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Los Angeles: The place where everything happens

I am in the process of making the final preparations for my departure to California and this will be my first (and last) post from home.

I’ve heard a lot of crazy things about LA and the type of people who live there. Hopefully my future posts won’t end up sounding like Hollywood gossip columns, but either way it will definitely be something new and exciting. I’m sure it will open my eyes in a good way. Of course, studying at UCLA will add a lot more diversity to my experience. I am soooo looking forward to it.

Posted by  |  December 17, 2010 | Categories: Predeparture, The US | 2 Comments

Farewell Australia!

Well after one year of planning i am finally leaving! I had my farewell on wednesday at my favourite place and my favourite food – north gong $7.50 schnity:) I am going to the University of Victoria, Canada for a whole year.

I am so excited! I just finished my last day of work. tomorrow is going to be christmas then i leave on sunday. First stop Hawaii then Alaska then Seattle where i will catch a ferry to Victoria.

There are so many little things to do, that my mum always reminds me (thank goodness!). My mum is worried that somehting will go wrong so i have photocopied ever single document i can think of that she might need. She is worried i will meet a nice canadian boy and wont some home 🙂 

Rarely i start to feel a bit overwhelmed but then i remind myself that it is going to be amazing, i am going to meet sooo many new people, everything is going to be exactly the same when i get back, I have skype to keep in contact with people back home, and i dont think anyone has ever gone on exchange and thought “man, i really wish i hadnt gone on exchage, it sucked!”.

Thats about it for now, see ya in Hawaii 😛

Posted by  |  December 17, 2010 | Categories: Canada, Predeparture | 1 Comment

Bau Haus – Dog Cafe

Ah, okay. MY finals FINALLY finished! 😀 So time for some blogging!

I have so many adventures to tell you guys about, so let’s start with the recent one 🙂


 

IF YOU ARE A DOG LOVER – MUST MUST MUST READ

First of all the name of the cafe is Bau Haus and it’s in Hongdae, just a station away from Sinchon, so it’s awesome. Basically you can feel like owning a dog, without the fuss of feeding and cleaning up after them.




I must say the idea intrigued me, and I wondered the insurance that needs to come with it ie. dog bites person or person bites dog etc. BUT nevertheless, it was a smart idea, I think.

They only offer Cold drinks for around 5000 KRW (AUD$5) upwards, so it is pretty decent since you can play with the dogs and stay for as long as you want. You can also buy them treats to win their puppy love. Oh yes, they love you more if you have treats of course. Little like bribing, so they have been taught well. 😀



The dogs are hug-able, pet-able, but not ride-able nor are they edible. 😛

Although in my mind I did.


Ride them, that is.

 

 

They are amazingly huge and furry and would give you love under one condition: Scooby Snacks. So you can judge their popularity by how FAT they are.

하키 is quite possibly the most popular of them all. His fur is like Chocolate (good enough to eat? Haha. Jokes. That’s for another blog entry :P) and he modestly begs for treats just by sitting next to you with his tongue out. I gave him like 5 by the end of the day 😀


 

 

I also love this guy.

The shopkeepers must have drawn eyebrows on his, which I found hilarious.


 

A few caution. Your coats are probably gonna be covered in doggie fur if you are petting them and such. Although they were smart enough to not put hot drinks on the menu, spillage do happen, dogs will be jumpin’ on tables and your lap sometimes (the small ones quite possibly), but they are all well-behaved.


Also I know what you’re thinking, they must stink right?

(Interesting fact = ‘Bau’ in Indonesian means Smelly :D)

Surprisingly not at all really.

The room is well air-conditioned with a lot of sprays and odour-killing technology.

If you are allergic to dogs…… I don’t know why you would want to come here.


Well. Maybe. Except. To die. A furry death.


 

 

I have hundreds of pictures, it’s a shame I can’t put them all here.

Each of them have different personalities and so yeah! pick out your favorite! 😀


 

Posted by  |  December 17, 2010 | Categories: South Korea | 2 Comments

Going home

For those of you who are wondering if you can keep blogging once you go home – yes yes yes! there is so much you can share with us all once you get home – please keep it up. And if you get a little homesick for the places you have left behind, the blog might help you keep in touch.

For those of you staying on for a second semester – lucky you! It will be interesting to see how/whether your perceptions start to shift now you feel REALLY at home and comfortable in your no-longer-new environment

Thank you all for your great contributions this semester – it has been fantastic!

Jan

Posted by  |  December 17, 2010 | Categories: Fish out of water, Going home, I wish someone had told me, I'm not from here ( any more), Time to reflect | Leave a comment

The countdown is on!

So it’s 3 weeks until I leave for the USA and I couldn’t be more excited! The amount of paperwork, the number of meetings and appointments and the constant anxious waiting is over and the adventure is about to start! Every single signature, application, email and planning is forgotten because it’s going to be SO worth it.

Where is everyone else heading?

I’m heading to Wisconsin, USA. It’s currently minus 21degrees Celsius – that’s going to be a little different…

Good luck to everyone embarking on a new adventure this coming year. Can’t wait to read everyone’s stories.

Posted by  |  December 16, 2010 | Categories: Predeparture, The US | 3 Comments

Got Snow?.

I feel terrible that this is my first entry here and its my last week on exchange. I think others can probably relate to this as well, but I am finding that it is only as I’m getting closer to leaving that I have the time to look back and really reflect on my experience on exchange.

Think you've got snow? My friend Alex's message to her sister in the UK

I am meant to be studying but I thought I would just write to you quickly then do back to studying coz I thought this was worth sharing. I was just doing some study procrastination and looking at the uni website from home and it came up in the news feed that this girl from Alaska that is on exchange at Wollongong has won a prize from Austrade or somewhere for a video she made about her exchange experience in Australia (to promote Study in Australia). So I’ve just spent the last five or so minutes watching it and the end is just her talking about how she will miss everyone and how it will be so much harder leaving than it ever was coming. Then I just got incredibly sad. Not for her, obviously, and not coz the video is about home, but in terms of my own experience in Canada. I have less than a week before I leave, and a few of my friends have started to leave already. Its kind of surreal because it doesnt feel like its actually the end already. Many of my international friends are staying for the year, so they are going home for a couple of weeks for Christmas then coming back. So it feels strange saying goodbye knowing that some of us are leaving and some of us will be back next semester. I’m sitting in one of the U of A’s many libraries at the moment attempting to study for a final, and I asked the girl next to me a moment ago if she would mind watching my stuff while I went and grabbed my printing. And all she said was “for sure” and smiled, but to be honest, I felt really upset. What many of my friends and I have noticed her is that Canadians say “for sure” a lot more than they say “eh”. So I couldn’t help but smile as I walked over to get my printing. I love Canada.

On another note, yesterday there was a snow storm so in many places, the snow was knee deep. It was crazy; something that I don’t think I will ever get used to. Even though its minus 15 on average here most days at the moment, the cold and the snow hasn’t lost its novelty value (even the one day we had where it was minus 33!). So I thought I would post a couple of photos from yesterday, where some of my friends and I went and mucked around in the snow outside our residence building. One of my friends in the photo, Chris, is actually from UOW too but we didn’t meet til I got here. It was really fun to share that with him yesterday because I think we both found the concept of that much snow a really strange one to get used to.

Posted by  |  December 16, 2010 | Categories: Canada, Time to reflect | 1 Comment

Home

It’s been four months now.

I’ve seen so much of this place. Made a lot of friends, a lot of memories, seen and done things I would never ever have imagined.

This is much like the story of every exchange student, I would imagine, but to me, it feels special.

As I find myself nearing the end of my stay here in Umeå, Sweden, I feel like a little reflection is in order:

Actually, I’ve spent more time on my various trips around Europe than here in Umeå. Just got back from a trip further north at 1am today. I’m writing this blog now rather than later since I’m leaving again for another trip around Europe in a couple of days. Tiredness is no longer a problem, just a fact of life.

So far I have visited a whole lot of Sweden, plus bits of other countries like Poland, Finland (twice), Norway (thrice), Russia, Italy, Switzerland, France and Monaco, with plans to see Spain and Germany as well as Italy and France again before I leave – in a month.

I’ve been roaming around with friends I made here, friends from just about every country in the world (in fact I’m convinced Sweden has more Germans than Swedes). I have a bunch of Swedish friends as well, of course, but they are not so interested in such touristy activities…

One thing that you notice when travelling with non-native English speakers is that many will call just about anywhere “home”. Instead of “let’s go back to the hotel where we are staying for one night”, it’s “let’s go home”. Of course I don’t feel at home in that hotel, it’s just the place we sleep. In this case I usually try to correct people (which some really appreciate, more than others).

There is one case, though, when I don’t feel that this is a mistake; When people say we are going “home” as we return to Umeå, then I am inclined to agree with them. I do feel like I’m coming home. This feels like home.

The snow; the cold; the sun that we never see, and the beautiful skies by which we know it is still there; this tiny little room; my curtains that I found in a dumpster – held open by a coathanger; riding my bike across the frozen lake; cooking my own food in my own shared kitchen; my housemates, about whom I know nothing, not even their names (as is the Swedish way); the times when I find myself thinking “$5 Australian, what’s that in crowns?”; the big dirty factory next door, whose smoky beacon guides me safely home from any place in town at any hour of night…

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All of it. It’s home.

Posted by  |  December 16, 2010 | Categories: Sweden, Time to reflect, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

A reason why WAR is unlikely ~

I know this is a bit late, but I just finished my Final Exams so excuse me. :p

So, WAR! HEUGH! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

From my first sentence you should be able to deduct a few things about my life in Korea. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that life is quite likely to be normal and peaceful in Seoul and Sogang University if Ray was just finishing his Finals, and that he is probably going out to kill a few braincells with a few green bottles and magic liquor they call So-ju.

Not entirely correct. I was very stressed during exam times because Koreans are very hard-working and there is a curve for the grades. Of course, I always reminded myself that I was on exchange and the right thing to do would be to go out not to study, but culture is a funny thing, and with culture comes something of conformity pressure. More on that later, but yes, the second part of the paragraph above is true. I need to finish in 5 minutes cause I won’t be able to type tomorrow morning 😀 hahaha.

First, I’d like to say that you shouldn’t take my blog as a research, but as an insight and my opinion.

If I may offend anyone, well I’ll make sure I take this down.

The whole Wiki-leaks thing does make you thing what you can/can’t put on the internet.

So, down to business.

There are a few reasons that I gathered from my Korean friends. I’ve asked them what are the chances of war happening? Why not? Should I get a plane ticket outta here?

Let’s talk about the consequences first.

From what I gathered (don’t quote me or reference me. If you do, I only accept Harvard referencing), if the war happened. A lot of people are going to die. From both sides. Quite possibly…. including yours truly, me. A bomb may or may not be dropped on Seoul first, but the point is both sides will have significant casualties. That’s probably the most likely situation. In my opinion, I think South Korea is going to win nevertheless should the UN back them up.

So fast-forwarding a lot of military operations and James Bond missions, a lot martinis stirred and not shaken, Korea would possibly be reunited. But from what I heard things are like 1984 over there, and centrally planned gov’t is not sufficient enough to keep supplies intact with demand and the economy is suffering, and so do the people living in the country. So there are a lot of people impoverished, starving and homeless. Thus it would set the Korea’s economy back by a few decades to recover and to unify the peninsula.

I agree that this is only one of the possibilities, it could also that they will come to a peaceful agreement. The North will open up under the new leadership, the economy will be freer and it’s a happy ending.

Considering the first gloom possibility is heightened by recent tensions, most, if not all South Korean (from my sample of 10 people. lol.) don’t want a WAR. Some people also said that the ones who would probably benefit from this war are the arms dealers and those who are in the line of fire will pay the cost. So I think we can safely say that there is no interest on why the South would want a war, and could even go far to say, they will do a lot to prevent it.

LIFE as a university is pretty normal, even as we heard it on the first day. Beers were still being drunk, songs were still sung in Karaoke (NoRaeBang) and the thing we stress about most is exams. Although, I’m sure some people have fled the country with parents being all worried and all. I do feel good though that my University cared about me to send an email to see if I was alright, albeit a day late 😛 Should I drop my university’s name here or not? Hmmm…. Haha.

Oh, one thing I have found is that, if you ever found yourself in trouble, committing acts of delinquency, just shout out random university names other than yours. Hahaha. “UNSW IS THE BEST!”, although careful not to do this while wearing your school’s jersey.

So in conclusion, life is normal, yes there are tensions but foreign media hyped it up also, and WAR is quite unlikely in my opinion.

Regards,

Ray of UWS 😀

Posted by  |  December 16, 2010 | Categories: South Korea | 1 Comment

Cat Cafe – Myong-Dong

Cat Cafe in Myong-dong



I actually went to the cat one first, before going to the dog one. 😛



IF YOU ARE A CAT LOVER: MUST MUST MUST GO 😀


Okay, the setting is pretty similar to the dog-cafe except with a lot more scratching posts, kitty litter boxes, yarnball and etc. Oh! fishbone decor as well. IT’s CAT HAVEN.



They are pet-able, although it’s advisable not to pick them up, and I don’t think you can feed them.

I am not 100% sure on that one though.



This little guy below is the star of this Cafe.

You’ll find that the smaller ones likes to play with you more.

It was playing with my Hoodie’s string. Haha.



Ummm, I must say I like the Dog Cafe better.

Maybe it’s because I’m more of a Dog-person. Haha.

And also because it was probably cat-nap time 😀


Nevertheless, it still has a charm. 🙂


“Read Ray’s Blog. Or else. Purrrr~”

 

Posted by  |  December 16, 2010 | Categories: South Korea | 1 Comment

VISAs – Are they really this hard or is it just me?

I’ve been having a look through the blogs and noticed all the people who have gone on a little world trip before they got to their final destination and all I can think is “hmmm I wonder if they needed a VISA to go there”. It seems like my traveling experience is defined by whether or not I can master the newest VISA process I have to go through.

Don’t get me wrong I am hugely excited for my up coming trip to Brazil but I think the process to get the VISA took at least 10 years of my life off me. After waiting at least a month for the Brazilian consulate in Boston to get back to me I finally gave up and rang the Australian Embassy in DC and left a very irritated voice mail on the lack of information provided for obtaining a VISA and couldn’t believe it when I was called back within half an hour and provided the information I needed. FINALLY I was able to put all my stuff together and send it off via express mail to the embassy.

I went to the post office and was served by a very knowledgeable and helpful postal person and was smiling on my way out glad that the blasted VISA forms had been sent…until I realised that I hadn’t put the money order in the envelope which was needed to pay for the VISA. I cursed loudly and ran back into the post office only to be told that the express mail bag had just been picked up. The look on my face was enough for the postal lady to ask what had happened and when I explained she said “Okay this is what we’re going to do” and she proceeded to ring the outgoing mail office which is just outside of town and tell them not to take the express mail bag out to be delivered she then drove me in her own car over to the outgoing mail place, snuck me inside and helped me cram the money order into the envelope. I couldn’t believe how nice this lady was to a perfect stranger, a foreign one at that! I was so grateful for her help the next day I went into town and bought her some flowers. My mothers’ reply email about the whole incident was that I “probably shouldn’t be such an atheist as someone was obviously looking down on me that day” I have to say she has a point.

A week or two went by and I was starting to worry that my VISA wouldn’t arrive on time. I checked the tracking receipt on a Sunday only to discover it had been delivered the day before! I was so happy I bounded down to my mail box only to find it empty. okaaaaaaaaay maybe it’s in the office. nope, nothing in the office. I should just go to the post office, maybe they kept it there for me to collect. So I go to the post office and am served by the lovely lady who helped me last time, I gave her the tracking receipt and told her I never got it, she replies with “oh no! you didn’t get it. Okay we’ll see if we can find it”. At that moment I firmly believed that postal employees like tattoo artist are people who should never say oh no. After a long winded phone call the man who originally delivered my envelope said he would meet me back at my dorm so after a couple of bus rides I walked back into my dorm to see a man clutching a envelope. He said “Hi, are you Olivia? sorry about this, I accidentally put your mail in the box above you” and handed me the envelope. Safe to say as soon as I got into the elevator I tore open the envelope to make sure my passport was safe and sound, it was and it had a shiny new Brazilian VISA inside. The happy dance that ensued was one that will not surrender it’s position of best happy dance ever very easily.

On a brighter note. BRAZIL!!! 😀

Posted by  |  December 14, 2010 | Categories: I wish someone had told me, OMG, Rants | 2 Comments