So far it's been about a quarter of the way through the semester, and I've been having a great experience all around. Mid-terms are coming up in a few weeks and classes are starting to ramp up, but that's what makes it fun. Time to dive into some things I wanted to talk about.
Classes
Corporate Finance - Jun Kyung Auh (Professor)
This class is the first real finance class that I'm taking since BUS 314 at Shidler. It is taught in a reverse classroom style, where you watch the bulk of lectures at home and get help on group work during the class. It's personally not my style of how I prefer to do things, but I do see why it can be effective. Aside from a big group project, the grades are based on quizzes, attendance, midterm and final. Of course, the people who you have to work with can make or break the class in this case, luckily I have some pretty cool groupmates from Europe and China. Although the professor spends most of the class roaming around answering questions, he's a nice guy who has taught in the states for a bit.
Conclusion: It can be a bit rough, but if you have a strong mental attitude and will to succeed, I don't see why I could not recommend the class.
International Management - Soonkyo Choe (Professor)
Being away from home, I figured this was a good opportunity to take a class about international management. The class so far has been building off of concepts learned in BUS 313 in terms of globalization. This class is very lecture heavy and kinda dense, so I would stay away if you don't prefer this. For grading purposes, there's a group project, some case write-ups, a midterm, final, and attendance/participation.
Conclusion: Not a bad class, but not a great class for me either.
Understanding K-Pop - Steven Capener (Professor)
Who wouldn't want to take a K-Pop class in Korea? Add on it's a business class and I just had to take the class. The guy teaching the course is super personable and has shared some great stories so far. The first couple of weeks haven't been a little boring to me because I'm not a fan of history, but the content is set to change soon so there's light at the end of the tunnel there. It's the biggest class that I'm taking with about 50 people, thus the least likely for interaction. Grading is based on a midterm, final, and attendance.
Conclusion: I still have high hopes for this class, mostly because of the professor. (So much I chose my last class based off this)
Introduction to Korean Studies - Steven Capener (Professor)
As mentioned above, I had some leeway choosing my last class and wanted to choose something that would be somewhat fun. When I was thinking of what to fill up that last spot with I saw that this class taught by Professor Capener had an open spot, so I jumped on that opportunity. This class revolves around literature and how the literature is representative of ideas during different time periods in Korean history (modern). The only downside is that a lot of the content has been pretty repetitive with his other class so far, but it's supposed to diverge soon. If you've taken EALL 282, it's been kind of similar to that. Not surprising this class is the only one that requires a "textbook" (it's freshly printed paper bound together), costing me about $17. Grading for this class is based on a midterm, final, and attendance.
Conclusion: Aside from history, the literature has been interesting. I again still have high hopes for this class.
Side note:
The classes that I have in the business school are really nice and feel very similar to the ones in Shidler, although not as cold. They're also pretty far away unless you're staying in the dorms (On the bright side, they're really close to food locations)
Getting Around
I liked the subway, it's about a $1 for the base fare, and more depending on how far you go. It won't take you exactly you where you want to go, but walking never hurts anyone. The bus system is also affordable and depends on which bus you take, but generally takes you closer to where you want to go, but takes a little longer. I personally like walking if I can, so I'm a bit biased of course.
Food
As you know me more instant noodles were had since the last time. It's just really cool to me and I never would have gone to a 7-Eleven bought instant noodles, made it there and ate it nearby before. But it's pretty common at any convenience store here, and the best part is that there are lots of add-ons that you can buy as well to make it more filling. Whether it be kimchi, soft-boiled eggs, meat on a stick, the decisions are endless. Other than that, I've been eating more at the cafeteria as it's really affordable and filling as well. One thing for better or worse that I've picked up on is snacking. There are so many good snacks, I like chips the most and when I go to Daiso there's such a wide variety. By the way if KFC ever had this in Hawaii, I could eat this everyday, I love it so much (It's chicken patties for buns, and has a hash brown in the middle).
Sinchon Beer Festival
Although I'm not a big beer fan, it was neat to see the Sinchon area filled with lots of people for this event. It was a 3-day event and there were live performances and street food among other things. I personally just went for the food and atmosphere which was really worth it. Some of the things I ate included crispy pork chicken skin, soft-serve ice cream, and lots of sausages. They were kind of expensive, but it was still pretty worth it. Here are some pics of the food I ate, they tasted better than I made it look (The ice cream was by far my favorite).
Trip to Taiwan
Earlier before school had started, I forgot to talk about my trip to Taiwan. Having arrived already, unless you have a multiple entry visa, doing this thing is NOT advised. However, I met that condition and really wanted to see my favorite K-Pop group, GFriend. I had stayed in a hotel in Taipei just for the weekend at about $100, and the round trip flight was about $200. I spent most of my time in Taipei except for when I went to the concert at the National Taiwan Sports University Arena in Taoyuan. I did not get to adventure a lot, but when I did it was pretty convenient to be able to take the MRT. The concert was really great and something I'll remember forever. It's just something about being able to hold a lightstick and chant the names of the group members while singing to your favorite songs. If only I had been a bigger Big Bang fan when they were in Honolulu. As someone recommended to me, I had to try the instant beef noodles here (It has real beef inside so you can't get it in Hawaii). It was really good and I ate it for all my meals, except at the airport. It's also impossible (except ordering online) to find grape Mentos in Hawaii, so I made sure to stock up on that while I was there as well. One thing that surprised me in Taiwan was the number of moped riders that you can encounter, they even have special spots at intersections for them. I had passed by an elementary school and was surprised at how many parents were picking up their children and leaving on a moped. Comparing it to Korea I definitely don't see as many mopeds in Seoul, unless they're delivering something. Overall, this trip was really fun and I'm glad that I went. (Side note: Credit card transactions can be very limited in Taiwan, so try to exchange enough currency when you can so it doesn't become a hassle) Anywho, here are some pics of my trip here.
Chuseok
This day is known as the Korean Thanksgiving. To celebrate I didn't really do anything special and instead was reminded to talk to your family. Even if I'm far away from home and having a great time, it's important to keep in touch with loved ones. So I'm glad that this sentiment is something that I could understand across different cultures.
That's all for now. Thanks!