In exactly 31 days I will be back in my small hometown of Callao, Missouri. I am overwhelmed with emotion at this thought. I have trouble conveying this to anyone who has not studied abroad. I miss my friends, family, and things in the U.S. that I can’t get over here (like crab rangoon). I miss experiences like lying under the stars at night with friends after a long day. However, Seoul has become another home. My stay here is temporary but a part of me will always remain in Korea. The lifestyle I have experienced is extremely different than in the states. Even though I have only spent a short time here, I am nervous about going back home. Studying abroad changes everyone, and I am no exception. I do not know how my family and friends will react to how I grown and changed.

I only have one month left in Korea. I will be busy two of these weeks with studying and finals. Therefore, I am traveling to a lot of places these next couple weeks. I am going to Lotte World (amusement park), Busan, Incheon, Mt. Yongmasan, Seodaemun Prison, and of course shopping for gifts to bring back to friends and family. Recently, I went to the DMZ, Nami Island, and Petite France. I keep trying to explain how I felt at the DMZ. However, there are no words to describe my emotions. The first part of the tour was going to the third tunnel. The third tunnel was discovered in South Korea during the 1970’s. This tunnel was built by North Korea (although they deny it) in order to invade Seoul. There are currently four known tunnels, however many more are expected to exist.

Nami Island or Naminara Republic is a beautiful island in Chuncheon. The trees were absolutely stunning, ranging from cherry, ginkgo, white birch, redwood, to white pine trees. There are multiple paths throughout the small island. The small island became more popular after a drama filmed there. 

Today I went to Lotte World which is an amusement park in Seoul. Traveling is always a great experience. However, the people you go with complete the experience. I went with these three lovely ladies. A friend invited to go with her and two other people. Although I did not know them before today, they truly made the experience perfect.

Until next time,

AM

When I was in high school, all I could think about was how time was moving at a snail’s pace. I could not wait to go to college and it could not have come soon enough. Now, here I am in my senior year of college. I never truly understood how quickly time passes until I came to Korea. My journey in Korea is almost halfway over with nine weeks left. I realized this with midterms approaching and the stress of “the grade.” In Korea midterms are not a normal exam, they are worth almost half of your grade. While at Columbia College, I rarely had this feeling of stress from exams because I mostly write term papers. These different stressors of learning a new language, adapting to new teaching styles, and navigating graduate school applications abroad have helped me learn valuable skills within education and traveling. Not only have I experienced educational stressors but all of the unknown things I have experienced. For example, I had no idea what it would be like to be a minority. Sure, I am a women’s study minor and I have taken minority classes, read scholarly articles, and read firsthand accounts but I had never experienced it. Like others, I have had good and bad experiences.

Now for the most recent sights and adventures...

N Seoul Tower and Locks of Love is one of my favorite sights! N Seoul Tower, better known has Namsan Tower to the locals, is located on top of Namsan Mountain and is the highest point in Seoul! The panoramic views of Seoul are stunning and gorgeous, especially at night. I went here with one of my best friends here in Korea, Ahra.

The Locks of Love is another attraction on top of the mountain. Couples or families come here to place a lock (with a message on it) somewhere on the railings or on ornaments. I decided to put a lock on an ornament resembling a Christmas tree. For those of you who know me, this was the absolute perfect placement for me.

The farthest adventure I have had from my university was the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, which was two hours away by subway and bus. This was an adventure because I had only been on a bus once with a Korean friend so I did not really know how the bus system worked. However, even with my navigation skills, we did not get lost! This was a three-day long festival with various activities, from parades to lantern festivals to music to crafts. They even had a reenactment of the tortoise and the hare with a twist (in Korean of course). Below are pictures of the parade. I was actually interviewed twice about my experience in Korea and about the parade, which was cool.

We also visited the Hwaseong Fortress while at the festival. This fortress was constructed from 1794-1796. The fortress is completely made out of Seokjae and Jeondol bricks. There are holes throughout the walls of the fortress in case of an attack. 

Until I visit the DMZ,

AM

Hello all! I am Alyssa and I am currently a senior majoring in psychology.

Here are some frequently asked questions:

Destination: Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea

Korean Language: I do not speak any Korean.

Length of Study: August 2015-December 2015  

Why: I chose South Korea because I wanted to go somewhere completely different from Columbia, Missouri, USA. I wanted to see the differences between the collectivist and individualistic cultures, experience different traditions, and overall experience a different lifestyle. In short, “go big or go home.” I have always wanted to live in a hugely populated area because I have never had the opportunity with my hometown or my college town, having populations of 300 and 108,000 respectively. In contrast, Seoul has over 10 million people. Lastly, I wanted to study abroad at a destination where, without university affiliation, I might otherwise be scared to travel due to the language barrier and culture.

Side note: I have also never been outside of the United States so I did not know what to expect nor did I really have expectations. The idea that I chose to study abroad for five months in an Asian country shocked people when they learned I have never been outside of the country

Journey to Seoul

On August 23 I left my house at 3 a.m. in order to catch my connecting flight to Chicago and finally to Seoul. I did this after sleeping for an hour because I did not pack until 11 p.m. the evening before and spent my last few hours with my friends and family. After the 28 hour journey I ended up at Konkuk University on August 24 at 9 p.m. due to the 14 hour time difference.

Difficulties

I did not have jet lag like I envisioned. I transitioned fairly well due to my arrival time. However, I was quite tired after not sleeping during the entire journey so I was sleeping a lot during the day as well as night. Konkuk University does not offer any psychology classes. However, I registered for classes I thought would be interesting and of value towards my chosen profession. I registered for all of the classes I wanted to get into. The problem arose once I went to class and realized although the classes were supposed to be taught in English, they were not. I am currently in other classes, although I had to keep one class which lectures in English but the class discussion is in Korean. The last difficulty which I was not expecting to encounter was making friends. I am the only native English speaker in my classes but also the only exchange student in all of my classes except for one (Korean language). The Korean students are very timid to use English and seem to avoid speaking English as much as possible.

 The City of Seoul

Seoul is a beautiful city, the capital of South Korea, and has a bigger population than New York City. Apart from traveling to classes, I have explored the area around the university, went to parks, attended a concert and some festivals, and have seen some of the major sights of Seoul. Above is what a typical street looks like in Seoul.

I was excited to attend my very first concert and a K-Pop concert at that! For those of you who do not know me, I have listened to K-pop for a while and have wanted to attend a concert! The concert I attended was free concert in the Olympic Stadium and it had some of my favorite bands, including Girls Generation and Block B (among others)!

I also went to Han River with my friend Min, who was an exchange student at Columbia College. There was an amazing view and they have paddleboats which look like ducks! These paddleboats can be taken out on the River by anyone and I cannot wait to do it!

One of my favorite sights has been Grand Children’s Park, where they have a zoo and a fountain light show, among other things. The light show was absolutely stunning and like nothing I have seen before.

Thank you for reading! Until next time,

AM