Today we had a “picnic” at school. Actually, it was more of a filed trip. We all got to go to this large mall which had a stage theatre that performed a musical dance show thing. It was about some bi-bim-bap master who got transported into the present day from long ago. He met up with some other chefs and they danced and made bi-bim-bap and then together they fought off a couple of ninja’s who wanted to steal the bi-bim-bap and somehow also traveled into the present time. Now that I think about it, the “story” was pretty dumb. There was a lot of acrobatics which was enjoyable to watch, but nothing super spectacular. It was fun, and also free, which was nice. Afterwards our class ate lunch together at a Korean restaurant in the department store inside the mall. I had bulgogi which is always good, but there was so much of it that I got full very quickly. I sat with a couple Japanese students and we talked about various things. I like to ask them how things in Japan are compared to things in Korea. For example, we got talking about movies and I asked them how much ticket prices are in Japan. In Korea the ticket prices are cheap: about 4000won for the early shows and 8000~9000won for the normal/late showings. (That’s about $4 and $8~9 in the US). And in Japan, it’s about 10,000won for the early showings and 19000won for the normal/late showings. I was amazed at the expensive prices in Japan. The DVD’s there are also much more expensive than in the U.S. Every time I hear things about Japan, I get excited thinking about how I would like to visit there. I’m hoping I can visit there before I head back to the U.S., but I need to find a place to stay. And the prices there are high…

After lunch, our teacher wanted to still hang out with us, so we all went to café and talked and hung out for a while. It was nice and helped us all to be more familiar with each other and with our teacher. I think it’s a good thing to do a group activity together as a class every once in a while, because it helps us be more comfortable around each other. It also gives everyone more chances to practice speaking. I wish I had made better attempts while studying at Yonsei to hang out with fellow students and use Korean to talk instead of English… oh well. Live and learn…

Oh yeah, before we ate lunch and even before the picnic, we all met in a few spots outside of the mall. Our teacher said we can meet in a couple different spots depending on if we rode the bus or subway. It seemed like a good idea, but our teacher forgot to bring her phone…. She was waiting right outside of the subway exit and I met up with her. I had brought the large bouquet of flowers that my friend made to give to our reading/listening teacher since her wedding is in a couple days. I waited there with her for a while, and a couple others showed up. But then the reading/listening teacher came by and I had to hide myself and the flowers so she wouldn’t see them. Another student brought the gift, but it was small enough to keep concealed in her bag. Then our teacher told me and another guy to go to the other waiting place to see if there were other students waiting. So we started walking, but we caught up with the reading/listening teacher, and I had to stay behind out of site. The guy who went with me didn’t want to wait, and just went off on his own following other different class students. I finally got outside and met another student. Then different students came one at a time. We were all trying to call each other and locate each other, but everyone seemed to be in a different spot. If this sounds confusing to understand, it was even more confusing being there trying to get everyone to gather in one place. I think next time our teacher should say “meet here only at this time” so we can all gather together in one spot. We did make it in time though, but I had to “check-in” the bouquet at the counter.

So anyway, after the show, and before lunch, we find out the reading/listening teacher is busy and already left, so we can’t give her the gift. So we leave the theatre and wait right outside with the rest of the students. Then suddenly our teacher says the listening/reading teacher is on the first floor (we were on the 7^th) and we can meet her if we hurry. So we all pile into the elevator and go to the first floor just to realize she’s on the basement first floor. So our teacher leads us down some stairs just to find out the door is locked. We rush back up, jump in the elevator and go down a floor, hurry out and go to the spot where she’s supposed to be, but she wasn’t there. But then she showed up a little later and we give her the gifts. She seemed happy, but looked a bit stressed too. I think she is very busy with her wedding planning.

So back at the café, our teacher asked us what we wanted changed at Sogang, if anything, and we all answered with various things. Although, myself and another guy had nothing we wanted changed. I think the teaching methods there are very good. And it’s very organized.

After that, I looked around the mall some, and then went home. I studied some and messed with my website and will go to bed now soon.