2015년 07월 10일
Friday was full of wonderful (and some embarrassing) adventures!
My day began with, of course, classes. On this day, however, our classes ran from 9AM-1PM instead of 9AM-4PM. While we would still have grammar classes in the morning, our culture class (normally from 2-4PM), was cancelled. Instead, we were to meet on campus around 4PM in order to take the subway to 명동 (Myeongdong) for a nonverbal comedy performance called 난타 ("Nanta").
In the meantime, we grabbed lunch at a random restaurant on the street which advertised 삼겹살 (samgyupsal, pork belly). Although a lot of the lunch group ended up ordering that, some others ordered 김치찌개 (kimchi jjigae, kimchi soup), 제육쌈밥 (jaeyuk ssambap, spicy pork with lettuce and rice), and more. The food was SO delicious!!!
Meeting back on campus after lunch, we hurried through the shopping-laden streets of Myeongdong in our culture classroom groups and made our way to the performance theater in order to get the best seats possible.
The sketch was absolutely hilarious! It was almost a 2-hour performance full of percussion music (loosely based off of traditional Korean samulnori, 사물놀이), and slapstick comedy, similar to "The Three Stooges." What also made the performance interesting was the frequent opportunities for interaction that the actors had with the audience. In fact, twice during the show, they pulled audience members up onto the stage and involved them in their skits.
This, of course, worked out perfectly for me. I mean, all I had to do was stare blankly ahead and not acknowledge the fact that one of the actors was searching the audience for a volunteer down the side of my row, right?
Wrong.
All according to my luck, one of the actors pointed to me (out of an audience of maybe 200 people?) and pulled me up on stage to participate in the chefs' "cook off" competition. I was told to make dumplings with the actor who pulled me on stage (not real dumplings, but they did feel very realistic), ring a bell once we made four, and then crank a machine to send them downwards to completion. We were supposed to race against the other team and, because I was so confused as to what I was doing in the very beginning, we ended up losing... But, I got a cute keepsake photo and a chef hat, at least. I had to suffer through the embarrassment, but it was worth it!
After "Nanta," almost all of the KIP students (except for myself and another girl) left Myeongdong in order to head towards 한강 (the Han River) for 치맥 (chimaek, slang for "chicken and beer"). In the meantime, however, I waited for my boyfriend to come meet me so that we could head to 남산 타워 (Namsan Tower), the Empire State Building of Korea, for a breathtaking view of the country where I would be staying for this month. As we made our way up to the tower via a cable car, the sun had begun to set, which made for beautiful photos (which I have provided below). Once we arrived, we did all of the couple-y things, like buying a lock for the bridge. Hyunwoo also surprised me with a few other things, such as matching couple necklaces, a cute keychain, and some Super Junior music to listen to while we enjoyed the view. Yes, I have a wonderful boyfriend and I'm insanely lucky to have him. <3
After Namsan Tower, we grabbed some bubble tea and headed to 동대문디자인플라자 (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) to see the LED Rose display - as featured in the recent Korean Drama, 프로듀사 (Producer)! They were absolutely beautiful and we took a lot of pictures!
Heading toward the subway after seeing the flowers, we made a pit-stop by 흥인지문 (Heunginjimun), one of the four great gates built by 태조대왕 (King Taejo). Although I don't know too much about Korean history, I would love to visit a museum to learn some more!
After a long day, we headed back to Sinchon and I headed to bed, eager to start my day tomorrow... After all, tomorrow was Super Show 6!!!!
Friday was full of wonderful (and some embarrassing) adventures!
My day began with, of course, classes. On this day, however, our classes ran from 9AM-1PM instead of 9AM-4PM. While we would still have grammar classes in the morning, our culture class (normally from 2-4PM), was cancelled. Instead, we were to meet on campus around 4PM in order to take the subway to 명동 (Myeongdong) for a nonverbal comedy performance called 난타 ("Nanta").
In the meantime, we grabbed lunch at a random restaurant on the street which advertised 삼겹살 (samgyupsal, pork belly). Although a lot of the lunch group ended up ordering that, some others ordered 김치찌개 (kimchi jjigae, kimchi soup), 제육쌈밥 (jaeyuk ssambap, spicy pork with lettuce and rice), and more. The food was SO delicious!!!
Meeting back on campus after lunch, we hurried through the shopping-laden streets of Myeongdong in our culture classroom groups and made our way to the performance theater in order to get the best seats possible.
The sketch was absolutely hilarious! It was almost a 2-hour performance full of percussion music (loosely based off of traditional Korean samulnori, 사물놀이), and slapstick comedy, similar to "The Three Stooges." What also made the performance interesting was the frequent opportunities for interaction that the actors had with the audience. In fact, twice during the show, they pulled audience members up onto the stage and involved them in their skits.
This, of course, worked out perfectly for me. I mean, all I had to do was stare blankly ahead and not acknowledge the fact that one of the actors was searching the audience for a volunteer down the side of my row, right?
Wrong.
All according to my luck, one of the actors pointed to me (out of an audience of maybe 200 people?) and pulled me up on stage to participate in the chefs' "cook off" competition. I was told to make dumplings with the actor who pulled me on stage (not real dumplings, but they did feel very realistic), ring a bell once we made four, and then crank a machine to send them downwards to completion. We were supposed to race against the other team and, because I was so confused as to what I was doing in the very beginning, we ended up losing... But, I got a cute keepsake photo and a chef hat, at least. I had to suffer through the embarrassment, but it was worth it!
After "Nanta," almost all of the KIP students (except for myself and another girl) left Myeongdong in order to head towards 한강 (the Han River) for 치맥 (chimaek, slang for "chicken and beer"). In the meantime, however, I waited for my boyfriend to come meet me so that we could head to 남산 타워 (Namsan Tower), the Empire State Building of Korea, for a breathtaking view of the country where I would be staying for this month. As we made our way up to the tower via a cable car, the sun had begun to set, which made for beautiful photos (which I have provided below). Once we arrived, we did all of the couple-y things, like buying a lock for the bridge. Hyunwoo also surprised me with a few other things, such as matching couple necklaces, a cute keychain, and some Super Junior music to listen to while we enjoyed the view. Yes, I have a wonderful boyfriend and I'm insanely lucky to have him. <3
After Namsan Tower, we grabbed some bubble tea and headed to 동대문디자인플라자 (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) to see the LED Rose display - as featured in the recent Korean Drama, 프로듀사 (Producer)! They were absolutely beautiful and we took a lot of pictures!
Heading toward the subway after seeing the flowers, we made a pit-stop by 흥인지문 (Heunginjimun), one of the four great gates built by 태조대왕 (King Taejo). Although I don't know too much about Korean history, I would love to visit a museum to learn some more!
After a long day, we headed back to Sinchon and I headed to bed, eager to start my day tomorrow... After all, tomorrow was Super Show 6!!!!