It’s the end of week 9 and it’s been a busy week here in Busan! We had midterms this week, threw in a day taking a coast side walk, and spent a night out with friends.

This past week I had my korean speaking midterm, so I can officially introduce myself, say where I’m from, and say that I am a student in Korean! I’m still working on my pronunciation practices but my professor says I speak better than I did the first class, which I would certainly hope so! I also had an exam in my global issues class. It went well I think and I look forward to the rest of the semester in the class. My studio class has been kind of tough recently. I’ve been having a hard time understanding everything that the rest of my group has been doing and the decisions they’ve been making. I’m hoping to try and get some kind of understanding from my classmates and professor Monday. We have mid reviews on Thursday for my studio so we are working on putting together a panel presentation and another model.

This week I also spent an afternoon in 이기대, Igidae Park, it’s a coastal area that has walks and hiking trails. It was absolutely gorgeous and I spent hours out there taking in the coastal views and enjoying being off, away from campus. This week I’m hoping to visit some more places between my film class presentation Tuesday and my studio mid-review Thursday. This coming Saturday is the Busan Firework Festival, so my friends and I will be out and about next weekend as well.

Monday night I also had dinner with my studio. Our professor took us out and we had steamed pork, pig feet (which I did try and enjoyed), and also a soup/stew with jellied cow blood in it (I did not try this). I’ve now decided that people should not tell me what the food I’m eating is so that I’ll actually try it. I try hard not to think about what the things I’m eating here in Korea are. It was a great time with everyone and I’m so thankful for the people in my studio and the incredible professor I have this semester.

Classes are going well otherwise, the temperatures are dropping and I’m loving it, and I’m eating plenty of rice! I miss home and I’m counting down the days till I’m back in Texas but also telling time to slow down so I can enjoy and make the most of my time here in Korea. My moms coming for thanksgiving and I can’t wait to show her all my favorite places here in Busan, and see Tokyo and Seoul together! Thanks for all the thoughts and well wishes!