The HaSook Begins

Well, I'm moved in safe and sound and all is well. My new home is cozy, friendly, close, and (best of all) cheap. I have found the atmosphere here to be very familial. Everyone leaves their doors open and is open to conversation. We eat breakfast together in the house, and most of us eat lunch or dinner together later. There are several real Korean students here, and my international friends thus far are from California, Canada, Monterey, and Kazakhstan. Who knows one single fact about Kazakhstan? If you said "I think it used to be U.S.S.R. territory," then you're on par with me as of two days ago.

I had to purchase my own linens for my bed here. Like anyone college student would, I went to the Korean equivalent of Target (10 stories tall like everything here) called Grand Mart. So there I was on the 4th floor of Grand Mart, realizing to my shame and embarrassment, that the only vocabulary I knew was bed. Not pillow, blanket, mattress cover, sheets, mattress pad, or pillow case. I had no chance. It boiled down to me playing charades with three Korean women employed by the linen department. "This is the bed, right? I want to buy the thing that goes above the bed and under the person." *hand signals only a pitcher would understand*

Point is, everything is just fine and all set. I'm excited about my new community and proximity to the school, and am now turning my focus fully to upcoming midterms and snagging more students of the English.