한국 Travels: #1

It has been a hectic 4 days getting into Seoul.  Firstly I arrive and go straight out to a club with a friend that lived in Singapore and now is living in Seoul.  It was fun, I got quite drunk and that was roughly the night!  However, I learnt a few things:
1. Some decent RnB clubs in Itaewon (이테원), need to check them out a bit more.
2. I have to admit that there are just a lot more good looking people around.  Half of this I am sure is due to the newness of it, but I was checking out more people.
3. I am still very scared of approaching people, guy or girl.  However, this must change.  A good thing my Korean friend told me from his travels in Shanghai when he didn't know anyone: he was able to speak "bar Mandarin", and it was purely just placing no emphasis on the result.  I need to live my "hard on the method, easy on the result" and extend it out to my bar behaviour.  Plus need to learn more "bar Korean"!

Met up with some friends over the week, with them I need to just speak more Korean.  I am looking to increase the channels that I use to meet people outside of study, things like Meetup, this app called Hi There, even Tinder is a good place.  Let's see what happens, but good advice from another friend:  It is Fuck Yes for Everything, at least initially!

Unfortunately I failed my Korean placement test, so I am in the beginner class.  So we are really starting from the basics, with pronunciation of the vowels.  Let's see how quickly this class escalates to talking full sentences.  Given the amount of talking that we do now (around 2 hours, with lots of practise time), I think it was the right choice to go to this 서강 대학.

I have also committed to 3 months boxing class.  The place looks good, the teacher was an semi-pro/amateur boxer who can speak some English.  I feel committed to it and will try to go 5-6 times a week and get ripped haha

So some things I have thought about:
1. This is a chance to be a different person in a different land.  "Why not?" should be the overriding question.  And if it doesn't mean some life threatening situation, probably good to try it.  That talk my Korean friend gave me feels like the talk my friend gave me AT THE END of my Sweden exchange.  Only this time it is at the start!

2. I need to maintain a good structure for work, when to do work and when not to worry about it.  This is also a good time to reflect on what I want to do going into next year.  Could be some job opportunities available back at Lend Lease.  Not sure if that is something I really want to do, but could be an option.

3. Really think in the language in order to learn the language.  This might mean more journals in Korean, or randomly asking people questions in Korean.  Just keep pushing to the "edge of fear"!

4. It will be over as soon as it gets started, so make the most of it.  Having said that, I shouldn't make it a pressure thing otherwise I won't enjoy the moment.  I have to sit back and think "wow!  I am so grateful to have made it here!"  There is a balance.