2009.09.02nd

It's my 2nd day here in Suwon. I woke up today after a straight 12 hours sleep from a long restless trip that kept me awake for almost 35hrs straight ( i had 20 min lousy naps here and there). I woke up at like 3am, a naturally well rested sleep forced me to be awake and begin exercising to keep my body in shape from a killer trip. Anyways, i couldnt stop thinking again, about what to do today. I had to go back to sleep because i didnt know if Kim, my new friend who helps me with everything, would come around to help me again. This is because i didnt know how to phone, email or talk to anyone.

Long Walks, A Long Day
So today, i basically spent time walking around town to figure out my new life in Suwon. I dont have to work today, scheduled to work sept 1st. but things arent working out as planned. Also swine flu is still around, i see people sick so for my safety the school kept me at home until next week... whatever their real reason it works out, im lazy. So, turns out, my neighbours are stores. To my right of my apartment door is a tailor/dry cleaners, left is a minimart, across the street is a line of small plaza like building stores: Hair salon, real estate office (who found my apartment), another minimart like 10 feet away lol, a PC store (where i currently get my access to internet), and 6 small ma and pop restaurants. And at the end of the street, in any direction is the main road with more stores. There is an abundance of stores in my neighbourhood in close proximities for some reason (like vietnam, there are a million stores of the same type lined up beside each other as far as the eye can see when u walk out of the house, if you been to vietnam).
Anyways, i needed a bank, out of dough. Bank no.1 i visited had cute girls but snobby service. It clearly said foreign currency exchange outside their windown, they turned me down and i was pissed. Then i went to the one near my house, IBK , and they were good to me, had like 5 people come up to me because i spoke english. This time the girls were cuter, and they giggle when i speak English... i feel good about that! But i had to run home to get my passport in order to exchange money, they only take US dollar, got 245,000 kr Won for 200 USD... Note: No country likes, favours or recognized CAN dollar over USD. So i took that 245,000krw and went shopping again... yet i still dont have everything and my fridge is still empty... now i realize living on your own is mad expensive and alot of work... All in all, i know my neighbourhood pretty well. I went home like 5 times today and out. Hardly anybody speaks english, thats my problem, meaning i gotta brush up on my korean asap.

Learning Hangul
Not that easy... pronounciation is probably the hardest thing, next to reading and writing Hangul properly, because there is so many different combinations... its weird. Im slowly learning it... i have this handbook that my cousins gave me for my birthday, Thanks Jane and Earl, its saving my sanity. My goal is to learn it in 4-5 months... not fully conversational... but atleast basic comprehension...

Boredom
It sort of kicked in, but blogging, talking to Kim, walking around the neighbourhood, learning Hangul, taking 2 naps, 3 showers, cooking.... it was a long day and I learned how to kill time... Still, like my cousin John said, its best to make friends asap because it can get lonely being lost in translation... nearly almost nobody in Suwon speaks English... except Kim and bank girls... I just met a girl name Jessica (Simpson) through my friends Brittany (Spears) and Hannah (Montana) (HAHAHAHA, special celebrity name Brian made up for them, inside joke), through email, turns out she lives in the same area as in do in this big city of Suwon, Yeongtong-gu.

Late Night
Its been a long day, since 3am, its now 12:15. I was with Kim at the bus stop to see her off as she went home. I really appreciate her company, any really. But especially for all the things she has helped me out with. I off to bed... good night.

Allan aka Choi, Song Yong (lol my korean name my aunt nick-named me... it means something else in viet, rude)