he thinks. Which has always been a problem for us. He’s afraid to look weak to me, so he never expresses his feelings. But that just pushes me away. I told him that…

I don’t know how I did it, I have no idea how I managed to, but I hung up on him. I said “Keith, I have to go, this is too hard for me” and I hung up.

Lord only knows how…..

But I went on with my day, regretting it and then trying to convince myself that it was the best thing. 

Waiting hurts. I spend every night staring at my phone hoping he’ll call. I’ll send him a dozen emails a day expressing how much I love and miss him and never receive a reply. And I can’t get mad at him for it because he’s in the army, he’s busy. He doesn’t have time to think about me or call me. I understand that„, he calls me when he can. I have to accept that and not torture him for it. 

I figured breaking up with him would be easier for both of us.


Anyways, Monday morning April 1, I was in a cafe with my friend telling her about the break up and then I get a text message from Keith’s mom saying that she wants to meet tonight- she has a gift for me from Keith. 

I freaked out. It was 11am, she said to meet at 7h20 pm. I was having panic attacks allllll day. What could the gift be?? What could Keith possibly ask his mother to buy for me??

I decided that I should write a letter to her explaining why I broke up with him. I wasn’t going to be able to express my feelings otherwise because I don’t speak Korean. So I got my tutor to translate a short letter which I copied onto some pretty paper. I put it in my bag and I went to wait for her…….

I was panicking. I didn’t know what to say to her or what she was going to give me. 

I was in the midst of a small attack when I hear:

“Maggie” 

I look up and who the hell is standing in front of me but Keith Cho himself. I was hoping it would be him, but I didn’t wan to get my hopes up because there was no way he could’ve gotten a break on such short notice. 

I literally almost fainted. 


I just jumped into his arms and hugged him for a good 5 minutes before he asked me to take him to a restaurant. 

Wanna know what my goddamn boyfriend did to me then?!

We sat at the restaurant and I asked him

“Keith, how did you get this break? Why are you here?”

“I had to tell you something Maggie…….I’ve decided to go to Afghanistan.”

My heart exploded. I got so angry at him..

“Why???”

He said “Well, they recommended that I go a few days ago, but I turned them down because I knew you wouldn’t like it… but considering the circumstances now, I’ve decided to go”

I started bawling my eyes out at this point. I kept telling him how stupid he was, he should know by know that our break ups last a month at most. We always get back together.

“When do you leave?” I asked.

“At the end of the week, I’ll be back in December”

I start bawling even harder.
He sees that I’m distraught and he stands up and grabs my arm and asks me to come outside. I refuse. He asks again… so I let him lead me out of the restaurant.







“April fools, Maggie”


I punched him and walked away.



I’ll post PT 2 with pictures later, I have class now~~

Classes~~

I got class in an hour and I'm in one of the moods that I just don't want to do anything. 

My Korean speaking for beginners class is sooo boring because I'm surrounded by people that can't speak so we had to start from the beginning. Which let me tell you, is SUPER boring. I basically text the entire class while the teacher and students repeat the alphabet over and over like a machine. 
"아 야 어 여 오 요 우유 으 이"
"가 거 고 구 그 기"

I don't know how much more of that I can handle >___<
Hopefully today we'll start working on comprehensible and useful phrases. 

As for my English class, haha, my teacher is...... what's a good word?....eccentric. 
I swear she looks like a skinny Asian Einstein. Her hair is all over the place and she talks like a crazy genius. She has the heeeaavvy Korean/British accent which makes listening to her speak really difficult. 
it's so fun though. It's one of the classes where we discuss books and stories and we end up debating for hours on the importance of virtue and morals. 

However, The Moon and Sixpence is the book we are beginning to read. I read the first chapter and I have NO freaking clue what is going on. 

Why can't we just read something like Harry Potter?? Or Of Mice and Men, I like that book. I want to discuss that book. So, I need to figure that book out tonight before class starts tomorrow O.o

Alright... I got to sleep.

I'm Terrible at Korean Games...

So, I went out with a friend the other night because he wanted to teach me how to play Korean billiards (I'm American,, I call it pool, but whatever)

Anyways..  should've taken pictures because I'm going to suck at explaining this properly. 

Here goes nothing:

The table is exactly the same size as a normal pool table except there aren't any ball pockets (is that the technical term for holes...?) instead of the normal 13(?) balls there are 4. There's a white ball, a yellow ball and two red balls. 

Basically the point of the game was to get rid of points by making your ball (either yellow or white) hit the two read balls without hitting your opponents ball. 

I was white and my friend was yellow. He is like a master at this game. He would make his ball bounce all around the table squeak past my ball and manage to hit both red balls. It was incredible. He gave me a handicap because he started of with 12 points and I only started off with 5.

Guess who won.....?? 

I was doing really well (not really) until I got to my last point. I played with one point left for almost an hour while my friend was just getting rid of points left and right. In the hour it took me to get rid of 4 points he got rid of 11.

It was really haaaarrrdddd!! 

but soooo much fun. Give me a few months (or years) and I'm sure I could kick his a**!! 

This might not be a Korean game, but I've only ever seen it played in Korea and it seems to be a big thing here. Either way, I'm going to practice and one day become master~~ ^^

xx

I Got to See My Boyfriend!!!!

GUYS!!!!!

I got to see Keith (my boyfriend) last weekend. He's such a cutie-pie~~!

His parents was supposed to pick me up from the dorm and then we would drive to the base together to pick him up.

I got up super early on Saturday to get ready. Keith's mom texts me saying they are almost at the dorm... at this point I'm about to jump out of my skin. It had been 9 months since I last saw Keith, so I was nervous!! 

His mom calls saying they are at the gate. So I practically run out of the dorm... Keith's mom is there and she opens the back door for me. I see Keith's dad driving and then out of the corner of my eye I see a knee in Military uniform. I think to myself "that's weird" didn't even click that it was Keith til I sat down in the car and looked at him.

I'm such a dork.

I look at him. I don't say a word. He looks at me. I kinda of squeal and then I poke his forehead. I just couldn't believe he was actually there. I had to poke him to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Apparently he wanted to surprise me. But he said I didn't look very surprised... I was I just couldn't process that he was actually there.

So I poke his forehead and he laughs and just grabs my hand and squeezes it. He holds my hand for the rest of the car ride and I just stare at him. We talked a little, but I was just in shock that I couldn't say much. 

I was a little more giggly then necessary. 

We make it to his apartment. His dad leaves for the office and his mom goes to get lunch, so Keith and I have time alone. We go into the living room and I practically break down in tears and I just run up and hug him. We basically hugged for a good 5 minutes. I kept like petting his head because HIS HAIR IS GONE! 

I mean, if you're reading this, you should know... Koreans like their hair. A little more than they should.

Keith had some epic Korean hair, he was very proud and loved his hair a lot. 

BUT

HE LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD WITHOUT IT.

I swear, that boy is so damn attractive. 

Anyways, his mom comes back and we eat some kimbap (Korean sushi) and then watch TV with his mom. His mom tells him stories about me and her. He laughed at me a lot. 

He got really embarrassed by his mom because then me and her started talking in our own way. We basically read each others minds. Keith's mom will say something and move her hands and I'll just immediately get it by her hand movements and start saying something retarded in Korean. 

Keith was amazed and so embarrasses because his mom kept feeding me strawberries and stuff. And she bought me socks (because she saw that I had a pair with holes in them....) 

Back to Keith,

Keith and I then just sat on the couch and basically stared at eachother for the rest fo the day. HE IS SO CUTE~~~!

He then takes me out to dinner. We went to this really quint Korean bbq place. After that, my damn boyfriend drags me to a noraebang (karaoke). 

He's so mean to me ^^

But I tell you, Koreans get really into their karaoke... he was jumping up and down and dancing and all over the place. It was hilarious!!! He's a wonderful singer so it was awesome. But he makes me sing, which is awful.... I hate him for it <3


 We got home around 11 (we spent 2 hours at noraebang) 

Keith's mom was still awake so we went and talked to her. And then we went to sleep. Obviously, Keith and I didn't sleep. We only had the one night together so I made sure he stayed awake. We basically just sat on the bed and talked about the past 9 months. 

He is only able to call me once a week for 5-15 minutes, so I never actually got to talk to him. It was wonderful... he told me a few stories from his training and he told me about his friends. I told him about classes and my friends..

It was just wonderful to be able to talk to him. I missed him so much and I was so happy to see him.

The next day we decided not to do anything because he would be leaving at 5.
So we hung out with his mom and dad and watched TV. We ordered Pizza Hut pizza for lunch... I got bulgoggi pizza (..which is Korean beef) It was sooooo good. Pizza Hut here is a million times better than in the States.

Anyways, it came to be around 4 and Keith asked me if I wanted to get some air and go get a smoothie or something. So we go to a Starbucks and he gets me a frappicino and some cake to split. We talk about when we are going to see each other again and he tells me he'll get a 3 day break in April. 

It got to be 4:45 so we walked back to his house because he had to change back into his army stuff.

I go an sit in his room and start packing my stuff when I hear the door open. 

Keith is standing in the doorway, he hadn't changed yet he just walks over to the bed and sits above me and just pulls me into his chest and just hugs me. It was awful. He was leaving me again. I was trying hard not to start bawling. 

I told Keith's parents that I wanted to take Keith all the way back to his base and then they could take me back to the dorm.

Keith's base is literally 35/40 minutes from his house. It was ridiculous. But he says something to his parents and they pull over in front of a bakery. He unbuckles and looks at me and says "bye, I'll call you later"

And I start freaking out, I ask where he's going and he says he's going to buy some bread for his team and I'm like "but you're coming back to the car right?"

He tells me that he's going to walk to his base. So he grabs my hand squeezes it and gives me a quick kiss. As he closes the door he promises he'll call me that night. 

It was SO hard not crying in front of his parents. I was in the back seat wheezing trying not to sob. 

I make it back to the dorm and right as I walk in Keith calls. The first thing he says is he misses me

I just break. I start sobbing. 

It was stupid, I was going to see him again in a month, but still... it was so hard letting him leave after not seeing him for so long. 

But yeah,,, that was my magical weekend. This was a really smooshy post. Sorry for not posting! I was having class issues and homework... ><

Today is my friends birthday so I'm going to take her out to dinner and she wants to go to Namsan Tower. I think it's going to rain tonight so we might have to reschedule the Tower visit, but the restaurant we're going to is awesome.

Oh! I went and saw a Korean movie last night at the theathre with my tutor. I only understood a little of it, but it was SO good regardless. I was laughing and crying and laughing, by the end of it the entire theatre was sobbing. It was called 7번방의 선물,, I think the English title is Miracle in Room 7.... I'm not sure, but it was SO good and I highly recommend seeing it~~

Alright, I'll post again soon!! Sorry for the lack of posts~~

xx

KU Spirit!

Check out my terrible video that I took from my phone during a kind of "pep rally."

KU probably has the most intense school spirit I have ever witnessed. It's amazing. We had this cheering practice thing yesterday and the entire school piled into Tiger Dome which is the stadium thing (my vocabulary is impeccable, I know) and we just screamed and jumped up and down and sang and bonded for a good 3.5 hours.

My back hurts to bad, but I feel so much closer with the school. It was amazing. We started at 4:30 and my KUBA group left around 8..... I'm pretty sure the cheering didn't stop until around 9/9:30. It was sooo long. My group just got hungry and tired so we left to get food.

I have to say I'm in love with Korean food.

I'll post again about my first day of classes soon! I'm sorry!

I'll make a more detailed post about the cheering later too, I'm just in a hurry because I have to go take a placement test for some class that I have to take (I'm not even sure what the class is~~)

Peace out, yo.

xx

I don't know why I got all gangster.

pictures soon!

Myeongdong~~~

So on Saturday I met up with my Korean tutor and we went to Myeongdong for shopping.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into...
I had to use the subway to get there and I was really nervous to do it by myself. Myeongdong is only like a 20 min subway trip so it really wasn't bad at all and I di it!!! 

Anyways, when I got there I had to wait for my tutor. And the friggin' subway station is a mall!!! So I ran around and bought some earrings and this preciousssssss cat shaped bag (I love bags)

So once she arrived we just ran up stairs and entered heaven. I swear, Myeongdong is REALLY cool. There were so many people and so many stores and little kiosk things in the streets. The big stores had a few clothes in my size which was very exciting. But there were a whole bunch of really cute little stores that I couldn't fit into :((( We bought some delicious Korean street food and then ate some chicken galbi (I can't remember it's a Korean dish). She is really awesome and chill. I really like her. She has a lot of energy like me so we get along really well :D :D

The problem with Korea is that since everyone is basically the same size, I guess there is no need for dressing rooms. So it's really hard to decide if something will fit me if I can't try it on.

I had to leave a whole bunch of cute clothes behind because I couldn't try them on.

BUT! I bought this really cute skirt and shirt for when I see Keith on Saturday!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to look so cute! It's going to be great.

I've kinda gone through this HUGE style transformation which Keith hasn't seen yet. I used to only wear very large teeshirts and sweatshirt and never wore makeup and stuff. Now I actually put some effort into myself in the morning to look better. So I'm excited to see what Keith thinks. Keith's mom is going to pick me up Saturday morning at 10 and we are going to drive to go pick up my 오빠~~~~!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!! I haven't seen him in 9 months :( So when we get back to Gangnam we are going to go to Coex mall so I can get a polariod camera so I can take a million pictures of him *^.^*

I'm sorry I haven't posted pictures yet :((((((

I'm so lazy. ㅠㅠ

But, I start classes tomorrow which is so surreal to me.  I'm a freshman in college. and not just any college, but one of the top colleges in South Korea.

It's crazy!!

I'll post again about my first day soon~~

I'm so nervous.

xx

PS This post is kinda lackluster, I'm sorry. I'll be better next time and provide more detail of stuff >_<

Class Registration is Stressful

So, I Would like to point out that I'm a international FRESHMAN student.

I have never ever registered for classes before

And all of my exchange friends keep talking about the horrors they went through while registering for classes. I'm SO nervous~~~~

I had orientation yesterday, which I would like to say was pretty useless. Most of the international students are Chinese, there are only like 15 non-Chinese international students so basically the entire orientation was about what Chinese students need to do for visas and stuff.

She only covered class registration for a minute. She didn't say anything about what credit I need or anything. She just said "You need 130 credits to graduate and I recommend you do 12 credits your first semester"

12 credits of what?!!?! Am I required to take a science? or a math? or even History? Because if you don't tell me I'm going to avoid those subjects at all costs.

So basically I chose all the English classes I could find (that weren't any of the subjects stated above) There aren't very many classes in English, but there are definitely enough to have a couple semesters of just English classes, which is nice.

So hopefully my schedule will look something like this:

Intermediate French Tues-Fri
Korean for beginners Mon-Thurs
Language and Culture Tues & Thurs
English and Human Mind Mon &Weds
Syntax Mon &Weds

Once again, I pray this will be my schedule. Sadly, I don't really have any days off, but that's okay. I'm new at this. I can perfect my scheduling later when I'm not so stressed.

There were only 3 classes related to my linguistics majour in English and the level wasn't specified. So, I just signed up for Syntax just in case all the other classes were junior level classes or something. I can always drop the class.

I have 6 back up classes just in case I don't get any of these, but I'm REALLY hoping I can get those. Based on the horror stories from my friends and my parents I'm probably going to end up in some really stupid class taught in Korean.

I don't speak Korean.

On the bright side!!!
While I was at orientation I started talking to this one girl and SHE'S FRENCH! So, I'll have a 4-yr undergrad French friend!! I'm so excited. I think there is also another international linguistics freshman. So, hopefully i can make a few non-exchange student friends. I do love my exchangey friends, but they are leaving me in a few months sooo..... yeah.

I woke up 3 hours before  registration begins because that's what everyone recommended I do so I have nothing to do right now...

I'm just going to listen to some kpop and refresh the registration page until I die.

xx

I made it!!

I MADE IT!!


I made it through the first three days with Keith's mom and it was wonderful!! I think I accomplished my goal of becoming her BFF,,,  I don't know if that is a Korean mother thing or she just REALLY likes me~~ it's much better than her treating me like the Korean Mothers in the Kdramas!

She's so cute though, she was so worried about me when we finally made it to the dorms.

OHMIGOD,

So, I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but I basically haven't spent any money since I've been here because Keith's mom has bought me everything. Like, they have probably spent over $500 on me... It's so thoughtful, but I also feel really bad that I didn't give her much as a gift. I feel like it wasn't enough. They bought me a phone!!! 

Keith's dad is VERY high up in the Samsung world, so he has ins. So he brought me back a Galaxy Note one day after work and told me they'd pay the monthly fee. I told them that once I get a Korean card I'd start to pay for it, but they told me no >___<

Anyways,

THEY GOT A LIMO! Not like a stretch limo, but a SUPER nice car an a driver to take me to the dorm. Both Keith's parents woke up early on Saturday and helped me pack and then Keith's dad called HIS driver and he came and picked us up and took us to the dorm................AMAZING.


Then Keith's mom and I went shopping for dorm stuff like toilet paper an pencil holders and the such. ~~She paid for everything. 

She unpacked everything for me. She wouldn't let me do it. She then proceeded to hand wash my underwear and plane clothes... This woman is dedicated.

Sidenote: I don't know if I mentioned this either, but she called me her daughter once! ^_^**

Anyways, so she unpacked everything and was really worried I wasn't going to leave the room to go eat because I didn't know anybody (which is so true) so she kidnapped people. 

Keith's mom disappeared for a bit and came back with an American girl who looked terrified and was like "here Maggie, a friend!" and the American girl (Emily) then told me that she ran into Keith's mom on the elevator who started to speak Korean, Emily didn't understand so Keith's mom grabbed her arm and guided her to my room >__< hahahaha

It was really funny. She did the same thing to this one girl because she somehow found out there is a French girl here. So, she knocked on the French girl's door and kidnapped her too. 

I have friends, YAY!

They are exchange students though. I haven't met a single real 4-year student yet. My roommate hasn't even arrived. So, I'm making friends with these really cool girls (there's like 13 of them), but they are all exchange students and are going to be gone in e few months. I need to make some undergrad friends too... 

Hopefully my roommate will arrive soon. And hopefully she's Korean and will be here for forever. 

OH! Also, yesterday morning my friends and I were all gettin ready to leave for brunch and I was in one of their rooms and I here "Maggie!" and I automatically answer in Korean and look out into the hall and who do I see??

Keith's mom is knocking on my door. She came just to sew up some socks that I ripped. She brought me a broom and dustpan. She also brought the costco croissants and some milk with a cup. She then started sewing up my socks and demanding I drink milk. Once she finished she said have fun with your friends!! And left...she took the subway here. It's like an hour lon subway ride. 

Do you see what I mean by clingy?

I mean I REALLY appreciate it!!!! Like so much! I'd be so lost without her. But I do feel like I haven't done enough for her. I think she just misses Keith. And she also never got to do this school stuff with him. She's so cute.

Anyways, my dorm is beautiful and the view is awesome.

The only problem: 

I have to take 111 steps to get anywhere. I feel like I have already lost weight just by going up and down those steps. Not to mention the entire Anam campus is on a mountain so everywhere is uphill. Even downhill is uphill...

I'll post pictures soon. I have orientation today (I think) and I have no idea where I'm supposed to go, so I'm probably going to get some breakfast and explore the campus so I can find this orientation building. 

So, I'm off!

I'll update again soon, hopefully with pictures!!

xx

I'm so full.

Alright, so here's a summary of my day.

I'm super jetlagged so I woke up at 530. Keith's dad got up at 6 and left at 630 (I'd like to point out that he didn't come home til after 10,, koreans work too much) When I woke up Keith's mom told me to come watch TV with her while she made me breakfast.
For breakfast, I had steak. I mean it was def beef and she cut it up an gave me rice and kimchi. I'm just going to say steak. It was yummy, but I'm still full.
We then went to Costco. Korean costco. Still as amazing as American, if not better. ^^

There I picked up towels because I read somewhere that it's hard to fint a real like large towel. So I was excited to go to an American store and be able to find an Amurican sized towel. Keith's mom made me buy little ones to so I can wash me face.... haha

She is VERY concened with my skin. I got off th eplane and she forced me to put on lotion and stuff. She picked out lots of face lotion at costco and then we went and got food.

Koreans are all over the free sampling stuff. Everytime we saw something she would get it and give one to me. I had maybe three different types of vitamins that were on sample. Im'm not even sure what kinda vitamins they were O.o 

Anyways, we then went to the check out. Where SHE PAID FOR ALL MY STUFF. I was going to make a scene in costco, but I wasn't sure if it was rude of not to refuse...her money, I guess haha. I tried to buy for it but she yelled at me. So I just thanked her a lot.

We then went home and I passed out got a good 5 hours. So jetlagged. Wehn we woke up she took me to dinner.

I'd like to point out that I pravtially didn't use my hands. She was hand feeding me everything. It was sooooo good the first couple of mouthfuls, then I got full. And she continued to give me food, I was trying very hard not to throwup from food overdose haha. IT's so sweet!! But I don't know if it'll be rude to refuse the food, so I just ate it all. I feel like I've gained 20 pounds already. 

She's SO nice though. I wasn't able to find pens at costco so we passed a store that had pens and stuff and I was so excited I picked out a whole bunch and she was holding them like she was going to pay. And in the store they had REALLY cute bows and stuff. Let me tell ya, I LOVE BOWS. I have SO my hair bows it's scary. But I didn't buy any because I knew she was going to pay again and I didn't want her to. So, I had to leave the bows :(

I'll be back though! I know where it is!! And I'm sure there are more bows in Korea to be bought.

When we got back to the house KEith's mom and I just talked. She showed me pictured of Keih in the army. I showed her pictures of Keith and I while I was visiting Korea last Christmas. We talked about the cell phone that they are giving me. Keith's dad is a "high-up" at Samsung, so he always has the latest gadgets. They ahd a Galaxy Note lying around so they just gave it to me. We are going to activate it tomorrow, I guess. Hopefully they let me pay the monthly bill. 

We are going to go to Coex mall tomorrow so I can get a whole bunch of cute things. But I'm going to make a scene if she tries to pay for more stuff. Iwill start screaming or something.... not really. But I'll fight.

Also, I'm writing this in the dark at 4am (jetlagg is a bitch) so excuse any spelling errors and stuff, I can't see the keyboard.