Me and two of my friends have started a habit of going to a new cafe every Wednesday. Last wednesday we went to a sheep cafe called Thanks Nature Cafe in Hongdae and this week we ended up going to a cat cafe. And because I love cats more than life itself I, of course, had to write a post about it.

The cat cafe was called Cat Cafe Playground and it is located in Myeongdong. The entry fee is 6,000 won (~ 4 €) and it included one drink. Not that bad if you ask me. The cafe had probably close to 30 cats, many different breeds and sizes. Some cats had collars that told something about them e.g. yellow meant that the cat was on an diet, red that the cat might sometimes bite etc. Some of the cats also had blue collars and at first we didn't know what those meant. However we found it the hard way.. It apparently meant that those cats get upset stomach and throw up, if they are fed a bit too much. And how did we find that out? Well, let's just say that we apparently had given too much food to one of the cats and it decided to return the food to us..

Last friday our school organized us a trip to see Doosan Bears vs. SK Wyverns game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium as part of our CKEP (Cultural Korean Exploration Program). The trip was completely free and the competition to get there was quite intense. I myself signed up for it as one of the first people and thankfully I got a spot. I don't really like baseball but I heard that Korean baseball game is something you really have to experience. The atmosphere at the stadium was amazing and I ended up staying until the end of the game, even though the bus back to the school already left at 9pm.


I was also cheering Doosan Bears to win. We got inflatable sticks from our school, and we just beat those together instead of clapping. Below there is a video showing the atmosphere at the stadium. Like you can see in the video, right in front of the audience there is a stage where someone was telling us how to cheer at that moment and what to sing or yell. Sometimes cheerleaders also danced on the stage.

In the end we ended up losing to SK Wyverns 11-4. Of course it's sad, but truthfully speaking Doosan Bears did play really poorly. 

Homesickness.  It might just suddenly suprise you in middle of the day. Even if you are out having fun, homesickness can just suddenly appear and ruin your whole day. I miss Germany. I miss my friends in Finland. I miss the summer nights in Berlin. There are so many things that I miss. Sometimes I feel really lonely here. I have gotten new friends from all over the world but I still feel so lonely. Of course I've only been here for a week and I'm probably just feeling the culture shock. This is so different than in Western countries. But that's what I came here for, to see and experience a new culture that is different from my own.


I believe that when I get used to life here I won't feel so lonely anymore. However sometimes the loneliness just appears, especially when I see my friends in Finland having fun with each other or when no one has time for a video call because of the time difference. But everything is gonna be alright. Today I thankfully have stuff to do so that I don't have too much time to think about what people in Finland are doing. 

Lupailin aiemmin, että avaisin vähän paremmin viisumirumbaa. Itselläni varsinkin viisumin hakemisen alkutaipaleessa tuntui olevan paljon ongelmia, sillä Etelä-Korean lähetystön sivuilta ei löytänyt kauheasti mitään uusinta tietoa. Onneksi he olivat kuitenkin merkinneet sähköpostinsa sivuilleen, joten otin heihin yhteyttä sen kautta useammankin kerran.
Hain siis itse tosiaan D-2 opiskelijaviisumia, eli en tiedä kuinka samanlainen se on muihin viisumihakemuksiin verrattuna. 

Tarvitsin yllättävän paljon kaiken maailman dokumentteja ja papereita viisumihakemukseni liitteeksi ja tässä on lista niistä kaikista asioista, joita sen viisumin hakemiseen tarvitsin:

• itse viisumihakemus. Sain pohjan sähköpostilla lähetystöstä, kun sitä en löytänyt pitkänkään etsiskelyn jälkeen. Lopulta se olisikin ollut siellä ihan näkyvällä paikalla heidän sivuillaan.. (mukana tuli olla yksi 3,5x4,5cm passikuva)
• Recommendation letter.Tämän pyysin meidän kv-vastaavaltamme, allekirjoitettuna ja leimattuna. 
• Proof of enrollment. Luulin aluksi että ihan pelkkä ote opintosuorituksista riittäisi, mutta jonkin aikaa mietittyäni tajusin ettei se ole sama asia, joten kävin hakemassa tämänkin opintoimistosta ennen Saksaan lähtöä (tietenkin allekirjoitettuna ja leimattuna).
• Todistus siitä, että olen suorittanut ensimmäisen vuoden opintoni, allekirjoitettuna ja leimattuna.
• 54 € (otin siis ihan normaalin opiskelijaviisumin, jolla pääsen kerran maahan)
• Valokopio passista
• Itse passi
• Palautuskuori (valmiiksi maksettu kirjattu kirje) (tämän laitoin, koska muuten se olisi pitänyt hakea Helsingistä)
• Todistus siitä, että pystyn elättämään itseni Koreassa. (Tähän riitti kun sain koululta vaan paperin, jossa luki että saan Kelalta tämän ja tämän verran rahaa, lainaa tämän ja tämän verran ja koululta liikkuvuusrahaa tämän ja tämän verran. Tietenkin leimattuna ja opintotoimiston henkilön allekirjoittamana)
• Visa issuance number. Kouluni Koreassa lähetti tämän minulle kesäkuun lopussa.