Before we knew it, the last week of classes at YISS was staring at us in the face. Four more days of walking those hills from SK Global house near East Gate towards the center of campus where classes were held. Two more days of studying our butts off to memorize and drill facts and vocabulary into our brains.
I guess the weather was helping us be more studious during the crunch period as mother nature decided to downpour most of the week, finally.
On a rare occasion that week, my friends and I made it out for either lunch or dinner. It wasn't the most extravagant meal. Naengmyeon 냉면 and goonmandoo 군만두 were both quick and affordable eats.
Another night a full-time foreign Yonsei student, who was one of our friend's roommate, took us to his hidden Japanese ramen spot in Edae. Boy was it one of those secret finds! Kayaa Kayaa 가야 가야 was located in one of the very narrow alleyways in Edae. The inside looked like a typical ramen shop with counter seating facing the kitchen and regular tables. While I remember it being a nice bowl of ramen, it doesn't hold the strongest spot in my food memory from Korea.
While I am used to chilly rain in New York, the storms in Seoul came with high humidity. One of our Korean language teachers helped us cool down with some refreshing ice cream, her treat!
But in reality, we were also in dire need of a break from studying for the 4-part language exam that was awaiting us in a couple days. Students at KLI have to be tested on all four aspects of the Korean language exam: listening, writing, reading, and speaking. I was pretty nervous for all parts of the test but speaking (i.e. one-on-one interview) was probably the most nerve-wracking.
Everyone had to sign up for an 8-minute time slot. Not wanting to be too scared out of my wits being the first few students, nor drag out my nervousness being the last few, I luckily secured my spot in the middle of the pack. The thing I feared the most was having a brain fart in the middle of the interview. We were already assured that the interviewer would be our own teacher, so my fears of not understanding what the examiner was saying were relieved. The biggest potential hurdle was being so nervous that I would forget everything we had studied and read everyday for the past few weeks.
Studying nights meant ordering in for our meals. The further along we got into the program, the more friends we all made. The more friends we made, the more food we were able to order and share at our dinner gatherings at the dorm lounge. Going out eating was fun and all but having the bonding time with friends was the most important aspect.
P.S. Boneless chicken, soonsal chicken 순살치킨, is love.
None of us had the energy or desire to go out after an exhausting afternoon of Korean language exams on that last Wednesday. Everyone settled for ordering Korean-Chinese as our celebratory meal.
Our time at YISS was almost nearing its end. Day 42 was the second to last weekend that we had together. Of all the things to do in Seoul, my friends and I all couldn't wait to go back to Hangang. Even though had we previously went in two separate groups on different occasions, everyone was still excited for the day's plans.
It was also a special day since we were joined by 2 new friends of friends. One was a Korean local our Californian friend met via the Facebook group for YISS. He was studying in the U.S. full time but came back to Yonsei for the summer program just like us. The other was a Canadian working in Hong Kong but came to visit our Australian friend where they met in France. Talk about being globally connected!
We started the day off late and decided to grab ramen from the Hyundai Department Store as it was conveniently located right by the Sinchon subway station.
The must do at Yeouido Park, for me at least, was renting a bike. It was easier and more freeing to ride a single bike but there were way more people out enjoying the weather that day. For those not extremely confident about their swerving and avoiding skills, the park is quieter earlier in the day.
So many families and groups of friends were out picnicking or just chilling by their tents. There is even a water park nearby where a lot of people were enjoying the pools for those who prefer that over bike ridess.
Our friends discovered this really great Korean-Chinese restaurant nearby the last time they went to Yeouido Hangang Park. (I think the place was called Hano Little China Star judging by other photos and video clips I have.) They had been craving the food from there ever since that fateful day and I was pretty excited to see just how awesome it was.
The must order items at any Korean-Chinese restaurant are of course jajangmyeon 자장면, jjambbong 짬뽕, and tangsooyook 탕수육. I could tell why our Cali friends claimed this spot was so delicious. The jajangmyeon I ordered was so nice. Typically the vegetables and meat are in really big chunks and cooked until very mushy. At this restaurant, all the veggies were cut to a small size and the meat was ground so everything didn't have to be cooked for that long (I assume). I don't know...maybe I'm spouting nonsense but I felt the sauce was killer here. Some one at our table ordered the bowl of jjambbong (spicy seafood noodles) and the bowl was humongous. It was impossible to even see the noodles underneath the pile of generous seafood ontop. If timing is right and this Chinese restaurant is still open, I would definitely go and devour as much as I can handle there.
We all tried rushing to see the last water show at Banpo Bridge since the Canadian/Hong Kong friend was interested in photographing it. We, unfortunately, missed most of it by the time we arrived. After listening to some performers nearby the Korean local friend took us on a bus ride to get back to Sincheon. None of us would have dared to brave the Seoul bus system had he not been with us. Luckily the number bus that we needed to take was right by the Banpo Bridge and would take us directly across towards home.
The night was never over without something sweet. We were introduced to a new place called Patmiok 小豆味 팥미옥 in Sincheon, which may be my all-time favorite bingsoo chain in Seoul. The shaved ice is extremely soft, snow-like, and milky. This place had one of the best ice consistencies of all that we tried. Even though the toppings look simple, both the mangos and chocolate cooking crunchies work so well with the milky ice. The only con was the shop closed pretty early (~10PM).
