Week 10: Two Weeks Left
- bkplombon
- May 20
- 3 min read
Wow. I can’t believe I’m already writing about Week 10… and...I’m officially down to my final two weeks in Korea.
It’s a weird feeling. I’m excited to go home and see my family and friends again, but at the same time, I already feel sad about leaving.
This place, these people, and this experience—it’s all become part of my day-to-day life. And the thought of saying goodbye to it soon… it’s a lot.
I feel incredibly grateful for all the friendships I’ve made here. It’s amazing how you can travel more than 6,000 miles from home and, in just a few months, feel a real sense of belonging.
📚 School: Mastering Korean Numbers (Again)
This week, school circled back to something deceptively tricky: Korean number systems.
Yes—the Korean language has two different systems for numbers:
Native Korean numbers – used for things like age, counting people, and hours
Sino-Korean numbers – used for money, dates, phone numbers, and minutes
And they’re completely different vocab sets. 😅
So if you’re saying “5 o’clock,” you’d use the native system. But “5 minutes”? That’s Sino-Korean. Same goes for dates—Sino.
This week we reviewed both systems and practiced how to use them in real-world scenarios like telling time, setting appointments, and writing down birthdays. Repetition has helped, but I still pause mid-sentence trying to remember which number system goes where.
Learning a language like this is so humbling. Just when you think you’re getting the hang of it… surprise! New challenge. 😅
🥘 Outside the Classroom
Even though I’m in the final stretch, I’ve still been keeping my calendar full—and soaking up every last moment.
Dinner with 호규 – My guide from the Busan hiking tour, 호규, happened to be in Seoul this week, and we grabbed dinner together. It was so great to catch up, talk about how awesome the hike in Busan was, and just enjoy reconnecting in a different city. I love how these friendships continue even after the tour ends.
Hanbok experience + trial tour – One of my former Korean teachers I took a few lessons with virtually has started to do tours in Seoul. I got to be part of one of his trial runs—and for the first time ever, I wore a hanbok (traditional Korean clothing).
Training with Bin – Still going strong with my workouts. Bin has been one of the most consistent, supportive people during my time here. We’ve built a great friendship, and I always leave the gym in a better mood than when I walked in.
Texas de Brazil night – The MN Fitness crew (Bin and the other trainers) all got together for dinner at Texas de Brazil. Great food, great energy, and a lot of laughs. It was fun to see everyone outside the gym setting.
Night out in Itaewon – I caught up with a friend from LA I originally met through Jae at the Korean liquor tasting experience. We had a fun night out in Itaewon, exploring bars, grabbing late-night eats, and chatting about our time abroad.
New haircut at JUNO Hair – I went in for a fresh cut and got to try a Korean men’s down perm for the first time. For those unfamiliar, a down perm is a popular treatment in Korea that helps flatten the sides of your hair, especially if they naturally stick out or puff up. It’s not about curls or volume—it’s all about getting a clean, polished shape that stays put. Between the scalp care, the precision cut, and the relaxing head spa vibe, it was definitely a next-level haircut experience. Shoutout to Taeho at JUNO Hair in Myeongdong!
Wrapping It Up
As I move into my final two weeks, I’m trying to be really present. Every walk to school, every café visit, every awkward Korean sentence—it all feels more meaningful now.
I don’t want to miss a moment.
Thanks for continuing to follow along—can’t wait to share the last chapters with you soon.
