Getting Busier and Busier

No wonder you all have been badgering me to post something new. It's been a really long time. But it feels like only a few days. Time flies!!! Now let me think... what have I even been doing???

I registered for an online psychology course through Michigan State University and ordered the textbook, and I've been working on scheduling fall and spring classes, too. It's difficult because the online options are, of course, significantly fewer than the on campus options. And, my major is unusual (Global and Area Studies with an Asian Studies Concentration and a Psychology cognate).

I met some more new friends who I will describe later (I'm very tired now). 주환 (Joohwan) says my Korean has improved a lot. He was really, really surprised.

I went all over Seoul with 영하 (Youngha), including an ancient palace, a few famous malls, and some other landmark or interesting places. We also went on the first trial ride of the new subway line, line 9, which will start runnung at the end of this month. I was the only foreigner there. That means that I'm the first foreigner ever to ride Seoul's subway line 9. Yeah I'm special~

I got a tutoring student. He's a 5th grade boy who's going to Canada in a couple of moths with his mother for 8 weeks. Remember I made friends with a bar manager? This student is her friend's friend's son. It helps to make connections!

A couple of days ago, I moved to 분당, which is just south of Seoul. My scenery has changed drastically. I live just outside 서현역 (Seohyun station), which is attatched to AK Plaza, a giant department store mall thing. There's Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. as you walk out of the subway, and around my new home (on the 4th floor of its building) there are many stores, clubs, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, you name it. During the day people shop here, and at night they party here. 서현 (Seohyun) never sleeps. My new 고시원 (goshiweon) is co-ed and most of the residents are students, I think. At the old one, it was women-only and half the residents were students and half were middle-aged women. Today, I was sleeping in for the first time in a few days, and at about 11am there was a knock on my door. A guy who works here (I'm getting really used to his face) handed me his phone. It was the owner of the 고시원 (goshiweon) telling me in pretty good English (he said he studied in Georgia a while back) that he's really excited to have me living here because I'm the first foreigner to ever live here, and if I ever need anything to call him because the workers can't speak English.

New place pros and cons:
Pro- my room is bigger and cleaner
Con- the window in my room opens to a hallway, not the outside like the old one did
Pro- no more noise from traffic
Con- I can hear karaoke at all hours of the morning (actually quite amusing)
Pro- the kitchen is much nicer
Con- the bathroom is worse
Pro- I live closer to maybe half of my friends
Con- I live further away from my student (it's a 2-hour commute now) and 미주 (Miju) and 주환 (Joohwan)
Pro- I love the atmosphere here
Con- it's more expensive (340,000won per month as opposed to 250,000won per month)
Pro- I have shelves and drawers and a mirror in my room now!!!
Con- there's no fan or air conditioner in my room (central cooling in the whole building)
Pro- there is a Krispy Kreme really close
Con- I don't know where the nearest grocery store is yet
Pro- my refrigerator is larger and has a freezer and doesn't have a funny smell
Con- if I can't find the grocery store, the fridge is useless (I couldn't think of a corresponding con)
Pro- my bed is longer and has an adorable headboard
Con- I was nice and left the pillow and blanket from my landlord in the old place so I have no pillow (my thin blanket is warm enough because my room is warm)... I've been sleeping on Softie, leaving me nothing to cuddle!!
Pro- there's great food on the street for cheap
Con- I miss rice cake man and all the free rice cakes he gave me
Okay this is getting ridiculous, enough with the pros and cons!

Now for some awesome news: 은영 (Jenny), my best friend and roommate in America, got back home to Korea today for a while before she goes to study in Japan for the summer! AND, she lives closer to my new place than to my old place! Yayyyy!!!! I might get to see her tomorrow night!!!

And now, it is 4:30am. I must sleep. Seriously.