Things I did, wrote down and shared with you 1 month later

3. Do

When you're an exchange student you're expected to have a lot of crazy parties and I'm trying to keep up that reputation. On a scale from 1-10 there definitely have been a couple of most awesome nights ever with breakfast waiting for you when getting back to the dormitory. Also, I've been working on projects such as a final report for AIESEC - see their view of what it should look like.



And this is exactly why it has taken so long for me to get back to my blog again. This text is actually from September. With so much to do I need time for self reflection, e.g. on Sundays I try just to relax, enjoy the lazy day with others and look back to the things I've done without any pressure to really do anything. Even if I tried to do this back home before this I think it's something I need to make a principle of mine.

Wednesday is a long day for me with classes starting at 10:30AM and Korean tutoring ending at 8:30PM. Otherwise I have quite a flexible schedule. I just hope the teachers would be at Stanford level in hosting lectures.

I'm done with my 1-month hot yoga practice now and even in this short time I have to say I learned a lot about my body, how it's connected to your mind and how to use this to my advantage. I had three reasons I went to the yoga for: first, the body part. Second, I wanted to learn ways to clear my mind. This is something I really need to be able to cope with the stress I face in my life, not only from work but mostly caused by my expectations of social situations. Third, I wanted to have time for myself to delve into my thoughts more. I don't do that easily, and yoga is a good way to take one hour just for yourself. Concluded, the 70 000 won (45€) was easily worth the practice. From now on I'll be using yogayak on my own as I have the routine for it and know how to do the right things.

What else? I've been to Lotte World, a local (half-indoors) amusement park mostly for kids. Good timing though, as the dormitory was flooding while I was there. I still need to visit Everland, the real deal which is actually located outdoors and is supposed to have some nasty devices and apparatus.

From Seoul you can get to Busan easily by bus which only takes five hours compared to the five hours it takes by train, and the buses are cheaper. Don't be fooled by someone who says you can't find anything during Chuseok though, streets weren't at all as empty as I was expecting and finding a restaurant didn't cause too much trouble. Even if the meal I got was the same meal as everyone else's - with a different price. Still don't know if they just didn't like me or what.

This was during Chuseok, the Korean thanks-giving holiday at the end of September, during which I also travelled south-east to Busan, Korea's second largest city. Some 20 of us wanted to go somewhere for the holiday so that's where we ended up. Now in Busan you will notice that you're being noticed if you didn't already in Seoul: we were taken photos of when coming from a motel the first night. Some people also feel like shouting hello/goodbye/good morning to you, which feels friendly.

Other than that there was a lot to see in Busan: Buddhist temples, hiking, Asia's (supposedly) biggest spa, the world's (officially) biggest mall and some good beaches. As Busan is located at the seaside they also have a fish market and a lot of seafood restaurants. You could even try raw fish that you pick alive which is then chopped for you in front of you or a poisonous (when unprepared) blowfish. Overall a city worth visiting, especially this September when the beaches were relatively empty and it was still 25 degrees.

Let's move on to the connection between psychology and physiology: Do you smile because you're happy or are you happy because you smile? Try smiling, right now, to feel something happen. Why are successful people successful, is it because they've always been or because they've done something to make them successful? My motto is that what you do defines who you are. I try to be as open-minded as I can and whenever I feel I resist something I try to let go.

I've decided to take on some routines: from the beginning of October I've put even more focus on spending time on writing down my thoughts on paper, diary and finally in the blog. I spend five minutes each evening on getting the big picture and in the morning I schedule my day and visualize the the upcoming week in another five minutes. Helps in keeping my head clear. I haven't been and won't be able to do this every day because when I have a bad day, I have a bad day - but as long as I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied.

I also tried to continue yoga three times a week but I just can't make myself to do it. Maybe I'm too tired because of insomnia. But now, let's look at some half-naked guys. Yeah... despite their clothing its a good way to learn the basics of yoga. Especially for girls I guess.