Hello everyone new and old to my travel blog! This time I will be writing about my time studying abroad in South Korea. I am here for 8 weeks so it'll go by quick. This first week has already felt so long with how much I've done so far in such a short amount of time. So without further ado, here is the first week's blog post.
I arrived in Korea on June 21st, Wednesday, in the afternoon after, what felt like, a relatively short 12-hour flight. I met some of my CLS cohort (Critical Language Scholarship) members at the airport but met more of them on the bus ride from Seoul to Gwangju. I had Jajamyeon, black bean noodles, for my first Korean meal at a rest stop, which was of course, delicious. We then arrived at a lovely hotel where I would spend the next two nights before moving into the dorm.
The next day we had a short orientation and wonderful lunch and then had the rest of the day free. I went shopping for necessities at everyone's favorite place in Japan and Korea, Daiso. I then had Naengmyeon, cold noodles, for dinner, studied a little on the hotel rooftop during sunset, then swam in the hotel roof pool at night. It was great fun.
Then on Friday, we had more orientations, our placement tests, and met our roommates and language buddies. The placement test was nerve-wracking and difficult but I knew I would be placed where I was supposed to be so I tried not to stress over it. I need up getting into a higher class level than I thought so that was surprising 😮. Orientation and the campus tour were fascinating and the campus is so pretty. It was really hot and sunny that day though so that was tough, but I was prepared from Japan so I was alright haha 😂. The activity we had to meet our language buddy and roommate was so much fun and mine are so so nice. I had dinner with my roommate and we were able to get to know each other a little bit. Since I'm supposed to speak Korean all the time here, it was hard at first to communicate what I wanted but my roommate is very good at English and even knows some Japanese so we are able to communicate well.
Saturday was my birthday and the whole day was so much fun. My roommate actually remembered my birthday before I did 😂. I told her the day before and she remembered and told me happy birthday in the morning. Throughout the day and afternoon, I spent shopping and exploring the surrounding area around the campus, hanging out with different people throughout the day. In the evening, a big group of the CLS cohort went to K-bbq and ate Samgyeopsal, pork belly. The food was so good and the conversation was even better. Everyone was chatting with each other and having a great time. One of the other CLS member's roommate's birthday was also that day so we sat next to each other and everyone sang us happy birthday. Everyone was so nice and I had an amazing time. But the night didn't stop there! My roommate and some other members and I went to a cocktail bar after dinner for a nice drink. The cocktail bar was very nice and had a good atmosphere. There also happened to be someone else celebrating a birthday there 😂. I ordered a blue drink called Princess Mermaid and it was delicious. Everyone's drinks looked amazing and they all said they tasted good as well. It was a fun girls' night out.
On Sunday, I did even more exploring and found many fun game stores, picture shops (places with picture booths and fun headbands for taking pictures), restaurants, and stores. I got lunch and ate my favorite Korean food, Tteokbokki or rice cakes, with some friends. For dinner I went out with my roommate and had Hangover Soup, it was so delicious. The soup comes with a part of the cow spine with the bone and meat and you take the meat off the bone yourself. The meat was so moist and tender and so delicious.
Monday started the first day of class. I was a bit nervous since I was going to a higher class than I expected but after the 30min, I was able to pick up the pattern and click into my Korean brain and follow along quite well. I had office hours after class and the teacher was so nice in helping me understand and learn grammar I don't know that my classmates might know already. After that, I had Dakgalbi, a chicken dish with a mix of clear noodles, rice cakes, other noodles, cheese, and more. I shared it with some other friends not in my class and was so full I couldn't eat dinner🌝😂. After lunch, I took 30 minutes to do my homework then went to karaoke haha. I went to karaoke with a group of 8 people, a mix of CLS students and our Korean friends, and it was so so much fun. After karaoke, we went to dinner where I ate very little because I was so full but it was a very nice restaurant. Lastly, I returned late back to the dorm and had to finish my homework (I know, a great student on the first day). However, all was well and I made it to sleep.
The next day was just as interesting. Classes went well (I swear I'm studying hard) and lunch was yummy as always, I had Kimchi Jjigae, kimchi stew. After lunch, I met up with my language buddy for the first time and she was so sweet. We met up at a cafe and talked about my "Korea bucket list." I told her all the things I wanted to do and she included some fun things as well I hadn't heard about. We then planned out our schedules and she said she would do more research on the things I wanted to do (so nice). It was a fun time and then I did some quick homework again (this time I finished it). I then went to a dance class at a studio in Gwangju with a group of 6 people. This dance studio has worked with some famous people including a celebrity I'm a fan of, J-hope. The dance class was so much fun and I forget sometimes just how much I enjoy dancing when I haven't done it in a while. After the dance class, however, is where the adventure begins.
It is currently monsoon season in Korea and I experienced that for the first time that night. We finished the dance class and go to leave and it is pouring rain outside. We wanted to wait it out but the bus we wanted was going to come in 10 minutes so we waited about 5 minutes. The rain did not get better it only got worse. Big puddles were forming and shoes were soaked. We missed the bus so waited another 10 minutes but found a little awning to hide under in the meantime 😂. We make it onto the bus and it is peaceful for a short while. However. From the window, I see that the rain is only getting worse, which I didn't realize was possible. But, we have to get off the bus and walk 15 minutes back to the dormitory. At this point, you are dodging lakes and rivers and aiming for the puddles. We walk safely back to the dorms through lightning and thunder and the rain. only. keeps. getting. worse. I couldn't believe it. Alas, we arrived back to the dorm drowned rats and I dry off, relaxed, and tried to go to bed. The storm was quite loud though and still pouring buckets so it took a while to fall asleep.
Classes still continue the next day with a surprisingly un-oceanified ground (Korea must have a great drainage system). Class goes well, I eat lunch at my favorite super close Tteokbokki restaurant, attend the weekly meeting, and do my homework. For dinner, I was invited by one of the people who went to karaoke to dinner at their place with the rest of the karaoke people. I was so grateful to be able to experience having dinner with friends, made by Korean friends, with various types of homemade kimchi and yummy kimchi fried rice. The conversation was rich and continued when we went for dessert drinks at a nearby cafe. I had a Dalgona Latte (like a cooked sugar latte) and enjoyed the cross-cultural conversation, learning a lot while building relationships.
The next day, Thursday (29th), I attended class and office hours again to ask my questions and then ate lunch by myself since I stayed later. It was my first time out by myself so I was a little nervous but everything went well. I had Bulgogi pizza then went to Gong Cha, a bubble tea place, to study. I hadn't been able to study as much as I had wanted over the past couple of days since I was having so much fun so I decided to bunker down today and study some (with success). I will then grab dinner with my friends and prepare for my fun-filled weekend.
Phew, that turned into a pretty long blog. Thanks for reading it all (if you did) and I will update again next week 😁
P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I've been too focused on the food haha
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