Hello hey hi 👋
I had class on Monday but Tuesday we had a day off since it was halfway through our program. On that day, I met up with my language partner first and had a great brunch with some of the best bagels and bread I've ever had at a very nice cafe 😶😋. Next, about half of the CLS program and some roommates and language partners went to see the new Barbie movie. It was so cute to see everyone dressed up in their pink and go to the movie together. It was my first time going to the movies in Korea and I really enjoyed it (the seats were so nice). The movie was great and after we went to a photo booth and then got ice cream. Dinner was after and I got hot pot/nabe/shabu shabu. Also, at dinner, I was the only one to get a heart-shaped spoon 💖 Just like before when I got the only heart-shaped egg, once again, I was chosen for the only heart-shaped spoon 😇
On Wednesday, I had a delicious Nutella, strawberry, and ice cream waffle for after-lunch dessert and then did a little bit of homework before my evening plans. I was invited by one of my friends' Korean roommate, my birthday twin, to go to her house for dinner with a few other girls. The whole dinner was so much fun and we ordered chicken and pizza using Korea's amazing delivery service. But, the fun amazement didn't stop there. We then order an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins and it was delivered and was not melted. I also discovered that an ice cream cake in Korea is entirely made of ice cream, there is no cake. The whole cake design was so cool and there were so many different flavors so I was so impressed! Afterward, we headed to karaoke to finish our night of fun.
On Thursday, I met with my language partner for lunch and brought some of my classmates. We had chicken also which was just as delicious as the night before and then went and had some Bingsu. I was so full that I ended up not eating dinner that night. I also got overheated again so I wasn't feeling well and was tired from the night before so I went to bed very early.
On Friday, I had a Korean hot dog again for lunch and then went bowling with some friends. I started off pretty weak but still doing alright. But for the second round of bowling, I felt like I had improved 10 fold and even got three strikes. Unfortunately, everyone else also improved 10 fold so I still ended up scoring in the middle 😂Before dinner, we stopped by my friend's language partner's house for some nice watermelon fruit salad punch mix. It was watermelon juice mixed with Sprite and milk and big pieces of watermelon and some pear, pineapple, and blueberry. Perfectly refreshing on a hot day. Then for dinner, we went to a nice Indian restaurant and had some curry.
On Saturday, all of the CLS cohort had our second excursion together. It was a very long but very fun day. Since I knew it was going to be hot all day and really sunny I made sure to do a lot of prep beforehand to help me not get overheated and unwell. I am proud to say it worked and I made it through the whole healthy and happy.
To start Saturday, we went to the Jangheung Woodlands for a nature and culture excursion. The woodlands were very pretty and quite shaded so I made the walk much easier. We walked through the forest barefoot as the tour guide explained some aspects of the forest to us. We then wore traditional Korean straw sandals and walked through the woods some more doing more cultural learning and seeing various old-style buildings. There was one spot that was particularly cute which was of a tree growing out of a rock. Our tour guide then said that you too can be like the tree and grow in adversity. Very sweet. We continued our journey past a waterfall and then we chewed on some of the larger tree leaves to make patterns on the leaves like snowflakes. We then took off our straw sandals and continued our journey barefoot again until we reached the foot pond full of cool water for our feet. It was great to cool off there before heading to some hammocks and relaxing while looking up at the trees and listening to a resonance bowl. Overall a very peaceful hike and not overly hot. The cohort then went to have lunch at the restaurant famous for its various mushrooms. The pot with mushrooms, meat, noodles, and seafood was enough to fill our bellies for our next adventure.
That day also happened to be the day of the big Aqua Festival that takes place every year to celebrate the clean river water. There were so many fun activities to do that were super cheap but the event itself was free! I was wearing my swimsuit and was prepared to get soaked and that was definitely what I did. My friends and I started off by splashing around in the river by some rocks and then moved to the stage area where there were some performers and party music. So, we danced to the music while water was falling on us and being sprayed on us and getting absolutely soaked 😂 However, being wet was my favorite part of the day because it kept me cool and I was putting on a lot of sunscreen to help with the sunlight. We then ate some ice cream and dried off in the sun before exploring around a bit more. After exploring we realized there was a whole half of the festival we didn't realize was there! So, we explored there and got drenched again to help keep us cool haha. They had paddle boats which we wanted to ride but we unfortunately didn't have time. So we split into two groups and half of us stayed and did arts and crafts and two of us went to go to the swimming pool. However! The pool was closed by the time we got there 😭 So we walked back to the area with the arts and crafts and put our feet in the river and then get fully drenched under the bridge again to cool off one last time. It was near impossible to be at that event and be dry without overheating so getting wet frequently was the best.
Lastly, we cleaned up and got back on the bus to head back to Gwangju. On the bus, our CLS coordinators had bought us a bunch of snacks so we divided them up and devoured them up 😋 After we arrived back, we went to a Samgyeopsal (K BBQ) dinner also paid for by CLS and ate so much meat🙏😁👍 We each ate two servings per person and I was surprised at how much I ate. I really must have worked up an appetite throughout the day 😂 After dinner, some of us went to an ice cream waffle place for dessert and hung out and chatted while we ate our dessert. Even though by then it was only 9pm, it felt like midnight so we all headed back to the dorms to hit the hay.
Today, Sunday, I wanted a more chill day but still wanted to do something so I went to some malls with a couple of my friends and just eye shopped at our own slow pace and had a great time. After lunch, I also had three desserts so I decided to have a smaller dinner of just Tteokbokki 😂
That is all for this blog post! Though the post is a bit lengthy, I am having such a great time here so I just have to include all the details!
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