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Just wanted to provide a link to my facebook page in case anyone was interested in seeing more pictures from my trip.

Taekwondo... I was tired.

Everyone in front of the Blue House

AUM students saying our goodbyes at graduation

Wearing traditional Korean dresses

Our final goodbye at the airport in Ulsan. :(

Goodbye? Farewell? ..... See you later!

What better time to write a final blog than during my 3 AM jet lag?! Yesterday we retraced our steps as we traveled back to the United States from South Korea. Although it was great to be back home there are so many wonderful times to remember from this experience at the University of Ulsan. Tomas Ptacek, a fellow AUM student, and I were talking on the first return plane ride about just how much we really got to experience in one month. We trekked up and down the country of South Korea visiting various historical sites and attractions; participated in tons of cultural experiences, such as iceskating and pottery classes; and received lectures from authors and well-known TV personalities. Tomas made an excellent point when he said that we did more in one month than most people would experience in one year. There were also so many things outside of the "schedule" that added to our knowledge and understand of the Korean culture. Norebang (Korean style karaoke), bibimbap (wonderful Korean vegetarian dish), and the "cuteness" of Korean style are all things that we learned about on our own time and things that I feel we will search for in our own culture because of our love for them.

I would truly recommend this program to any students who find what Kati and I have shared appealing. Our blogs are just what we feel and could never fully suffice the greatness of this program. I feel that there is no price tag that could be placed on what I have learned and went through this past month. The AUM/ Ulsan program is one to be reckoned with as I feel there is no course or book that could ever "teach" me about Korea the way this program has.

In the next day or so I will post pictures from our last weeks in Ulsan for everyone to enjoy.

Now that I have completed my essay I can turn my attention back to my blog. I am usually always last minute so, of course, I didn't finish my UIP essay until this morning. :) Last week was quite relaxing considering all the field trips that we have been taking lately. It was nice to be "back into swing of things." We went bowling, iceskating, had a music class, visited Hyundai, and took a mini field trip to Gyeongju. In between all of the fun we did have a couple lectures about Korean History, Korean War, and also about the current issues in east Asia which was given by the U.S. consulate from the embassy in Busan. Besides my beat up knees from iceskating and the horrible sinus infection that I had most of the week, I would have to say it was one of the best weeks since I have been here. It was a little more relaxing and I got to know a lot of the students that I haven't gotten around to meeting yet.

I cannot believe that the program is almost over. Exactly one week from today I will begin my journey home. I have made friends from all around the world and have a ton of memories to share with everyone back home. The plan for next week is to visit Busan (Hyundai Beach) on Monday and lectures throughout the rest of the week along with a few cultural activities. On Friday, we graduate! Crazy.

My plan for the rest of my time here is to stuff as much of South Korea into my schedule as possible... There is so much I still want to see and do. :)

Turnover

Friday marked the half-way point for the program. Less than two weeks left. At times (when I am homesick) I feel like time is creeping by but I am now realizing it's going by super fast... Well the end of last week was not too exciting for me on a personal note and honestly I have been avoiding blogging about it. As you know, Thursday we returned from Seoul (late!) and on Friday morning we had a 10 AM lecture. After lecture we were whisked away by random Korean families for our home stays. I was really nervous about the home stay because we had to do them alone and I wasn't sure what to expect. Well unfortunately for me, my home stay was SO awkward. Most students fully enjoyed theirs but I just couldn't get into the groove. First off, I was told my "family" was here to pick me up and soon found out that my family was just one person, a guy! I was so surprised that I was not staying with a girl....The stay ended up being okay but there was a major language barrier so it was really hard to get comfortable. Saturday evening I was dropped back off at the dorms (in the rain, of course) and I took a much needed rest.

Sunday was a free day so I started my essay that is due this coming weekend. Pretty simple assignment.. only 5 pages and just has to be written about something Korean. Today (Monday) we had class and then went bowling. My team came in second place in the semi-finals...losing wasn't enjoyable but it was a lot of fun playing with everyone. Tomorrow we are going ice skating and I am super nervous because I am so clumsy!!

On another note...before my blog tonight I was thinking about how busy this week is going to be and how don't feel up to participating in SO many activities, but then I realized that I have never had more fun earning college credit than I have here in Ulsan ...so I guess sometimes being WORN OUT is worth it?! Yes. I do think so.

P.S. Sorry this blog is lame. I just wanted to give an update and vent a little. Hopefully I will be more exciting next time. I need sleep. Yes, lovely sleep. Oh and if anyone wants to see more pictures, I have TONS posted on my facebook . Just add me as a friend. Search for me under Danielle Musgrove or dmusgrove11@gmail.com. :)

SEOULed Out!

Although my exhaustion has reached a level of delerium, I am choosing to write about our 4-day trip to Seoul while it is still fresh on my mind. The trip was a lot of fun, but boy did we cram a lot into those four days?! Monday we departed the
University around 10 AM and headed to Everland, Korea's largest theme park...which is owned and operated by Samsung. The park was a reminiscent of Disney World or similar places like that in the U.S. There were many of rides and attractions
to keep our interest but at the end I think everyone was more than ready to leave. After a long day of travel and a theme park we arrived at the International Youth Hostel in Seoul. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the hostel was. I have
never stayed in a hostel yet I had built up this horrible image in my head from what I have heard and seen on TV. I think I slept better at the hostel than I have slept since I arrived in Korea. Tuesday was a day of museums and tours. We visited the National Museum of Korea and also the ASAN Medical Complex where many medical students from the University of Ulsan study. The Dongdaemun Market is where we spent Tuesday evening shopping before attending a B-boy performance at Hongik
University. Our last full day in Seoul was Wednesday and we had even MORE tours. Wednesday was exceptionally hot and sunny so both the tours were very uncomfortable as unluckily for us- BOTH were outdoors. The first was a walking tour of the Blue House...I am not sure if the President of South Korea lives in the Blue House but I do know that he conducts a lot of business there.
Although it was so very hot, the gardens and buildings were amazingly beautiful and students were able to take great photos. After the Blue House we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace and then went shopping again in the Insa-dong area. The Insa-dong district was a really neat place to shop because there were more traditional Korean shops there. I was able to buy really nice, unique gifts for my family and friends back home rather than the cheesy souvenirs sold in most other areas. Today (Thursday) was the day we left Seoul to return to Ulsan. I think today was the most anticipated day because we were scheduled to visit the border of North/South Korea and tour the De-Militarized Zone. The rain kept us from experiencing the full tour but we were still able to see the border and the JSA (38th Parallel). It was really interesting to see how things operate at the border. A lot of trees, bodies of water, and buildings at the border are shared between both Koreas and others are designated to each according to color. South Korean buildings are painted bright blue and North Korean properties are gray. I also learned that North Korea has sort of an obession with displaying their self-proclaimed greatness over their southern neighbors. For instance, when South Korea constructed their 100m tall flagpole, North Korean fired back with building a flagpole 150m so it would tower over South Korea's. Anyway...after the tour we changed buses and headed home to Ulsan. Because I am homesick I did not really think that I would miss Ulsan while in Seoul but I did! My dorm has officially become comfortable and my "home" away from home, I guess. The trip to Seoul was a culture cram for sure but I really appreciate the fact that we DID get to see so much in such a short amount of time. Tomorrow we have class and then leave for our homestays with Korean families so my next blog should come shortly after my return...

Tongdosa Temple Stay

Never in my life did I see myself sharing space in a temple with Buddhist monks, yet never did I realize my lack of personal awareness until my stay in the Tongdosa temple. Yesterday I returned from the temple with a whole new awareness of myself and my actions. Of course, this greater sense of self is a process, a lifestyle change...something the monks seem to seek after daily.

I have to admit that there were moments during the temple stay that seemed unbearable, but I survived. Overall the experience was amazing. We arrived around 2 PM on Thursday afternoon and were instructed to change into special uniforms for the stay...basically a brown vest and baggy brown slacks. After changing the temple stay was in full swing. We were served delicious tea at a special tea ceremony, crafted lotus flowers from paper petals and cups, and even attended a traditional worship service. Dinner was rough. Monks eat in complete silence and in a very strict order.. something that seemed very difficult for most students. The food was much like the Korean dishes served in the city except we had to finish everything we put into our bowls. This was hard for me because I am still getting used to the Korean food, so I just ate rice and tofu soup. After completing our meal we had to clean our bowls with rice water that we passed bowl to bowl, the sponge? a pickled radish. When our bowls were clean we were then told the worst news of all--we had to eat the radish and then to drink the water we cleaned our bowls with. This may not seem so tough but it seemed quite disgusting to me when I was staring into a bowl of dirty water with floating rice and other food particles. After swallowing ALL of my dinner I wrapped up my bowls as they were before and dinner was officially over. Thank heavens. Later in night, the monks taught us how to bow and how to meditate and then we were off to bed. The next morning at 3 AM the lights were flipped on and everyone scrambled around to prepare for the 3:30 AM worship service. When the service was over we had breakfast (ugh again) and then went hiking for about 3 hours. The hike was AMAZING! I have never seen such beautiful landscape in all my life.

I could sit here and write about this experience for hours as it was just that incredible. The pictures I have posted above are some from our stay, enjoy! We have this weekend free so I am taking time to explore Ulsan and get ready for our upcoming week in Seoul. Hope to find some interesting things to blog about next time!