[Part 2] 022. 23 August 2010 Monday

So the day started off with an International Students' Briefing held in Inchon Memorial Hall from 9-11.30am before we had lunch from 11.30-1pm. I am in Group 5 and my Korean buddy is Bae Jaehyun who's a biomedical student and of the same age as I am. He has 2 other buddies as well, Alex (French Canadian from Quebec City) and another Korean girl (studying in America or something but doesn't join us often).
Unfortunately, we were the last group to enter the cafeteria for lunch and by then, most dishes offered for today's menu were sold out (we were given food coupons) and there were no forks or knives at all. Poor Alex doesn't know how to use chopsticks. Lunch was followed by an IT session during which we made our IDs for the KU Portal before going on a campus tour.

the squirrel path

Alex, my brother/bodyguard

Dongwon Global Leadership Hall where the International One-stop Service Centre is located in

He looks a little like Adam Sandler

LG-POSCO Building (Business)

Business School Main Hall

Inside LG-POSCO

A grand piano in the Centennial Memorial Samsung Hall

Group 5

Main Hall Administration Building

Prise's in the same group as me :)

The Campus tour ended early at 3.30pm and as my Korean placement test was only due to start at 4.30pm at the International Studies Hall, I went back to my room for awhile. I'm beginning to love Co-m Livingtel and my room. It's so convenient and I have my own toilet, which is a great plus point. The Korean Placement Test comprised of 2 sections: a written self-introduction and an oral test with a Korean language teacher. All went well with my tester (except for some grammar errors and some bouts of nervousness) until he said I was very good and started asking me whether I knew what kind of a shirt print (checks, I got that) and colours he was wearing. I forgot the Korean words for the different colours and also reported speech :( He told me that he'll put me in Intermediate 1 but I thought I could make it for Intermediate 2. Apparently, my other NUS friends were told by their testers that Intermediate 1 will be easy for us initially but the speed will soon pick up and we'll learn new things. I was considering appealing for Intermediate 2 when results are out but I think I should just stick to Intermediate 1 because I'll be taking 5 other business modules, including 3 finance specialization modules and I don't want to kill myself with taking a Korean module that demands a lot. I'll most probably buy an Intermediate 2 textbook (if there is) and self-study. I really want to improve my competency in the language as much as possible when I'm here.
After the test, I had about 1 hour to kill before meeting my group at Exit 2 of Anam Station at 6.30pm so I went back to my room to slack again and ended up being slightly late. That's the problem with living so near to Anam Station...I leave my room really late because I think that I can make it to the Station in 2 minutes when sometimes, I take longer, depending on what type of shoes I wear. We went to a restaurant 1 minute away from my place where we had chicken and beer. I made it clear what my limit is and everyone was nice about it :) Alex poured me half a mug :):):) and I was poured half a shot of soju as well.

Alex with Eui Joon, a KUBA buddy

what weird shadows!

yeah, half a mug!

Jaehyun, my buddy :)

Jaeho, our group leader, with Junghyun and another exchange student

Post-dinner was singing at a 노래방 noraebang (Karaoke) till 11pm/12am. For the first time, I was one of the last few to leave the place :) Back in Singapore, I left most social gatherings at 9.30pm to make my way home because I don't want to keep my parents waiting for me to call so that my dad can pick me from the MRT station. That's what happens when I live so far away from the main road and I don't dare to drive to places in town (partially because of the cost and the availability of parking lots). Here, KU students hang out in Anamdong where I live in so I get back in a few minutes. We paid for an hour of singing but were given "service" (extra singing time). It was a great day :)

Jaehyun can sing really well!