To be completely honest, I’ve never disliked Mondays more than any other day. Sure, waking up early to go to school after a leisurely weekend sucks, but I don’t ever like waking up early so, to me, Mondays are equally exhausting as any other day.
This week started similar to the previous few weeks since my class schedule changed. I didn’t need to be at school until just before 2-o-clock, so I was able to sleep in a little later. I am always grateful for an extra hour or so in the mornings, getting ready slowly helps me start the day of right.
I woke up around 10-o-clock and laid in bed for another thirty minutes before actually beginning my day. I try to start each morning by drinking a full bottle of water, I’m not always successful, but at least I make an attempt. With how hot and humid it is in Korea right now I sweat much more than I ever have while living in Utah or Oregon, which makes it very easy to become dehydrated.
After drinking as much water as I can, I begin my morning routine by brushing my teeth and washing my face. Surprisingly, I haven’t purchased any new skincare products, yet, while living in Seoul so my routine isn’t all that different from before I moved, I’d say the biggest thing that has changed is that I am much more consistent now than I ever was back home. I won’t lie, I have been avoiding Olive Young stores like the plague because I know I will spend too much money. Once I have the budget I will definitely be going on a shopping spree to pick up all the products I have been recommended.
After finishing up in the bathroom I complete the rest of my skincare, focusing heavily on sunscreen since my skin gets sunburnt very easily and the UV is quite high most days. I’m trying my hardest to minimize my chances of developing skin cancer while I can.
I chose to put a bit more effort into my appearance today, meaning I paid more attention to detail while putting on my makeup and even curled my hair and swapped my jewelry. My outfits are almost always very simple, it’s much less of a hassle to wear more basic clothing and focus on accessories to spice up an outfit when I feel like it. I wore baggy blue jeans and a light weight, dark grey, long-sleeved shirt with a pair of white Nike high-tops.
You might think I’m crazy for wearing full pants and sleeves when I complain about how hot it is and how much I sweat but the air conditioning at my school is on full blast almost every day, also it can get very cold in the subway when it’s not so crowded.
Elise, my roommate, and I don’t normally talk very much on the way to and from school, I typically choose to listen to music or a Korean podcast (in an attempt to improve my listening comprehension). We have been pretty consistent at leaving the house with plenty of time, it is very rare that we actually have to rush to arrive at school on time. Most days we are about ten minutes early.
The walk to the subway station form our apartment only takes about ten minutes. We both opted to listen to music today and after entering the subway station played Mahjong on our phones while we waiting for the train to arrive. I don’t have very good service in the subway, and the WIFI is very slow, Mahjong has become my go to game when I don’t have an internet connection. I am currently at level 726, Elise passed me a while ago so I’m sure she is more than 100 levels ahead of me.
From my experience so far, the subway on weekday afternoons isn’t too busy, today there were a few more people than usual so, there weren’t any seats open until we had passed a few stops. After about three stops we were able to sit down and relax the rest of the ride to school. When the subway is packed it can feel very stuffy, but when there aren’t so many people it is the perfect place to daydream for a while. Something about the atmosphere inside each car makes it very easy for me to let my thoughts run wild.
After exiting the subway there is only about a ten minute walk to our school building.
My first class of the day is vocabulary. We learned and practiced using words and phrases to describe our daily routines. simple things like, waking up, changing clothes, heading to work, etc. sometimes the vocabulary we learn I don’t end up using very often but when we focus more on phrases we can use every day I am able to memorize them much better. During dinner each evening, Elise and I try our best to practice using any new words or phrases we have learned during class.
Our classes at EF Seoul are all 90 minutes long. on days when my schedule starts in the afternoon I have three classes with a ten minute break in between each lecture. I did end up freezing cold during each of my classes and had to open the window near me by the end because, man, let me tell you, the air conditioning was working overtime today.
Once my vocabulary class finished, I have my two main classes where we learn a particular unit/topic each week and study grammar, reading, speaking and writing. In these classes we do a bit more partner work which can be fun when both you and your partner have been paying attention and have an actual motivation to learn and try your best.
I forgot that the previous week we finished the last unit in our books, which meant I ended up having to carry four books home instead of only two. This time the books are green instead of yellow so they’re much cuter at least that is my opinion. Each day during class, even though we use the assignments and lessons in our books, we receive many handout papers, I always end up with way to many papers in my backpack by the end of the week.
Classes ended just after 6 and I met Elise outside the building to start our journey home. When classes end in the evening I always mentally prepare myself, during my walk to the station, for how packed the subway. We get out of school around the same time all of the office workers are heading home for the day. Today, Elise and I ended up in different subway cars. We don’t ever talk in the subway, actually, almost nobody does. It’s just part of the culture here. Even though we never talk during the commute, it is much less awkward for us to bump into each other or step on one another’s feet instead of a strangers.
Recently, I have been attempting to reorganize my playlists and sort through all of my liked songs on Spotify. I have so much saved music it seems like a never ending task. Let’s just say it’s a work in progress.
After I arrived at my station, I walked up the steep hill to my host parents house and then waited on a bench outside for Elise so we could walk in together. She showed up not much later and we headed inside for dinner today we ate rice with eggs…I would say it’s a version of fried rice, but I’m not sure if it has an actual name or not. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite dish, but I finished eating it all, I must have been pretty hungry. Sometimes the food our host mom prepares is not quite my style and I can only eat so much before giving up. However, since moving to Korea, I have tried many new foods and my palette has grown a lot. We also had kiwi, pear and some cucumber. And, of course, every Korean meal has kimchi as a side dish.
Elise and I finished our meals and then stayed a while longer to visit with our host parents and enjoy the air conditioning. They also have the funniest little dog, named Carron, who knows many tricks. We also technically have air conditioning in our apartment, but it’s not turned on because it costs extra money. Right now, we’ve been surviving just fan with our fans, occasionally it gets a bit too hot but a quick cold shower works great to cool down.
We eventually made our way up the bajillion flights of stairs to our apartment. Once inside I always change into looser clothes to help cool down and get rid of all the germs from public transportation and school. I had already finished my homework in between classes, so I got ready for bed early and laid down for a while to read before going to sleep. Before bed, I also ate some strawberry ice cream… there is a store very close to our apartment where you can buy popsicles or tubs of ice cream much cheaper than at the convenience store or grocery marts and I have spent way to much money there… I really need to start holding off on the ice cream and save my money for something that’ll last a while longer. It’s a guilty pleasure I learned from my dad.
-<3