FIRST WEEK AT SNU!

When I first arrived in Seoul, I was feeling so many different emotions. While I was so excited about being in a new country, especially as someone who has never been outside of the U.S. before, I had many concerns. For example, would my lack of travel experience cause more hardships than someone who has traveled before? After being here for just a week, I learned that everything is about trial and error. Life is all about learning and growing and I think I’m starting to understand what that means since coming here. In my first couple of days here at SNU, I walked around to adjust to the campus with my friends, and to say the campus is large is a major understatement. The school is so huge! The weather here is also very bipolar, but luckily I prepared for that when packing. While walking I took an image of a bird that I found to be so beautiful. I don’t think I have seen this species in the U.S. before, and it looked so peaceful! In the second image I am wearing the SNU varsity jacket, which I also bought with my friend Valerie and Heidi! Even being here for just one week, I feel that my Korean is already improving. This is definitely because they don’t use any English here at all! I was definitely surprised at this fact, but I figure it would only make sense since I am in Korea. This gave me a lot of new perspective, and made me realize that English is not always going to be catered to you just because you’re foreign. Traveling around has been easy and difficult at the same time. I say this because while everything is conveniently available within walking distance from where I’m staying, such as convenience stores or coffee shops, walking to SNU is very walking heavy. It took me some time to get used to and eventually the muscle aches stopped! When I return to the U.S I can definitely guarantee that I will be way more fit than when I arrived. I am taking classes with English speaking professors, and one of them from my politics class is from California too! It’s interesting learning about subjects I typically hear from an American point of view, and hearing it from a Korean perspective. I think the main thing I’ve come to realize about this trip is how important it is to know people or make friends. I can’t imagine going through this process without the help of my peers, and I definitely feel that there would be more hardships if I was alone. This is more of a personal feeling rather than an objective statement, since everyone has their own preferences! This is just what I found out to be the best for me. I’m really enjoying my time here so far, and I’m so excited for what’s in store!