SNU Week #3!

Published:


Mary Zeray

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> University of California San Diego <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2023 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Seoul, South Korea <i>Program provider:</i> UCEAP <i>Major/minor:</i> International Studies / Sociology <i>Demographics:</i> African American/Black, First-Generation College Student, Transfer Student <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> My top three goals for my time abroad would be to make new friends, gain more knowledge on the culture and language of South Korea, and gain more confidence as a person who has always been lacking confidence.

A goal I made in my last blog post was to go outside at least once by myself, since I have only ever been with my friends when I go outside. Well, yesterday I went to get coffee by myself! Youโ€™d think there wouldnโ€™t be much of a difference since I am only getting coffee, but I definitely noticed a lot more things. First, I got stared at more than usual. I figured it was because being with friends or a group takes the singled out spotlight away from you but if you go by yourself itโ€™s oddly more noticeable in a way! I hope I can gain more confidence soon to do things like this again. In the first image posted, I took in Gangnam last night! Itโ€™s PSYโ€™s iconic Gangnam Style dance, arguably the artist/song that first introduced the Korean Wave to the west. The second image shows the subway and electronic posters of BTSโ€™s Jungkook birthday! A common practice fans do in Korea are birthday slogans that last a whole month for their favorite artists. I think it’s really sweet and a creative way of saying happy birthday! My friend Valerie and I were able to have food delivered to us for the first time, as well as coffee! It was so convenient and I look forward to using this method more often! Iโ€™m starting to notice my school workload piling up, and to be honest itโ€™s making me a little nervous but Iโ€™m really glad I have my planner with me so I can organize and write it all down! Something that surprises me while being in Korea is how similar and different their snacks and drinks taste. For example, their sodas taste very similar for the most part, but their chips (Doritos, pringles) taste very different from what Iโ€™m used to! Also, the ice cream selection here is very wide, and my favorite one so far is the chocolate samanco ice cream. Itโ€™s like a wafer in the shape of a fish, with chocolate ice cream filling inside! Itโ€™s so delicious.