Seoul

Today the day has come when I will move to Seoul for another month. 

I woken up early to wash my blanket and leave it in the room for the next student in case they want to use it, as its to bad to through in the bin which just had been used for a few months only.

Then I token a walk around the campus to take final snap shots and returning back to wait for my friends who will help me to get me to the bus terminal before I will set off to Seoul.

My arrival to Seoul is expected at 4pm and I notice is my first time a direct bus to Seoul as the other times I arrived by train. Train is always convinent if you don't have to carry much with you and second the host stay family lives not far of the bus terminal station.

I given them the call a bit to late as I was not aware buses had "blue lines" a lane for themselves - so I waited a bit at the station and met a student from South Africa whom just return back for the Winter break. It is great to see that S Koreans go anywhere in the world to gain a university place.

I met my guest family and settled down with them for the evening. We even had been after dinner to my new office - as my plan was just to explore by myself. Maybe they had been worried I would get lost - so they droven me along the bus route and shown where to get off. The air distance from the apartment to office is only 5km, but the bus route is 10km. I will be looking forward to join the commute early in the morning and gain this experience for future life. I think this was also a good reason to stay in Homestay family to learn getting back home for dinner time and able to commute through the dentist populated city to work and being on time.

Last Day in Daegu

The time is now getting to the end. One more sleep and I will sit on the bus to Seoul. Today I also need to move into my new room or old room on which I stay before when coming to Daegu. I have moved all my belongings from top floor to the other top floor. I was lucky to meet few of my friends who quickly helped me to move my stuff and I could give them some left overs such as all the cloth hangers. Otherwise they may end up in the bin or so.

I had a few appointments with friends, to say good bye and wish them luck for the their future. I hope I will be able to meet them again somewhere on this planet. As they also needed to move there belongings and moved back home and it was only me left on campus I decided to go into the town to say good bye. In some strange reason also thought of visiting the cinema and later two other friends joined me who come extra back to Daegu to help me tomorrow to bring me to the bus terminal in the morning. These friends I don't need to say good bye as I am confident I will manage to see them in Europe. As they will join two university, one which is where I am from, Northumbria and the other is Pecs (Hungary) closer to Krakow which would be my next stop after Seoul.

On the way back to the campus we walked into our other friend, who is just on the way to Taiwan. So we decided to go for a coffee at late at night, which was not easy to find one open. Its a bit strange for Korea, but I guess due now all students are gone and only a few are left. There was one still open which served cold coffee only. Why not at night time and close to end of December to have a cold coffee in the first coffee shop we went together in the beginning and to find our drawings in the archives of the store. 

IVF Farwell

Today was the farewell event of IVF - we had meet up for lunch together. You can notice on whom was an active member to IVF all of those who come for lunch too. I guess this type of culture stays the same across the globe. It was nice to have some lunch in one of the local restaurants near the university. We had the opportunity to eat some nice food and have lovely discussion. 

We went then for a coffee and tea in the nearby coffee shop on whom still was open for business for the people who work and live around. As the others had been closed due the majority of student left the university already.  I had to solve a few issues in the university before I return back to the IVF meeting.

We then formerly said good bye in the church building of KNU and token final pictures together and I manage to get the group picture of IVF to remember on the good time we had together, even so I did not understood a word of Korean. I had been happy that they just integrated me into the group and token me to the trip "Happy Camp". I hope that more foreign students will join IVF in KNU and maked great Korean friends for life.

Goodbye Exchange KNU

Today was the day on when the final was and to say good bye to fellow exchange students and those Korean buddies who will leave back home for the vacation. The time had gone really fast in Korea. It just seems like yesterday when I wrote the first entry into the blog and now its already time to go.

I hope I will be able to stay in touch with most of my friends and able to meet a few of them in Europe and where ever it will take me in the world. 

I had been given today with another student from France our personal notice to the students off our stay in Korea. I have recall on the old man from the subway on the way to IAAF stadium on whom himself been an exchange student in Germany. I recall his words of language barrier which shall never had been a problem for myself, in which I was false and shown language barriers and learned what it meant to have a language barrier. I had define language barrier in my own words and that it is ok not know any Korean and English to get around S Korea. I been telling the story of the mountain trip to Palgongsang and revering backwards on it what I have improved from this journey. 

There was also presentation on the students who won a bit of cash to travel around Korea on there special route - it was nice to hear on where they had been going and on what they had done. 

Later in the night we had been given certificates of attendance and got ready to go to a bar in town for a few drinks of those who did not yet needed to catch a flight back home. 

Where does it take me?

We all know since the start of the blog of all the bus routes that I token the red number 1 to the mountains Palgongsang. Did ever anyone asked where would take me the red bus number 2? I always wanted to take it - but never had done it yet. It was actually not planned, as the plan was just going to HomePlus and purchase some textile pens for the next day to let my friends sign my t-shirts. 

I always could have asked Naver Maps to tell me on where No 2 goes :

2012.5.8 | 지도 크게 보기 ©  NHN Corp.

But, it will be never as fun as to find out by yourself. I went the direction South bound which drop me off in the village of Daeil-ri . Many will say there is nothing special - but I guess in some sort is a bit special. As you can get to see a few citizen and also some grandmother who hitch-hike a car and walk in faster paste of speed then yourself up and down those mountains. I used this time to practise for tomorrows farwell speech while also walking a bit up to this village where they building a new road in nowhere and you easy notice as probably no tourist got lost into this place yet.

Campus Pictures

Its Tuesday already and only a few days left on campus. It is actually the last week before I will go to Seoul on 18th December for the final stage of my stay in Korea. It would a different stay and hope to get another great month in Korea. 

Today I had been wondering around campus to take final pictures of libraries and class room to memorize myself in the future on how they have look like. If any chance I can return to Daegu and take a look inside it will probably all be change into modern and new designs. We never know which parts going to be change on campus and is just to show back home to friends on what the campus is looking like in KNU.

Today had been no IVF meeting as there will be a special one for the farwell on Friday - so keep tuned to read up what will happen.