So I have now been in Seoul for over 8 weeks and I think I can say it is starting to feel like a home. Ofcourse for me this can never completely be home, there are the rather important things of family, majority of friends, my favorite reads and eats and well, citizenship that are missing here. But the feeling still exists! I’m so lucky to have been able to get a dorm here with a good room-mate I almost feel guilty now. Having talked to so many people who didn’t receive one it is a huge bonus I can live on campus and take a short walk or transit trip to my class or exploring the city, respectively.
The weeks have unconsciously become scheduled in that it is fairly predictable what I will do and what I won’t do…
The do mostly includes things like the daily Korean class and tutor, the IGO/IEO class and the homework associated with them. Taking in a world of news and research and new environmental issues is something my brain and me thoroughly enjoys (you know this if you have seen my facebook wall) both in learning and addressing the new challenges or victories which come my way. Typically weekends have free time atlast and I try to use these to the fullest in exploring Seoul, bit by bit, and meeting a new friend or new experience along the way, always fun~
In my days however, there are still many things that are mysterious and unpredictable just like Inception, Neutrinos, and Soy Milk…I am always in for a surprise each day for the many meals I must eat to survive – will it be vegetarian? Shall I go to another cafeteria? Restaurant? Take-out? Or perhaps cook my own food? Ultimately one of the possibilities prevails and the result is a daily journey to my vegetarian meal, still quite a tough thing to manage in Korea. Over time this should make me a more avid “foodie” though so I hope to find lots of great restaurants and fellow vegetarians!
The other part of my stay which can still be random are the people I meet and things I do on campus. With such a massive population (atleast 35000) of students, buildings and possible events, I never know which friend, new building or cool event I may encounter on a day. The university is ironically, terrible at advertising for the majority of events, despite the thousands of posters and banners which are virtually on every corner or wall of the campus. This may be a biased view for me since most of the ads and websites are only in Korean and I have ye to perfect this language, or in other words, I am about at gr.3 comprehension now. So for me there is always a chance to undertake in an abrupt activity and meet new people, generally a good thing unless there is something due the next day!
So the past 2 weeks have been stuffed to an obese level with interesting exams, stressful homework and many student chats and debates…it’s home! Having all this craziness actually comforts me, it is the multi-tasking student life (something too short and sweet to overlook!) that I love here so far and all the challenges and opportunity this jam-packed country presents with it! Here’s a few of the cool things I got to do over the past 2 weeks, and some of the just – things!
To the readers, I hope you feel at “home” wherever you are, always try to make the most of the place you are at, whatever challenges there may be, there are bound to be opportunities as well! Some ideals I live by to make the most of this trip are always ask questions, explore to the fullest you can, be a part of the community and never miss a chance to get involved, meet new people and try new things! And always keep it as sustainable as possible!
