알 수 없는 미래와 벽 바꾸지 않아 포기할 수 없어*

* = with obstacles and an unknown future ahead, I won't change and I can't give up (al-su-oebs-neun mi-rae-wa-byuk, bakk-eul-ji-anh-ah, pok-ki-hal-su-oeps-uh)

A long and fitting title. Thank you, old-school SM Town lyricists.

It is with a heavy heart that I report that I have ~3 weeks left. We're not talking about that.

Instead, let's talk about how the K-pop concert that Sogang got us free tickets for was actually not a concert at all, but the 1000th episode taping of Arirang TV's "Showbiz Extra," which is I guess equivalent to "Entertainment Tonight" or something. Another thing that Sogang got wrong was the set list; we were promised SNSD, SHINee, and FT Island, among others. What we actually wound up seeing was a bunch of rookie/little known pop acts - U Kiss, Sori, Untouchable, and 8eight. Out of these acts, the only one worth watching was probably 8eight, who might be among the most talented singers I've heard since coming here. For the (very, very) few interested, here is a link to one of the songs they performed. I actually really like it; it's a nice change from synthesizer-charged noise, although I am still loyally devoted to my crackpop. Unfortunately, the other acts of the show were pretty bad (Sori, the supposed "Angelina Jolie" of Korea, actually lip-synced one of the songs, which was bad enough to begin with). Honestly, though, going to a concert was on my Korean to-do list, so there you go. Plus, by virtue of my large eyes, pale skin, and not-black hair, I was selected by Arirang TV to participate in an interview, and you can read the transcript of it here! You can watch it on Arirang's episode archives, but you have to create an account at arirang.co.kr in order to view it (which I did, of course). I was also interviewed last week by KBS - they're putting together a segment on alcohol-related laws in the States and needed some American kid to explain it on camera. That either aired today or it's going to air next week; I actually have no idea. But yay for appearing on Korean television! That's about 1000 times more legit than that cooking show I had on YTV...

U-Kiss. Like Super Junior, only much worse. Behold the glory and horror that is the Korean boy band.8eight performing. They were pretty good, but I was more upset/disappointed that SNSD wasn't there than I care to admit. When am I going to meet Fany-Fany Tiffany??

8eight being interviewed by the bobble-headed host of the event - she looked a bit like Melissa Rivers, too. Charming.

Anyway.

Last week, Sneha and I enjoyed a unique experience by going to a dog cafe in Hongdae called "Bau House" (I think they meant to spell that "Bow" as in "bow wow wow" but what can you do, Korea!fail). So basically, this cafe is like a glorified pet store that sells cappucinos, in which no less than 20 old/fat/kind of funny looking dogs just kind of run around the place, relieving themselves wherever they please, begging various customers for food or attention. Honestly, the whole thing was kind of hilarious - you'll be sitting there, and without warning a dog just jumps onto your lap/chair/table. Most of them don't care at all about the people in the cafe unless they feed them dog biscuits (which you basically have to buy if you want the dogs to pay you any attention), but there was this one funny-looking mutt with a snaggle tooth that seemed particulary attached to us. It tried to follow us out, much to Sneha's consternation (I essentially had to drag her out of there after spending about 2.5 hours playing with/feeding dogs). All in all, it was a lot of fun, but if you go there, don't even bother bringing your school books - you'll get nothing done.

Is this not the most ridiculous thing you have ever seen? They literally just wander around the cafe.Sneha: "You CAN buy love! It's only 3000 won!" (~2.50 cents, the price of a bag of dog biscuits)

I made a friend!
Another friend! This one wasn't after food, but just wanted a little lovin'. Cute! In the corner, you can see my overpriced orange juice; but a small price to pay for an afternoon of PUPPIES. I miss my dog :(

But of course, I am getting stuff done - since my midterms, I've become even more attentive to my classes/assignments here. Much to my delight, this is hardly a chore - I love my classes, and I mean that sincerely. All of my teachers have grown on me, and I'm quite fond of all of them. Now that I understand 95% of what my listening teacher, Yang Sunsaengnim, is saying, I've found that she's actually hilarious, really kind-hearted, and generally awesome. I remember being absolutely terrified of her for most of June. I'm really glad for the change, but it's bittersweet because I'm going to miss my teachers and classmates so much when I have to leave. My writing teacher, Choi Sunsaengnim, wants to keep in touch and do language exchange via Skype/Gchat when I'm in America - I'm all for it. She's someone I definitely want to stay in contact with. But then again, the same could be said for pretty much everyone I've met here. I finally made a "Korea" group on my Gmail contacts list to save the phone numbers of everyone (in case I need them next year!), and I feel incredibly lucky and fortunate. I feel like I have built something here. I've made friends I will sorely miss, made a home in a place that feels right, and discovered that I have a passion for this language and this country that I didn't think possible. It's a startling and wonderful realization; I remember that when I first got to Yale and heard about the Light Fellowship, I shrugged it off because I was so sure it would never apply to me - taking an East Asian language, let alone Korean, was probably the last thing I planned on. I almost can't believe that I am planning the rest of my academic career and perhaps the first few years of my professional life around this country. Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing.

In other less-sentimental news, I went out again with Jihye and her boyfriend Wayne to celebrate Wayne's birthday. I had a great time, as I always do with those two. Plus, I got to meet more of their Korean friends, all musicians from the Seoul Philharmonic, and practice my Korean. One of the girls there was terribly sweet and asked me if I would be her language partner - I happily added her name to my growing list and met with her on Friday. Currently, I now have 5 language partners, and I don't really mind juggling them around my pretty much non-existent extracurricular schedule. I love all of them; my Sogang partner is a bit awkward, but the other 4 (who I basically found on my own) are truly delightful and I get much more out of our conversations than just Korean language practice. My only worry right now is that 3 of their names start with "Hy" (Hyemi, Hyojung, Hyunji), and I'm honestly astonished that I haven't accidentally called one of them by the wrong name yet (on that note, WHY do all Korean girl names start with either H, J, or have BOTH letters somewhere in there? My Korean contacts list is like, completely centered around those 2 letters. And all the names sound the same! It's like how two of my Yale Korean tutors were Jihye and Jaehee - the name "Jihye" is pronounced Jee-Hae, so it is exactly the opposite of Jae-Hee. I've confused the two before. Why so similar? Be imaginative, Korea!).

I'm currently on my week-long vacation now, and I was planning to go to the beach, but I've now decided to stay in Seoul to study for my final exams. This is a sacrificial investment in the future - hopefully, the extra studying will help me in being able to come back for a year, and then I can go to Korean beaches whenever. I do, however, plan on going to a water park at some point this week! Oh, and I also plan on sleeping. Because the thing about 9AM classes every day is that something always winds up lacking, and it's usually sleep...

Jangmi out.