I Shopped at Jochiwon Traditional Market

It's a Sunday! I feel so lazy and the weather seemed so cold! I got up and stayed longer in bed. LAZY DAY, magnetic bed, ZzZzZzZz...


I decided to get up and do some laundry.


I finished by 2:00pm and went to the downtown to attend the 3:00pm mass at the Jochiwon Catholic Church. By 4:00pm, the mass ended and I decided to go around and look for some stuff I might need to use in the dormitory. I went around the traditional market and looked at some shops that sold clothes and accessories. After several shops, I ended up in this one that I always found to have a lot of customers. So I got in. No wonder they always had a lot of people because the clothes were so affordable! And they are of good quality, mind you. Just be careful and choose wisely cos they also have really nice designs! Simple yet durable and posh! ^^, I ended up buying 2 thick jackets, a long hoodie, a "posh" sweater, and a couple more collared blouses that cost me 62,500 krw! LOL. And because I took long in the store, I even made friends with the lady assisting me and the older one. Both hardly spoke English and so we made use of sign languages. LOL. Jin Xiang Xian was from China and I remembered some Chinese I learned in highschool. So I asked her name and she was glad to know that I knew a bit of Mandarin. She only spoke Hangeul, Mandarin, and some Japanese but poorly in English. She was so eager to know me even if we hardly understood each other and we had fun trying to express each other's ideas. We even exchanged mobile numbers to keep in touch (I wonder though how we are going to text each other with that huge language barrier. LOL). She was so excited and we found out I'm a year older than her, so I called her "dong saeng" while she happily called me "unni". I got my stuff with a huge discounted price, by the way, cos the ladies were amused by me even if we didn't understand each other that much. I simply asked if there was a discount since I was buying a lot and the older lady (whom I started calling "unni" as well), even taught me to say "kack-a-ju-sae-yo" - which means, to lower the price please... ^^,

I went out carrying a huge plastic bag then. I went to Daiso to buy a broom and other stuff I needed at the dorm. Then another plastic bag came with me. I also needed an iron and a hair blower so I went back to the first store where I bought my stuff weeks ago. An old man was the one in charge this time. By the time I paid, he gave me a potpourri too! And a points card. Because of the points card, I now know the name of that store --- Living Mart Corporation (Li-bing-ma-keu). ^^,

Three bags with me and they're starting to get really heavy. If I walk to the campus, wow...That's a long walk! I remembered that the free campus bus would pick up near the train station starting 5:00pm. It was almost 6 already and so I decided to take the free bus ride. Before going up the overpass, I bought some oranges from an old lady who was offering me to buy. And again, I used "hankook mal jal mot heyo" to let her know I can't speak and just said "Ku-de hakseng" which meant that I'm a student at Korea University. kkk...^^

By the time I reached the campus, I decided to drop my stuff first at the dorm. Seeing the dust on the floor, I decided to sweep the room! I wonder when was the last time this was cleaned. @_@

1900h

I went to the lab and found out that MJ, John and Kiko were already having dinner. I gave them some orange and they invited me to join them for dinner. They were having budochige! One of my favorites! And they had an extra rice too! So my dinner for that night was free and "belly-fulfilling"!!! LOL.

Til my next blog! - Cathianne c",)

Let's -- Bulgogi Baek-ban!

Cathianne's Journal:

My Sunday with Suyeon

27 March 2011

1800h
I started walking from the lab to Jochiwon downtown.

1830h

I went to the Korean Traditional Market and remembered the store Daiso where they sell almost everything! I bought some things I needed at the dorm.

1900h

I went to hear mass at the Jochiwon Catholic Church which is just a few blocks away from the market.

The 7:00pm mass is mostly attended by the youth / university students. As usual, the mass is in Hangeul so I hardly understand it. But at least, I still heard mass and received the final blessing. ^^

2000h

I went to the Jochiwon train station to meet up with my friend, Suyeon. She is a Catholic as well and we've always wanted to hear mass together but our schedules just keep on conflicting. So we decided to meet each other for dinner instead.

Just in front of the station, there are several convenience stores, cafes, restos and street food vendors. Suyeon bought us some bungeoppang (붕어빵). It's my first time to try it actually and it tasted good! Best when warm indeed and freshly made! It's shape is a fish but it's just like pancake with some filling inside. They call it here "fish bread".

Photo from: blog.naver.com

2025h

We crossed over the train station to catch the free bus to the campus.

2040h

We ate at a restaurant just outside the boundaries of our campus. We had 불고기백반 (bul-ko-ki baek-ban)! Yum yum yum!!! Love every bit of it! It's now one of the favorites in my list of Korean food!

Photo from:  CATHIANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Visit my photostream at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathiannephotography/

***

More about bungeoppang (붕어빵):The Best Bungeoppang

***

My Menu for Today:

Lunch - Kimbap delivered to the lab for 2,500 krw

Dinner - Bulkoki baek-ban for 5,000 krw

Til next blog! ^^,

Restless Jochiwon Sunday: NO SLEEP

Cathianne's Journal:

Restless Jochiwon Sunday

20 March 2011 

Today's Menu:


Late lunch - some sandwich at Family Mart and an orange juice drink
Dinner - BOKKEUMBAP (Kimchi Fried Rice)




I woke up late. It was already past 10 o'clock. I was supposed to attend the 10:00am mass but my body was just too tired that the bed kept magneting me back to sleep. When I woke up, I helped out my friend, SK, through the internet to prepare his presentation and powerpoint. I hope he wins the scholarship. That classmate is one heck of a smart kid!


I went to hear mass at Jochiwon Catholic Church at 3:00pm, the Children's Mass. kkk...I like attending children's mass better even if I don't understand a word they're saying.


After the mass, I received a message from my professor for a call. So I called him and I needed to download some documents. Before I went back to the lab, I went to the traditional market and went inside the store where I first bought some of my stuff in the dormitory. I tried to look for a smaller bottle of shampoo, but all they had were sets of 3 HUGE shampoos! So I got a set of Pantene shampoos for 18,000krw. I wasn't even sure if at least one of the bottles was a conditioner. If all of those were shampoos, they'd probably last me for the whole year or even more! Haha! And I thought since they sold huge shampoos, they'd also have huge lotions which was what I badly needed cos my skin has become so dry and I barely have lotion left at the dorm. But no, they only had the regular 250ml bottles for the lotion which cost 6,000 krw (Vaseline Intensive Rescue).


I paid for my shampoos and lotion and stuffed them in my bag so I wouldn't be using another plastic bag. I went to Family Mart to buy myself some lunch (or "breakfast" since it was my first meal of the day). It was pork cutlet, weird but my tastebuds said otherwise since I was hungry anyway. I didn't know how to heat it up since they didn't have any plate on the microwave oven and I didn't want to heat it with the plastic on it. So yeah, I ate a cold sandwich for lunch. At least it made me full! =))


I walked back to the campus and went straight to the lab. MJ oppa was already there. I worked on the request of our professor then started reading and studying for my Tuesday lecture. That night, I decided to pull an all-nighter cos the lecture on Linear Programming isn't as simple as the name SIMPLEX can be...T___T"


For dinner, we just had it delivered to the lab. I had bokkeumbap again, kimchi fried rice. I almost finished it at least and it cost me 4,000 krw. Not bad for a fried rice with sunny side up on top...kkk..

NO SLEEP

21 March 2011

I kept reading until I didn't realize that it was already past 12 midnight. I took short breaks by watching Tron and Up, movies I have downloaded through Torrent. At around 3 o'clock in the early morning, the last persons in the lab were Jungeol oppa and me. He went home and I continued with my studying. It was almost 6 o'clock in the morning, Jungeol oppa arrived again! He only had 2 hours of sleep! Haha..Then I shared some of the biscuits I was munching on. By 6:00am, Gwang arrived, looking tired and lacked sleep as well since he went home just an hour earlier than Jungeol oppa. I decided to go to the dorm, not knowing if I should sleep (since I lost my sleepiness, totally) or just freshen up.


In the room, I saw the TV still on and my roommate was in a deep sleep. She must have fallen asleep while watching, or just kept it on and slept. Anyway, I took a bath and watched TV for a while. By 7:30am, I went back to the lab and started on my homework. By 8:30, I felt sleepy and decided to take a power nap. I woke up at 10 o'clock and continued with my work... My mind was restless but the brain's RAM was getting slow already... =)))

First Mass in Jochiwon

It rained the whole day. They clouds covered the whole sky and gave the sun only enough space to peep through to light up everything. Although it is a Sunday, the school is filled with people; parents and students checking into their dormitory and preparing to settle for the start of the Spring semester.

Cathianne was alone in her room. She woke up at 9:00AM and thought of attending the 10:00 mass. She made preparations in order to walk downtown to the church. But before she could leave the building, the rain kept pouring hard. She didn’t have an umbrella. She’s stuck.

She opened her laptop and facebooked her family instead and updated herself with the notices. She was too lazy to go down to the convenience store to buy some breakfast or lunch and she wanted to keep herself from spending as much as possible. She remembered the bread and cake that was sent to her during her last dinner in her homeland. She opens and finally savours the taste of the chocolate cake her Tita Bing brought for her farewell dinner. And she’s full.

Waiting for a text message from her lab-mate or at least, for the rain to mellow down, she decides to lie down for a while. She decides to attend the evening or youth mass instead since it is half past two in the afternoon and the rain was still pouring hard. MJ texted and asked if she has already transferred to her new dormitory. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help her since he was also stuck in Seoul due to the bad weather.

After half an hour of waiting in vain, she decides to go down and ask the staff. She goes to GS25 and buys herself a folding umbrella for 12,000KRW. From there, she started walking towards her new dorm and confirms the reservation. She finally got her key! Upon opening her room, she discovers that she’ll be sharing the room with another schoolgirl. (Along comes the hope that this roommate will be nice and will help her learn Hangeul faster).

She went back to the guestroom and got her biggest maleta, the blue stroller bag. With all her might she pulls it up the rainy pathway while the left arm is holding the umbrella. She gets in her dormitory room and starts unpacking her things in order to keep it well arranged. She feels a bit troubled by the space she’s occupying because of the size of the bag and worried about how she’ll organize her clothes without the hangers! Anyway, she decides to go back for the other bag. Not for long, she has already checked out of the guestroom by half past four in the afternoon. She goes back to her room and fixes up all her things to where they should go trying not to invade her roommates seemed privacy.

It was Already half past six and she decides to start walking to the downtown to attend the 7:00 mass at the Jochiwon Catholic Church. She didn’t realize it would be that far, only then when she had to catch up with the time. She got to the church just in time! 7:00 sharp in her android. She goes in the church, dips her fingers in the holy water just behind the entrance door and goes to sit at the pew located at the left area; she chose to sit near the back of the church since she knows the mass will be said in the local language and she wouldn’t understand. Truly enough, the mass started and the first words spoken were in Hangeul. Cathianne beams at herself for attending her first authentic Korean Catholic mass!

There were some practices of the mass that she has observed that were slightly different from the Philippines. The church had a daycare center-like area where children can stay to keep them from disturbing the Eucharistic celebration but they can be seen from the inside of the church through a huge glass. The seats of the pews were covered with sort of carpets or rags and there were no kneeling pads or anything to kneel on. She followed how the mass was begun, with signs of the cross while following the rhythm of the song. It was not only one cross but two or three at least. Then everything was already familiar. The church had a band for a choir since it is normal for a youth mass. After a while, the priest spoke and it seemed that people where looking at one another. A nun started her direction at people who were probably familiar, most likely students, as they were asked to volunteer for some tasks to be done in the mass which Cathianne couldn’t obviously relate to at that moment. She was guessing it could be for the readings or the offertory.

A girl was seated in the pew in front of Cathianne and the former seemed uneasy at the sight of the latter. The girl kept texting and seemed to be waiting for someone to come (who didn’t come anyway, if that was really the case). Cathianne naturally answered in English what part of the mass she was familiar with and the girl seemed shocked at how different the responses obviously were as she kept looking behind her shoulders to see why. She probably couldn’t figure out as Cathianne seemed to look Asian, but definitely not a native because of the way she spoke.

During the offertory, only two women went to offer and eventually, people started standing! Almost horrified, she remains seated at the sight of them and finally realizes that they all stood in order to place their offering in the baskets in front. This is not the way it is practiced in her homeland but she follows, stands up with a thousand won in her hand and goes to the front to drop her offering. She smiles at the thought of a different culture seeping in her slowly. Then she waited for the part of the Eucharist where, in the Philippines, they were supposed to kneel to honor the Body and Blood of Christ. But this didn’t happen. The people simply stood and bowed a little for the gesture of reverence. Know she understands why there’s no kneeling pad.

During the giving of peace, Cathianne bows her head as she says “peace be with you” slowly instead in order not to unease the girl in front of her even more. Alas, the mass ends with the final blessing and the priest leaves into the side door near the altar. Another fond discovery is the fact that the people really waits for the final song to end before they leave. The correct practice, she thought.

It was exactly 8:00pm when she got out of the church and started timing her walk from there towards the laboratory in the campus. At 8:36pm in her android, she arrives the building. Knowing this, she knows now that she would need at least 40 minutes of her time to walk from the campus to the church. It was a very cold walk, a rainy cold walk and her cheeks turned red when she looked in the mirror after freshening up in the ladies comfort room. She takes off her coat for the first time and goes in the lab without it on her. Warmed up, MJ offers her the menu and orders Chinese food Korean style fried rice. She got a text from her mom that her family and relatives are celebrating their late grandfather’s birthday at their home and hoping that she could video call through skype so everyone can talk to her. She downloads skype from her lab computer and calls them. As MJ saw them on the screen, he fondly waves at them. Cathianne felt as if she was also just with them celebrating. A few minutes later, her Chinese dinner arrived. It definitely shocked her appetite as she used to eat only 40 pesos worth of meal in the Philippines. Here, when converted, a typical meal would cost 200 pesos and she could hardly finish them. The fried rice was tasteless if eaten alone but with the sauce, it tasted good. And because it is Korean style, there was kimchi, more sidings like the sweetened, yellow radish and onions with the black spice paste, and the spicy red soup. Cathianne eats and hoping that the more-than-half-an-hour walk will give her a big appetite. But no, she could only eat as much as half of the meal and only sip the soup and a couple of the sidings and the kimchi. That was a tummy booster! On the computer, her family teases her with the food they’re having, the leche flan and her mom’s specialty --- moist chocolate cake, both her favourites! But she was too full anyway to even be jealous of not being able to bite them. Haha! She enjoys her chats with her siblings, parents, aunts, cousins, grandmas, and everybody who were squeezing their faces into the monitor. At half past ten, she waves them goodbye in order to go back to the dorm and hopefully meet her roommate (if she’s there or is still awake).

Now in the dorm, Cathianne discovers a sleeping roommate and doesn’t want to bother anymore. So she unpacks slowly and sleeps for a good recharge for the following day’s adventure. c”,)

Talk To Me In Korean

It's my first blogpost here as a third person storyteller and I've got so much to tell about Cathianne's adventure for this day.


Today, Cathianne marks her first Saturday in Jochiwon, Korea. She wakes up at almost 9:00 AM and prepares herself for new discoveries! As she walked out of the dormitory, she realized that her boots are starting to wear out real bad. But that's the only pair of comfortable shoes she has with her since she left the Philippines. So she has to live with it...or buy a new pair? She's thinking (smiling)...


After a couple of minutes, she arrives in the Environmental Engineering Laboratory where she will be working with several graduate and post-graduate students who are all Korean nationals. She's the only foreigner under their advising professor and it's her first time to be alone in a foreign land. She is also the only girl in the laboratory, good thing that her labmates are all gentlemen and kind enough to help her get settled down for her first month. She also finds it hard to converse with them because the only Hangeul word she knows is "annyonghaseo". Since today is a new day for her, she has to learn at least one new word in Korean.


In the lab, Cathianne has been keeping family and friends posted through the social network and she found out about this website www.TalkToMeInKorean.com that teaches Korean Lessons for beginners! This is what she definitely needs! So there she goes, saving the site so she can come home every night and learn more from it.


While waiting for any possible instructions from her professor, she heard Minjue come in the lab. That's her lab-mate and will be her classmate in some other classes that she will be taking for her first semester in Korea University. And that lab-mate of hers is a very nice person who has been helping her since her arrival. He is going home to his hometown, Seoul, for the weekend.


It is almost lunchtime and Cathianne starts to feel hungry. She decides to go eat lunch at the cafeteria where Minjue taught her how to get the food ticket. When she got out, she didn't know how to lock the laboratory! It was her first time to use the student card of her other lab-mate, Gijung, and nobody is in the lab at that moment. She calls up Minjue and he tries to explain. Fortunately, another lab-mate, Wayne, passes by and she asks how to work the lock. And successfully she's done it!


At the cafeteria, she realized she can't read the instructions in Korean. She decides to go by the GS25 convenience store instead to buy some food ending up with an instant spaghetti! *laughs* A few minutes later, Minjue calls up to check on her if she has had lunch and reminds her that instant food is not good for the health! "This is just for now while I'm still finding my way through", she responds.


After lunch, she goes back to the dormitory, unpacks her bag, brings her camera with a big smile on her face. It's her free day today! Remembering the pathways where she and her lab-mates have gone to during dinners, she walks past the Library and down towards those familiar pathways. To the right of the road, she sees the colorful but abandoned elementary school building. Straight she goes towards what seemed to be plowed empty lots. K-5 is the landmark that she kept in her mind, that's where she turns left and towards the highway she goes.


From the highway, she sees the half-football-designed plant boxes, her favorite landmark of all. She then waits for the green light in order to cross the street. 18 seconds, 17, 16... As soon as she has crossed the street, her face lit up at the sight of the entrance to the downtown area!


She remembers the tunnel that her professor has pointed out to her when he taught her the way to the church and the pharmacy store. Amazed by the walkway of the tunnel, it is her first time to pass by that tunnel where even bicycles and motorcycles also go about to enter the city. She takes out her slr and snaps some shots of the tunnel and the people passing by on their motorbikes. Too bad, they were just too fast for her to capture them. She continues to walk until she sees the familiar main road, Gil Rd. At the corner, she stops and takes a picture of Family Mart at Saenae 16-Gil Rd in order to remember in case she loses her way. From the intersection, she turns right and saw some shoe stores right away! Along Gil Rd., she crosses the street to go to Converse. Hoping to buy a good pair of shoes this time, the shoes that will comfort her feet for the next two years! With a nice greeting "annyonghaseo" from the sales guy, she greets back and asked for some shoe sizes. The man is glad to help her out. After some time, she picks out the black and purple shoes of the same type and asks the man which one is better. The man points out, smiling and says "purple". And there goes the 69,000krw to the store. Cathianne bids them "kamsahamnida" and tells the guy "I hope next time when I come back I already know how to speak (Korean)". Off she goes to more discoveries.


Along the way, she discovers the Traditional Korean Market to the left of the road. Minjue and the professor had already pointed it out to her. It sells just about almost anything. She goes in and finds vegetables and fruits, fishes, seafoods, more foods, then coats, clothing, utilities, furnitures, decorations, and just as she was about to exit the other side, she saw BOOTS! Boots with furs! *laughs* She takes some pictures and goes near the store, starts to ask the lady how much the boots cost. It's being sold for 30,000krw. Not bad for the winter boots, and their cute! *wink*


She decides to go straight the street parallel to Gil Rd. She remembers that the church is along Saenae 6. Upon reaching the said street, she turns left. After a few meters walk, she realizes it was almost the end and no church was found. "Don't panic" she says to herself. She walks the opposite direction. After a few meters back, she finds the cross of the Jochiwon Catholic Church! She is glad to be in the right direction. Good intuition! She spots some puppies on a truck and takes some snapshots of them. Then she goes in the church grounds and takes some more photos. Too bad, the church is still closed. She heads back to the direction going to Gil Rd. and finds Power Pharm at the corner. Smiling at her sense of direction, she galdly turns right and started walking back to her original route. Along the way, she meets and greets old people with a smile and "annyonghaseo" and when they answer her back, she'd just shake her head and say that she's not a local. *laughs* While taking a picture of the LG store, a cab driver approached her. She does not understand a word and he seems to be making a gesture of wanting to have his picture taken. So she does and says "kamsahapmida" and waved goodbye 'cos she didn't want to cause anymore trouble by any misinterpretation. A few more blocks and she met a couple more cab drivers. Seeing that she is holding a camera, they have guessed right that she is a tourist but she shakes her head for whatever they are offering her and continues to walk back to Saenae 16. At the intersection where she has marked the Family Mart store by a snapshot, she turns left and sees the tunnel and walks right in it. More snapshots of the tunnel and through it she finds her path back home.


Seeing the half-football-designed plant boxes again, she waits for the green light and crosses the street. Remembering the K-5 store, she walks past it and through the empty plowed lands. Continuing her walk she stops along the area where there is the abandoned elementary school and takes some photos of it. With the sun still gleaming on her face, she takes some photos of the university as it's winter season is fast giving way to spring. Back she goes to her dormitory to take some rest.


At around 6:30pm, she feels hungry and decides to contact Gijung oppa if she can come along with them to dinner. Since he's not around the campus, she is to be accompanied by the other labmates, Ko and Gwang. These two are kind enough to keep her company for dinner and asks her if she'd like to try bulkoki since she has no food preference for that night's dinner. And so they walked out of the campus and went to the restaurant where they serve bulkoki. She remembers her aunt who told her to try the bulkoki because it is one of the best Korean foods her aunt has tried. She was excited and gives it a try. Just a few minutes after her lab-mates ordered, the meals have arrived. Again, appetizers, especially the kimchee, never got out of sight. And the bulkoki definitely tasted great! It makes up a lot for the poor lunch she had. The best thing is that it was Ko's treat! And dessert in the form of icecream became Gwang's welcoming treat!


She comes home full and energized to skype call her family and tell them of her new friends and new discoveries. c",)

Freedom Tunnel to Adventure

The Tunnel to Jochiwon Downtown

This tunnel caters pedestrians and bikers alike. This is the tunnel that symbolizes anticipation to new discoveries and adventures! Getting lost isn't hard as long as this tunnel remains as the guiding path. c",)




(c) 2011 CathiannePhotography
Jochiwon, Chungnam, Korea

Jochiwon Catholic Church and Power Pharm

Cathianne's Journal:

24 Feb. 2011

Locating the Pharmacy and Church at Jochiwon's Downtown

I woke up really early as planned because I wanted to do a photowalk around the campus. Too bad, my stomach started to hurt and I felt like throwing up! Just yesterday, I was enjoying everything and the food, now it was quite different. It brought me to a trip downtown...

I tried to stay for a few more hours in my room, placed some ointment on my stomach to ease the pain and frequented the bathroom for I was throwing up a bit and having lbm. After feeling a little better, I walked outside and went in the lab. Only one labmate was in. I was to meet my professor for the first time and waited for his call.

At around 11:00am, Gwang answered the telephone and informed me that it was the professor. After a few minutes, I went to visit the office of Prof. JY. Finally, I was able to meet my professor face-to-face!

We discussed about the courses that I should be taking up this semester and before ending the conversation, I asked him where I can get some medicine for my condition. He then toured me at the campus dormitories and pointed out some restaurants where I can eat and where I will be transferring on Sunday, the dorm that will house me for the whole year.

Then I also needed to know the directions to the church. Good thing my professor is also Catholic, so we both go to the same church. In his car, he taught me the road to take when going to the downtown. Just as we were looking for the church, we found Power Pharm, a drugstore just at the corner of the street where the church is near! Talk about hitting two birds with one stone. Neat. =)

We first went to the church and asked for the Sunday mass schedules. Everything in the leaflet was written in Korean. So Prof.JY had to teach me how to read at least the AM, PM and SUNDAY. Next stop was the pharmacy. Again, the pharmacist didn't understand English so I had to describe to my professor. what I was going through then he relayed the message to the pharmacist. Then after, I got a couple of boxes of pills to take 3x daily. Hoped a lot this would make me well!

He drove backwards to the route we took going to the church so I could remember how to get there. Then back at the university, we went to the convenience store to buy lunch. I only bought water as I had no appetite at all and I didn't want to throw up along the way. It's good too that the cashier understood and spoke English when I spoke to her.

I went back to the lab to rest. I tried browsing youtube for glee episodes. At around 3:00pm, I and MJ oppa were called by Prof.JY to his office. There we discussed the courses we will be taking this semester. As freshman grad student, I had to take 3 courses at least. Nice to know that I'll have MJ oppa as my classmate, at least I would have some company whenever I go to Seoul for the lectures. After having discussed everything, I went back to the lab, took my things and went to rest at my dormitory. I slept for about 2 hours and woke up eating some blueberry muffin my aunt sent me. It seemed like the longest meal of my life. Though I was feeling better, I finished the muffin for about 2 hours! It was like torture just to have something for my stomach! At around 8:00pm, my professor dropped by to check on my condition and gave me some juice to drink which might help me get better. I know that Welch's grape juice tastes good so I tried the green bottle first. It's like something citrusy and not the kind my tastebuds would like to have that time.

I was still feeling cold so I've decided to get something warm to drink, even just hot water. When I went out to the convenience store, I was all wrapped up in four layers with my heeled boots to keep me warm and the mittens on my hands and I found out the store was already closed! Oh, snap! I decided to go back to the dorm and try out the vendo machine which had everything written in Korean except for the "Hot" and "Cold". I was praying the machine wouldn't eat me alive. *Laughs* I pressed the button that was below the "Hot". Got a cup of warm drink. It was brown, but it was neither coffee nor tea! It was the same as the one I had on my first dinner. The last drink that seemed to top off the meal as "dessert". It tasted something minty, sweet, seemed to have a hint of ginger --- it was a funny tasting warm drink. At least it was successful in keeping me warm!

Now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow again!