The Fortress of Solitude

We dubbed the university the Fortress of Solitude because of its location. It's actually closer to Busan than Ulsan. We were in the middle of nowhere. AND we weren't allowed to leave the campus. (Though I don't know how we would, even if we wanted to, because, again, it was so far from everything!)

It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so damn hot all the time and there were things to do around the campus. The air conditioning would turn off periodically, we weren't allowed to speak to the other students living in residence, the food in the cafeteria was gross, and the most exciting thing to do was a 3 km hike, which sadly I didn't know about until our last day there. Also, the building was so ugly to look at,;it made the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus look like an architectural work of art.

Now when I say the food was gross, it's not because I don't like Korean food. I love about 85% of everything I've eaten in my two weeks here. But Korean cafeteria food, like North American cafeteria food, is not really food.

My fellow prisoners and I quickly developed cabin fever, and so we made numerous trips down the hill to the small town to find civilization. The first time, all I did was drink my first Korean beer. Though the teachers who have been to Korea before had warned us newbies about the crappy Korean beer, it's definitely waaay better than any Molson or Labbatt beer back home. It honestly wasn't that bad.

The next time we left campus, it was to experiment with the much hyped Soju. Soju is, hands down, the most popular and common drink of choice in Korea. Unfortunately for me, it's also 20% alcohol, it’s $1.50 for a bottle, and it's not that bad! I won't say anything else about that night. (Don't worry, mom, I didn't do anything stupid. I said stupid things, but I didn't do anything stupid.) 

 

 The view towards the town.

 

Abbey Road in South Korea. Taken on one of our hikes down towards civilization.