Dong-A University

Yesterday was the last time we got to see our friends from Incheon. Unfortunately, we spent most of our time together in "clumsy silence," as Mr. Choi likes to call it. I'm really sad that we had to leave, especially since this is the first day without them. This was the last picture we took with them before getting on the KTX train. I miss them already!

The bullet train was nice and fast, plus the space was much nicer compared to the cramped airplanes we've been on. When we got off the train we met our buddies at the station, and we took a cab up the many hills to the dorm. The campus is really different from Incheon, because it's extremely high up since it's on a mountain. It's a really pretty campus, and the views are amazing, well the view from Corbin and Lane's room anyways. The view Allie and I have is of what I like to call "The Haunted Corridor," because it looks like it's straight out of a Korean horror movie, especially at night.

Corbin and Lane's view (you can see the beach, and the 93 stairs up to the dorm)

vs.

Our haunted corridor view

After we settled down in our rooms, ours without a working fan...don't ask; we decided to go to the store. What I really like about this campus is the bus system; it would be brutal trying to climb all these steep hills on foot, while carrying groceries. What's great about the bus is that it brings you all over campus, and also into town; another plus is that it's free! When we went to the store, Allie and I didn't know what to buy for food, so we just kind of threw some stuff in the buggy, like this...

Froot Rings

Last night we ate dinner in the cafeteria, and we were definitely being looked at. I don't care when people look at me, because I get stared at when I'm at home. It was funny because we knew we were being watched, but we tried our best to blend. We had some fried mini hot dogs, rice, kimchi, and green tea, because that's the only drink they serve in the caf, no water. Corbin joked that they probably only made hot dogs because we were there, which might be true. Lane wanted to know if she could get seconds. There was a brown liquid with ice which we put in our bowl, and we weren't sure what it was. We soon found out that it was coffee, and Corbin decided to look around to see if everyone else was using a spoon or just drinking it from a bowl. Dinner was interesting, and it was comical because we stood out and we knew it, which I think made it even funnier.

I thought I'd show everyone what our dorm room looks like, so here are some pictures.

It's super messy because of all our junk, but besides that it's a good size. Also, there's a load of storage areas, which really come in handy. No tv, which is a little sad considering Corbin and I have gotten used to watching it for the past week, but we'll manage. We do have internet access, which makes things so much easier.

This is our bathroom, and I'm super thrilled about us having our own; it makes things so much easier. Many of you are probably wondering where the shower is. In most of the older style homes and buildings in Asia, there is usually just a shower head which is attached to the sink, and a drain in the floor. That's how our bathroom here is; it doesn't bother me, I'm just glad we have a shower!

This is my sloppy looking bed. Last night, at about 1am, all of the British students must've gotten here, because I got woken up by a lot of noise coming from the hallway. Of course, from what I've heard so far, only the four of us are up; I've heard no movement from any of the surrounding rooms. I guess we'll be meeting everyone on Monday.

Last, but not least is my  rant about my lovely coat rack, which I have loaded down with my clothes, all of which are not dry yet. So, last night, we struggled a little bit with the whole laundry situation, but I'll explain it briefly. Dong-A only has one dorm because not many students live on campus, so it's co-ed. Everything has a designated area; guys and girls have seperate laundry and ironing (drying) rooms, and that's where we got lost. There are signs outside all the doors, as well as in the hallways, and we knew which laundry room was ours. The problem was figuring out which ironing room was ours. The signs in the hallways are double-sided, and on every sign, one side says mens' ironing room, while the other side says women's ironing room. It's safe to say that it was very confusing for us, and I'm pretty sure I dried my clothes in the men's ironing room. Luckily, there was no one there to witness me taking my stuff out of there, because that would have been embarrassing. Back to the coat hanger, basically, our clothes didn't even dry, so we had to get creative, which is why there are clothes all over the room.

I hope everyone is enjoying reading about all the things we've experienced so far! I'll update soon to let you guys know what's going on!