Spring Break

I had a week of vacation at the beginning of May, and it was great to spend time with friends and see more of Seoul. My friend Kristen, a fellow American I met in Japan, came to Seoul for almost a week. We did sightseeing around Seoul, eating lots of good food, getting lost, and seeing good and bad markets. At Garak Market, we saw little more than daikon radishes in huge warehouses.. not really worth putting in the guidebook, if you ask me. But then my friend Yuri took us to Gwangjang Market, which was a very lively, fun place. We also went to a great pottery and art museum, called the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, went for a day hike with my roommate Kaia, and spent the night in a hanok (traditional Korean house) in Bukchon.

Eating 5-layer pork belly with Kristen and Andee.

Yuri, my language partner who showed us around Gwangjang Market. She is leaving for the US in 2 weeks!

Hiking! Left to right: Kristen, Kaia, me, random guy who we chatted with for a while. He gave us some kimchi, and it was the best kimchi I've ever had!

Kristen at the hanok where we stayed

Hanok~ traditional Korean houses

During my vacation it was so, so wonderful to meet Ki, my first Korean language partner from when I lived in Japan. This was our first time to meet in Korea, and it was very special for me.

With Ki, my first Korean language partner~ our first time meeting in Korea!

I continue to study Korean as much as I can, both on my own with textbooks and CDs, but mostly with language partners. Speaking Korean with a friend is so much more fun than a textbook! I meet friends for language exchange 5-8 times a week.Last week I spent the night at Eolim's house- we made kimbab together and went to karaoke! It was so much fun. I practice singing in Korean often, so I'm getting better at it.

With Soyeon, one of my language partners. Her boyfriend is Austrian and my sister studied in Austria- what a coincidence!

Eating kimbab with Eolim at her house