|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| I'm Back!I'm back!
Konnichiwa,
How's it going I know I've been silent but you're used to this silence right? Anyway I finally left Korea. A part of me just wanted to get on that 13 hour flight back home but I couldn't I was going to Tokyo! Anyway, I stayed up all night my last night in Korea. I slept in a classroom prior to that, we kinda got locked in the building. Anyway, we said our goodbyes, shed our final tears and we were in Incheon International Airport. I slept most of the two hour plane ride. but that was okay because I was in Tokyo! Tired in Tokyo but yeah. I exchanged my won, lost $40 in the exchange and was kinda mad at that but I'm still in Tokyo. So we took a train to Ueno for $10 because i wasn't taking a $40 bus or a $20 express train there. When we got to Ueno after that beautiful 85 minute ride there it hadn't hit me, I was in Tokyo. But once I got to the hotel and checked into my super small twin room I realized that I was in Tokyo!
Well I was hungry and everyone else was too so we went to dinner at a very fancy restaurant that was actually cheap. The food there was awesome. They had a lot of pork but I ordered the chicken dish it was good. That was it for that day. Everything in Tokyo closes early (9-ish) and opens late (10-ish) so we went to bed. Early the next morning we went to a really big anime store right around the corner from our hotel. That place was awesome. I picked up my Moogle plush that I wanted, and Final Fantasy cell-phone trinkets/keychains (moogles as well).
Next day in Tokyo was a tour of Shibuya. It was awesome! So many shops and punk and goth dressed people everywhere ! I bought some earrings and the lady there had a finger piercing! That was awesome! I went all around Shibuya, bought a new adapter for my computer, the voltage in Korea blew it and that's why I really couldn't update this journal much and actually went to a retro-anime/manga store. I bought an ALI PROJECT CD and saw lots of hentai. There was this one about Tsunade and Jiraya that gave me a nose bleed... wow! It was crazy but I was glad I went to Shibuya. There was a big bookstore that we happened to run into and they had many game guides and some 20th anniversary Final Fantasy character, scenerio, and battle system books. I'm not a Final Fantasy fan but my roomie was the biggest one in the world so she bought only one from there. Wound up buying the rest of the series at a bookstore at a train station the next day. It was hard to find any Kingdom Hearts merchandise besides figures Final Fantasy is in the spotlight this year. Anyway, we ate and went back to the hotel. We were planning on going to Akihabara the next day.
So we got an e-mail saying that we would go to Roppongi and Akihabara the next day. Well I didn't want to get up the next morning so my roomie went out on her own and I got up later and went on the train lines to Roppongi. I got off at the wrong gate but I found the gate I was supposed to be at. The subway system isn't really hard to navigate once you get there. So we waited for everyone and explored Roppongi. That's basically where I saw Konami's game studios and the television studios and lots of rich people. I'm assuming by the way the houses looked there and the prices of food and clothing that this was the more richer section of Tokyo. They did have a really great observatory with a really cool view of Tokyo... all of it! The view was breath taking!
But that's where the group split. We couldn't find the rest of the group so off to Akihabara we went. I have to say it wasn't as I expected but then we went at night and during that time everything was preparing to close. I did see countless floors of games and toys some of the buildings had rip off on every floor while some had pretty decent deals. There were maid cafes, adult shops and cosplay bars everywhere! Not to mention so much free stuff. Japan's like one big convention. Speaking of free stuff people give out tissues in Japan for no reason, though some wouldn't give any to me, I did collect quite a few of those and fans off the street. You just gotta love swag. Anyway after doing some shopping in Akihabara I went back broke on the train to Ueno and to the hotel.
Ah Saturday already? Today we had to check out of our rooms and change to new ones (do I hear upgrade). I got a single room for the remaining two nights but we wanted to explore Shinjuku and well I'll let this blog explain that.
We did happen to see a really cool show in Hatsudai. There were people doing comedy routines and women in kimonos doing live performances with instuments:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t278/vainya/IMG_0013.jpg
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t278/vainya/IMG_0012.jpg
That was soo cool! So after that we went back early to check in our new rooms. The single room was small but it was just enough space for me so I wasn't complaining. I had a single! So anyway Sunday was going to be my last night in Tokyo so I wanted to visit Harajuku. That didn't go over too well. Seeing as it was crowded there and I couldn't find an ATM we wound up leaving early to Shinjuku. I found an ATM and walked back to Hatsudai to the Square-Enix Store. Either way everyone else went to go see fireworks in Yokohama, I arrived late and just hung out in my room for the last day. Waking up the next day I really didn't want to leave but I knew I'd be coming back , so in that sense I was happy but still sad. This trip was a blast and I really can't wait to return.
Till then,
`vainya
| | |
| Looking up and looking downHey everyone,
I find myself more bored with the passing time. I guess that's what happens when you are nearing the the end of your stay somewhere. Yesterday was our last planned event for us and next Wednesday it's time to pack up and take a two and a half hour trip to Japan. It feels odd. Even when we're leaving we are still not going home. I guess I can take it. I mind as well. I do want to see the Square-Enix store. It'll be open the weekend that we are visiting Japan.
Why do I always find myself surrounded by the stuff I leave at home. My mother e-mails me talking about my bill is 11,000 dollars and she can't clear my bill. So I won't be going to Japan. It turns out they have to wait until I get back. They should I'm missing two forms of aid that they should have added and they didn't. I hate how unorganized this school is. Not to mention that Benjamin Gilman says that they're not going to take my form of insurance so I have to go purchase right now seeing as I have the money in my account a student Id card that I should have gotten with this trip but I didn't. This is so annoying and was the first thing that ruined my time here.
The second thing being that last semester the students got $300 food allowance. This year so far I have spent about that much on food and transportation to events that they wanted us to attend and the only reimbursement that I received was $30 so yeah I'm running out of money. I'm tired of paying for everything. It's annoying I won't have much money for Japan left. Where's my $270? I'm tired of getting it $10 at a time.
The third thing is technology. My adapter to my computer stopped working so now I have to use the school computers which are in Korean. Drives me nuts and my camera as I have said before keeps deleting my pictures. It's frustrating.
Fourth is food and sleep. We've not got a break day since we came here. There's always something to do and I really don't like Korean food. It's way too spicy. Though there was one dish where it was basically rice in a ketchup gravy surrounded by egg. That was awesome! To think they actually had a dish that included rice and ketchup. That's my new favorite Korean dish. But other than that it's hard for me to eat anything that doesn't include pork or crushed pepper sauce.
Ah other than that I've been having a good time. I enjoyed Seoul and went to a huge mall and aquarium. I went to the beach and watched fireworks, I slept on a real floor mattress and went to a Korean beach resort. I also went to an amusement park and had so much fun. I went shopping in Myeong dong and really had so much fun. I was easily amused by feeding hungry fish rice crackers and saw a huge lotus garden. Now it's back to working on projects. The time is growing near that we have to get it done or face leaving it unfinished.
I think that's all I have for you today. Besides the fact that I've recently caught a cold and a pharmacy is the hardest thing in the world to find here. Do they even use medication here that's not prescription... geeze.
jyaa,
~vainya
| | |
| I guess I owe you oneHey everyone,
My June entry was rushed so I guess I owe you all a decent July post. There may be more than one I want to get rid of all the old monthly posts on the page. Anyway, I have to say not much has changed since I wrote the last post what six days ago. But I did do some life changing things.
First of all I went to see my first film in Korean theaters "Hancock". It was out here before it was out in America so there! The movie was in English with Korean subtitles so I was good to go with that. I particularily thought the movie waa good. It wasn't great and it totally could be better. Will Smith played the role well and it was way better than I Am Legend was.
Second yesterday we went to a bar. Now the legal drinking age is 19 here so that mean technically I'm legal to drink and oh boy did I. They had some type of Alcoholic Kool-Aid and I drank that, though I don't think they really put Alcohol in it, I didn't taste it. Then I had a shot of Soju and I swear this thime it was strong. I was giggling before the night was up. We played drinking games and had lots of fun.
After that we went clubbin'. Oh yeah we went Clubbin. It was so fun seeing as I had never been clubbin' before. Korean clubs are awesome! I was a little confused when I first went in. Everyone was just sitting there in the dark, but when the music started thumpin' everyone was on the floor. Sad thing was the Asian people were just staring at us while we killed the dance floor. Then they gave up and decided to come join us. It was so awesome! I got attention mostly from girls (don't know why) but there were people that got attention from those of the opposite sex. Either way we didn't finish there until 2:30am. We had a trup this morning so you know I woke up tired.
This weekend is a weekend for firsts. I remember telling my daca (father) that one day when I grow up I'm going to climb a mountain. That's just what I did today! I climbed a mountain. It was hard with me being out of shape and all but I was not about to turn back. When I reached that summit I was so happy! I could see everything from up there, maybe the whole of Korea! Korea is such a moutainous country lots and lots of hills and mouuntains. So I was happy to climb one. However I had no idea how to get back down and that was the hard part. But I made it and I'm happy I did. Now one of my dreams is complete. Now if only I can get to Tokyo.
Speaking of Tokyo it looks like the Square-Enix Store is only open on weekends. I know who only opens a store on the weekends. So we won't be able to stop there on our journey but I will be if and when I get to Japan. I say if because my mother just IM'ed me saying that I have to sign some sort of promissory note for the lonns that I'm gonna have to pay back. Ah whatever I need this for a scholarship anyway so I might not have to really pay for much. Speaking of which I have to send my other scholarship their insurance paperwork. Next week or so I will forward them my online confirmation.
Anyway, that's all folks. I wish I could send pictures but my camera keeps deleting them and my PC is not working. Great!
See ya all soon and very soon,
~ vainya
P.S I realize that I only write these to keep my sanity. I need to tell someone... so why not the world... well everyone on Tokyopop and Xanga at least.
| | |
| Hi from South Korea!Hi everyone!
You wouldn't guess how many times I have started this over. Anyway, I am now in Jeon Ju and it's well not as good as Seoul was. Let me back up a little. Well I must say that the flight from New York to Japan was torturous. I just thought my mother was overreacting when she said that I might not be able to handle a thirteen hour flight but no this flight was pure torture. I couldn't sleep at all and I was stuck playing an impossible game of Snake. I swear they should put prisoners on a flight like that only playing that game. It would drive anyone crazy. So I wound up staying up a full forty-eight hours. But I did have some ample flirt time with a hot Korean guy. I couldn't even believe that he would even talk to me but he did! I guess that was my lucky summer fling it's not like my trip got any better than that. Then we had to go and do stuff for the night. I really wasn't feeling that.
But I must say, the cheese ramen that I had that night was delicious! They have these silverware chopsticks that I for some reason can't use. It's kinda funny. Just when I had learned how to use the wooden ones too.
Anyway, we were staying in a Co-op Residence. In other words a triple room in a hotel. That was interesting, I just enjoy the thought of sharing a room with two other people. Not to mention our room had no hot water at all. So once we found out that the cleaning people turned off our boiler... oh man.
Anyway I really did have a good time in Seoul. We saw palaces (the ones that theJapanese didn't burn), shopping centers and all sorts of things. I swear there are no traffic laws here though. Motorcycles ride on sidewalks, run red lights, and make illegal turns. I'm guessing that they follow the same rules as regular bikes... none and pedestrians have no say. They won't stop for you and they will beep at you to get out
of their way. They do however drive on the left (like us), all cars are stick shifts, and the biggest companies are Kia, Daewoo, and Hyundai. I swear Hyundai owns everything in Korea. They don't just make cars. They make everything from escalators to construction equipment. On the other hand Samsung and LG rule in the electronics
market there. Speaking of electronics, Koreans don't believe in either dryers or
airconditioning. So we hang our clothes out and open our windows.
Anyway, Seoul's like Saffron City in Pokemon. There are alleys, with shops, lots of walking and really great technology but here in Jeon Ju, there's nothing. It's very country with rice fields and one central shopping mart. I swear why do their cereals come with cleaning products like sponges and gloves? There's not much here actually to do. Our rooms are so plain and I swear the shower, sink, and toilet are basically the same. The shower is connected to the sink and when you turn the knob the shower sprays all over the room... I should take a picture and show it. I have to say I like rice alcohol quite a lot... heh again with me drinking... but it's legal here. My professors were pouring me shot after shot of Soju (rice whiskey about 20% proof) it's much stronger than Sake and yet I still can't get plastered. Oh well some day just once I want to be completely plastered. Anyway that's the abridged version of my life in Korea. I'm gonna leave it there and give you the update in July on the rest of my life in Korea.
By the way I gotta say that Japan Airlines is an awesome airline. I kinda like them better than Continental. They treat economy class just like first class.
Anyway,
annyonghi kyeseyo,
+vainya
| | |
| Where are you going with someone else's map?Hey everyone,
I must say this month has been a hectic month for me. Never really liked May for it's just an excuse for why we have to stay in school longer (with its one holiday and all). But really things have switched gears and I am no longer dreading May but instead waiting for it to come. School has ended and really I had my hopes up on not going to Japan with the rest of the Korean Project party. Hell, I really couldn't afford it at all. But then comes some relief. The person who I take notes for (as I may or may not have told you all I am a notetaker at he college) needed to take a class over and so I'm not out of a job after all. I talked to my professor and he said he had no problem lending me the money as long as I pay him back at some point. This makes things quite easy for me. So yeah I'm going to Japan. I'm currently making the money to get myself over there. At this rate I will have some money to spare. So I am very hyped about that. I just got my plane tickets and itinerary and stuff and I just can't wait to go! Kinda mad though about the plane ride rules. No laptops or electronic games allowed on. Looks like I better bring along lots of manga. Hopefully I'll have a little of the Fruits Basket series, I'll have The Twelve Kingdoms book and maybe a story or two from Ryunosuke Akutagawa which is my new favorite author. I will be riding for about 14 hours so yeah... that's a long time.
I have been ending up at my best friend's house who happens to be a guy much more often because he now has a Wii. It sounds kind of harsh but we genuinely do have a good time. I went to go see Death Note the live action movie with him recently. Must say I had a blast! Didn't really care for the dubbed-ness of the movie but whatever. We wound up getting lost after the movie and well... I sorta confessed that I really liked him. It was actually a ploy to get him to say that he liked me all these years. But it's like as soon as I said that he became weirder. Saying things like "Well come to the beach with us, I've never seen you in a bathing suit" or " Well your mother doesn't want us together well we could just tell her that we're playing games or something." Yes all of which pissed me off to high heaven and made me regret the whole liking him crap. So yeah I felt like instead of taking the relationship westward I now feel like I'm pulled into an arranged marriage. Why is it that people are such jerks when it comes to feelings? Just when I thought I might finally have a heart this crap happens.
Yes so in media this month, I ordered The World Ends with you but it's taking hella long to get here and I'm tired of drooling at the assets that Square-Enix sent me. Speaking of Square-Enix I got my hands on a partially translated version of re:COM so yay I can finally play and understand to some extent... though I was able to navigate just fine not knowing a drop of Japanese. I am back to my favorite shoujo in the whole wide world Saiyuki... and really I'm sorta disappointed in the quality of the Reload episodes thus far. Saiyuki was wonderful but the sequels are bleh... I am probably going to attend an interview at one of these game tournament things. Lastly, my work quality seems to be suffering... Maybe it's my excitement for Korea and Japan but I just can't focus on any of my creative projects.
I passed all my classes thankfully and I have been accepted into KCP Language Institute in Shinjuku over in Japan so that's where I'll be from October to December granted no harm befalls me. Oh and my rant below this post served it's purpose... to stir up some controversy. I love to rant.
So yeah that's about it for May's round up. Keep an eye on June's developments. I am very much looking forward to telling you about my exciting Korean/Japanese experience. I will be leaving on June 25th and will be back on July 21st.
Thanks for reading everyone, now back to watching Saiyuki Reload!
Later taters,
- たべにゃ
| | |
|
Premium
