4 Weeks In!

Initial Thoughts!

Adjusting to Environment: It is so convenient to live in a walkable city with safe public transport. I have no problems getting to places because I used the trusty Naver app. I generally have trouble with directions but I've been the one to lead everyone to new places in Seoul! Unlike the subway in NYC, the ones here have walls and automatic sliding doors to prevent any accidents. It's still pretty cold here but should be warming up next week. I've experienced two snowfalls in Seoul already! Korea is one of the more convenient places to study abroad as most everyone knows a little English so that you are able to do things like order food comfortably. In cases where a translating app works better, I recommend Papago.

Me in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace after I rented a hanbok (it's free entry if you're wearing hanbok!).

5 Senses: The food in Seoul is incredible, I'll have to make a separate blog post for that. I had fried chicken the first night! There are also many food markets (make sure to bring cash). One negative thing about Seoul is that you can't escape the sewer smell, it's everywhere. On feel, I've gone to a bunch of animal cafes where I got to pet cats, raccoons, foxes, meerkats, and samoyeds. I'll have to make a separate post for that as well. It can be a little loud at night when the delivery drivers are racing by but it's really not a problem at all.

View of the snow from my goshiwon.

Culture Shock: I'm still trying to get used to the showers here in Korea. Unlike the US, where there is a separate shower, Korea has wet rooms, where the bathroom is the shower. When you take a shower, the whole room gets wet. This is why shower slippers are a must. Something else that's different from the US is that Koreans don't really have a concept of personal space. In many tourist-heavy areas, you will have to push your way through the crowd. Public transport during peak hours (9am and 6pm) is also very hectic. Everyone will be standing shoulder to shoulder. My advice is that if you need to transfer lines on the metro, just follow the direction everyone else is going!

Metro! The arrows at the top let you know what direction you're going in.

Similarities: I will say there are many similarities between the US and Korea, mostly food and retail-wise. Stores like Nike, Adidas, and Footlocker all exist in Korea. Restaurants like KFC, Domino's, and even Outback Steakhouse are also in Korea. The places I go to are generally tourist-heavy so I see foreigners all the time.

Dior store lit up at night in Seongsu.

Anyways, this is it for now!!