WARNING: Extremely long post because I like to write and rant about everything I can remember.

Hey everyone, it's been quite a while since my last post. It's been quite hectic the last few days. I'm still adjusting to all of this and I don't think my body really likes it. I actually haven't been eating properly the last couple of days and don't really feel that well. I can't even finish normal size plates. I mean.. if the skinny Koreans can finish it, why can't I? But maybe that will all change after a few more weeks of being here.

But let's talk about where we left off last time, right? On Friday, I met up with some people from my building and some from I-House and we went to Myeongdong. This is a popular shopping district in Seoul and the stores there are pretty huge, yep. We got there with around 10 people and decided to split up and meet each other in two hours (believe me, this is not enough time!!). I decided to walk around with Tino and Dyllan, but after a minute or two we saw that Nora followed us. We found a little hidden kpop store, but after two or three minutes we were already outside. They mainly sold passport holders, mugs, posters, wallets, mobile chains. When we walked up the stairs, I almost fell up the stairs again. ... Yes, up, I already know some friends who have immense joy in that special talent of mine. We saw a big ass H&M and they actually had my size,  but then again, I sometimes even have difficulties in fitting perfectly in H&M clothes in the Netherlands and Korea is no different, so I quickly put the blazer back. (It was such a nice blue though.) Nora found a few shirts she liked, but not enough to buy them. Tino didn't find a lot in his size either, but Dyllan... Well, let's just say it was the first time the girls had to wait for the guys to finish up in a clothing store. Never had that before.

We found a nice little cafe on the 9th floor of a random building and it had wifi. I ordered a "Iced Chocolate". On the menu, it said "hot chocolate" but I already had the following situation before and didn't want to repeat it again. (I think Natasja will recognize this):

"I want to order hot chocolate, please?"
"Ice or hot?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You want ice or hot?"
"Uhh.. well, ice then." (Yes, changed it last minute.)

Very strange, but yes, it happens here. And seeing it was quite hot that day, I went for Iced Chocolate. We had to wait for a while but yeah, wifi. That was great. (Can't get rid of internet addiction in Korea! Neveeeerrrr! I'm too far gone.) After that, we wanted to go to SPAO but we didn't have a lot of time left until we were supposed to meet up with the others, so I quickly went into a Nature Republic store (come on, I got offered a free facial mask with Jang Geun Suk on the packaging. I'm sorry for having a weakness for that man. .. Actually, I'm not sorry at all.) and Nora and I lost the boys because well.. Nature Republic is all make-up and skin and looks and girly and blah. (Even though JGK endorses it, but .. Korea and their men and their looks.. yeah..) So we went to the place we were supposed to meet up with the rest, but didn't see Dyllan and Tino anywhere. We walked back and we found them quite quickly. Still don't know where they were, but yeah.

After Myeongdong, we went to Yongsan Electronics Market. Sophia and Nora wanted to go to Han River afterwards but it was too hectic to go with the entire group and they asked if I wanted to split up from the group and go with them. Of course I did and Dyllan and Tino tagged along. We went to the electronic market first and let me tell you, it is HUGE even though we only went to one floor haha. We saw two other floors, but only because we wanted to go down. :') The other girls bought a router for their flat and I got a new iPhone cable (for around 3€!) and we tried to find our way to Han River.

Two hours later (with some very very very spice dukbokki - this is some sort of rice cake-) we finally arrived at Yeouido Park which is located next to Han River. This park is great! It's absolutely beautiful and it's great to see some green and also some bicycles! We decided to take a little 'Magic Cruise' which lasted for about an hour and even though the magic tricks were quite over-used, it was very nice to see! I still don't understand how they do it and I had fun!
The view was also very nice and it was really relaxing just sitting on deck and staring at all the bridges and skyline. Unfortunately, it was a bit misty/dusty so most of my pictures turned out quite dark. After the cruise, we just sat down on a bench and talked for like an hour or two. I'd like to do that more often. It's my kind of 'going/hanging out'. Just sitting somewhere and talk with each other. Was pretty fun. :D

And just so you know, the way back was way faster than going to Han River. I think we finally understand this damn subway. The day after I actually went back to Myeongdong with Sam and we went to SPAO and just love the everysing store (SME store!) on the top floor. We're sure we'll come back some more. We also went to K-Story (Heechul's store!). I bought a new bracelet there (it has Super Junior on it) and the cashier actually saw my other bracelets. "Wow, so much!" "Yes, I have a collection.." "Collection? Wow! Amazing!" I love Koreans and their English. (And I also went to the bookstore and bought a 'Korean made easy for beginners!' book. -.-)

On Sunday, I actually wanted to stay home the entire day and just figure out when and where the classes are I had interest in. The girls from flat 102 actually wanted to go to SKKU park or something like that. We ended up at Changyeongdong Palace. We mainly sat on a bench and a rock near the lake and walked around for a little bit. The buildings are really nice and the red actually matches my hair. I have a few pictures and my hair just blends in. Whoa. Anyways, I'll definitely go back and take the tour so I can see all of it! The entree is only a few thousand won. I believe W3000? And it's quite nearby too, no problem getting there. :)

But then.. on Monday, the problems arised. I was interested in two classes. But it went wrong from the very first second. I learned that the building I had to be at was on top of a hill. Yes, you read it right, a hill. My entire campus is on a hill. As soon as you go through the main gate you start climbing! I don't know how all these Korean girls do it in there high heels, but they can do this perfectly and I mean perfectly like walking upstraight. Seeing as I am the lazy person and already didn't want to walk all the way to the other side of the campus, I took the SKKU shuttle bus but I still had to walk a bit up the hill and I couldn't find the elevators so I used the stairs to the 4th floor (in Maastricht.. whenever I have to go to the 4th or 5th floor, I just go; screw it! I'm taking the elevator!). I did this multiple times because I actually walked into the classroom I thought I had to be in and asked two girls if they spoke English (yes) and if this class was 'Behavior Modification of Children' (uhh... no... baby care?) 'Oh.. well, okay, thank you.' And I left, because obviously, I did not want to follow a class named 'baby care.' So I tried to look for the damn classroom everywhere. Went down the stairs, up the stairs and then just gave up and went to the other side of campus, intending to go to International Hall and actually bumping into the girls from flat 102.

We went to check out the university's clubs and there are so many religious clubs, my goodness. We ended up at the Taekwondo club though. We're allowed to take part in one of their sessions next Monday. I know I did karate and karate is different from taekwondo, but maybe.. Hm. Seems like fun. But we'll see how it turns out on Monday! I just hope I will feel a bit more energetic and better by then. (I will tell more about this, later!)

I decided to go back to Hoam Hall (one of the Social Sciences department buildings) and check if I could find the Behavior Modification class this time. I actually ended up at the same classroom as before and just walked in, going: "Hi, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but is this the Behavior Modification of Children class?" Yes. "Is this class in Korean or English?" It's going to be in Korean. "Oh, well then, I'm out I guess (wow, such slang!) Thank you and sorry again!" And then I just left, all disappointed. First class I'm trying out and it was already a failure.

Next up was trying to find the professor (Jinny!) of the Counseling Psychology class, seeing as I was certain I'd take that class and I needed her signature. I thought she meant the first floor, but it was the fifth floor. I found out after I asked an English teacher (praise the shisus for English teachers who perfectly understand you!) where her office was and he took me to some department office and there they actually called her to ask where she was. And then they showed me where these wonderful things called elevators were! YES! But anyways, I found the professor (I should call her Doctor, she doesn't like being called professor) and she's very small and calm and I like her already. She was concerned for me because I had such difficulties finding classes. Seriously, all these psychology classes taught in English here are either statistics or classes I already had in Maastricht. And well, home university is probably like; "nuh-uh, you will not get credits for those classes because you already had them!" And I just hope Maastricht will accept the Counseling Psychology course.

After talking to her for a bit, I could go to the "Sociology of Marriage and Family" class but it suddenly was in Korean according to some list and I was just fed up with the entire 'baby care' thing, I just decided to quit for the day and do whatever I did afterwards. Probably going home and eat food. Mind you, I'm writing this on Thursday and my memory is just.. really sucky lately.

On Tuesday, I hoped for some better luck. I first went to a 'Introduction to Sociology' class and this professor..  I don't know what to think about him. He got his PhD somewhere in the US, but he talked so slow. He asked the class: "Who thinks their English is excellent?" Of course, we, the international/foreign students immediately raised our hands. "Like.. Their English is better than their Korean." Our arms were still up. I think it's kind of obvious. And three other Koreans. Yeah, sure. I don't believe it. The class was okay, it's not really one of my first choices.
The next class I went to was a class a lot of girls from my building were interested in, but I was the only one actually ably to go: Love and Marriage. Well, I got into the classroom and there were around 50 to 60 people in there and I was the only foreigner when I got in. As soon as the teacher came in, I walked to her and asked if her class was in English. Suddenly two other European guys stood next to me (Norwegian Asbjörn and Dutch Maik) and we all got to hear that the class would be in English, but also in Korean. Like the class would be given in Korean, but the discussions and all that would be in Korean. Because of this, it wouldn't be good for us if we would join. We weren't even really able to join the class but it was already completely full. So.. five minutes into the class, we were already standing outside the classroom wondering what we should do. I couldn't get in contact with my buddy, Rachel (Korean name is Wonkyung), so I couldn't have lunch with her anymore. :( I went to the little electronics shop with Maik and bought a router for the flat and got an entire conversation with the Korean guy from the shop in Korean and for some reason, I actually understood the guy! But yes, finally, some wifi in the dorms!

Afterwards, I decided to go back to the flat for an hour or two (met up with Linda in the mean time) and around 2.30PM we went back to campus together to go to our next class. Linda went to hers and I went to "Sociology of Social Movement". This class actually sounds pretty interesting! Every week we would discuss different social movements that took place in the past, like looking at their behaviour in groups (hello, tiny psychological aspect!). We will even discuss the Occupy Wall Street one and we mentioned 'Anonymous' to the teacher and he might considering taking that in discussion! I'm very impressed by this teacher actually. His English is perfect. And I mean PERFECT. And he's really nice. I send him a mail the night before about my situation if I could join his class and he immediately was like; "You're very welcome to join my class!" Well thank you, mister! Even when he walked into the class, he asked another foreign girl (who was in his line of vision): "I bet you're Anastacia." "No, that's me!" And then he saw me and he was very friendly. When we got to introduce ourselves, he said he would really like to try to call me by my full name because I told him that I rarely get called 'Anastacia' but more 'Anna' and 'Stacia'. (And sometimes Tasja and Candice.. or Panda.) So he asked me how my name was actually pronounced and like I said, he wants to call me by my full name but in the Dutch way. Totally love it! He didn't sound so bad either! Crystal (the other foreign girl whom teacher thought was me) tried it too and she even said: "I'll try not to butcher your name." Or you're not doing that at all, no worries. ^^
Also a reason to like this teacher is that his glasses actually didn't have real glasses in them. I kept staring at them and really couldn't see the glass. Well, kudos for you mister, for going along with the trend. (And may I say he looks a bit like Prince Manager? Just a little bit. Or maybe it was just because of his fabulous glasses.

After this short but interesting class, I met some other international students in the cafetaria and one of them actually studies in Maastricht! Oh the joy I feel when I meet someone who studies at the same university even though it's not the same faculty. I had a nice dinner on campus (I had donkatsu?) but I couldn't finish it. It was too much. The guys I met (of course, I tend to go to the guys more than the girls, forever one of the guys!) wanted to go the electronics store to buy an ethernet cable. I showed them the way and of course, the guy from the shop did not learn English in one day so he told us that he only sold 1M cables and the longer ones are at the stationary shop next to the bookstore, of course in Korean. (He said bookstore in English though and that was exactly the keyword I needed.) I nodded a lot and said a lot of 'Ne' (which means yes), seeing as I could still quite understand him. It is quite easy to understand the Koreans if they use one or two English words in between and some hand gestures.
When we got out of the shop, one of the guys even said: "I can't take it that you're so fluent in Korean!" "But I'm not fluent in Korean..." "But you had an entire conversation with him!" ".. Well, understanding is easier than actually speaking." (And I only said 'yes' to the guy, haha!) But I guess it's kind of a compliment. In Indonesia it's the same. I'm way better in understanding the people than speaking the language back. But I manage. :)

I had one more class left and that was the Counseling Psychology class. I will just paste what I said on facebook with some extra notes:

After introducing myself at the Counseling Psychology class (mind you, there were like 40 Koreans and a few Chinese and only one other European guy) because no one else wanted to introduce themselves and the teacher knew my name... (Well, she calls me Anna. She asked me on Monday what I should call her and I give her multiple options and she chose the easy one. ^^) people clapped for me. Why are you clapping?! It was only an introduction! Stop clapping! That was quite awkward. 

Also, when the other European guy (Asbjörn!) introduced himself, no one clapped for him. That was sad. 

I just sat on my chair, saying: "Hi, I'm Anastacia and I'm a foreign exchange student from the Netherlands. ... That's next to Germany.. In Europe? (And then people finally knew where it was.) I'm a psychology major and I'm in my last year. I'll be studying here for four months so... nice meeting you!" I didn't think that was so special!

 Also, for this class we don't have to take any exams; just write papers and do a presentation. One of the Koreans actually asked Jinny (or Dr. Kim, I think I'll call her Dr. Kim) if they had to write the papers in English. "Yeah, sure." "And how about the presentations?" "Well, we have two international students here, so yes." You could just feel the staring and the sighs and everything. I'm sorry, classmates! But! If we're in the same group, I can do the talking for the presentation. It's not like anyone will listen to me anyways or even understand me that well if I talk fast. And yet again, I really hope this course gets accepted by Maastricht University (also called UM, I will prolly use that abbrevation in the future!)! I'm really excited for this one. :D Hopefully I can find the book though, because apparently it's not available in Korea anymore. Oops. Looking for pdf files it is!

(Almost at the end of the post, sort of..) On Wednesday, I decided to go to the Regular Korean Program I actually signed off for. I signed off because I got a mail, saying I should withdraw if it clashed with my other courses. At first, it did. On Tuesday night, I heard the times got a little bit different. The courses don't really clash anymore and I got really upset. So I went to the RKP asking if I could still join. I got told in Korean at the beginner's class that I couldn't join anymore and should try something at the Global Zone. Well, we'll see about that. I met two women at the university and they told me something about free Korean classes on Saturdays so I will check that out first. Some people told me the RKP is already too intensive and the teachers don't speak English and it's hard to keep up, so maybe it's a good thing I can't join? But can I add a little detail? This class starts at 9AM. I got up really early for nothing!

Well, maybe not for nothing because I went to the immigration office. All by myself, still sulking about the RKP (because I'm still quite upset and disappointed about it) but I didn't get lost. I got my ticket number like last time and it said #2190 and the numbers were at #2025 somewhere. I misread my ticket as #2090. I wanted to walk to the counter after waiting for an hour and at the last second, I realised I misread my ticket, but (!!) this woman suddenly gave me her ticket and guess what! It was #2090! But then I got told I didn't had to be at that counter for a 'temporary registration card', which they don't have by the way. They could give me a 'certificate of alien registration' (you could see this as a temporary paper until you have the actual card) at another office counter/booth/something thing/whatever for W1000 and I only had to wait a minute there. Oh well, I got my certificate, quickly searched for the woman who gave me her ticket and gave her mine instead and she was very grateful. No, thank you, very kind lady!

Oh, I got the certificate because I want to go to the Incheon Kpop Festival this upcoming Sunday and to get in with a foreign resident ticket, I need proof that I live here as a foreign resident! But I also applied for a tourist ticket and I got the confirmation mail yesterday, so I can get both tickets! I will definitely get in! >D .. Hopefully. If everything goes right, because I am still the really paranoid one!

Afterwards, I went to the bookstore and the supermarket for a bit and got back to the flat, only to fall asleep for four hours. Yes, I like to take naps during the day in Korea too. You can't get rid of habits in only 1-2 weeks.

And then we're finally on the day I am writing this immense long post! (I'm sorry. Or maybe I'm not sorry at all!) Today, I totally slept in and got together with Rachel for lunch! Afterwards we strolled around campus and we got to know each other a bit more. (She was surprised I didn't have a boyfriend yet. Speaking of.. Miquel actually dared to ask me: When are we meeting your boyfriend? - I don't work so fast, boy! Goodness gracious!) Anyways, Rachel showed me the library and a few hidden cafes on campus. I found out she really likes manga too, she likes Naruto but also One Piece (win!) and she was quite surprised about me knowing all the kpop songs she mentioned. We also took a few pictures together and she called me cute. ... Wherever I go!! I will never not hear that I'm cute! Well, I guess I will just use it to my advantage! Aegyo, here I come. >D

At 3PM I would have the Social Movements class again but the teacher didn't show up and one of the Korean girls (I think her name is Younha, because she said her name was the same as the woman from Epik High's Umbrella! :D) actually called the teacher and he said it was cancelled for the day. Well. Alright then. We went to the library for a second, the bookstore and then to the SKKU souvenir shop and I finally bought the damn bag I've been staring at for a good couple of days. It was only W25.000 (not even €20!) and I really like it so why not, ay? I only needed that final push from Asbjörn. ("Only 25k? That's nothing! Just buy it!")

We then went to a little cafe on campus called "Cafe Sarangbang", translated: Cafe Love Room. It's nothing like a love room, it looks like a normal cafe. It's quite cozy, but not as cozy as you would expect from a cafe could Love Room.

And after spending a few hours there, we went back to our flats, rooms, whatever and on our way back I got to talk to Younha a bit more. She actually complimented on my Korean pronunciation. "Wow, it sounds really Korean! That's really good!" and then I told her it's probably because I like singing along with kpop songs.

"So what groups do you like then?"
"Super Junior.."
"Oh so you like pretty boy groups!"
"And Dong Bang Shin Ki.."
"Oh really?! Pretty boys~~"
"And Epik High! Let's not forget Epik High! They're not all about looks, they actually have really good music!"
"That is true, haha! So who is your favourite?"
"In Super Junior? Lee Donghae."
"You REALLY like pretty boys!! Haha! And I bet you like Micky Yoochun from DBSK?" (In a conversation earlier, I mentioned his name when they were talking about Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Yes. Yoochun's drama.)
"Yep."

We talked about more stuff, but I actually found this quite funny. But since I got back to the flat, I've only been chilling with my 'boyfriend' a.k.a. my laptop and been writing this incredible long post.

And before I forget, some updates on me and my flatmates. I told them I feel kind of strange when they all talk Chinese and I can't understand them and they are really trying to talk English or just talk more with/to me. The thing is, one of my flatmates (I can call her 'Yang' I believe) really doesn't know English, only a bit of basics. It's not like she doesn't want to talk to me, it's just that she can't. Her Korean is excellent though, but unfortunately mine isn't.
Then you have one who speaks English a little bit, but can speak Korean pretty well too. (I can't remember her name because I seriously can't pronounce it.) And the third one, Xia (yes, Xia!), speaks English the best out of all three but no Korean at all. I talk the most to Xia. Actually, I had quite a long conversation about just random things with Xia and ... I-forgot-her-name (that's really bad!! I'm living with her!!) and Yang tried to keep up with us but gave up quite quickly. (Xia is like our translator if I want to ask Yang something. ^^) It was nice to talk to them for a while and I actually felt okay. Maybe we can really try to make this living together thing work!
I even let them taste 'stroopwafels'. These are like 'Dutch cookies' (haha, I really had to explain it like this to my flatmates) made out of waffles and syrup! And they were all like; "wow, this is really sweet! But really delicious!" Well, I'm glad you like them!

Speaking of food, I mentioned not feeling all too well lately. I can't eat properly or eat much because I think my body is still adjusting to all of this. I wish I could eat more vegetables and fruit here, but it's really expensive. Xia gave me one of her bottles of vitamine effervescent tablets (I had to look this word up, I'm sorry for the fanciness) because we were also talking about this matter and I'm really grateful she gave me this! Xie xie, Xia. ^^

I will also buy these little vitamin bottles you take as one shots and hopefully, I will feel better in no time!

But that's all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post and see you later!

Panda, out!