Seoul 3 - Trick Eye Museum

Right in Hongdae (the university district), where we were staying, they have a place called "The Trick Eye Museum." It's good for bigger groups of people but it's not really a place where you can go alone because the whole point of it is to take funny pictures with your friends. It's full of all these paintings that are set up to look 3D so that you can interact with them. 

First, though, we were shuttled into a freezing cold room with ice displays. They had an igloo and dolls frozen in ice (???) and an ice house with an ice toilet and ice bed. They also had an ice slide we could use. The funny thing was that before we went in we were handed blankets to wrap around ourselves. It looked super stupid but it was necessary after a few minutes in the sub-zero room. Kinda cool though !

The rest of our time there we spent wandering through the trick eye museum displays. Some of them were based of of famous works of art and others were just silly. Honestly it was so much fun. I definitely recommend going even though the price is a tad bit steep (15,000 won). It's especially fun if you go with people that have a good sense of humor.

Seoul 2 - Drinks

On one of our nights in Seoul we went out to Itaewon, aka foreigner town. It was really cute. They had different flags strung up crossing over the streets and there were a lot more people from different countries walking around. We went out for Mediterranean food and then hit up a bar with REAL BEER. Like nothing I've ever experienced in Korea. I was able to have real pumpkin beer from the tap, but unfortunately I couldn't even really enjoy it because I was sick and so congested :( Whatever, my body has been imbued with pumpkin beer goodness *__*

We also went to Insadong, the arts district, and wandered around. There were a lot of foreigners and street stalls in the area, along with cute shops selling tradition and non-traditional goods. My favorite part was the giant Psy they had outside of a cosmetics shop. Loooove him !

On our third night in Seoul we went to this interesting bar called "Apple Tree." It was in the basement of this building and had some cool mood lighting. You walk in and there's a big, fake tree in the middle of the room, strung up with wooden apples. We had the option of sitting at tables in the middle of the room, but instead opted to sit along the walls in this curtained off space with cushions and a low table. We sat on the floor with pillows and candles and sipped on appletinis.

Seoul 1 - Cultural

While in Seoul we had some cultural experiences. We walked around a neighborhood full of houses with traditional Korean architecture. We also went to a palace and for a walk down the Cheonggyecheon River. 

Jeoji Oreum and Beach Day with the House

Today the whole of Jeoji House took a trip to our namesake oreum and the Hyeopjae Beach. Once again the weather was wonderful -- clear and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. There was a slight cool breeze playing around us when we reached the top of the oreum for lunch and a rest.

The beach was also very nice, albeit windier. I went swimming in my clothes since I managed not to bring a bathing suit, but a lot of the students ended up doing the same. We had a recklessly fun time just running around through the water and sand. I felt so free, being off campus. It was nice to bond with some of the girls in the house outside of a boarding/ academic context.

To see more, go to our house blog.

Olle Trail #6

Today with the hiking club I went up the cliffs at the start of olle trail #6 on the Southern coast of the island. It was a pleasant day for hiking: the weather was warm with a cool breeze, and the day was clear and cloudless. We could see the outline of Mt. Halla very clearly from where we were situated. 

Only thing was that the trail we were on was quickly deemed the "Land of the Spiders." There were massive tons of the large, multicolored spiders that are often seen along the olle trails. I've never seen so many spiders in my life.

Unexpectedly, it was the girls who had no issue with the spiders. Instead, it was the boys who screamed bloody murder every time they saw one from a distance of 10 feet. Not gonna lie, it was pretty funny, but thank goodness no one came in contact with a spider or else we'd have a panic attack on our hands, I swear.

Norebang 노래방

This week for our day off I suggested that we go into the city to do Norebang, as we could also get some shopping done at E-Mart. This was a good idea. We spent the afternoon belting out hits from the '90s and '00s, and dancing around like freaks. 

Unlike Japan, apparently norebang is primarily a nighttime activity, so it was a bit more challenging than expected to find a place open in the mid-afternoon. I remember being able to go into karaoke in Japan after 1pm or so and we could stay there for five hours for just 5,000 yen (about $5) a piece. We could even order beer while we were there. This place didn't serve alcohol, but we didn't need it. We cut loose. Singing is such a stress reliever, and it's so nice to get off campus each week. 

The karaoke room we were placed in had a small stage at the back, flashing lights, and mirrors. The technology wasn't too advanced--we had to look up song numbers in a song book--but the sound quality was pretty sweet and they provided us with TAMBOURINES. Heck yes!

Following our time at norebang, we went to Wa Bar, a western-type bar, for a beer or two, and then later went home for Hawaiian pizza <3

Birthday Weekend

I just celebrated my birthday this past Saturday and I had a lot of help from my friends here to make it AwEsOmEeEeEe! I got to go into town on Thursday and go shopping for a dress and makeup. We went to the underground shopping mall, but unfortunately it wasn't very big and they mostly sold sweaters and pants, so no luck there finding a dress. I did end up getting a lot of make up though. Then we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and I gorged on lentil curry, naan, and rice. Wow it was delicious. I can't wait to go back there.

The next day my friend loaned me a dress and we went out on the town to celebrate my 23rd. Unfortunately Saturday I had to work, but I got the chance to go out for fried chicken and later in the night I did Scottish dancing with the year 9 students. I'd upload a video of it but it's too embarrassing how bad we were... Anyway, it was definitely one of the highlights of my birthday and a lot of fun.

On Saturday night, the girls in my dorm gathered together for registration and we also had birthday cake. As per the British style, I made a wish not when I blew out the candle, but when I cut the first slice of cake. The girls then surprised me with a big birthday card they made. It was so nice, I thought I would die of happiness :)

Birthday messages on the house white board!

Big, awesome Jeoji birthday card <3 <3 <3

Overall, a pleasant weekend :)

Typhoon winds and heavy rain are hitting tonight and into tomorrow. It's supposed to pour all day long and then get sunny later in the week. Two weeks until half term, woohoo!