I arrived at Hongik Station and exited the train. I tried to follow the signs to get to exit 2, but I kept of getting confused and ended up getting lost within a small radius. I kept on walking until I heard some loud voices, which I assumed was my NSLI-Y peers. I continued to walk toward the voices until I saw my friends, and I also saw Madeline and let her know that I was present. After waiting in the hot subway for everyone to arrive, we walked out of the subway as a group and headed towards the camp location. Before actually going into the building that hosted the camp, we stopped by a convenience store.
In this store, us 50 some NSLI-Yians crowded the small store. I got some 꿀 호떡, coconut water, and a coconut mango drink. I got the small honey pancakes because I had to rush out of the house this morning without eating breakfast. We went up to the fifth floor of the camp building and discovered that the hosting crew had already prepared breakfast and some snacks for us. I just saw it as another opportunity to get food, so I got some snacks and a pizza bread thing. The pizza bread thing was not something that I really liked, so I couldn't finish it.
During the camp, we played a few ice breaker games including human bingo, and then we broke up into groups. The groups that we were assigned to were on the back of our lanyards. We were broken up into groups with some NSLI-Yians, korean students, and two supporters. My group was group 기린. We played a few group bonding games like quick massage and save the 양파링. Then, we got some M&M's and answered questions about ourselves based on the color of the M&M that we got.
After all of this, each group received an assignment for the day: a place to go to where they will film a 30 second video on whatever they were assigned to explain or talk about. We were assigned to go to a flea market and to explain two things in the flea market: an old sort of calculator that was like an abacus, and a large cylindrical shape that had holes in it to circulate air and make people cooler in the summer when they bug the thing.
Before actually heading to the flea market, we stopped by a restaurant to eat some lunch. We got some 닭갈비 and 냉면. It was so good, but the galbi got a bit spicier with each bite to me, so I couldn't eat so much of it. We spoke with the other korean students and talked about ourselves and our countries. It was really cool, but I was kind of tired and sleepy because it was super hot outside and we had been walking for a little while.
This feeling only got worse as we finished eating because our stomachs were full and that only made us even more sleepy! We walked some more and took the subway for a while before actually arriving at the market. The flea market stretched across a road and was packed with all types of antiques and cool items. The people who worked there were very nice and spoke with us, helping us find things and making sure things were good.
As we were making the video, people watched us and formed a sort of crowd. It was very interesting, but it didn't affect our performance once bit. Before returning to the camp building with our mission completed, we stopped by the same convenience store and got some ice cream. I got a banana shaped and flavored ice cream. Back at the camp site, the hosting group had prepared tea and an ice cup for us to enjoy. I got the blue lemonade flavor and went back into my group with the other giraffes.
We played maou for a small while before having to create a poster that talked about three things that we learned from our expedition. After each group presented their poster, we all watched a video that combined the entirety of each group's presentations. It was really cool to see what other people did and what they learned about Korea! As the camp concluded, we each got certificates of participation and took some group pictures. I made sure to get the contact information of each person in my group so that we could stay in touch and possibly do something later before I return to the states.
With a couple of friends and another Korean student, I went to eat dinner and go around Hongdae to look for a gift for the Korean friend's friend. We met up with another one of the Korean student's friend and looked around. We spoke some English to the student's friend and I massacred some Korean back towards him. We stopped by an Ediya's coffee and I got some bubble tea. It was a really nice trip and I felt sad when we had to part.
On the way back, me, Ariel, and Sarah found another one of the Korean students going back home on the same subway train. We spoke for a little bit before me and Sarah had to go the opposite way that Ariel and the Korean student had to go. It was a really fun day and I really wish that we had at the very least, one more day to spend with our new friends. As I got closer home, I bought a lemon-honey drink and listened to some music. Walking home at night alone, I saw some places nearby my house that were still open at 10:30PM. I kept them in my memory, sure to stop by there some day in the future.
I got home late and finished the powerpoint presentation, making sure everything was smooth. Then, I wrote in my blog until 1:00AM and cut it short, feeling so tired from the day.
Today was an honestly fun day and I wish that there was another day just like it-- everyone together with all the Korean students, having fun and going out for the day, learning about each other and making our own little memories. This experience reminds me that I'm halfway through the program. I've made a lot of progress, but I'm not where I want to be yet. I feel bad because I haven't studied as much as I had been the first two weeks, but that's because i'm too busy doing homework and studying to study.
I went to sleep feeling super tired, glad to have some rest. Today had passed and I was off to bed.
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i hope you can get some sleep soon :(
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