Today is Mother's Day back in the good ol' USA, so happy mother's day to my mom and everyone else reading. We are thankful for y'all!
Once again, I have stayed up too late to write much of anything, but here are some highlights:
Saturday (Friday for those of you in the US), my group of 10 MSU students and our guides from Kyungpook National University met up with the 10 MSU students and their guides from Catholic University of Daegu to visit Kyungju, a historical area that's about an hour or so from our current location. It was really interesting to tour areas with Buddhist temples, learn a lot of history, and see the tombs of some of the kings and queens. It was a lot to take in and we walked all day, but it was very worthwhile. After that, we met up with our home stay families. Joshua and I were paired together with a KNU college student, her parents, and one of her friends. We went and got American food (McDonald's!), then went to the market to buy food for breakfast and for our picnic lunch the next day. Today, our homestay girls took us hiking and we cooked outside and played in a stream - it was so much fun. They took us to a friend's house in the mountains, and it was rural and BEAUTIFUL. They actually have a guesthouse that they rent to people because the area is so pretty. Honestly, you could vacation or honeymoon there, and I had no idea that thought would ever cross my mind about a place in South Korea!
I don't have time to tell all the details now, but let me just say that so far, home stay has been my favorite part of the trip! Let's just say that it was great and I wish it could have been longer. :)
All right, it's bedtime. We're headed to Buson (the beach) tomorrow!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
I ran out of room on Flickr
I ran out of room on Flickr tonight...whoops. Guess that's what I get for taking huge pictures and not resizing them! Anyway, here are the links to my two Flickr accounts; the first one is full and the second one will hopefully last me for the rest of the trip. Those of you that have Facebook, I'll be putting a lot more up on there eventually. :)
First Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37920946@N04/
Second Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38159752@N05/
Oh, to all the parents reading this - Happy Parents' Day! In Korea, they don't celebrate Mother's Day or Father's Day, just Parents' Day. The students told us that they buy their parents flowers and sometimes gifts, but as one guy put it, "I am the best gift to my parents." :) He said he was going home to enjoy an evening with his sisters and parents, so quality time with his family was going to be his gift.
Today was a fun, very busy day! We started off the morning with a lovely American breakfast from Dunkin' Donuts! We were all very excited about American breakfast food. We like Korean food, but it gets very interesting for breakfast. Americans don't usually do tomatoes, spicy foods, or rice for breakfast. :)
After breakfast, we went to our second Korean language class. We attempted to learn our numbers and some "shopping" and "taxi" language (how much is this, please take me to this place, etc.) Our teacher was so nice and very dressed up. It seems to be a pattern here with most of the women/girls - they love dressing up! (or maybe they don't love it, but they just do it) They have no problems walking in stilettos up some pretty decent hills and steps!
Following Korean class, we went to a short lecture on Korean history and culture just for our group. We then got to sit in on a class at the university taught in English on Korean culture, traditions, history, etc. It was really interesting and there was a lot of dialogue going on throughout the class. It was a mixed group, too; we had Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Americans, and several other countries represented. Kyungpook really is a national university!
We then grabbed lunch on campus, which was delicious! (It was a really good day for food...at least in my opinion.) I had something similar to fried rice. That's not what it's called in Korea, but I don't remember the actual name. It had chicken and crab in it and it was yummy.
After lunch, we headed to calligraphy class! We learned how to mix the ink, grind it, dip the brush, hold the brush, and make our strokes. It was more difficult than it looks! I did learn how to write my name and I'm pretty excited about that. I have a sheet with my name and "Korea" written on it, so that will be coming home with me to go on my fridge...hah...either that or I'm giving it to Mom as my lovely "artwork." :)
We then headed to the international students' lounge and chilled there for a little bit. They brought in a whole group of Korean students who will be studying at MSU in the fall, and it was so exciting to meet them. They are nervous about coming to the States, but they were so sweet and their English is really great. All but one of them are English majors! We then ate pizza and chicken - American food! - sort of. The chicken was very American. The pizza was a little bit different. In Korea, they put cheese, sauce, ham, onion, and potatoes on the pizza! It was very good, but it was interesting to have potatoes on a pizza. They also serve pickles along with the pizza. When I asked why, they said that pizza is very heavy and they like a side dish that's lighter and had a different texture. Sounds like good reasoning to me!
We finished out the night by watching a Korean movie. I don't know the title, but I got confused because they said it was a comedy. It had funny parts, but it was a war movie and people died...so we were all wondering why they were telling us it was a comedy. Oh well.
Tomorrow we take a tour of a historical (former capital city) area near Daegu, then we leave the hotel to spend a day or two with our host families! (Just FYI, I may not have Internet for the next day or two, so there might not be new pictures/posts for a couple of days.) I'm excited and can't wait, but must get to bed! :)
First Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37920946@N04/
Second Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38159752@N05/
Oh, to all the parents reading this - Happy Parents' Day! In Korea, they don't celebrate Mother's Day or Father's Day, just Parents' Day. The students told us that they buy their parents flowers and sometimes gifts, but as one guy put it, "I am the best gift to my parents." :) He said he was going home to enjoy an evening with his sisters and parents, so quality time with his family was going to be his gift.
Today was a fun, very busy day! We started off the morning with a lovely American breakfast from Dunkin' Donuts! We were all very excited about American breakfast food. We like Korean food, but it gets very interesting for breakfast. Americans don't usually do tomatoes, spicy foods, or rice for breakfast. :)
After breakfast, we went to our second Korean language class. We attempted to learn our numbers and some "shopping" and "taxi" language (how much is this, please take me to this place, etc.) Our teacher was so nice and very dressed up. It seems to be a pattern here with most of the women/girls - they love dressing up! (or maybe they don't love it, but they just do it) They have no problems walking in stilettos up some pretty decent hills and steps!
Following Korean class, we went to a short lecture on Korean history and culture just for our group. We then got to sit in on a class at the university taught in English on Korean culture, traditions, history, etc. It was really interesting and there was a lot of dialogue going on throughout the class. It was a mixed group, too; we had Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Americans, and several other countries represented. Kyungpook really is a national university!
We then grabbed lunch on campus, which was delicious! (It was a really good day for food...at least in my opinion.) I had something similar to fried rice. That's not what it's called in Korea, but I don't remember the actual name. It had chicken and crab in it and it was yummy.
After lunch, we headed to calligraphy class! We learned how to mix the ink, grind it, dip the brush, hold the brush, and make our strokes. It was more difficult than it looks! I did learn how to write my name and I'm pretty excited about that. I have a sheet with my name and "Korea" written on it, so that will be coming home with me to go on my fridge...hah...either that or I'm giving it to Mom as my lovely "artwork." :)
We then headed to the international students' lounge and chilled there for a little bit. They brought in a whole group of Korean students who will be studying at MSU in the fall, and it was so exciting to meet them. They are nervous about coming to the States, but they were so sweet and their English is really great. All but one of them are English majors! We then ate pizza and chicken - American food! - sort of. The chicken was very American. The pizza was a little bit different. In Korea, they put cheese, sauce, ham, onion, and potatoes on the pizza! It was very good, but it was interesting to have potatoes on a pizza. They also serve pickles along with the pizza. When I asked why, they said that pizza is very heavy and they like a side dish that's lighter and had a different texture. Sounds like good reasoning to me!
We finished out the night by watching a Korean movie. I don't know the title, but I got confused because they said it was a comedy. It had funny parts, but it was a war movie and people died...so we were all wondering why they were telling us it was a comedy. Oh well.
Tomorrow we take a tour of a historical (former capital city) area near Daegu, then we leave the hotel to spend a day or two with our host families! (Just FYI, I may not have Internet for the next day or two, so there might not be new pictures/posts for a couple of days.) I'm excited and can't wait, but must get to bed! :)
Thursday, May 7, 2009
More Korea
Sorry for no update yesterday. I answered some e-mails, uploaded some photos, and then got too tired to update the blog.
Yesterday, we visited Korea Foundation where we got to dress up in traditional Korean garb, learned some history, learned how to conduct a formal tea ceremony, explored a traditional Korean house, and did some cooking. It was a lot of of fun! We then ate a traditional Korean lunch and then split up into our university groups. The two groups headed to Daejon had a four hour bus ride (that included me), so we then headed out to ride the bus. After meeting several university students, we went out for dinner and drinks.
Today, at Kyungpook National University (KNU), our group of 10 enjoyed a more modern Korean breakfast, then went to the university for orientation. After orientation, we received a one-hour campus tour and lunch (chicken noodle soup with the whole chicken inside of it! I've got to post that picture later). Following lunch, we went to Korean language class (I learned that I'm not very good at speaking Korean or learning a new alphabet - shocking, I know) and then taekwondo class (also not very good at that either, but again, no surprise). We then went to dinner with our new friends from KNU! There was some interesting stuff at dinner, including squid...
It's getting late and I'm ready for bed. New photos have been posted to Flickr, so please check them out! The link is listed in the post below this one.
Yesterday, we visited Korea Foundation where we got to dress up in traditional Korean garb, learned some history, learned how to conduct a formal tea ceremony, explored a traditional Korean house, and did some cooking. It was a lot of of fun! We then ate a traditional Korean lunch and then split up into our university groups. The two groups headed to Daejon had a four hour bus ride (that included me), so we then headed out to ride the bus. After meeting several university students, we went out for dinner and drinks.
Today, at Kyungpook National University (KNU), our group of 10 enjoyed a more modern Korean breakfast, then went to the university for orientation. After orientation, we received a one-hour campus tour and lunch (chicken noodle soup with the whole chicken inside of it! I've got to post that picture later). Following lunch, we went to Korean language class (I learned that I'm not very good at speaking Korean or learning a new alphabet - shocking, I know) and then taekwondo class (also not very good at that either, but again, no surprise). We then went to dinner with our new friends from KNU! There was some interesting stuff at dinner, including squid...
It's getting late and I'm ready for bed. New photos have been posted to Flickr, so please check them out! The link is listed in the post below this one.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Photos from Korea
I'm having trouble posting photos on Blogger, so please view them via our group Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37920946@N04
Sorry for not updating yesterday. I finally got around to answering e-mails, which meant I had no energy for a blog update. Maybe more tonight - I'm getting ready for breakfast and have just packed to head off to my university for the next six days!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37920946@N04
Sorry for not updating yesterday. I finally got around to answering e-mails, which meant I had no energy for a blog update. Maybe more tonight - I'm getting ready for breakfast and have just packed to head off to my university for the next six days!
Monday, May 4, 2009
We made it to Korea!
Whew, we made it to Korea! I just got in after going going going all day long, and I am so ready for bed, so here are the top five surprises/thoughts for the day:
1. The drivers here are INSANE! Never before have I seen such madness. It puts New York and Memphis to shame.
2. They have really complicated toilets here...like really complicated - heated seats, air that blows, a complementary noisemaker so you don't have to hear yourself or anyone else using the bathroom, etc. It took me a minute today to figure out which button to push to get it to flush!
3. We're staying at a nice youth hostel, but surprisingly, our showers are essentially what eighth grade guys in a locker room have (yes, even the girls' showers!). Thought it would be weird, but we all agreed to laugh about it and go with the flow. We were all so glad to get five minute showers this morning before starting our tour. We had gone about 29 hours without showers...ugh.
4. The buildings here are RIDICULOUSLY tall. Pictures will prove this point later.
5. South Koreans are extremely hospitable. We met several MSU alumni tonight for dinner, and they showed us how to eat and mix our food, as well as making sure we all enjoyed the drinks (it's considered rude if you don't drink with them). After dinner, they proceeded to take us out for more drinks and karaoke! I stayed for a little bit, but left early because I'm dying to get to bed.
Pictures will be coming...the Internet is too slow tonight.
1. The drivers here are INSANE! Never before have I seen such madness. It puts New York and Memphis to shame.
2. They have really complicated toilets here...like really complicated - heated seats, air that blows, a complementary noisemaker so you don't have to hear yourself or anyone else using the bathroom, etc. It took me a minute today to figure out which button to push to get it to flush!
3. We're staying at a nice youth hostel, but surprisingly, our showers are essentially what eighth grade guys in a locker room have (yes, even the girls' showers!). Thought it would be weird, but we all agreed to laugh about it and go with the flow. We were all so glad to get five minute showers this morning before starting our tour. We had gone about 29 hours without showers...ugh.
4. The buildings here are RIDICULOUSLY tall. Pictures will prove this point later.
5. South Koreans are extremely hospitable. We met several MSU alumni tonight for dinner, and they showed us how to eat and mix our food, as well as making sure we all enjoyed the drinks (it's considered rude if you don't drink with them). After dinner, they proceeded to take us out for more drinks and karaoke! I stayed for a little bit, but left early because I'm dying to get to bed.
Pictures will be coming...the Internet is too slow tonight.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Heading to South Korea! (and Japan)
Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates...it's been a crazy semester. It's now finals weeks and I'm three exams and a paper away from being a senior! Exciting. :)
I wanted to let y'all know that I'll be traveling to South Korea and Japan May 2-16 with the Global Leadership Program at Mississippi State University. Part of my responsibilities during the trip include posting pictures and writing blog posts, so expect to see some updates over the next two weeks!
Included below is our group photo (minus a few of us because they took it the day before spring break began). There's about 40 students going, plus a professor and several graduate students. Be thinking of us and praying for safe travels as we're over there! I'll let y'all know how wonderful and exciting the 15-hour flights are... ;)
I wanted to let y'all know that I'll be traveling to South Korea and Japan May 2-16 with the Global Leadership Program at Mississippi State University. Part of my responsibilities during the trip include posting pictures and writing blog posts, so expect to see some updates over the next two weeks!
Included below is our group photo (minus a few of us because they took it the day before spring break began). There's about 40 students going, plus a professor and several graduate students. Be thinking of us and praying for safe travels as we're over there! I'll let y'all know how wonderful and exciting the 15-hour flights are... ;)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
How to save money on textbooks
Confession: It's day two of the spring semester here at Mississippi State and I'm already irritated. Why? TEXTBOOKS ARE WAY TOO EXPENSIVE.
Grumbling about the cost of four small books for my ethics class, I ran into two friends at our bookstore. Their professor sent them to the bookstore for a "textbook:" photocopied pages contained in a five star ring notebook. The price? EIGHTY DOLLARS.
Here's what Barnes and Noble (our authorized campus bookstore) estimates for my spring semester. Keep in mind, I'm taking five classes with a combined total of eight books:
Used: $406.80 (average price: $50.85 per book)
New: $542.40 (average price: $67.80 per book)
That's absolutely TERRIBLE. I'm a communication major, so I can only imagine what it is for engineering majors, especially with all the custom-edition books out there. (Custom-edition is code for really expensive books written by a professor at your university. These books cannot be resold, even at the authorized campus bookstore.) Granted, the authorized campus bookstore is never where you want to go buy your books, but it gives you an estimate as to what most college students are currently facing these days.
Let's face it - most of us don't have that kind of money for textbooks. If I bought all those required books, I would be spending all the money I made over Christmas break, which is supposed to cover my food, gas, Internet, and part of rent for the rest of the semester. Not happening.
Here are my suggestions and alternatives for students:
1. Go around and start begging for books. Put in your Facebook status ("I need books for sociology, nutrition, and geography", etc.), tell your friends, ask your teachers, etc.
2. Don't really need to buy the book? Your school library (or an area library) may have it. (I just reserved my sociology book for a couple of weeks until the copy I bought comes in the mail.) If they don't have it, ask about an interlibrary loan.
3. Try the off campus bookstores in your area. Let's face it: the authorized campus bookstore is getting kickbacks (in some form or fashion) to charge you an arm and a leg for overpriced textbooks. Fight the system and visit your local stores to compare prices.
4. After visiting the bookstores (and obtaining the ISBN numbers, authors, and edition numbers), venture online to see what other students are selling their used books for. My personal favorite sites are Half (the sister site of Ebay), Amazon, and AbeBooks. By the way, if the campus bookstore won't your books back, try selling them online (I just listed two of mine today).
5. Still not happy? Trying renting your textbooks online. It sounds crazy, but it works and saves money. The site I've used is Chegg, but I almost used BookRenter this semester because it temporarily beat one Chegg's prices. The great thing about Chegg is the company plants a tree for every book you rent - pretty neat. They even send you an e-mail letting you know where your tree(s) were planted. They have excellent customer service and both web sites do a great job explaining how things work.
6. Bought a ton of books last semester and the school bookstore won't take them back? Don't worry, there are lots of students still looking for those books. Put them online using Half or Amazon. I use Half and it's really easy. If you're trying to sell custom editions (books specifically for your university), try advertising them using the Marketplace on Facebook and search Facebook for groups that resell/list books.
Let me know what you're doing to save money on books this semester (or what you've done in the past).
Grumbling about the cost of four small books for my ethics class, I ran into two friends at our bookstore. Their professor sent them to the bookstore for a "textbook:" photocopied pages contained in a five star ring notebook. The price? EIGHTY DOLLARS.
Here's what Barnes and Noble (our authorized campus bookstore) estimates for my spring semester. Keep in mind, I'm taking five classes with a combined total of eight books:
Used: $406.80 (average price: $50.85 per book)
New: $542.40 (average price: $67.80 per book)
That's absolutely TERRIBLE. I'm a communication major, so I can only imagine what it is for engineering majors, especially with all the custom-edition books out there. (Custom-edition is code for really expensive books written by a professor at your university. These books cannot be resold, even at the authorized campus bookstore.) Granted, the authorized campus bookstore is never where you want to go buy your books, but it gives you an estimate as to what most college students are currently facing these days.
Let's face it - most of us don't have that kind of money for textbooks. If I bought all those required books, I would be spending all the money I made over Christmas break, which is supposed to cover my food, gas, Internet, and part of rent for the rest of the semester. Not happening.
Here are my suggestions and alternatives for students:
1. Go around and start begging for books. Put in your Facebook status ("I need books for sociology, nutrition, and geography", etc.), tell your friends, ask your teachers, etc.
2. Don't really need to buy the book? Your school library (or an area library) may have it. (I just reserved my sociology book for a couple of weeks until the copy I bought comes in the mail.) If they don't have it, ask about an interlibrary loan.
3. Try the off campus bookstores in your area. Let's face it: the authorized campus bookstore is getting kickbacks (in some form or fashion) to charge you an arm and a leg for overpriced textbooks. Fight the system and visit your local stores to compare prices.
4. After visiting the bookstores (and obtaining the ISBN numbers, authors, and edition numbers), venture online to see what other students are selling their used books for. My personal favorite sites are Half (the sister site of Ebay), Amazon, and AbeBooks. By the way, if the campus bookstore won't your books back, try selling them online (I just listed two of mine today).
5. Still not happy? Trying renting your textbooks online. It sounds crazy, but it works and saves money. The site I've used is Chegg, but I almost used BookRenter this semester because it temporarily beat one Chegg's prices. The great thing about Chegg is the company plants a tree for every book you rent - pretty neat. They even send you an e-mail letting you know where your tree(s) were planted. They have excellent customer service and both web sites do a great job explaining how things work.
6. Bought a ton of books last semester and the school bookstore won't take them back? Don't worry, there are lots of students still looking for those books. Put them online using Half or Amazon. I use Half and it's really easy. If you're trying to sell custom editions (books specifically for your university), try advertising them using the Marketplace on Facebook and search Facebook for groups that resell/list books.
Let me know what you're doing to save money on books this semester (or what you've done in the past).
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