Epik High [e] Parade Concert video clips

I finally figured out how to successfully upload videos onto youtube in Korea. Use the Japanese youtube site, and upload only avi formats. Good God.

Anyways, one of these days, I really need to get myself a higher quality camera. Or even a digi camcorder or something...

Rushing

Some quick updates:

Almost done interpreting RSS's dream.
My roommate, Juyoung, and I talked for hours last night. We got to know each other a lot better.
Bought a bunch of Epik High CDs the other day at COEX, and right now I'm about to leave to head over to Olympic Park for the concert.
Saw the movie "9" with Gina yesterday. Great movie.
I still haven't been able to decide between the eye sketch or the book sketch yet.

Hmm. Yeah, that's all I can think about for now.

Epikness

 

I have a chance to go see Epik High at Olympic Park next Saturday after all!

Here's a story I have yet to mention: While I was still studying Korean at Berkeley this past summer, I met this Korean girl on the bus. Her Korean name is Kwon Dongjin and her English name is Gina. The way we met seems way coincidental like, meant to be or something.

It was on one of those days on the bus in the morning on my way to Berkeley, and I was studying my Korean daily vocabulary as usual. Gina noticed my notebook with all my Korean writing and practicing in it, but she hesitated talking to me at first because, usually people really keep to themselves on the buses, and in my case, I was just really concentrating on studying for the next vocab quiz.

Here's the thing: we both got off at the same stop, and because we seemed to be walking towards the same direction, she decided to ask me about my learning Korean. I figured she was a native Korean since she has an accent, and she seemed really curious and friendly, so I decided to hold that five minute conversation with her.

Turns out Gina is a nurse doing an English abroad program for six months at Berkeley. She was to go back to Korea in September. I told her I was taking Korean because I was going to Hongik University this fall semester. She was really impressed, for some reason, haha, and the more we learned about each other, the more eager she was to talk more later. We exchanged emails that same day.

Since then, we only saw other one or two other times on the bus. We had class around the same time, but we kept missing each other from taking the bus at different times. However, she started emailing me and we've kept in touch since. She gave me tips on what clothes to bring to Korea for the fall semester, how excited she was to show me around in Seoul when she got back, and all sorts of stuff. I figured, hey, this is good, I have one other person to look forward to meeting with in Korea.

I gave Gina my Korean phone number after I got it on one of the emails I sent her. Earlier this week, she texted me, said she recently returned to Seoul, and we should meet up for lunch on the weekend. Today, I met Gina for the first time in Seoul since we last saw each other in Oakland. At the Hongdae subway station, she announced that she's taking me to see 창경궁 (Changgyeong Palace), one of the five palace areas left from the Chosun dynasty.

It was really cool, and fun to chat with her again. Despte what she says, her English is pretty good, and I'd say better than my Korean as we had conversed mostly in English today. After lunch and during the crazy rain that plagued as soon afterwards, we kind of took the liberty to talk more about the differences between English and Korean and apparently, she's talked about me to a lot of her roommates (while she was living in Oakland) and her friends in Seoul. A Vietnamese-American girl learning Korean to study abroad at a prestigious art college. I don't understand how they find that so fascinating, but apparently her friends all want to meet me at some point. They called Gina a couple times and all times Gina said she was with me and we were waiting for the rain to stop so we could go to Changgyeong Palace. We also did a lot of Korean/English 101 with each other, haha. She'd ask me some things about English, and I'd ask her some things about Korean. Totally mutually beneficial, this meeting, and future ones to come.

It was like something from a sitcom or some feel good Asian drama, haha. We got caught in the rain, soaked despite the umbrellas while rushing to a nearby cafe, and just sitting there sipping our milk tea and coffee waiting for the rain to subside, talking about all sorts of things, and in awe of how we've come to meet under such circumstances.

It was great that it rained before going to the Palace, too, because when we got there, everything smelled fresh, and looked greener. I took so many pictures, just wait till I upload them soon. After the rap video is up, of course. I recorded a first take already, and depsite how I like the way I looked in the video, I need to uh, practice more and then record a final version....>.<. Sorry for the long wait!

But anyway. We had lots of fun today. And she helped me a lot too. (I'm just getting all sorts of help from people these days. I suppose God's way of sending me help xD). When she asked me about what I usually do on weekends, I tell her sometimes I go out to do errands, and sometimes I go out for events (I think Gina was also indirectly asking so that maybe we can make it a weekly thing to meet up since she wants to introduce me to her friends too). Then I mentioned that I really wanted to go to the Epik High concert that's going down next Saturday, but I don't know how to buy the ticket and I joked about sneaking in.

Amazingly, Gina said she would buy the ticket for me online, and that I could pay her back later. OMG. Just out of blue, no beating around the bush, she just said it.

I was, like, no way. Am I really getting the chance to see Epik High again?? Too good to be true. Well, I didn't want to get my hopes up too high, so I joked again and said, I bet the tickets are totally sold out by now, and there's only a week left before the concert, so I would just call you (Gina) up and plan to hang out, or something, lol.

Well, after our day of fun, and we parted, and I got back to my dorm room, Gina texted me not too long ago, and confirmed that there were still tickets left for the concert. ohmygeeeeeeeeeeee. xD

And, I guess you can just figure out the rest. We decided to get a ticket in the standing section of the concert hall. You know. The spots that are IN FRONT of the stage.

This, is going to be my first ever standing concert. First ever concert in another country. Second time seeing Epik High ever, within a year.

Don't try to wake me up from this dream. I'm already living it.

Picture Post

A lot has happened today and yesterday that I didn't get to write about, but I figured I should do a pic blog post first before I get to the events.

This is the butterfly charm that started the whole zomgisthebutterflymysymbol? thing.

It's not completely blue, but one of these days...I'll probably end up making a self portrait based on this idea.

Seoul Forest.

Can't turn down ice cream, even in another country.

 

Olympic Park. I really like the feel of this place. Definitely would like to go again.

COEX Mall. Great hangout spot for us young'uns.

 

Hongik University, under the umbrella sheltering from the rain.

I found this store at COEX. Just love seeing these signs pop up everywhere.

I was out in the rain today.

Not out to get soaked out, no. Like, under a roof outside, watching the rain fall out. It's a nice out. =)

I went to Itaewon, like I said. Definitely the ghetto. But there were more foreigners there, like Hongdae. More Black Americans from what I saw.

I walked around the the ghetto streets by one of the subway exits, wondering where were all the shopping places were. I found a Catholic Church not too far along, which was nice. It is next to an elementary school. Come to think of it, this past Sunday, when I tried to find the Catholic Church in Hongdae but arrived at a Presbyterian Church instead, one of the workers there told me that the Catholic Church is next to an elementary school as well...why are they next to elementary schools? Starting young? o_O

In any case, I decided to rest at a Cold Stone back on the main street to gather my surroundings when in front of the store I saw a huge building named the Hamilton Shopping Center. Ah, so that's where all the shopping places are....

So I went in, and although not as crazy shopaholic as Myeongdong, it's a nice department store. Reminds me of JC Penny or something, the way it's set up. Relatively cheap stuff. Plenty of cute clothes, tons of bags, jewelry, and all sorts of miscellaneous things. And here, I finally bought a wallet, yay. I wasn't in a big shopping mood, and I should probably wait until I move into the dorms anyway, so I don't have to worry about carrying more than I need to.

After I got bored with the place, I decided to head to another park I read about called Olympic Park. From the pictures I saw, it looked like a really pretty and nice place.

And it is. But it rained about an hour or two after I got there....so I didn't really get to see much. Olympic Park is not so much of a couple spot as Seoul Forest. It caters more to the athletic. Saw quite a few joggers. As a whole, the park isn't just the green garden, trees, and lake in the middle of the place, it also includes two gymnasiums, a swimming pool building, a museum, and plenty of other rec centers, I'm sure.

When I found the mini lake in the middle of the park, I settled myself on the huge stair structure in front of it to draw the scenery, but before I got a chance to finish, the rain started. At first, it was the sprinkle sprinkle, that I ignored but hoped to God, wouldn't be the downpour that could begin at any minute. Unfortunately, the rain insisted it would completely turn on, so I had to abandon my spot to find shelter.

On the plus side, the weather is so much more cooler when it rains. You could sit outside during a downpour, and it feels like 70 degrees. Pleasant. Not the kind of rain I'm used to in Oakland, where the wind bites and the rain freezes. >.<

I have enjoyed exploring these places this past week, albeit very limited as I didn't want to stray too far from a subway exist less I lost my way and get lost. Tomorrow and Friday, I'll be in Hongdae for Orientation and Registration. And finally, Saturday, I'm moving into the dorms! So excited. 

I think before the end of this week, though, I'll upload all the pics I've taken so far here in Seoul. On this blog, I'll probably do just a big pic spam post of the highlights of my adventures with some captions. And hopefully from then on, I'll write future posts with pictures to go with it, to keep things consistent.