I’m so happy that it’s autumn! It’s my favorite season of the year, despite the fact that I always long for the sun after facing a few days without it. It’s started to get really cold in Seoul, and I feel like I can barely survive some days and the semester here.
But one thing’s for sure, the mosquitoes are alive and well. They all love to lease my room every night, and this has been the case every night since I’ve been here. Though they are extremely annoying, they have given me some hope that, if they can survive, so can I.
Have I gone bonkers?
You might be asking specifically what has been difficult recently. To tell you the truth, I am still feeling a bit like I was in my last post. Things have definitely gotten better. I used to have no friends here, but now I have companionship. I wish I had more. It might be because I live far from campus, because a dear friend of mine told me once that friendship is all about proximity. I think that’s true.
Another thing that has happened is I did poorly on one of my tests. I bombed it bad and I studied for it so much, which hurts even more. However, I heard from other classmates that they also did bad, so I hope the professor will understand something from this.
Also, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to for my Korean test. Only a sideways face emoticon can fully express how I feel, so… :/. Since I’m kind of on this subject, Korean class has been difficult. I’m not gifted in languages, more so I am terrible at it. I would say grammar is what I have trouble with the most, but I won’t beat myself up too much. I am definitely better than when I first started.
But I have a LONG way to go, and I’m not even sure if I’ll make it 1/1000th of the way there.
…I have nothing else to say on this matter, so let’s move on to some business that I took care of recently.
Seoul Immigration Office
In order to stay in Korea for more than 3 months, all foreigners must have an Alien Registration Card (ARC). Thankfully, my university provides help with obtaining this card. However, there was a fluke and many students, like me, had to go to the Immigration Office to get fingerprints scanned immediately. I was a bit disappointed at my university for failing to tell study abroad students earlier, but I’m sure there was a misunderstanding and this was just the result.
The walk from the subway station to the Immigration Office takes a while and my friend and I got lost! The McDonald’s that we found didn’t have accessible WiFi, so we ended up going a fair distance that day. My toes were about to fall off, too, because it was cold. But at least I got it done, which should be something I remind myself a lot.
Get things done!