4급 중간 (Level 4 midterm)

I finally made it to the Banpo Bridge before sunset....




Sunset over the water. :D

I also wandered around the park near the bridge (there are also looong walking and bike riding paths, an area to skateboard, kids' playground, etcetc).


The park area nearest the bridge (complete w/ tarp-covered seats)...
and Cherry Coke always tastes better along the water.^^

Weather here has been weird lately... It's really cold one day, really hot the next, pouring rain one day, blue skies the next...



Blue skies, and waiting for the bus in the pouring rain...

On 9/14, we moved to the other side of the subway station (nearer to school... maybe a 20 minute walk), to a bigger place with 4 usable bedrooms. It's actually the 3rd and 4th floor (and rooftop patio) of a house. It's more expensive per month, but we invited a 4th person to live with us (J), so it ended up being about the same price per month per person. Once things are cleaned up (namely in my room), I'll post some pictures. Meanwhile, here's a pic of how much the mosquitoes here love me....


In one night, I managed to get 3 bites on the back of my hand... Bugs here are vicious.

Sept 18-20 was Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving. The actual Chuseok Day was Sept 19, but everyone travels home for the holiday, so the days before and after are both public holidays as well. We didn't have school. The night before, J and I went over to H's room and she made us some traditional food from her country, made mainly of chicken and tomatoes. It was really good. :) I really want to make some 'Murican foods here, but most of what I can think of require spices (or recipes) I don't have, or an oven (which only the really expensive apartments here have). I guess when I go back to the US for Thanksgiving, I'll buy some spices like Cayenne Pepper and Cumin... Foods here are often very spicy, but it's a different kind of spicy... hard to explain if you haven't had it, but generally, it's not really an enjoyable spicy. It burns without the added benefit of taste.^^ (Not to say that I don't like it, it's just not the same as, say, spicy chili...)


The microwave-made brownies actually turned out pretty well...

Also, as I mentioned almost 2 years ago when I was first here on vacation (also over Chuseok), I like that the news shows here have sign language interpreters rather than subtitles...


Sign language interpreter in the bottom right hand corner during a random news program..

On 9/29, I saw my favorite kpop band (FT Island) live... I bought the tickets myself online (though I thought sales started at 9 when they actually started at 8, so my seats were not very good), paid for them myself, had them delivered to my house... It was a nice feeling, to finally be able to do all that alone. (As the website was all in Korean... and usually they only accept Korea-issued credit cards.) Unfortunately, like most kpop concerts/fan meetings, pictures weren't allowed at all... so I didn't really take any... but... here's one of my ticket... and the signs outside... and, uh... a few of MANY "congrats!" banners purchased by the official fan club. Beneath the banners are a bunch of eggs, for donation to charity (they also donate literally tons of rice, in the band's name).




FT Island :D

Finally, more Korean food!



Mixed veggie and rice (bibimbap, a supposed favorite among foreigners),
large dumplings (wang mandu), and steamed chicken w/veggies (dakjjim or jjimdak).

Hard to believe level 4 midterms are this Friday (10/4) and Monday (10/7). Off to study (or maybe sleep...).

반포대교 달빛무지개분수 (Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain)

The 25 districts of Seoul, courtesy of wikipedia.
I live in the northern part of Gwanak-gu.

My favorite place in Seoul definitely has to be the Han River. My favorite place to go anytime is Yeouido's Han River Park*, located on that little island in the middle of the river. But my favorite place.. early in the evening (8 or 9pm).. (nightly) April through October... is the Banpo Bridge Light Show**. I posted about it before, but I went again the other night, and ahhhh...so pretty. Commence picture spam!






The river cruises are smart and time it so they're at the bridge for the duration of the show (~15 minutes).

And a couple of fun pics (taken w/ my Nexus 7 cos my phone's battery died and I forgot my backup at home...).



I think I may go back this weekend...maybe with a real camera and not just my phone. So.. there may be more pictures posted shortly. :)

*Yeouinaru Station, Line 5, exit 2 or 3. It's right there.
**Express Bus Terminal Station, Lines 3/7/9, Exit 8-1. Go the big intersection & make a right and walk (~400m) til you reach a crosswalk that leads down into a tunnel under the bridge. Keep walking to the water and you can see it pretty well from there.

Taiwan, Days 4 and 5

Taiwan
August 13-18, 2013


Day 4 On Day 4 we went to a restaurant called Dim Tai Fung for brunch. It's famous for its dumplings. The original/best one is in Taipei, but the one in Taichung was very good. After that, we took the bullet train back to Taipei, rested at our hotel for a bit, then went to see the 101 Building. It's a 101-story building with observation decks on the 87th-90ths floors (I think). It's the tallest building in Taipei by far (and the world, for a while), but the skyline was a little...boring compared to Tokyo's (and Seoul's, but.. I'm biased^^). Then we ate at a nearby Thai (that's Thailand "Thai" not Taipei "Tai," heh) restaurant called Rama. A little expensive, but man, I used to eat Thai every weekend and haven't had it in MONTHS... and we ordered Pad Thai and green curry dishes that were unbelievable and filling, so we were happy. :)


You can see the dumpling place from the top of my roommate's friend's
apartment building... (though it's not visible in THIS photo though, heh).




Directions on how to eat the dumplings, a cucumber appetizer that tasted
a lot like kimchi, pork dumplings, and my favorite(!), taro dumplings for dessert.
I could have eaten a whole tray myself. (And I did, for the most part!)




Some views from the ground, and a view from the top.
The moon was very bright that night.



On the way down, they make you walk by stalls that sell items made of
metals and gems and coral. Some things were pretty, but most made
me wonder who would buy such a thing... (someone, apparently).


Unfortunately, I was too busy eating, and didn't take any photos of
the Thai food... but I did get one of the pretty rooftop pool.
Those are glass panes that let you see through the floor...


Day 5 Our flight back to Seoul was at 7pm, and the airport was only an hour or so away, but we weren't quite sure where the airport bus stop was (since we changed hotels midstay)... so, we passed time at a nearby mall until about 2:30, then made our way to the bus stop. It took maybe 30 minutes for the bus to come. And it was only 70 New Taiwanese dollars (about $2.35). The airport buses in Seoul are $3.50 to Gimpo and $8 to Incheon.^^ Anyway, we made our flight with no problems, and arrived in Korea about 10:30....just in time to miss the last bus at 10:45. So we took the airport railroad (which thankfully runs til about midnight) to Hongdae, then took a taxi back to our apartment. It was a long day, but at least I didn't have to get up early like my roommate. :)



The huge mall we shopped at for a bit, and a picture of the entryway
to our gate (the actual gate was down some stairs...).

All-in-all, a fun few days in Taiwan.... and definitely the highlight of my summer break (though, I suppose there are still a couple days to go.. you never know..). I'm definitely going somewhere warm for spring break in February.. Australia and/or New Zealand maybe. If any family or friends are reading this and want to come along... let me know. :P

Taiwan, Day 3

Taiwan
August 13-18, 2013


Day 3 On Day 3, we took the bullet train back to Taichung, and met my roomie's college friend at the station. He took us took Xitou Forest (as he'd spent his military service as a guide at the forest, he was quite knowledgeable about the paths), a beautiful, remote location about 45min by car. Nearby, there was a village with stores and restaurants, though we traveled a bit further down the mountain to eat a full course Taiwanese meal (so I was told), complete with Lazy Susan for serving. Later in the evening, we went to a fancy bar/lounge, and ended up staying at the friend's nice house in Taichung. (Another night wasted on hostel fees, but at least our big luggage had a secure place to chill for the night...)



Bullet train from Taipei to Taichung. ~$20 for the ~1hr trip.



It rained on and off during our guided trip through the forest, but still, it was quite pretty (and relaxing!).



The forest was serene (if not misty!). Then we came to this lake w/ a wooden bridge.
When we crossed it, it swayed quite a bit. Scary, but worth it.


We stopped for a snack near the lake. Apparently, guava fruit comes in colors
ranging from white (that we had at 7-Eleven) to red (seen here). You can't eat
the seeds, so you either cut or bite & spit them out. :)



A town near the forest... where they sold souvenirs (namely tea and keychains...).


We had LOTS of tasty food, including pork, bamboo, chicken... and my favorite, fried (with honey
and sesame seeds) sweet potato! The restaurant had a pretty "water feature" in the corner.


Finally, we went back to Taichung proper, to a bar/lounge with a cover band. They supposedly
had to sing any song someone requested, including English covers. Sometimes they made up
the words, but overall, they sang the English songs pretty well (even if the drummer and
keyboardist were relegated to the rafters...). :)

Day 4....soon!