First

안녕!!!

It's been a week since I arrived in Korea and there are lots of things that I want to write here. So, WARNING, this post is going to be long. It's a mix of my experience, my rants and some review of the products I've bought here.

First Week

As soon as I got here, I was greeted by a not-so-friendly taxi driver. I gave him an address and he input it in his GPS. Guess what? He couldn't find the address and he threw a tantrum. He got so pissed at me because I couldn't explain the address properly. Well, hellooo? I just got here and I don't live here so why were you mad at me. If you didn't want this to happen then why did you wait for customers in the airport, where most people don't know the place well? Duh.

Ok moving on... I was asked by Seoul National University (SNU) to take an English test called TEPS (Test of English Proficiency developed by Seoul National University). The result of the test will determine which English class I'm going to enrol to, so I have to take it. While really, it doesn't make any sense for me. I took TOEFL and gave them the result but I have to take another test? Ridiculous if you ask me. Why don't they determine my skills using my TOEFL score?

To make things worse, I couldn't register for the test from the internet. Why? Because I don't have any Korean credit card. Instead I had to register on the test day and pay a higher fee. Not being able to register online wasn't my fault so why do I have to pay higher? Besides that, I spent around two weeks prior to the test worrying whether I'm going to get a seat. But oh well, what can I do about it. I ended up getting a seat so okay...

On the bright side, I was able to see what Korean schools are like

Doesn't it look like those schools in K-dramas? I just watched School 2015 - Who Are You so the school atmosphere still lingers in my head ;)

Another place that I visited is Itaewon. This area is known as the heaven for foreigners. If you are in this area, you can see lots of foreigners wherever you go. Most restaurants and shops provide English service as well so you don't have to worry about not being able to communicate.

In Itaewon, I went to Olleh Global Store because I was looking for a prepaid SIM card that I can use temporarily. I also asked about the phone contract that's available. FYI, phone contract means you pay monthly for the data subscription as well as paying for the phone itself (correct me if I'm wrong here). The person there said that if I want to use a prepaid SIM card, my phone has to be unlocked or something. And if I am interested in the phone contract, it's better for me to proceed with the contract immediately. Unfortunately, I don't have an Alien Registration Card (identification for foreigners staying in Korea for more than 90 days) yet, so I have to wait...

Food :9

Behold.....the sooper dooper delicious food from Korea

Cheese Kimbab!!!

Jjajangmyeon + Tangsuyuk (Sweet & Sour Fried Pork)

Sweet and Spicy Fried Chicken

Don't you just loooove to see the food? Or did you just drool all over the place? But wait, now it's time for my personal favorite!

RAMYUN!!!!!!! Oh my God... this ramyun is just perfection. This ramyun doesn't have any soup and the seasoning is made up of honey and cheese (you guessed it). The special thing? It's the jalapeno oil! It makes the ramyun spicy and sooooo mouth watering. I love it!! 

This ramyun is made by Samyang. For those of you who are familiar with this brand, you know they make the super spicy ramyun with the black packaging. But I was told that there is a ramyun spicier than that one... Oh no...

Myeongdong

Who doesn't know Myeongdong? It's the capital of shopping! I went there and it was so packed with people. No wonder because I went there on Friday night... For the things that I bought, I'm going to talk about it later. Now it's time for food again!!!

HOT Bar! (sorry this pic is blurry because I was holding too many shopping bags... :/)

Fried Chicken with Sauce and Ddeok/Rice Cake

Hotteok (pancake filled with honey and I don't know what....)

Everything in Myeongdong is just delicious~~ But in my opinion, they can be quite pricey. So be prepared to have your pocket 'robbed' by the food and the stores :p

Things I Bought!!

In The Face Shop store, I bought a super size toner and a cleansing foam (shown below).

And you know how Korean beauty stores are so generous... because they gave me these samples!

The cotton box is from Skin Food. The green mask, small green bottles and brown sachets are from Nature Republic. The rest, including the cute fans, are from The Face Shop. Is there any person in this world who's not happy with these? I bet there's none.

Out of all the things I bought, I have tried the toner, the cleansing foam and the brown sachets. After using the toner and the cleansing foam, I haven't seen much change so I can't really write a review about them. But upon first use, they both feel great on my skin.

For the brown sachets, they are shampoo made of argan oil. I've heard that argan oil is good for hair so these samples are a great way for me to try. They made my hair reallllyyy soft. As a person who usually uses conditioner, I don't have to use one when I'm using this shampoo.

*UPDATE: I have a problem with hair fall and two weeks ago the problem was okay to handle. I didn't shed that much hair but after using the argan oil shampoo, I can see lots of hair on the bed on the floor and on my hands D': so I decided to use my previous shampoo and conditioner...

Lastly, I bought these pairs of very cute socks in Namdaemun market, where there was a big crowd of people.

they are irresistibly cute right???

Socks are also the thing in Korea as I've seen many people use socks with their shoes and sandals or whatever... So if you are in need of a pair of socks, you can go anywhere in Korea and find them. They are also super cheap, they make you want to buy more!

That's it for now. I'll try to update my blog again if I have time!