Arrived at Sungkyunkwan (SKKU)

A little background:
The University of Texas at Austin had a deadline of December 1 for getting airfare to Korea worked out. SKKU didn't have a set date for the dorms to open until well after that. The tentative date given to us to show up in Suwon was February 20. That was a week ago. That's the date on which my plane to Korea was set to land in Incheon International Airport. I bought that ticket only a couple days before December 1. Well whaddyaknow? SKKU changed the first move-in date to February 27. Thus, I had a week to fool around in Seoul. and I am grateful for that opportunity. But the other very sharp edge to that sword is having to figure everything out on your own. I have been in touch with my Hi-Club buddy, Clark, via KakaoTalk Messenger, a free app for smartphones that provides text messaging over data networks instead of cellular networks. But without Wi-Fi, I have no contact with Clark. Hi-Club buddies, to the best of my knowledge, are a support system for exchange students. One of the biggest services available from Hi-Club is a pick-up service from the airport and transportation to the campus. Then, you get exactly where you need to go, and you have someone that can at least halfway speak English to help get you through move-in. The problem: you need to show up during the move-in period to get this service. Well, I don't know who to point the finger at, but let's just say the lack of communication between UT and SKKU caused a problem.

So.....

Today, I had to leave my cozy hotel in Seoul for my schwanky new dorm room on the SKKU Suwon campus. The subway gets fairly close to the Suwon campus, but it is not a fun walk carrying a week or more worth of luggage. We eventually made it to the Student Center, but it was closed for lunch. After waiting around a bit, a helpful young lady by the name of Minjeong lead us to our dorm and got us relatively situated. She watched our bags while we ventures to a basement floor to get our room keys and meal tickets. Then, we headed to our dorm rooms.

My room is exactly like rooms at UT dorms (i.e. Jester, San Jac), beds, closets, and desks on either side, except that, surprisingly, each room has it's own complete bathroom. That's right, no communal showers. I'm not sure if all rooms are this good, but I am very happy with the accommodations.

from the entrance

The entrance with traditional area for shoe removal.

The toilet is separated from the shower and sink.

shower and sink

However... However, my room has not ben cleaned. 청소 안 했어! I originally abided by the Korean way of removing my shoes upon entering the room but quickly realized that this was a mistake and returned them to my feet. The floor felt very dirty, even through my socks, and upon closer inspection, was, in fact, covered in hair and dirt. Oh, hair! In case you didn't spot it in the shot of my shower and sink, there is a copious amount of hair on the floor along with some used latex gloves, as if someone was in the process of cleaning it up and finally said, "F this! I'm out!"

rly? ಠ_ಠ ......  rly? ಠ_ಠ

Don't get me wrong, I'm alright with picking up a mess, but give me a break. That's pretty gross.

I agreed with Tim and Johanna to meet downstairs in 30 minutes. We met. We needed to find a department store to buy living materials, towels, bedding, soap, etc. Problem: no free Wi-Fi on campus in most places. There are ethernet ports in the dorm rooms, but no Wi-Fi that I can connect to so far. With no ethernet cable at the time, we went back to the Student Center to check for food/a computer to find a department store. Fortunately, there is an E-Mart (basically a WalMart) within reasonable walking distance. After clarifying how to get there with a security guard, we make our way to E-Mart. We had a semi-satisfying meal in the food court. [I will make a post about Korean food in the future.] I ended up with the following: A mattress cover, comforter, pillow, pillow cover, bottle of shampoo, bottle of body wash, face wash, hand towel, normal towel, toothpaste, shaving cream, laundry detergent, laundry basket, clothes hangers, ethernet cable, and a box of cookies. Grand total = ₩188,550. The bedding was very expensive, but I wasn't going to find another place to shop. Thing to note: you are not given plastic bags to carry your purchased goods at department stores. You either carry it yourself or recycle a produce box and put your stuff in that. For this reason, Korean shoppers have large reusable bags to put their stuff in. Well enough, our new laundry baskets served as convenient containers. We made it back to the dorms with our new living supplies and relaxed for a couple hours. I unpacked my ethernet cable and got my laptop connected to the rest of the world.

BOOM!!!!

That's why I love Korea. Who in the US has ever heard of having faster upload than download?!?!

NO ONE..... that I know.

Anyway, enough bragging. I still don't have Wi-Fi in my room, so my iPhone is now a paperweight. 

At 18:00, I met Tim downstairs to go check out the cafeteria. I just did as those did before me. A serving of soup, basically a 김치지개 (kimchi stew) with hotdog slices, spam slices, and I think I remember bits of tofu. Regardless of the contents, it was awesome, and I hope to see more of it. Beyond the stew, there was a self-serve "salad bar" with with a giant pot of steamed rice, kimchi, coleslaw something-or-other, and lettuce. As is standard cafeteria dining, there is a tray conveyor at the back of the room. After dumping that there is a water station with cups and water dispensers with both hot and cold water available. There was even a 핫쵸코 (hot chocolate) jug. I will partake in some next time if available. As we headed back to our dorm in another wing of the same building, we passed through a convenience store next to a Domino's Pizza to buy toilet paper. Two rolls cost me ₩1,300. We eventually got up to our rooms, and now I sit here typing away. My computer says it is 8:11pm, so it is 5:11am in Austin, TX. 

Despite my dirty room, I'm in Korea. Who could complain?  ^_^

...... so I think I'll sit tight tonight and relax in my new bed. Maybe I'll try playing some League of Legends. I've heard the ping to the US servers isn't terrible from here. That's all I have for now. As always, thank you for following me. You can look for my rant about Korean food in the near future.

~Let's ge lost. 잘가