Han River and Lecture Goodness!

Week 3 looked like it was going to be busy. Group discussions, the Han River tour, Taekwondo and another Gin-gin-jil bon were all on the list of things to do. Monday started out with a discussion on economics. It was ok, but nothing too exciting. We had lunch and a look at Korean films. That evening we had to do another discussion paper; we had a group of 9 people trying to come up with stuff to write a 2 page paper. Not very long, but challenging to get everyone to agree on the paper. I decided to write this one, and we were done by 9:30. However, afterwards my group mates decided to edit, edit, edit, until 2 a.m. I don't think they improved the paper, but rather worsened it a little bit. Oh well, pass/fail for me, so I contributed and let them figure out what they want to.

Tuesday was a pretty fun day. We had Korean costumes in the morning, which started at 10. We headed to our respective places and put on our costumes. Mine didn't look very Korean, but rather Arabian. Some say I looked like Aladdin. Not sure I agree with them :) You can decide for yourself by the picture. We ate dinner and that night took a Han River Cruise. We loaded a boat and strolled on the Han river, checking out the size of Seoul. It was fascinating to see more huge buildings that went on forever it seemed. We got back to the base and hung out. Poker had gotten to be pretty popular in our room, and we'd usually have 8 or so people there. We played every evening for a week, and I came away with a steady $5 a day :)

Wednesday was another double lecture day. We spent the morning and afternoon learning about Korean Architecture and Korean food. The presenter on architecture did a great job, but the food part? Not my cup of tea. My mom might have enjoyed it, however. I had heard from my suite mate about a wonderful store called Homever. I didn't quite know what to think, but upon arrival it occurred to me: bargain shopping! This place was like a giant Goodwill with everything you could want. I started outside and picked up some nice t-shirts with country names on them (Spain, Korea, Germany). However, the purpose of the trip was for shoes! At $10 a pair for brand new stylish Umbros, how can you go wrong? I found a nice pair of red and blue ones to my liking. However, upon further inspection I discovered something else..some rather exquisite looking soccer cleats. While marked at $29, these I must say were a bargain and a half. So I purchased them. I checked them out on the internet and saw they retailed for $180, so I think I got a deal :) We got back to the base and I returned to the Gingin-jil bon for another time of relaxation. Man I love that place!

Thursday was the much anticipated Taekwondo day (Here ya go Marshall!). I was sick the night before with strep, so I left early to visit the doctor. I got my meds and got taken care of, and made it back in time for the show. A group from another university came and showed us some sweet stuff. They prepared a show, with a lot of action kicks and punches, similar to the movies. After watching the festivities we got to learn a little punching and kicking too. Oh fun Asian people! We broke for lunch, and in the afternoon had our last lecture on Korean politics. I had anticipated this lecture, but it feel quite short of my expectations. It was a rather monotonous discussion on the election results for the past 30 years, not a dynamic look at the democratic system of South Korea and how it functions in a system with 2 communist nations as neighbors. Ah well.

3rd weekend (and one of the best of my life) is coming up, so keep reading :) 벤