[5.27.15 - 5.29.15] Arrival in Korea and China

Hawaii to Korea [5.27.15]

On Wednesday morning, I arrived at the HNL airport and went straight to the self check-in kiosk. While checking in my luggage, a mob of Chinese people suddenly came and surrounded me. They were asking me something, but I couldn't really understand ;__; After ten minutes of being overwhelmed by all of these people, I finally figured out that they were asking me to help them weigh their luggage. I haven't even left Hawaii yet, and I'm already getting my first taste of China this summer.

After checking-in my bags and going through security, I made my way to the gate. At the gate, a local Korean lady sat down by me and we made small talk together. She was so nice! She gave me recommendations on where to go in Korea, and I found out that she has a daughter in California who is 26 years old. Too bad we weren't sitting next to each other on the plane, because she was incredibly friendly. She even told me that she wished we sat next to each other on the plane so we can talk, drink, and eat together LOL. 

The flight wasn't too bad. It was definitely long, but I passed the time by watching three movies (Oblivion, The Imitation Game, and a Chinese movie about plastic surgery), eating, and "sleeping"...well, trying to sleep. I tried multiple times to take a nap, but failed. The Korean girl next to me, on the other hand, slept throughout the entire flight -- impressive. She woke up at the last hour and guess what? She puked all over her seat. Yeah. 

Korea [5.28.15]

Arrived in Korea around 6:30 pm and made my way to Immigration. I got lucky with Immigration. Incheon Airport is known for notoriously long Immigration lines, but when my plane landed, they opened up three new booths, so I was only 4th in line! 

After Immigration, I got my luggage, exchanged my money, and then stored my two luggage at Hajin Express (besides luggage storage, I believe they also provide packing and postal services). Hajin is located behind counter A on the Departure floor, and it costed me about 18,000 Won to store two X-Large bags for 24 hours. 

As soon as I stored my luggage, I went back down to the Arrival section and met up with Arlyss. If you guys don't know Arlyss, she is also a NSLI-Y alumni, but for the 2012-2013 Korean season. Because my other friend couldn't pick me up, Arlyss came in her place! Both of us took the metro from ICN Airport to Hongdae (a district of Seoul with a lot of clubs and a great night life due to the existence of many colleges and universities in the area), where we walked around and got some street food. The ride from ICN to Hongdae took about 1.5 hours. 

Guess who we saw? 

Side street in Hongdae

Arlyss ordered Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), Sundae (blood sausage), and some fried things. We also got some soup from the Odeng (fish cake). The soup and the Sundae were so gooood! You dip the Sundae in this red chili powder, so there was a little bit of a kick to it. The tteokbokki, on the other hand, was a little bit too spicy for my liking. It's a lot spicier than the ones you would find in LA or Hawaii.

Street food stall

Left to right: Sundae, Tteokbokki, various fried snacks

After we finished eating, we met up with my other friend, Haneul, and walked over to the main street of Hongdae. We visited a circle lens store, ArtBox (a super cute Korean stationary store), GS25 (where we bought banana milk and T-money cards for the subway), and then to a jjimjilbang, where we showered and slept for only 9,000 won.

Look at how cute these ice pops are!

The famous banana milk

In the Ice Room

Let me tell you guys something, Korean people are VERY comfortable being naked. Once we got to the locker rooms, everyone instantly stripped and walked around in their birthday suit. Of course, I didn't feel comfortable doing that just yet, so we changed into the clothes they gave us and went straight to the sauna. Arlyss and I visited three room: Red Silt room (a bit hot), the Hot Room (VERY HOT), and the Ice Room. Haneul only stayed in the Ice Room because she just got her hair done, so she couldn't be near heat. 

The Ice Room was definitely our favorite. It wasn't too cold, so it felt nice just sitting in the there. We stayed in the Ice Room for a really long time actually...a bit too long. I felt bad that we were hogging it, but honestly, other people could have came in too... -__- They just chose not to, because they wanted the room to themselves. While in the room, we had a dance party and made those hats out of the towels! You know, the one you see in Korean dramas and on Korean variety shows LOL.

After a while, an ahjusshi came in and started talking to us! He only spoke Korean, so Arlyss translated for me while he was talking. Apparently, he was saying something about how he wished he knew more English because the world is such a global place nowadays. The current generation of Koreans are able to study abroad, but his generation is a lot more traditional and homogeneous. He mentioned that it was good of us to travel and study different languages! 

At around 1:30 am, the three of us got hungry so we bought two bowls of instant ramyun from the little store in the co-ed jjimjilbang area. One of the bowls that we bought is supposedly the spiciest instant ramyun in Korea. I forgot what it was called, but it comes in a round, black container. It's not that spicy at first, but if you keep eating it, the spiciness hits you in the face. 

Once we finished eating, we went back down to the locker room, and I finally got the courage to strip. Or maybe because I was just so desperate to shower that I just didn't care anymore. Being naked wasn't that bad honestly. Maybe it was because I'm Asian, so I don't attract a lot of attention anyways...or maybe it was because it was 2 am, so only three other people were trying to shower as well. Oh wells.

Shower area - I think this place is called UCity Spa?

Technically not supposed to wear clothes in here lol

After showering, Haneul and I went up to the women's lounge, grabbed some thin mats and pillows, and promptly went to bed. Arlyss stayed downstairs because she can't sleep in public places. At around 8 am, both of us woke up, met up with Arlyss, went back down to the locker room, and then changed into our normal clothes. 

At the Hongdae metro station, Arlyss parted ways with us while Haneul and I took the train all the way back to ICN Airport. There we got my luggage, checked in, and then went to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Ice cream in Korea is interesting -- they have some very....different flavors. The one that Haneul bought was popcorn flavored. She only wanted it because EXO had apparently promoted it LOL. Oh, life of a fan girl. But interestingly enough, the ice cream tasted really good! And it actually tasted like buttered popcorn, too. Yums. ^___^

Korea to China [5.29.15]
Incheon Internationl Airport is literally SO nice. First off, it's huge. Second, it's super clean. Third, there are so many amenities -- especially for transit passengers. Near the check-in counter, Haneul and I utilized the free charging station. You don't even need to bring your own chargers because they provide the chargers for you! And they have everything from chargers for androids, iPhones (both new and old), and many more!

Inside the secure area where the gates are located, passengers are able to take free transit tours of Incheon or Seoul with Hana Tours depending on how long your layover is. There is also a free cultural center, where you can watch performances and do arts-and-crafts -- like building your own Korean paper lantern. My favorite amenity provided by the airport, however, were the free showers. Yes, you heard me! FREE SHOWERS. And these showers are not just public shower rooms; they are individual showers complete with shampoo, body wash, a sink, a toilet, and a hair dryer!! This airport is. amazing. That is all.

As I was walking to my gate, there was also a parade of people dressed up in traditional Korean clothing. Korea really wants people to enjoy their stay here, lol. Much thanks to Korean taxpayers for providing us with these free amenities.

Something to note is that only Asiana and Korean Air are in the Main terminal where all of these amenities are located. All of the other airlines are located in the Concourse terminal. You have to use the airport shuttle to get to it, but it's really easy to spot. There are escalators leading down to the train shuttle nearby Gate 27 in the Main terminal.

Once I got to my gate, I waited there for an hour before I was able to board. We were supposed to board at 12:25 pm, but ended boarding at 12:55 pm -- even though the flight was supposed to DEPART at 12:55. Why was the flight delayed? Because so many people bought duty-free items and the plane was quite small, so the workers had to spend time taping each bag and checking it in.... -__-

On the bright side, the flight from Korea to Shanghai was only 2 hours, and they even served us food! You don't get this kind of service in the US. Heck, I took a direct flight with United from Hawaii to DC on the NSLI-Y trip and they didn't even serve us food even though the flight was 9 hours long... My flight from Hawaii to Korea was that long and I was served three meals... The only bad thing about the flight was that there was A LOT of turbulence, but I think it's because there is a lot of turbulence in this region in general.

China [5.29.15]

When I arrived at Pudong Airport, I went through immigration (very short lines, thank god!), got my luggage, and bought my ticket for metro line 2 and line 4. The trip took about 1 hour 45 minutes, and I had to transfer 2 times. An advantage of taking the metro to my apartment instead of a taxi was that it was super cheap -- only 7 元 = $1. The disadvantage of taking the metro is that with two large luggage and a heavy backpack, it was hard carrying them in-and-out of the train...as well going up and down the escalators to transfer lines. Everyone that I met on the subway, however, we all very nice and they even helped me carry my luggage :) This happened every time I transferred -- a different person would always help me pull my bag or carry it onto the train. Also, a guy helped me push my bag through the turnstile, in order to exit the station. Because the turnstile was not big enough for a bag, I had to push one luggage through and then the other one after. But because a ticket only gets you one turn on the turnstile, one luggage was on the outside of the turnstile, I was stuck between the turnstile, and then my other luggage was on the opposite side of me. Thank gosh for that man! Chinese people are so nice ;__;

Anyways, after I got out of the station, I walked over to my apartment. It only takes about a 5 minute walk, which is really nice! The apartment is soooooo pretty. I love it. It has 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room + dining room, laundry room, and a patio. Each room has an AC included in it, too! Also, because we got the apartment on Airbnb (highly recommend, but definitely be careful about which apartment you rent), there were already appliances and supplies available to use free-of-charge! We have cups, utensils, plates/bowls, pans/pots, water boiler, soap, detergent, drying rack, etc. We also recently got a full length mirror and a rice cooker courtesy of our landlord, Luke! Luke even came to check-up on us Friday night. Off to a great start already.

Dining table

Living room

View from outside apartment

Until next time,

Christine

Summer in China (2015)

Hey guys,

Sorry for not updating you all about my trip, especially since I returned to the US about three weeks ago. But I just wanted to pop on and say that I'll be traveling to Asia again this summer! I'll be in South Korea for about 15 days (leisurely travel), and then I'll be interning in either Beijing, Shanghai, Taiwan, or Hong Kong for two months after that. It's an unpaid internship, but my school is giving me a $4,000 stipend to cover the cost of airfare, housing, food, etc. I also have to look for my own housing accommodations; however, that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I don't know if I'll have wifi during my stay, but if I do, I promise to post on this blog more often -- especially about my trip to Korea. It'll be my first ACTUAL trip to Korea (not just the airport), so I'm super excited ^____^ Will get loads of pictures of food, food, and more food!

Here's to the start of a great summer,
Christine N.

Heading Back to China!

Ah, it's that time of year again -- finalist notifications for NSLI-Y. It's crazy how fast these past two years have flown by. Since coming home, so many incredible things have happened -- graduation, college acceptances, moving out-of-state for college, etc. As such, no words can even begin to describe how unbelievably amazing my freshman year in college has been.

One thing I am looking forward to, in particular, is my spring break trip to Shanghai and Beijing! Yes, I am ACTUALLY going back to China :) And I leave in less than 24 hours! Although I am traveling with my business class, I feel so incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity to return to China. I didn't think I would return so soon.

Because my schedule is jam-packed with company visits and sight-seeing (A/N: I finally get to see Shanghai, and not just the Pudong airport), I will not have time to update while I am there; however, I will try my best to post some tidbits or pictures about my trip when I get back. That is...if midterms don't take over my life.

Good luck to all those awaiting their NSLI-Y decisions! I know how anxious and stressful this period can be (A/N: I was constantly checking Facebook and my email), but just try to hang in there. And to those who have already been notified of their acceptance, congratulations! Get ready for an amazing summer. Just remember that your experience is what you make of it. Be proactive. Go out and explore the city. Go park dancing. Just do something! Trust me, you'll be thankful you put yourself out there instead of locking yourself in your host family's house all day long.

Until next time (because it's 3:00 a.m. and I have a midterm in the afternoon),
Christine N. 

Wanderlust + NSLI-Y Videos

Well, it's been almost a year since my NSLI-Y trip, and I'm still feeling the effects of wanderlust. In fact, it's gotten so bad that I find myself checking the Hawaiian Airlines site more than I should be. I miss China...a lot. Because I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately, I decided to upload the few videos I took while I was in Hangzhou. It's not much (whipping out my phone is just too much work), but hopefully they will do. HD is available for all of the videos by the way!

Learning a Mongolian Dance

Learning Martial Arts

KTV Adventures

Park/Square Dancing

My Class vs. A Roach

Matthew's Birthday Celebration

Walking Around Hangzhou/Riding the Bus

Closing Ceremony (Speech and Song by Host Siblings)

Anyways, this is pretty much it for this post! Alex and I are meeting Haley in Arizona during August for a little NSLI-Y reunion, so that should be fun. I really can't believe this reunion is happening though, haha. I mentioned in my "Goodbye Hangzhou" post that we wanted to meet up in LA during the summer, and here we are, actually making it happen...except in Arizona. Seriously, thank you NSLI-Y for all of the friendships I have made.

Resiliency

Whoever said senior year is easy was obviously lying. This past month, in particular, has been especially tough on me. Last Thursday, after months of waiting, I was finally notified that I was not a recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. Was I disappointed? Of course. I poured my heart and soul into the required eight essays, forcing myself to pull all-nighters in order to perfect my application. I desired this scholarship more than anything else in the world, and for good reasons - as a scholar, the burden of paying for college would be completely eliminated. But, again, despite how much I wanted this, I was not chosen. Seeing the thin envelope in my dad's car, I quietly told my dad that I was not selected. He quickly comforted me, and reminded me that disappointments are inevitable.

Although I was not selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar, I just want to thank everyone for all of the support and encouragement you have provided me. I was heartbroken, yes, but I have come to understand that this does not define me nor my accomplishments. I am honored and  lucky to have even made it this far - being selected as a finalist out of 52,000 applicants. Congratulations to those selected as part of the 2014 cohort! I am so incredibly happy for all of you, especially after seeing all of your "selfies" and posts :) You are all so deserving of this scholarship. I know many of you have had to overcome many adversities in your lives, so I am very glad that Gates will open up numerous opportunities for the lot of you.

To my fellow non-recipients - whether for Gates, NSLI-Y, or anything else - please know that rejection and failure does not signify the end of the world. Paying for college may come as a bit of a struggle now, but it's merely a minor setback. Achieving your PhD, MBA, etc is entirely possible if you continue to work hard. I know you are all capable of this, because I have seen the resiliency, optimism,and humility that you have all displayed in the face of this disappointment. As for me, I have already started working towards my own goals. I wish you all the very best in life, and to my fellow Gates applicants, I wish you the very best in your college endeavors :)

Before I end my post, I would just like to give a big thanks to NSLI-Y, American Councils, and the US Department of State. This is long overdue, but I just wanted to say that I am very grateful to have received the opportunity to travel to Hangzhou last summer. I have made incredible life-long friends while I was there, and it is because of my experiences with NSLI-Y that I have been able to remain resilient in the face of failure and rejection. To those embarking on their own NSLI-Y journeys this year - especially those going to Hangzhou - I hope you are all ready for the greatest experiences of your lives :) And last but not least, here is my final NSLI-Y post. One year after starting this blog, I am finally ending this amazing journey :)

Sunday (August 11)

Final day in Hangzhou, and I was a complete mess. From the moment I arrived in front of the school, I started crying like a baby. Luckily, I wasn't the only one feeling all somber - Alex, Michelle, Nancy, and Sander were sobbing with me too.

Our host families waving goodbye to us

Boarding the bus, we called Sander and my host sister one last time before we had to turn in our NSLI-Y phones. I think Sander was still crying, because he sounded really sniffly and sad over the phone ;__; The ride back to Shanghai was about 3 hours, and then we boarded a 13-hour flight back to Chicago. When we reached Chicago, I cried again. Because I was the only one staying overnight in Chicago (everyone else had a connecting flight), I had to say goodbye to everyone within minutes of passing customs. Goodbyes have never been easy for me. 

Can you tell I cried?

Until Next Time,

Christine

Last Weekend in Hangzhou

Friday (August 9)
I'm going to be honest --- I barely studied for my Chinese final. After coming home from the fundraising event the night before, there was just not enough time. Hence, Michelle, Haley, Alex and I were scrambling to study during class, break, and lunch. Oh, and we took more pictures in class after we gave our teachers their gifts~ We also exchanged QQ numbers and email addresses. Sob, I can't even log onto my QQ now, because I don't remember my log-in information.

Final lunch day at our favorite smoothie and shave ice shop! We were all super sad, since this was our prime hangout spot.

Alex and Matthew enjoying their $2 noodles from next door

Since it was our final day, we got a picture with the owner for memories~

I didn't get to see my score, but Sander saw it (I don't know how) and told me I got around a 74 or so. Everyone else in my class received a score around that number, so I guess I didn't do too bad? 74 translates over to C, though, so I wanted to cry. But Sander said I did a really good job o___o So I guess I did good? Sander is one of the top students in his class, so I'm going to take his word for it. I guess I just have to remind myself that 100's are almost never handed out in China. Chinese teachers believe that their students can always do better, so 100's are a big no-no.

After finals were over, it was time to celebrate! While the majority of the group went shopping, Angelo, Ryan, Xochitl and I got massages at a "blind" massage place. Technically, only one of the workers was blind...the rest could see. But it doesn't matter. I didn't get a massage, but Ryan, Xochitl and Angelo seemed to enjoy it. I think they've been to that massage place like 5 times while we were in Hangzhou.

Ryan posing for the camera LOL. Doesn't he look so relaxed?

When the massages were over, the four of us took a bus to 文二路. Kaelan's birthday was today, so her host sister invited all of us (including host siblings) to a fancy dinner. I had steak and a strawberry milkshake.

My table

A green cherry from Kaelan's birthday cake (PC: Angelo)

Wow, this is a bad picture LOL

Since we didn't want the celebration to end, we made an impromptu stop at a nearby KTV. We sang about 4 songs, and then the KTV machine broke...so we had to leave.

It was around 9:30 p.m. by the time we left, but Will and I weren't done celebrating yet. It was our last official night to spend with friends, so we took a taxi to Sander's place to hangout with Sander, Nancy, Matthew, Michelle, Haley, and Alex. 

Picture on Sander's rooftop

Alex, Matthew and I got bored so we went downstairs and walked around Sander's neighborhood. At around 11:55 pm, we were all pooped out. I caught a taxi and was on my way home. When I got to my house, it was already past midnight, so the gates to my community were locked. This came as a surprise, because I didn't know they locked it at night?! How was I supposed to get if it was locked?! I waited around for 10 minutes or so, before a couple of guys  working in the hair salon in front of the community told me how to get in through a back alley. I probably should have been more cautious, but hey, I was desperate. Anyways, I walked through the back alley, found my apartment complex, walked up four flights of stairs, went into my room, and crashed.

Saturday (August 10)

Woke up bright and early because today was graduation day! 

Left to right: D, Sage, my host sister, me, my host parents

Each of us (including our host siblings) received a certificate, certifying our graduation from the NSLI-Y program. Then the principal of our host school gave us gifts (Chinese dictionaries), we gave a speech in Chinese about our time in Hangzhou, and then more certificates were handed out. Get this, I won 1st place in the NSLI-Y "speech competition" for my Chinese level, LOL Apparently our NSLI-Y presentation was a secret speech competition (at least that's what our teachers told our host siblings...why does everything have to be a competition in China?!). The teachers critiqued us, and I guess I got the highest score for the middle Chinese level~ Wow, haha. Definitely was not expecting that. The principal of the school also said I did a really good job and that I sounded quite fluent ;___; So humbled by that compliment!!

The principal and me

#1 woooo

After the recognition portion of the graduation was over, the host siblings put on a surprise presentation for us. Each one of them gave a little speech, and then they sang for us (including Tu laoshi and D!). At this point, Alex, Michelle and I broke down in tears, because a slideshow was playing at the same time and we all got really sad and nostalgic. 

More pictures were taken and then graduation was over.

Final class picture with both of our teachers

The 19 Americans and our host siblings

Can you tell by my swollen nose that I cried?

Lunch was held at the hotel right across from our school. While we were there, we did the most American-thing we could do: sign each other's Chinese dictionaries. Our host siblings saw what we were doing and did the same. 

Nancy and me

Sander and me

After lunch, my host family and I went shopping for food and stationary items. And guess what? I asked them to take me back to the stationary store I visited with Michelle and Alex, hehe. My host sister bought me a pack of Hangzhou postcards to take home, even though I told her I could buy it myself ;__; She's so sweet. When we got home, my host family had to go to my host mom's office...so I took the bus to Sander's house by myself. 

My last time taking the bus --- I had to snap a picture for memories

Walking to Sander's place

We went on the rooftop again and hung out for several hours before I had to go home for dinner. 

From the top of Sander's apartment

Because this was my last night in Hangzhou, I decided to walk home instead of take the bus. I wanted to soak my surroundings in before I had to leave...and, of course, take pictures :P

My host family and I had our last dinner, and then I went park dancing one final time.

Final dinner as a family

After park dancing, my host mom and sister took me shopping at a small night market several blocks away. It was quite the walk, but well worth it. I bought some small hair clips, a huge cup of lemonade, and a huge photo book of EXO. I saw this same photobook on Ebay for $40....I bought mine at a small magazine shop one block away from my host family's house for only $7. Needless to say, I was a very happy EXO fan. 

Walking back, I told my host mom and sister to head into the apartment first, because I wanted to buy something at the shop outside of the community. I think I spent about an hour in there, figuring out what I wanted to buy, before I came back. 

When I got to my room, my sister had left a huge gift bag for me on my bed. There were so many cute things in it, and she wrote me a very nice letter too. Again, I got really nostalgic. But not before having to pack everything up and clean everything out of the room. Lets just say that both of my luggage were bulging. I don't know how I managed to fit everything in there. After that, I showered and slept, because I was extremely exhausted. My last night in Hangzhou~