Weekend GetAway to JeonJu

After an exhausting week of midterms and projects, Emily and I took a 3-hour bus ride to JeonJu (전주) for our much-needed getaway. 

Friday:

We arrived at our HanOk Village (한옥 마을) in JeonJu, known for it's traditional-style homes, and checked-in to our small room... After unpacking, we went to a restaurant for traditional korean meal, then walked around the HanOk Village, peeking into souvenir shops, the cathedral, a outdoor market, and historic buildings/monuments.

Saturday: 

We were so tired from our first day that we just slept in... It felt sooo good to just sleep on the heated floor with warm blankets. After slowwwwly getting ready, we ate more traditional korean food for lunch.

Then, went to the city of NamWon (남원).  We quickly looked around the Gwanghallu-won (Gwanghallu Garden).

It was so windy, we had to escape the bitter cold by entering a small restaurant. We had Choouh Tang (추어탕), a stew made with a special fish and lots of vegetables.  Apparently, the Choouh Tang originated in NamWon. It surprisingly tasted better than I expected. And then, we came back to our homey room. :)

Sunday:

After sleeping in again, we successfully found our way to GeumSanSa (금산사), a Buddhist temple beautifully situated in the mountains.  We took a bus (just like the locals) to GeumSanSa, and hiked up the mountain to reach our destination. The trail was decorated with paper lanterns celebrating Buddhist's birthday, and a lot of loud Korean ahjumma and ahjusshis. 

After appreciating the beauty of the mountains, the refreshingly clear air, we took the bus back to HanOk Village where we met up with our new friend, Andrey. Andrey is from Russia. I met him the last time I was here in Korea, and we randomly ran into each other again. :)

We went to eat JeonJu Bibimbap (because JeonJu is where Bibimbap originated) and just talked about random things before he left for church.

Emily and I stopped by a tea cafe.

The cafe that we went to was no bigger than my dorm room.  There are only three tables, and only three selections on the menu. But, it's so warm and cozy, you can just sit there for HOURS. I ordered the SangHwa Tea, a herbally, mediciny tea, with pinenuts, dried dates, chestnuts, and gingko, served in a stone tea cup, while Emily sipped on her pink OhMiJa Tea. While we were talking, the ever-so-sweet owner brought us a small bowl of ever-so-sweet strawberries for free.  :) 

It was a PERFECT end to a peaceful, tranquil, relaxing weekend in JeonJu..

On our way back to Seoul, Emily and I decided that JeonJu was our favorite city in Korea... :)

Also, during this trip, I've mastered my ability to take 10-second timer shots. i've MASTERED it. hah

Arts&Crafts

Last Thursday, I went to the Seoul Open Art Fair (SOAP) at Coex to visit my aunt who had some of her work displayed.  It was a good time to spend by myself, taking time to appreciate (or not appreciate) all kinds of stuff by all kinds of artists. :)

Here's a glimpse of watch you would've seen:

And, this past Tuesday, my Korean class went on a field trip to make "tal" (탈), traditional korean masks used in the traditional korean dance called "tal".  Let's let the pictures speak for themselves.

Today, after class, I spent the day with my cousins and their babies. There was a 7-yr-old, a 4 yr-old, a 2-yr-old, and a 5-month-old. They are SOOOO cute, especially the 5-month-old girl, But draining to watch cause they are LITERALLY just all over the place. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them cause my camera died on me. boo.
Will be back nxt week with updates from my trip to Jeonju!

<3

MID-terms.

It's midterms week, which implies that:

1. it's MIDTERMS week, with all the cramming, useless facebooking, random urges to clean my room, nonstop americanos, 12am chicken delivery in the freezing cold, grungy mornings, pimples and cankersores, etc.etc.  I haven't "studied" since last May, and it's definitely hard getting into the study mode. I had forgotten what it means to be a college student.

2. it's the MIDdle of the TERM. I've been here 2 months, and i only have 2 more months remaining. that's such a short time. just thinking about it makes me really, really, really sad. boo.

ok. back to "viral pathogenesis and immunity". 

will post pictures soon. very soon. :)

it's time for a photog!

JSEM/New Philly/Emmaus

Yonsei:

USC reunions: