CJ International House Dormitory

I'm living in a dorm on campus called CJ International House. It was built in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Korea University.

On the other side of the doors
The lobby. They have 2 computers with internet, a scanner, printer, and copy machine. There's always a security guard in the front watching this TV split into over 20 screens of the dorm hallways and people who come in. I'm pretty sure he recognizes us all now. We're always watched when we're not in our dorms... one time, I danced in the hallways to amuse him.The waiting area (for when other people wait for me) heheElevators to our rooms. They're very strict about gender mixing. The guys use the lift on the left that only goes to floors 2, 3, and 4; the girls use the right lift that goes to floors 2, 5, and 6. The communal gym is on floor 2. I have yet to go there (tomorrow I will, though)! The KU emblem is frosted on the elevator doors and inside is fully mirrored.
The hallway to my room
There's 2 kitchenettes on the 6th floor. Luckily, my room is right across from the less-used one.
Nonetheless, this fridge is always packed. You're supposed to buy your own see-through container but if I did, it wouldn't even fit so I shove my milk in any empty spot. It ain't smelly.
6 is my favourite and lucky number. I live on the 6th floor. I feel so lucky to share my dorm area with 2 other girls: Woo Ja (a Korean who has lived in Japan for most of her life) and Michelle (Korean born and raised in Toronto). I technically share my bedroom with Woo Ja and Michelle has her own single room. All three of us share a bathroom, sink area, and shower.
Welcome to my abode.
I have a card to open the door. It came on a lanyard with a bunch of keys I have no idea what to use for.
Actually, I broke the lanyard today unfortch. The other side of the door (our shoes go in the closet/shoe rack on the right).
Next to the entrance is the bathroom area. The bathroom is checked and fully cleaned once a week by a maid.
My room is symmetrically identical. Mine is on the left. I'm so happy - although it's simple, this room is very spacious compared to some of the other rooms. Some of them have to share a bathroom (with shower + toilet connected) with 5 girls and in that same dorm area, the double room is half the size of my room and is a bunk bed!
I took this picture on the 2nd day and dumped everything on the desk.
I paid 20,000won for a white sheet, a thin fleece blanket, and a pillow. I froze the first couple nights (ended up sleeping with my coat on) until I found out there was heat (it was in Korean - I had no idea which buttons to press).. but b/c my roomie had a thick Hello Kitty duvet, I didn't want her to sweat to death so I froze another night until I realized she was fine with the heat on so now the room is constantly at 25 degrees =D
Yea I lucked out with Woo Ja. On the application for this dorm, I put "no preference" for everything (eg. sleep late, study at night, wake up early etc.) except for the non-smoker so it was really the luck of the draw. We have a great "roomie connection". We happen to go to bed at the same time and wake up around the same time. She showers at night and I shower in the morning. If she sleeps a bit earlier than me, she doesn't care if I leave the light on or use my laptop. We both listen to the same music so I can play my music and she likes it. Woo Ja is so helpful and very considerate. Even though we don't communicate too much because of the language barrier, we do try. She's cute with all her interesting Asian beauty gadgets and morning routine. It's almost as if everything she owns is pink. My side of the room looks so dull compared to hers! She had 2 huge boxes shipped from her home in Japan full of clothes and told me I could borrow her clothes (though she's much thinner than me)! When she finds out information that's in Korean or information I might not know about, she makes sure I'm fully informed. On the first morning, she offered me a piece of chocolate cake for breakfast.
My desk
The view outside my window: The Korean Cultural Centre
Kind of neat, eh?My empty closet. I also have a TON of shelf space on the left of this and three drawers under my bed!
Rent for a double at CJ Int'l (for 4 months) is 1,599,000 won (approx. $1,330CDN).. a little over $10/day and a single is 2,000,000 won.

Laundry room in the basement. 1 medium-sized load is 1,000won and drying is another 1,000. For large loads, it's double the amount. There's also a plasma TV/DVD room next to this and some vending machines and business meeting rooms.
CJ International Dorm is situated on a hill (like SFU!) so in order to get there, we have to walk up a hill. Here's to a toned tushie ;) It doesn't look too steep here, but it's impossible for me to walk down it in heels. I walk backwards (with help, of course).
The dorm is clean, functional and comfortable. I don't think I'll have any problems living here for the next few months!

This is my T Money card. Yaaay Hello Kitty! There's just something about being in Asia that makes me want Hello Kitty merchandise. The T Money card is used for transportation. There may be other uses, but you load money onto the card and you beep yourself in and out of subway stations and you can even use it to pay for taxi rides. I believe you can use it at convenience stores too, but I'm not too sure. The card cost 4,000won. You can also buy T Money cards in the form of cell phone charms. Technology here is really neat - some people have their cards in their cell phones!!
I needed to get my vitamins and since I have a really hard time swallowing pills of any size (I chew them all), I bought ones in gummy version today. They reek but taste alright. 2/day.
My hair feels like straw right now. I think it's because of the hair dryer.. it isn't ionic. I bought serum to coat/protect/shine my hair. I have no idea what it says so I only think it's serum... it does make my hair softer and smoother, though!
I bought stickers!! Aren't these cute? I plan to use them in my school agenda to motivate myself. "Study Hard!"
That is all.