okay - now the journey ACTUALLY begins
Quarantine came to a close and my second PCR Test returned negative, officially clearing me to be released. As I packed my bags and prepared to check out, I was surprised how quickly 14 days passed by. Even more I was surprised at how much I needed those 14 days. For the first time in a super duper long time, I felt revived with a clearer mind, renewed with bustling excitement, and recharged with fresh energy: all of which are important for having an amazing time in a different country. After this realization, it was then that I knew that the journey truly began. I booked a taxi with another person towards the Korea University area in an effort to save transportation costs. While it sounded like a good financial idea, I had to sacrifice some comfort being that I had quite a walk to take to get to my accommodation from our drop off location. Everyone one the streets could tell that I was a foreigner as I was the only dude with two loud rolling luggage through a busy street of university students and professors. Though slightly ashamed, I still laugh about it every time I think about it. After a ten minute walk through humidity and heat, I finally arrived at my goshiwon and met my landlord, who is literally one of the nicest people I’ve met in Korea. “If you get into an argument with a Korean, call me! I’ll argue for you!” said my landlord minutes after settling in. It was from this moment that I knew that my landlord was much more than just the person whom I pay rent to; he was someone who I could rely on for when I needed help. What a relief to have this while being abroad! For those who haven’t read about goshiwons or my specific place (Coco Livingtel), check out the “Housing / Accommodation Arrangements” Section here for more info! After finally settling in, I decided to walk myself around campus. Coming from UH, KU looks absolutely magnificent! Stone buildings with a Hogwarts-feel made me feel like a small student in a prestigious institution, and the modern interior architecture in those buildings made me feel part of a futuristic society. I was most fond of the beautiful blend of campus scenery, nature, and modern technology all in one campus. Truly a captivating place to study! |
vacation mode
I spent most of my time post-quarantine forgetting that I’m a student and indulging as if I was a tourist. I found myself meeting up with both Hawaii and new friends, and I’ve probably walked far enough to make up for all the lost steps during quarantine. Probably the greatest reason for venturing out everyday was the easy access to Korea’s public transportation. Their bus and subway systems are super efficient and quite easy to use. Even better is the fact that there's free Wi-Fi on the buses and subways! Here's to streaming music for free on public Wi-Fi! Within a matter of minutes, I was able to travel throughout various popular places within the Seoul area. Thank goodness for the Naver Maps and Kakao Metro phone apps that guided me as I journeyed around town. From eating out to shopping and to sight-seeing, I was able to experience Seoul in its partial glory - partial because of the many COVID-19 restrictions imposed in public places. Almost every public destination has some form of contact tracing measure, with some requiring you to log your contact and address information, and some others requiring you to call a certain number to log your cell phone number information. Most Korean locals log their information simply by scanning their personal QR codes at designated scanning stations. I did not know about this prior to coming to Korea, and as I passed by one, I thought it was a temperature check station. You can bet that I got a lot of funny looks as I pressed my forehead on one of those devices while everyone else was scanning their QR codes off of their phones. All in all, I was still able to spend much of my time exploring and galivanting. Here’s all the places (photos in the slideshow below!) that I’ve visited all within the first seven days of being released from quarantine: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Coex Mall & Coex Aquarium, Korea University, Seoul Campus, Myeongdong Shopping District, Hongdae Shopping Street, IKEA Korea, Cheonggyecheon, Yeouido Hangang Park. |
the exciting-but-also-kinda-awkward meeting-new-friends phase
There are many other exchange students from all around the world who are living in my goshiwon, and it’s been a blast trying to meet everyone. We’ve got people from the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Lithuania. Honestly, I’m probably missing a whole bunch more from the top of my memory. While it’s been fun meeting a whole bunch of new people, I can truly say that I am terrible with names after a few awkward introductions. It’s something that I’m working on for sure!
At Korea University, there is a program dedicated to helping exchange students be accustomed to university life in Korea: Korea University Buddy Assistants (KUBA). As a business student, KUBS also provides another program: KUBS Buddy. With both of these programs, I was able to meet new people and virtually interact with my buddy assistants. These are extremely helpful programs and I look forward to the programming throughout the program. God bless my buddy assistants for enduring all of the questions that I bombard them with:
How do I get access into certain buildings on campus? How do I navigate the Blackboard platform to access my classroom materials? What are the best restaurants and cafes in town?
One common thing that happens every time I meet someone new is the awe-filled reaction when I say, “I’m from Hawaii!” Not a single person has reacted plainly to my introduction, and while I find it funny, it puts tremendous pressure on my representation as, in many cases, I was the first person that they’ve met from Hawaii.
So here’s a tip for any Hawaii native or local who’s going abroad: know lots about Hawaii (geographically, historically, culturally, socially, etc.) and be ready to share some knowledge to some people. Hawaii holds a special place in the world; it’ll be worthwhile to share more about our island-home with others who dream of going there.
There are many other exchange students from all around the world who are living in my goshiwon, and it’s been a blast trying to meet everyone. We’ve got people from the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, United Kingdom, and Lithuania. Honestly, I’m probably missing a whole bunch more from the top of my memory. While it’s been fun meeting a whole bunch of new people, I can truly say that I am terrible with names after a few awkward introductions. It’s something that I’m working on for sure!
At Korea University, there is a program dedicated to helping exchange students be accustomed to university life in Korea: Korea University Buddy Assistants (KUBA). As a business student, KUBS also provides another program: KUBS Buddy. With both of these programs, I was able to meet new people and virtually interact with my buddy assistants. These are extremely helpful programs and I look forward to the programming throughout the program. God bless my buddy assistants for enduring all of the questions that I bombard them with:
How do I get access into certain buildings on campus? How do I navigate the Blackboard platform to access my classroom materials? What are the best restaurants and cafes in town?
One common thing that happens every time I meet someone new is the awe-filled reaction when I say, “I’m from Hawaii!” Not a single person has reacted plainly to my introduction, and while I find it funny, it puts tremendous pressure on my representation as, in many cases, I was the first person that they’ve met from Hawaii.
So here’s a tip for any Hawaii native or local who’s going abroad: know lots about Hawaii (geographically, historically, culturally, socially, etc.) and be ready to share some knowledge to some people. Hawaii holds a special place in the world; it’ll be worthwhile to share more about our island-home with others who dream of going there.
senior status, freshman vibes
“You’re here for school, JJ. Remember that first and foremost.” I had to constantly remind myself of this as classes officially started on September 1st. While this semester marks the beginning of my senior year, I felt like a college freshman: buying college merch with “Korea University” logos slabbed in any way possible, acting like an awe-filled tourist on campus, and not knowing what to expect in my classes. All of my classes were moved online for the time being, but two of them are planning for an in-person return once government regulations loosen up. After two full semesters of online learning, I have a keen understanding of how Zoom University works. However, after only the first day, there were noticeable differences between online learning at UH and KU. Here are two particular things that I noticed:
This is my seventh semester in college, and I felt like a freshman, feeling as if I need to catch up to speed while everyone else knows exactly what they’re doing. This doesn’t discourage me though. I’m excited to be a part of this different (and probably more intense) academic experience, and I’m eager to be up to the challenge! |
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da grindz
Food is definitely one of the best ways to experience another culture. With that, I spent much of my time hopping around various restaurants and trying new dishes. The more I eat out, the more I fall in love with Korea’s dining culture, and here are three reasons why:
In all honesty, I don’t take note of the places that I buy food from. I simply just find a place based on their picture menus, and then take photos of my meal without considering the name of the restaurant. I plan to just dump photos of my meals on my blog.
If you need food recommendations while in Korea, check out the other Freeman Scholar bloggers here: https://shidler.hawaii.edu/freeman-scholars/2021-2022. They’re a bunch of foodies and actually take more notice of all the ono food that they eat!
Food is definitely one of the best ways to experience another culture. With that, I spent much of my time hopping around various restaurants and trying new dishes. The more I eat out, the more I fall in love with Korea’s dining culture, and here are three reasons why:
- Food is comparably cheap compared to Hawaii. I spend an average of 8,000 KRW to 10,000 KRW ($7.00 - $8.00) on each meal, which I think is a steal! It’s also worth noting that there is no tipping culture in Korea, which definitely saves a broke college boy some precious cash.
- Almost all meals come with additional side dishes, with no extra cost. Korean cuisine is known for providing kimchi, daikon, seaweed, and a whole bunch of other side dishes in addition to the main entree. Sometimes, I was even served a small bowl of soup or stew in addition to my meals. Many times I have double checked my receipt because I thought I ordered extra food.
- Dining alone is considered normal. This is perhaps my favorite part of dining in Korea. Dining at a restaurant alone is completely normal, and it happens quite often! There’s no need to wait for friends to go out and have a delicious meal - I just go and explore myself!
In all honesty, I don’t take note of the places that I buy food from. I simply just find a place based on their picture menus, and then take photos of my meal without considering the name of the restaurant. I plan to just dump photos of my meals on my blog.
If you need food recommendations while in Korea, check out the other Freeman Scholar bloggers here: https://shidler.hawaii.edu/freeman-scholars/2021-2022. They’re a bunch of foodies and actually take more notice of all the ono food that they eat!
chapter close
The beginning of the journey was absolutely fun. From exploring Seoul to finding new friends, these first several days have definitely been filled with memories. But with school starting, I’ll have to exit the vacation mode and finally transition into student mode. I’m both excited and anxious for the academic experiences to come! Here's to officially calling myself a student at Korea University!
The beginning of the journey was absolutely fun. From exploring Seoul to finding new friends, these first several days have definitely been filled with memories. But with school starting, I’ll have to exit the vacation mode and finally transition into student mode. I’m both excited and anxious for the academic experiences to come! Here's to officially calling myself a student at Korea University!