Monday felt unbearably long. Still at a creative high from the festival, I constantly thought what was I actually doing here, in this whitewashed classroom trapped in a rut of grammar particles and phonetics. I needed to watch some movies! Fortunately, I managed to ween myself off later that day to keep me focused on my last legitimate week of Korean learning.
“YOU CAN DO THIS!”
At least, that’s what I told myself as I found myself procrastinating on studying, yet again. Damn, did I lack work ethic. By some sheer grace of an all-powerful-divinity-that may-or-may-not-be-a god, I managed to get myself out of my rut and study for once by actually taking up some higher level grammar from a book lent to me by a floormate. Going through it, all I could think, “Wait, why didn’t they teach us this!? This explains so much more!”. I may or may not have been a tad irked after going through the grammar, but I got over those feelings quickly because like hey, I have a final to get over with.
But that doesn’t mean I can spend some quality time chatting over dinner. Tuesday, a couple of my old classmates and I met up Yujin after she returned from her honeymoon. She and her husband spent little time in relaxing after returning. Both of them worked through the week like machines. If you didn’t consider them Korean, their work ethic would make you think otherwise. Somehow, she fit us in our schedule and she took us to a special place to 삼계탕 (Samgyetang, stuffed broth-boiled chicken). They say one should eat this hot dish during the hottest summer days to refuel on all the nutrients lost that day. It definitely is a healthy dish with the amount 인삼 (ginseng) you get in it.
The dinner was a bit of farewell to Akshaya and Aimy, who were both leaving at the end of the week for the remainder of their summer vacation. In turn, Yujin brought us cute little Korean office supplies as parting favors. The level of 기엽기 was high.
Right after dinner, we took a little stroll out of 광화문 (Gwanghwamun) and made our way over to 조계사 (Jogyesa Temple), the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It was a very calming place to experience before having to take on a final. It was also a place I marked to visit in my large temple run through Korea over the course of the academic year as part of my research and various meditation practices. I considered it a small sneak peak.
Did I say dinner earlier? I meant dinners.
Thursday, after day one of finals survival, there was another Yalies in Korea dinner. This time around it was almost entirely Korean. I considered this opportune time to practice my 말하기 (speaking). In a not-so-strange twist of events, they ended up speaking more English than Korean… sigh. Despite that, the dinner was enjoyable as we had flavored 막걸리 for the first time, which may or may not have been a wise idea before the second day of finals. I’d let time decide that one for me. After the chic fusion dinner, the rest of the crowd went off to club since they were having summer fun with a bunch of other Korean college folk as I went back to my dorm to not fail my final… sigh, again.
But enough of the sighs because Friday marking the end of it all! Huzzah! I was done with it all (excluding the two days of class the next week… one more sigh). In fact, I was so done that I just had to move. My homestay happened to be in 동막로 (Dongmak-ro), which was only a short bus ride away form Ewha, making getting there with two large luggages manageable, especially since I had arrived with company. Upon meeting my host family, all I could say was they were very sweet and helped me out tons before I finished getting ready for my Japan trip.
This time around for the dinner, it was Kelsey’s birthday dinner and she was feeling Italian. Again, I warn all those who intend on coming to Korea to, at least for the most part, stick to the Eastern foods here because they make them incredibly well but the Western breeds, eh, not so much. It will be a hit or miss, but in our case, it was a hit (mostly because the owner was totally Italian). However, I felt like I was actually back in Italy. The place was dimly lit and had a nice rustic feel to it. Everything in the place was actually imported from Italy, including the 100-year-old handcrafted table the restaurant casually seated us silly twenty-somethings at. Nevertheless, we got a tad measure and embraced it all. For good reason, too, as the dinner was definitely hands down my favorite Western meal in Korea to date.
Saturday, Michelle surprised us. After all the time we spent in Seoul this summer, Michelle finally made room in her busy schedule for me and Kelsey to hang out with her. I felt it would be appropriate then that we spend our day picnicking it out. So we all met outside the route to 낙산공원 (Naksan Park). For the first time, it was nice to feel liberated from the city without actually escaping it since the park essentially was a green escape just very well placed on one of Seoul’s many mountainous hills. The day just flew by as all we did was talk and talk. It was nice to go through that.
Right below the hill of Naksan Park lies 이화마을 (Ihwa Village), a street artist haven.
Every little nook and cranny of the neighborhood felt like it was taken out of a children’s book. Our eyes basically went on a thrill with all the colors and perspectives pained along doors, windows, staircase, and more. But something we didn’t consider until very late into our trek was that people actually lived here. There were tiny signs around the village reminding folks to keep it calm outside as the residents went through their days. When that wasn’t enough, we came upon this.
Forward enough, it was time to head on out. Also because we were hungry. On our trek out, we somehow managed to end up in 혜화 (Hyehwa), the neighborhood where I’ll be researching over the upcoming academic year. Fortunate for us, with multiple universities in proximity, the area was restaurant overload. Problem for us, the area was restaurant overload. Eventually, we managed to reach a conclusion and went for curry. In the spirit of the day, we ended up getting lost in conversation there, too. The day was just a walk and a talk, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
