철없게 철없게 철없게 철없게 철없게 철없게 철없게 살다가 미쳐*

 * = living foolishly makes me crazy (sorry, not supplying the romanization for this - look how long it is.  no way. To make up for it, I'll link you to the song where it comes from, T-Ara's "I Go Crazy Because of You.")

After last week's emo-tastic post, I realized that I needed to stop whining, put away the Good Charlotte CD, throw out my studded bracelets (you totally had them, too, so don't judge), and grow up.  Okay, not exactly, but things actually did get markedly better after I wrote that post (maybe writing is therapeutic?) and I have some thrilling news to report: I moved out!

Moving itself was a giant hassle; Unni and her mom drove all the way out to Sinchon with my bags (how they managed that, I don't quite know) on Monday afternoon to meet me at my new place after classes.  But because I can't do anything without it being a huge dramatic production, providence did not allow that they meet me in front of the apartment by car and there were about 15 minutes of frantic text-messaging and phone-calling while simultaneously trying to understand everything my landlady was saying about codes for the apartment locks and why my bed was mysteriously not in the room.  Turns out that Unni and her mom got a bit lost trying to find a way to drive onto my street, which was actually totally expected; I live on a hill side-street that has no obvious connections to any main roads.  The real problem was that I couldn't adequately deal with their being lost because my shitty-ass prepaid phone (the one that I described last year as looking as though it had been through a laundry machine several times) charges me about a dollar a minute if I call anyone.  Therefore, I couldn't take any calls while talking to my landlady, but could not call back once I was done with her.  Fortunately, I have now procured myself a magical Alien Registration Card, which allows me to open a bank account, which in turn allows me to make a contract for a legitimate cell phone.  Oh, the excitement!

Anyway.  Eventually, I was able to meet Unni and her mom at the bottom of the hill, where we unloaded my bags and I proceeded to drag my 50-something pound suitcase (weight estimated) up a steep flight of stairs, up the hill, and then up the two flights of more stairs to my floor.  Once we got all of my crap inside, Unni's mom pulled out a generous supply of fruit, dried seaweed, rice, banchan, utensils, cutlery, bowls, pans, soap, bathroom supplies, and a full set of bedding.  I was rendered basically speechless by this final and amazing act of generosity from this family; it would have been enough to house and feed me for 2.5 weeks, but even after all that, they went out of their way to provide for me as I moved out of their care and into independence.  While saying goodbye to 어머님, who had to leave almost right away to take Yunji to the dentist, I actually began to cry because I was so touched by how much she had done for me.  Sap.

Buuuuuuut as mentioned, there was no bed in my place (it was being cleaned?), so I wound up back in Apgujeong that night, much to the chagrin of Unni, who thought she was done having to share her bed and blankets with naggy 빵굴. 메롱!

Tuesday, I moved for real and haven't been back to Apgu since.  But I'm planning to go tomorrow so that Unni can help me open a bank account.  Pathetic, but I miss her and her fam - I wonder if they miss the presence of the bumbling American as well?  In any case, I think Unni does ㅋㅋㅋ

Well, I know none of you care about the above explanation, so I'll just move onto pictures of Dana's First Big Girl Apartment (which is ironically smaller than 3 of 4 dorm rooms I had at Yale.  Independence certainly comes at a price - literally).

bed !  pictured are my housemates, Chewy and Bbangdori (whose English name is Tom Canty).  Note that there is no pillow because a pillow did not come with the set of bedding that I was generously given, and I have been too lazy to go out and get one.  Also pictured (but barely visible) is the remote control to my beautiful Whisen air conditioner.  In this fucking sauna of a country, it's necessary.

I'm not really sure why blogger is not letting me rotate pictures but this one should be rotated one degree counterclockwise.  It is my "kitchen" - a sink, one electric burner, some cabinets, and a fridge.  Also peaking out is my laundry machine, which is not equipped with a dryer (although no one in Korea seems to use them).  Microwave not pictured, but I have one, which is good because pretty much all I can prepare is pre-cooked microwaveable rice.

The uber-cute dish towel Unni's mom bought for me, which has a stuffed turtle hanging off one end.  SQUEAL.

pathetically stocked fridge.  Unni's mom got me every single item.  I swear, I'm a capable person.

bathroom !  It's a Korean style "wet bathroom," which means there is no partition between the shower and the rest of the bathroom, so showering renders everything (you guessed it) wet.  These are becoming less common in newer (read: fucking expensive) apartment complexes, but even Unni's family had a semi-wet bathroom; they had a tub with the shower head in it, but no curtain shielding it from the rest of the bathroom.  Anyway, I am used to the wet bathroom from last summer, and I have basically no complaints about the bathroom.  Good water pressure, too.  I just wish I knew which supplies to purchase to clean it.

bathroom cabinet stocked with reliable American products and medicine.  I wonder how this cabinet will look in 6 months or so.

shoe closet.  Necessary because Koreans do not wear shoes indoors.  Clearly, this shoe closet was either intended for a family or a Korean girl, because who the sam hell has enough shoes to fill this?  Korean girls, that's who.

closet + desk.  Nothing much to report about these, except I wish the desk had a drawer or some sort.

dinner in the apartment.  This is microwaveable pre-cooked rice, dried seaweed (gim), and my fave fave fave banchan, a vegetable kimchi thing whose name I have yet to learn despite having eaten it basically every day since I have been here.  I think it's radish, and it's cut into tiny strips and it also has green stem-like things in it (I provide this description in case anyone, i.e. Kelly McLaughlin, feels like taking a guess / asking his wife).  Anyway, you eat it like this: you take a sheet of the seaweed, put some of the banchan and rice on it, and roll it using the chopsticks into a kind of weak maki-style roll.  It might sound gross, but it's delicious.  All of this food (including the mug, the water in the mug, the chopsticks, and the spoon) was given to me by Unni's mom.  감사감사감사합니다 (thank you thank you thank you)!!!

my giant 16-pack of dried seaweed <3 (also a gift from Unni's mom).

 Well, moving + all of these pictures kind of ate this post, so I'll bullet point the highlights of the week.

• Double-Unni Saturday.  Saturday was one of my last days with the Hans, so Unni and I decided to spend a part of the day taking in Apgujeong.  We went to her favorite cafe, which was a beautiful and untouched (and NOT A CHAIN, which is actually pretty rare) cafe tucked behind a Coffee Bean and Tom & Toms (both Korean coffee chains).  We shared a delicious waffle and some lovely conversation.  Then we went to church (don't freak out; I have no idea what's going on during service, so it offends me little), and I met some of Unni's friends, who will hopefully be my friends when she goes back to America.  We ate with one of them at a really amazing shabu shabu place, and I know it's Japanese, but I LOVE SHABU SHABU and I would have it basically everyday if possible.  Anyway, during dinner, I got a phone call from my old tutor, the one and only JaeIn Shin, who was in Seoul for the weekend (she lives in Daejeon).  It wasn't hard to convince me to go meet up with her and hang out with her and her best friends from college, all of whom were super nice.  It was wonderful to see Jaein Unni again, she was one of my closest friends during the past year and I missed her greatly.


• However.  I would like to take this opportunity to report on something stupid I did with JaeIn Unni in the hopes that current and future Light Fellows will not find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.  JaeIn Unni had asked me if I would mind going clubbing with her and her friends, and I saw no problems with that; what's the harm in a little drinking and a lot of dancing?  But she didn't tell me that the type of club we were going to was not your average dance club, but a "booking" club.  When Koreans say they're going booking, this means that they're going to this type of club where men pay for a room or table (this can run them up to or over $1000, I hear) and girls show up, pay a cover fee of about 10,000 KRW (~$10), and then get dragged - forcibly - by men who work at the club and deposited into rooms or at tables with men they do not know.  The whole thing is kind of like a blind dating club, only it is all vaguely reminiscent of sexual harassment.  I'm fairly sure that these types of clubs would be illegal in the US, or simply impractical because they'd soon be out of business with all the lawsuits they'd encounter.  Anyway, once you're at a table/in a room, you're encouraged to drink.  And drink.  And drink.  And accept the advances of equally drunk and unsavory men.  And if you don't like the room you're in, feel free to leave - but the minute you step out into the hallway, just keep in mind that a club host is going to grab you and drag you into yet another room, anyway.  I was literally dragged away from JaeIn Unni, despite clinging desperately to her hand and screaming in English that I didn't speak Korean.  It was kind of horrifying.  Fortunately, as soon as I asked her to, JaeIn Unni took me back to Jung Min Unni's place and made sure I was taken care of before leaving me, but by this point I was profoundly drunk and disheveled.  Sadly, the only solution to put you at ease if you are stuck at a booking is drinking, and that is dangerous in these circumstances.  So in the words of Gummy, a popular Korean R&B singer, "Ladies, 잘 들어" (ladies, listen up).  Booking is dangerous, and I wouldn't recommend going unless you know exactly what you're getting into and don't mind OR are going with someone you trust implicitly.  And even in those cases, I would still caution against it.


• 생신.  This word, saengshin, is the honorific word for "birthday," and this Sunday was Unni's grandfather's 86th birthday.  The Hans very generously brought me along for his birthday dinner at her grandparent's place in Bundang.  The food was plentiful and delicious (although I was nursing a horrific hangover and had a weak appetite), and I discovered that Korean families sing "Happy Birthday" in English.  Okay.  Otherwise, a nice chance to get to spend my last day in Apgu with Unni's entire family.
• Hangang by night.  Unni's family lives in a wonderful location that is walking distance from the Han River and its accompanying Han River Park (Hangang Park, 한강 공원).  The place really lights up after hours, and in addition to a beautiful view of the pride of Seoul (the river cuts through the entire city), you can hang out with the hundreds of other people who've come to picnic, walk, work out, or just chill on the riverbank.  Unni and I went to her favorite waterfront restaurant for dessert.  We've promised to go back soon.
• JIHYE CHUNG REUNION.  Readers of Dana in Soko v.1 may remember Jihye Unni as the beloved friend who took me out partying and introduced me to a bunch of cool kids from the Seoul Philharmonic.  She and her boyfriend Wayne still live here & still play in the Orchestra.  Wayne's in America visiting his family, but Jihye Unni and I met up on Monday afternoon for shopping and dinner.  Tomorrow we have plans to meet again :)  I love seeing old friends!
• Ewha Ewha Ewha.  The town that I now live in, Sinchon, is no Apgujeong - due to the presence of four universities (Sogang, Yonsei, Hongik, and Ewha) within walking distance, it is noisy, dirty, overcrowded, and densely populated with stores and restaurants.  My fave area, though, is the area surrounding Ewha Woman's University, a school that boasts such illustrious graduates as Hayeon's mom and Jung Min Han (who graduated first in her department, what up!).  On a serious note, Ewha is lauded in Korea for being the best-known woman's university and one of the best universities in the entire country.  If I get a chance, I'd like to audit classes there or something - it's gorgeous and I love the feel of the campus.  In any case, because it's a woman's uni, the surrounding area is FULL of inexpensive shoe stores, clothes shops, boutiques, salons, makeup shops, cafes, and restaurants.  It's girl paradise.  Yesterday, I went there with Michelle Cho (after a delicious dinner of curry ddalkgalbi, or spicy chicken - SO AMAZING) and we got manicures for the American equivalent of less than 10 dollars.  It was such a nice way to chill and blow off some steam.  Also, my nails are pale purple and I <3 them.  Since it's so inexpensive, I can easily see myself going for a manicure like, once a month or so.  I also went back to Ewha today to do some shopping, and I bought myself two uber cute dresses (Korean females are all about the sundress).  Plan to go back ASAP for more clothing.

I don't think I mentioned school once in the entire duration of this post.  That is actually probably a good thing, because it means I don't feel the need to whine about Sogang, but it probably indicates that I need to spend more time in future posts on my observations of Korean nuances and my edu-ma-cation.  That will probably be possible now that the move is over and life will get dull (hah!).  News about classes, my potential bank account, and new cell phone forthcoming.