Wednesday~

Please be mindful while reading these posts that Korea is 13 hours ahead of EST so my Wednesday may be your Tuesday~ or my Thursday may be your Wednesday so that's why I'm writing in the past tense. Today we had a Korean language and history class in the morning~ they were really interesting~ for lunch they took us too.... OUTBACK!! Haha~ it's pretty much the same minus some food options. The pumpernickel bread was  really good~ of our meal options I chose the frilled chicken wrap. It was really good but really spicy~~!!! After this we went to a Buddhist temple in the middle of the city (it's modern and it's huge... So many floors~!) we did some activities and then we had lunch in the temple. After this we had free time~ this was the first time we could actually go out! Two of the Korean chaperones of our program took us to Myeongdong which is a huge shopping street! My friend and I went to the Lotte Young Department Store and there was an SM Popup store! Of course I couldn't resist and I bought a SHINee Sherlock Album and a Leeteuk Journal~ we also went to other floors of the department store~ I saw as nice school bag but it was 85,000 won ㅠ.ㅠ if we go again I think I might buy it because it was really nice and it was on sale~ I bought a cheapy backpack and a gift in the Main Street and also some sunglasses. We took the bus back (forgot to mention we took the subway to it) and now I'm going to sleep~ 

Tuesday~

Tuesday- this was the first official day of our program~ we went to breakfast at the restaurant attached to our hotel and then headed to Yonsei University where we had an opening ceremony,  an went to lunch at a buffet called Ashley's (Korean-American Style). After we went to a historical prison, Insadong, and a Kimchi making place. At night we went to Seoul N Tower which was HUGE and the views were amazing. Pictures don't do it justice~ it's so tall and you can see all of Seoul from the top (the lines for it are really long >__>). This night too we had to stay in and rest ~

Flying~

Okay~ so I'm writing this post a little late but I'm in Korea~ I have for 3 days now~ and I feel so at home with all of my group mates and hotel~ so Sunday was when I officially flew out. I had a 1pm flight from JFK to Seoul. I had a Delta flight at 7:10 am from Boston to JFK also. So my delta flight was on time but I wasn't allowed to use the shuttle connecting to the terminal I had to go to so I had to drag my luggage to the AirTran and transfer. I got my boarding pass, went through security, and went to the gate where we had orientation, got a coffee, and then boarded. I wasn't sitting next to anyone I knew so I just watched movies and played games. The food was just normal Korean airline food :) bibimbap, and beef, nothing incredibly good but edible. Because of the time difference we landed at Incheon Airport at 4:00 pm August 5th. We took our bus to the hotel, Vabien II and checked in. My roomie is Emma Philips and she is really nice~! Our room is awesome too~ it's a corner room so it was a little bigger; 2 bathrooms, living room, and bedroom with kitchen, walkin closet and make up tables. The first night we just slept~

Let the Countdown Begin~

*** I had this post typed up Sunday but somehow the app crashed before I published it so I'll be retyping it now***

안녕하세요 Seoulmates! 

There are less than 11 days left until my departure to South Korea! I'm super excited! This post will be my most recent news as of today rather than Sunday! Today I got my final piece of information for my trip! All of the paperwork and tickets are done and I finally got to choose my Asiana flight seats yesterday. I'm not too picky with my seats, but I'd prefer middle or window, so I'm trying to work it out so that my friend Izzy gets the window seat, I get the middle, and my friend Nick gets the aisle, because well he wants it! I can choose my seats but for some reason the travel agent forgot about a few people while she was booking the flights so I had a separate booking number than the rest, making it possible for me to pick my seat beforehand~ on the return flight all I saw were middle seats leftover so I don't know if we will all be sitting near each other but we'll probably be super tired so it'll all work out! I have my domestic flight all sorted out as well! I'm flying delta both ways. Terminal A in Logan and Terminal 2 at JFK. My flight leaves at 7:10 in the morning so I'm having to leave my house at 3:30 in the morning to comfortably get through airport security and get some coffee (yum). My flight arrives at 8:30 am so I have plenty of time to meet up with friends at our terminal until our chaperone arrives, possibly at 11 am, for orientation. Our flight leaves at 1:00 pm August 4th and we arrive in Seoul, Incheon Airport, at 4:10 pm August 5th (a 14 hour flight plus the time difference). From there on we go to our hotel with the Chicago group coming into Incheon at 4:25 pm. I'm happy that we're arriving first so we have some more free time to browse the airport stores and get through immigration. Plus, I really want to stop at the Dunkin Donuts at the entrance of the airport, where so many Hallyu (Kpop) idols have sat and had coffee. The rest of the week is filled with activities and lessons. We basically do things from 8am until 8pm and then curfew is at 11pm. I have a feeling we'll be out and about until curfew most nights because there is no end of things to do in Seoul and the stores and trains don't close or stop until well after midnight! I'm attaching my itinerary here but the first Sunday we have a totally free day to do whatever we want! That day there is a music program called Inkigayo but its really hard to get tickets to and we wouldn't be able to get enough for everyone in our group so it'll probably be an exploring day~ 

Anyways, in honor of this trip I'll be making a video soon about the program and about myself on my Dedicated Korea YouTube Channel "FindingSeoul". I'll also go over my itinerary briefly there. I'll be making videos during my trip, mostly from my hotel room, and I'll edit and post them when I get back since we have limited Internet access. I'll post it here when it's complete! (May take 2-3 days to be edited) 

What I'm up to:

1) Summer reading ㅠ.ㅠ : I still need to read Treasure Island and the Jungle. I'll start them tomorrow! 

2) Packing: I have decided to pack the morning before the trip and buy whatever I still need that afternoon since I have nothing else to do that day but look over my travel info~ 

3) Host Family Gifts: I still haven't gotten them yet but because I don't know who's in my host family I think I'm going to go more generic and get something big for all of the family members, whoever they may be :3

4) Harvard Minority Recruitment: I got an email a few weeks ago and I've talked to a recent graduate from there about her experience and about how much I love their Korean program :3 

5) EF Tours Global Citizen Contest: I'll be entering this year! And it's in China! I have my entry concept complete and I'll share my finished product In late September! 

6) School: Technically school starts September 3rd ( my birthday; still not happy about that)  but I have a summer reading test August 29th. I have to do the work for that as well after my trip! 

Cultural Corner: 

 Kpop songs I'm listening to: 

~ Infinte's Destiny 

~ Exo's Wolf 

~ SHINee's Dream Girl & Why so Serious 

~ Park Nam Jeong's Missing You (1989) 

~ Kim Jong Kook's One Man 

~ Super Junior's Opera (Japanese version) 

~ BTOB's Wow

TV Shows I'm watching 

This is the middle of the summer so kdramas are ending and there are some I just don't like that much or haven't started. I'll post the dramas I'm watching/ will watch and mark their country 

~Goddess of Fire, Jung Yi (Sourh Korea) 

~Mischievous Kiss (Japan- ended) 

~Love, Now (Taiwan) ( they speak Mandarin Chinese; more simplified I believe, I'm currently on episode 46 but it's getting sad so I don't know if I want to finish the Other 26 eps...) 

~ Can You Hear my Heart ( South Korea) (I hear its really good! Will start) 

~ Gu Family Book (South Korea-ended) *well made

*This is it for my dramas but for beginners looking to find a good drama but who know a good bit about Kpop, I recommend Dream High Season 1 and Heartstrings because they have some idols in it. Boys over Fowers is also a classic drama! For period dramas you can watch Dr Jin, Fate, Dong Yi, or Yi San ( the first two are newer). For modern monarchy dramas King 2 Hearts, My Princess, Goong and Goong S are for you! For movies I can recommend My Little Bride (cute arranged marriage story) and that's it for now because Korean movies are not for everyone and there are so many that you ave to find ones that you'd like yourself 

Juli's Lesson for the Day: Aegyo 

Aegyo is a Korean term for acting cute. This can include cute actions, voices, gestures, or doing whatever a Person considers really adorable. Aegyo is something very popular in Korea for males and females alike. Couples do it for each other and idols do it for their fans. Currently a popular style of Aegyo has emerged called Gwiyomi. This literally means little cutie and its what we'd call song Aegyo where you sing, and perform the required gestures. This Aegyo is also called Counting Cutely Aegyo because what you do is literally do addition. 1 + 1 ( holding up one finger on each hand) = Gwiyomi ( this is where the person would do the cute action with their hand) and they keep going up ( 2+2, 3+3...) ilhoon of BTOB is credited for the creation of the gestures and getting this Aegyo viral. If you search his name with Gwiyomi you will find a video of him performing this! 

Here is a chart of Kpop situations common to all Kdramas! 

And here is my meme for the day~~ 

Yeah... The amount of times idols get confessed to my the same sex... Too many to count. Some idols share tales of these events on tv too! Kangin of Super Junior had a particularly funny encounter with this in high school..can't blame the guy though...haha 

That's all of now! I'll keep you updated on my packing and videos! 

You'll find your Soul in Seoul~ 

- 박주리 

안녕하세요 Seoulmates!

Hey Seoulmates~ 

Nothing much to update on these last 2 weeks. My participation form has been submitted and I'm just waiting to leave for Costa Rica (ommmbbbb 8 days!!). I'm assuming travel arrangements and gateway city information will be released while I'm away so I'll have to have someone back in the states communicate for me (roaming calls are a no no..) hopefully by the beginning of next month we'll officially get to know if any waitlisters get on.. I hear it can happen up until mid July...

Ahh mid July... The 8th I'll find out how bad I did on the AP Spanish and World History tests... And sometime in July I'll find my equally awful grades for the SAT 2 versions of them...way to kill my fun in the sun time College Board...

Anyways~ starting in late September NSLI-Y applications are open (if you don't know what they are then google it!!!) I'm really stuck on Korean Summer or Year... South Korea is my favorite country in the world and I'd love the chance to formally learn Korean long term and live there... But then I'd have to give up senior year, ap eng, ap chem, and ap calc (mixed feelings about these three...XD) summer would still be an amazing 8 weeks there so I think that'd be the next best option for me :) I think I'll be spending at least one other summer in Seoul during College and hopefully a few weeks in Sweden with my amazing penpal Alva and a summer in Switzerland , interning for the UN (my #1 career choice ^^) 

Oh~ if I haven't told you guys already ( I have the memory of a goldfish...) I have 2 (technically 3) Korean penpals. My oldest is Eunyoung (this is the technically 3rd one because we don't talk too too much) who is studying for her college entrance exam, my oppa, Byeongho( if you've listen to Gangnam style you should have an idea of what this is, but basically it's a friendly term for an older brother/guy friend/ or boyfriend) , and my same age penpal Eunjin. These guys are All amazing and study really hard!!! I'm happy to help them with their English and they always tell me About their day, share pics, and wish me luck on my finals ( If it wasn't for oppa I would've failed them all XD I had to do well since he encouraged me... It's what dongsaengs (younger siblings/friends) are supposed to do!) ! I'll be getting Korean help from them when I get back from Costa Rica because although I can read Korean, my comprehension and spelling needs some work.. Got to get on that..

안녕~~~ bye bye~~~

박주리 ^^ 

PS~ here is my meme for the post~ Fun Fact: Bromances are common in South Korea. Like I mean it's not unusual for really close friends (boys or girls) to walk down the street hand in hand, sit on each others' laps, play the pocky game (search at your own risk...) and kiss on the cheek. Soooo if you're ever in or were in Seoul now you know :)

CIEE South Korea Scholarship Essay:

Here it is Seoulmates!:

         From this trip I plan to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between North and South Korea, their culture and an affirmation of my desire to live and work in Korea. As a Hispanic-American, learning about other cultures is imperative to understand your own and also to develop a global attitude. To me, the way to peace in this world is understanding and respecting each other's beliefs and values. America is a nation of immigrants, so it is important for people to have some understanding of different cultures to alleviate prejudice which many groups, particularly Koreans do get in America. 

Upon my return, I plan to prepare for an independent study in Korean. This program would be an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the culture and beliefs that can't be read in textbooks, which are difficult to find by themselves. I will be creating blogs/videos highlighting different aspects of Korean culture and language to share with the world. Korea is not defined by "Gangnam Style" and this project would expose Americans to a country with a unique history and culture; one that is often overlooked in history books. I also plan to create a Korean language awareness program because I feel that a majority of Americans do not know much about Korea's language. I've learnt a small amount of it, and it is such a rich language that many would find enjoyable to learn if they knew more about it.

I plan to major in International Relations and Korean. I hope to get assigned to a UN office in Seoul so I can promote friendly relations between Americans and South Koreans and also mediate between North and South Korea. I believe that everyone in the world is interconnected, we are essentially one people, and it is my wish to share Korea's culture with the world and bridge the gap between America and South Korea. Together we can build relationships within our countries if the effort is given.

I'm going to Korea~~~~

EHey Seoulmates! I haven't been updating much because well not much has happened until now.. Standard ap tests, sat 2s, final projects, senior graduation (I'm a sophomore but now I'm technically a Junior :D). Today was the big day of CIEE South Korea notifications and I got in!! My family was totally surprised (why? I don't know o.o) I'll be gone from August 5th to the 18th~ for those of you who don't know I'll be in Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica from June 30th to July 14th~ it's going to be an amazing summer~ my mom said I'll be seeing more in two months than she has seen in her whole life~ I'm really excited to see a lot of things in Korea~ try a lot of food~ the palaces(omggggggggggggg) ~~~ it's going to be a long wait  but I've made it up to this point so these last few months won't kill me~ 

My essay will be following this post~ feel free to email me questions @ jujubeehime@me.com and I'll reply ASAP :) 

Remember~ you'll find your Soul in Seoul ;)

Here are my memes for the day~~