Inha Garden

So, today was my first day of classes, which despite all the insanity, went quite well. This morning, all the students had to go and get our temperatures checked to make sure we didn't have swine flu. It actually took awhile to find. There was me and Jackie, and then we bumped into two Austrian students and one Sweden student. Eventually we found it, got checked out and then were told to keep on coming until Friday. It's a bizarre system, but whatever. I'm not gonna argue about it. I have to take a Psychological test next Monday, so getting my temperature checked it probably the least of the two. Go figure. Apparently there was one interntational student who was a bit crazy, so that's why they do that test from now on. The one flaw I saw in that is what if the Korean student is the one that goes crazy? Who knows...

Anyway, if some of you didn't know, I had a bunch of problems registering my courses here, but I went to talk to the International Liason this morning, so that worked well. I was originally supposed to take five courses, but seems I can only take four since, despite the fact that I'm completely capable in English, there's a class for teaching and they are theories that I am only starting to cover in my other class. Soo.... I'm going to tell the teacher that I am unable to attend it. Too bad though, because she seems pretty amazing.

So today my classes were Theories in TEFL, the hard class, and Special Topics in History. Now the History was rather humourous because a bunch of us were waiting for the teacher for awhile, only to find out that our Teacher wasn't coming because he was in Japan for whatever reason. Kinda makes me think of a few teachers in Cegep! Hee-hee-hee. Either way, we start those classes next week.

Tomorrow, I have another Education class and then I take my Korean Profenciency Test to see just how badly I suck in Korean. Which I assume, is pretty bad. That's alright though, because I'm here to learn! >:3

Thursday and Wensday are continuations of my TEFL class and Korean class, so that's pretty simple. And I also applied to tutoring in Korean conversation. Yep. Only thing I'm missing now is just joining the Tae Kwon Do club and I'm set.

I'm thinking that either this weekened or next weekend I'm gonna go and head down to Seoul. I want to see the Palaces~ And also just see how crazy packed the city is.

Besides, I still need to use my lovely little bus pass~ Gotta abuse it!

written by  Maestro on August 31, 2009 from Inch'on, South Korea
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged University, South, Incheon, Korea and Inha
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My Dorm

So, I'm finally here in Incheon! Woo!

I gotta say, 11 hours and 40 minutes in Economy? I was ready to die. I want to say 'never again', but I know I'll be doing that when I have to get back to Montreal. Ugh... my stomach still churns thinking about it.

But lets focus on the good things! Once I got to the airport, just... it was really amazing. Wow. So shiny. You can really tell it's a new airport. It's just really lovely to gawk at (which you'll see later). The only thing that made me nervous were the quarantine guys waiting for us as we entered the airport. Apparently, they're very quick to jump the Swine Flu case, and I had a bit of the sniffles- so I had to write that down. I was afraid they were gonna quarantine me right then and there. But now, all they did was ask why I didn't put down my cell phone number (I don't have one yet) and then I ASSUME they took my temperature. Hard to say. It was a little device that they pointed to my neck and then it beeped. Then I was handed some hand wipes and was on my way.

Customs and Declartion were easy enough. Lines were short. Once I got my luggage, I was greeted by two men sent by the university who were very nice. They towed my luggage, which was nice. I had to wait about an hour though before we could leave because there were a few students from China as well as one from Austria. Once that was done, were drove off in some vans (I think Korea has some Montreal drivers in them. They can be dangerous!) and headed to the dorms.

So, once I was there, I was met by my Korean Buddy, Dahae, who has been the nice and patient with me. Her duty was essentially to help me settle down, and explains things to people in Korean if they didn't understand me, and explain things in English when I don't understand them. She's been awesome. Today, she helped me buy a couple of things I didn't have (hairdryer and pillow) and then we went to watch a movie at the theater. They have a big one with both English and Korean movies! :) What did we watch? Orphen. I gotta say, that was one really weird movie. It kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was still really weird. I'm not gonna spoil anything for those who haven't watched it though.

Seoul isn't actually that far by bus or metro. It's as if I were going from John Abbott to Downtown, so that's nice. And it's for a cheap transportation too.

I've managed to meet a couple of International exchange students- Francois Paradis from Concordia, six Chinese students, two guys from Austria and one from Sweden. Also, my last roomate just came in, who is also from Concordia. She seems pretty cool.

So, my roomies for this semester are two Korean students, and the girl from Concordia. Hopefully we'll all get along! I'm pretty used to the dorm experience though, so it's all good.

As for now, I'm just trying to force myself to stay awake. I'm so sleepy, but that's jetlag for you. Tomorrow, I think I'm gonna try to head to Seoul. Maybe. If not, I'll just do more exploring-. So far, everyone has been really nice to me. And despite what people have said, I haven't gotten that much staring. Other than a few kids, even then, it wasn't a biggie. All they said was Hello and I said Hello back.

Alright, well, I'd say that's about it for now. If I write anymore, it'll turn into a novel. Bye!

Also check for more pictures. If you want more, Facebook has 'em.

written by  Maestro on August 29, 2009 from Inch'on, South Korea
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged University, South, Incheon, Korea and Inha
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Just in Case you didn't know...

So, it's really happened now. I'm no longer in Montreal- I have no landed in San Fransisco. I was a bit teary-eyed as I left my mom at the gate, like a sap. Yes, yes, I'm a momma's girl.

All in all, the flight went pretty smoothly. It took about six hours, which felt longer. There were a lot of movies and T.V shoes to keep me occupied which was nice.

I watched Star Trek for the first time (the new one of course). It was pretty cool. Not my favorite movie of all time, but still really neat.

I also watched two Big Bang Theory episodes, as well as something about Flying Saucers.

And now I'm in San Fran, which is chillier then I thought, seeing that it's in California. Of course, the time difference is screwing me up. 3 hour difference. It's almost two back home, and only quarter to 11 here. I'm gonna go to sleep soon and do some looking around tomorrow. :) My flight isn't until 1:30, so I got the morning to gaze around the area.

Check the Album here and my Facebook for new pictures!

written by  Maestro on August 26, 2009 from San Francisco, United States
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged Airport, Montreal, Korea, San and Fransisco
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Now, the time has finally come- and it just hit me now- I'm travelling across the world to a country I've never been to, a language I can't really speak- all by myself. Sure, there will be other Concordia Students, but man...

I'm excited and happy. It'll really be an adventure. I'm just a worry wart about things going wrong, like I forgot a paper, or look like a terrorist, or silly things like that.

I really gotta thank everyone for supporting me. Family and friends of course. My mom has been just been awesome and amazing- helping me with buying last minute stuff, and just been for me travelling the whole way. Love ya mom!

Anyway, so enough with the cheesy stuff. I'm basically all set. Hopefully- I think I am. My checklist says so. But ugh... I always feel like something might just go wrong, you know what I mean?

Well, guess won't know until I get there huh? ;)

Tomorrow, It's Montreal to San Fransisco. It's about a six hour flight. That's pretty tame compared to my flight the day after. Either way, though I'm only there for the evening- I'll take pictures! Maybe I'll see the bay. :)

Laters!

written by  Maestro on August 25, 2009 from Montreal, Canada
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged TravelStudyAbroadSanFransiscoMontrealKoreaIncheonSeoul
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All that is left now is packing! And maybe a bit of shopping. I need some new shoes and pants.

written by  Maestro on August 17, 2009 from Montreal, Canada
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
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So, I have a few more weeks before the big day. Still feels like there's so much to do. I got my addmission letter from Inha, as to which I was supposed to receive my D2 Visa, but when I went to the consulate, apparently I was still missing ANOTHER piece of paper from the bank. So, this week, I'll have all the papers to go.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to get my passport renewed, which was by far the fastest process I've had to deal with in awhile. Was done in less than an hour and within 9 days, I had my new little passport. I still look like a criminal. No Surprise there. ;) Don't we all look like we've done something bad in those photos?

I also got my Twinrix shots out of the way and let me tell you this- Ow. The first one was fine. The second one hurt a bit, and the last one just made me want to cry (but I didn't because I'm grownup and Manly like that). They're all taken care of now, thankfully and won't have to deal with the last shot until I get back.

Other than all of that, I've actually been pretty busy with other things for the summer. Was up in George River, I went to see Russell Peters, it was my Grandma's 95th birthday... lotsa stuff! And all in our lousy summer weather.

Oh! I got my tickets. I shall be leaving August 26th. My flight will be heading from Montreal to San Fransisco, I sleep there and then the next day I'm off to Seoul. It's gonna be long, but hopefully, I'll manage. Well, I'm going to have to. There's going to be a lot of jet lag involved, I know that much.

Anyway, that's basically what's been going on. Hopefully my entry, I'll finally have my damn Visa!

written by  Maestro on July 3, 2009 from Montreal, Canada
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged Doctor, Passport, Random, Study and Korea
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So yeah. I'm going to make sure that I don't cough upon my arrival.

written by  Maestro on June 22, 2009 from Montreal, Canada
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged StudyAbroad, Korea, Exchange, H1N1 and Quaratine
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Pre Acceptance Letter (Edited)

For those of you who have went through the process of applying for an exchange program, are probably familiar with the dreaded waiting game. I'd say it's worse than any other waiting period for an application I've had so far.

You see, waiting for an ordinary application is a pain to start with. I remember checking my application process for Concordia every two days (Mind you, I'm just impatient like that). Luckily, I sent it out at the end of February and I received my answer around the end of March, beginning of April.

Exchange programs run differently. With what feels to be four times the amount of paperwork. At Concordia (and probably most schools), you have to list three schools that you'd like to go to. Then you have to write down pre-course selections for these three schools. Then you must get them approved from your faculty adviser. Then the department adviser. Then you finally ship out all those things to the international office at your school. Then you wait about a month as they decide whether or not you're eligible. Once you're accepted, then there's a whole bunch of other various papers you need to fill in. Then you wait about 2-4 months for the host university to answer you back. It's all quite tedious.

Currently, I'm in the near the last stage. Basically, I'm still waiting for Inha to send me back my letter in order to get my student visa. However, I received an email from my intentional liaison officer saying that we should be getting out answers early next week. So! That's a relief. Hopefully, by the next time I write here, I'll have that paper to wave around. :)

Laters everyone!

written by  Maestro on June 12, 2009 from Montreal, Canada
from the travel blog: From Montreal to Incheon
tagged South, Waiting, Montreal, Study, Abroad, Korea and Exchange
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