First days in Korea

Looking back on my first days in Korea, it's all a bit of a blur now because of the jet lag. I mostly spent it settling down and getting acquainted with my surroundings. I celebrated my small victories along the way, like staying up till 10pm, using a gas burner without blowing up my apartment, and almost making it through an entire bowl of bibimbap (spicy mixed rice with vegetables and meat). I also learned how to use the subway system with the help of Diana. You get a transit card that works on subways, buses and some taxis and put money on the card then swipe it whenever you want to go somewhere. It costs 900 won a trip (about 1 dollar). The subways are also very clean and efficient, especially compared to the TTC.

On Saturday, I went to my first Korean class at the YMCA. It was a lot of fun. I missed 3 classes but I think I can catch up with a little hard work. I met my friend Meg there, who I've been talking to on Facebook and another girl named Walita from Toronto. The class wasn't too hard. We learned how to count in Korean. Although, there are actually two sets of numbers (just to make things more complicated). One for counting objects and one for phone numbers and money. The teachers are really nice. They even taught us "One little, two little, three little Indians" in Korean (it's just as offensive as in English).

Saturday night, Diana took me and Jinny (a Korean teacher at our school) out for dinner. We went walking around downtown with its glowing neon lights and crowded streets. On the way, we ran into some people from my Korean class and we followed them to The Holy Grill. It's an Tex Mex restaurant owned by a Canadian. You walk in and you feel like you are still in Canada. There was even hockey on the TV! The food was delicious and Jinny enjoyed her first burrito ever. Afterwards we went to Commune, a cool expat bar. Jinny and Diana had drinks, but I was way too tired. Definitely need to get the sleeping back on track.