Today's post is a little different from the norm! It's an "a day in my life" which documents my day from when I wake till I go to bed. Picture heavy!
Got woken by my alarm and finally got out of bed at 10:38am.
My classes usually begin in the afternoon (with the exception of Mondays) so sleeping in isn't an issue.
Brusha brusha
Shower time!! My shower head's connected to the sink which is rather interesting.
Got dressed and trudged up to the kitchen to find it empty. I'm staying at a place called Rachel Livingtel (also known as a goshiwon or privately-owned accommodation for students) which has 35 rooms and we share a single kitchen.
Score!! It's Friday so we have free eggs. They're only available twice a week and disappear really quickly so I grabbed one and kept it in my room's fridge to be used later. I also made a sandwhich for breakfast.
The view of my street. Spring has arrived and the sakura trees along the road have started to blossom!
5 minutes later, I arrive at one of the side entrances of Korea University.
Admired stone statues along the way~
I decide to pop by Hyundai Motor Hall along the way. It's one of the business buildings and also probably one of the newest in school. I lost my 45cm ruler (yes it's long, almost half a meter) for clothing construction module the day before and thought it might have dropped in one of the classrooms there.
The lecture theatre where I had class the day before was locked so I tried my luck at the information counter.
But it seems like everyone's out for lunch so I gave up my search here.
Onward to College of Education Building 2!
Yu Jing and Joyce have already reached!
We usually spend a fair amount of time here between classes to work on weekly homework for our clothing construction module.
The missing ruler has been found!!! Turns out it was in my drawer the entire time -___-
This week we're working on 2 types of skirts - a gored skirt and a flared skirt. We lost track of time and ended up leaving slightly late for our next class, which is at the other end of campus.
Walk walk walk.
Walked past a bunch of students picnicking.
The weather's gotten slightly warmer recently so people have started hanging out here at the central plaza.
We reached Woodang Building in 10 minutes, which is a pretty good timing.
It's usually a 15 minute walk or 9 minute brisk-walk to get here.
No pics of class but there was a group who gave a presentation on Silla's War of Unification (Korean history). One of the group members wore a modern male Hanbok which was pretty cute. So far, the professor's focused quite a lot on military history which is his specialty but it gets rather dry after some time.
Then... break time! It's about 3:00pm by then and I'm starving.
Our friend helped us get rice burgers while on her way to school. Om nom.
Freedom came at 4:45pm! Done with classes for the week :)
We passed the main building which is undergoing a facelift at the moment. The school very kindly put up a huge image of it on the facade so we'll be reminded of what the building look like once it's done.
Final stop in school: the international student's office.
Collected our student card which is also a ATM plus credit card.
Explored a small wooded area beside the building~
Headed back home after that.
The fourth floor of the building onwards belongs to the livingtel.
We have to remove our shoes here and put them in lockers at the entrance area.
We occupy the fourth to sixth levels of the building and there's about 10 rooms per floor.
Each room is occupied by one (or two) person and is equipped with a bed, table and personal toilet.
Ta-dahhhh. Back in my room! It's about 10.5 square meters; a very decent size. I had sourced for accommodation with larger floor area on purpose since goshiwons are known to be very small and cramped. Most places have rooms where a person can touch both ends of the walls with their arms stretched out. It's good for the short term perhaps, since rent is cheap, but it isn't comfortable for an entire semester's stay.
Not too long later, dinner plans are made!
I grabbed my bag and coat and head out.
View from the end of the corridor on my level.
2 train transfers and 25 minutes later, we've reached Dongdaemun! Now, to find out which exit to take...
They have various stalls inside the subway stations (within the gated areas) and this particular one sells food.
We're out!
We meet Joyce and her friend outside the station and were greeted by this sight.
While walking to the restaurant, we spotted a truck which had a huge claw like those in arcade machines.
Friends: "must.take.photos!!"
We're here! It's a famous chicken soup restaurant.
There was a large crowd of people waiting for seats outside.
We get ushered to the upper level where you have to sit on the floor.
Helloooo dinner. Whole chicken in soup, paired with potato slices, tteok (rice cake which we added later) and handmade noodles. The soup looks really clear but it's packed with flavour. Our group of 7 ordered two of this for sharing. So so yummy that we started craving for it again later at night and promised ourselves to visit this place every month.
Lower level seating area with regular tables and chairs.
Back at the junction again and we walked to Hyehwa area which is a subway station away
Decided to give soju a miss but this place had an interesting menu!
They have watermelon, apple, melon, orange, coconut, pineapple, and pumpkin soju.
Themed cafes are common in Seoul. This one has several branches.
We decided on a coffee house opposite the cafe above.
After cakes, warm drinks and chats we decide to call it a night.
Subway station~
Time check, 00:03am. Trains and restaurants operate till late here!
After exiting, we spotted a takoyaki truck across the road!
Needless to say, I was excited to find freshly prepared street food at 00:30am. #foreverhungry
4 pieces for ₩1,000 (SGD1.20).
I normally don't favour takoyaki because they tend to be quite mushy but these were crisp on the outside!
Back in my room, I washed up and watched several episodes of Two and A Half Men.
Walden (Ashton Kutcher)'s looking good after a haircut!
Finally, bedtime at 1:57am.
Tailyer my tiny bed buddy bids you good night!
