Photo: Yonsei University Fall 2012

Truly beautiful. How I miss Yonsei.

Last Thoughts in Seoul – Reflecting

The last few days in Seoul had an odd feeling to them. Sitting in the lobby watching people slowly leave the dorm building with their packed luggage bags – heading back to their homes, family, and friends all over the world. Walking through the dorm halls – each door had our names on it with a flag of where we came from and I began thinking about how we were a brave group of individuals. Not everyone dives blindly into a new world, leaving everything loved behind – but we all came to South Korea to explore and live a new life. Some of us came for a temporary stay, while others have plans to spend the rest of their lives in Seoul.

My close group of friends planned one last night out in Sinchon, the college town near Yonsei, and we visited old spots we frequented during our stay for one last time. That night it sprinkled snow and I experienced my first snow. It was a happy night. Another night, a friend and I headed to Dongdaemun and I showed him how to haggle – a skill I picked up and mastered during my stay in Seoul – something I am now proud of.

A final outing occurred the night before I left Seoul and during this outing many people broke down in tears as they started saying their goodbyes. We all hope we’ll meet again – but even if that happens, we’ll never meet again in the same situation – although the memories we made will certainly be with us throughout our lives.

As I packed my bags to head home – my friend Wason, notified me that it was snowing outside – as if Seoul was saying goodbye to me. I went outside and the snow was coming down. It was an experience indeed – I wrote goodbye to Seoul in the snow. I’ll post the photograph below.

A few hours later – a few friends: Allen, Wason, and Sunny had breakfast with me as I spent my last few minutes at SK Global House. Allen and Sunny helped me carry my heavy luggage to the limousine bus stop to Incheon Airport and as we left it began to snow again – this time a much heavier snow. It was beautiful and indeed I can’t imagine a better ending to my time in Korea.

While riding in the limousine bus to Incheon Airport, I started reflecting on the first time I rode the limousine bus to Yonsei University with my first friend in Seoul, Taylor, just a few months prior. All the excitement of living in a big city and experiencing all that Seoul had to offer me. Indeed, Korea offered me an experience like no other and I’ll always remember the many people and experiences it brought to me. I have no regrets about this once in a lifetime opportunity to study abroad.

As I sat in Incheon Airport waiting for my flight to depart on my laptop. I saw an overwhelming number of Facebook status updates of people saying goodbye and I felt overcome with emotion. Sadness mixed with happiness that I found a new home, new friends, and I was ending a time in my life that was at times lonely and then at times completely fulfilling. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world.

Finally the boarding began on a long flight back home to Tampa, Florida…

Partying in Seoul – Where to find the parties

Seoul is one of the largest cities on Earth and as such has parties happening almost everyday. As a Yonsei student you will be given several opportunities for free admission to clubs and also chances to interact with club promoters to run the city. Here are some of the top clubbing promotion networks I encountered while in Seoul:

Krome Entertainment: Organized in 2010 and also constantly planning parties all around Seoul

Sky Events: Social Korea Youth, connecting students from all the Universities in Seoul

Students Gathering in Korea: Promoted 2 School Uniform parties in Hongdae, among other parties

Watz Up Korea: Consistently planning parties around town, including the first Caribbean club nights and basketball-themed parties

Heading to Tokyo this weekend!

I will be in Tokyo, Japan this weekend celebrating my 22nd birthday! It has always been a dream of mine to visit Japan since I was young. Now I get to see Tokyo in real life. There are plenty things on my to-do list. Here are a few things I plan to do during my trip:

• Visit Tokyo Tower in Minato and see the Tokyo Starfish Highway from the observatory
• Checkout Akihabara – the video game and anime mecca (Club SEGA! =D)
• Ride the ferris wheel in Odaiba (one of the tallest ferris wheels in the world) and checkout the Venice and Statue of Liberty replicas and of course more arcades
• Travel around Shibuya and Shinjuku – one of the brightest spots of Tokyo at night with tons of life
• Eat the freshest sushi in the world at the Tsukiji Market
• Checkout the Meiji Shrine and Sensoji Temple for a bit of culture/history
• Witness the people dressed up in Harajuku on Sunday

I can’t wait! Tokyo here I come!

SK Global House: Pros and Cons

SK Global House and International House (I-House) are the two main dorm buildings at Yonsei University for international students. They provide affordable housing and plenty of amenities for students. I chose to live in SK Global House because of the extra features and bathrooms inside the bedrooms (in I-House there are common bathrooms). SK Global House is only slightly more expensive than I-House. Here are my pros and cons of living in SK Global House after living here for almost a semester:

Pros:

• Washing machines and dryers are located on the Basement 2nd floor of SK Global House.
• A dry cleaning service is available for students on the Basement 2nd floor and very affordable. As an alternative you can pay the dry cleaning service to wash your clothes for you and they will even fold your clothes for you.
• Each floor in SK Global Lounge has a lounge and study room/media room for you to go to when you get tired of being squeezed in a small dorm. There is also a lounge on the main entrance where you can hang out with your friends since each floor is gender-restricted.
• SK Global House rooms have bathrooms inside the rooms – nice because when I need to use the bathroom, I would rather use it in the privacy of my own room. I-House residents share public restrooms.
• GS-25, a popular convenience store chain, is conveniently connected to SK Global House so you don’t have to leave the building to grab some food or home items – although I will warn you the prices here are much higher than your average restaurant in Korea. There’s also an ATM there if you one. The same goes for the food options connected to SK Global House – Burger N Shake, Caribou Coffee, Cafe Kikini, and a tonkatsu/ramen place. If you’re hungry for some Korean food I suggest the Korean restaurants in New Millennium Hall and the Korean Language Institute building. They also sell snacks there.
• Living in the dorms makes it easy to make friends and you will likely meet the same people on the elevator, at the convenience store, in class, and then later on roaming in Sinchon.
• There are a number of places that will deliver food to SK Global House since students regularly are ordering food there.
• There is a kitchen in the Basement 3rd floor of the SK Global House and you can buy storage space for pots and supplies.

Cons:

• There is a constant mosquito problem in the two dorm buildings. They seem to be living within the vents and if you leave your window open prepare to be harassed by mosquitoes.
• Living with lots of students means you will no doubt be prone to whatever illness is spreading around. It’s hard to avoid when everyone presses the same elevator buttons and opens the same doors.
• No member of the opposite sex is allowed on your floor, nor are they allowed in your room. You’re an adult, but you’ll be living like a teenager. They will watch you with security cameras located everywhere.
• If learning Korean is your goal of coming to Korea – you’ll have a hard time doing that as most people in the dorms will be speaking English…it wasn’t a problem for me since I was more interested in meeting people from around the world.
• Although there is a fridge on each floor in SK Global House – people steal each others food regularly and its such an issue that I can’t even buy anything to store in a fridge.
• Although there is internet at SK Global House – it is painfully slow and sometimes randomly disconnects.

Autumn in Fall – Part I

One of the best things about living in Korea during the Fall is the beautiful trees and leaves that change colors. Coming from Florida where our seasons never change – It is a completely new experience to see trees change color and see the leaves falling off trees.

Why Korea?

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is why I chose to go to South Korea for my study abroad program. My background is grounded in Japan and Japanese culture so why would I choose to go somewhere else as an exchange student? There are so many options to choose from in the world. What made South Korea stand out to me? I get the question from other travelers, exchange students, and from Koreans themselves who are intrigued to at the attention their nation is receiving from foreigners.

Here are some of the major things that brought me to South Korea:

• Korean culture caught my eye – I could only get a glimpse from Korean television, and other forms of entertainment…I wanted to know more about this nation that few people in my hometown seem aware of. I have been able to experience the culture first-hand by visiting palaces, museums, and interacting with the cities and towns personally and this has made my trip here one I will never forget
• Korean language – As an international business major with a focus in Asia I want to learn as many foreign languages as possible and study as many markets as possible – coming to Yonsei University allowed me to enroll in Korean language courses not available at my home university and pick up some of the language and although the Korean program here is not really my cup of tea…I can’t deny I learned lots of Korean words and phrases I would have never learned this quickly at home without an instructor or class environment
• I enjoy eating Korean food in Tampa at Korean restaurants – Korean food in Korea is actually quite different in terms of flavor (it is sweeter in the USA), but still interesting nevertheless
• Yonsei University is one of the major universities in South Korea and I wanted to experience a big city life for a change after living in my quiet suburban life in Tampa for so many years – with so many districts such as Sinchon, Hongdae, Gangnam, and Itaewon and an affordable and efficient subway system to connect them I have been able to hit the streets on foot and explore the city as a true Seoulite
• I wanted to make business contacts in South Korea and I believe I have quite successful in acquiring business relationships with several important people in Seoul
• There is no denying the advantage of using the United States dollar in South Korea. Many times things that should have cost me $100 were only $85 or less after converting my dollars into wons. The state of the dollar versus the yen is no secret and I hope someday it improves, but I think surviving a semester in a major city in Japan would be a huge challenge and be very limiting – I have been able to go out dining, partying, and fully been able to enjoy myself here in ways I couldn’t even enjoy myself at home in Florida
• My Yonsei friends I made at home made a big impact on me and actually made me think about Yonsei University as my choice school. Cool, collected, and social-able; all the good times we had in Tampa inspired me to head to Korea and meet other native Koreans and I have indeed many Korean friends in Seoul during my stay

That concludes most of the major reasons that brought me out to South Korea for my study abroad program. I still have another month and a half in South Korea before I head back home to Tampa. One thing I realized while starting a new language here was just how much Japanese I know. I’ve decided to go home and intensively study my Japanese and head to Japan next summer for an intensive language program so I can be at a high level before I graduate from USF.

Meeting other travelers here with many dreams like myself has been a big inspiration. Many of them are planning to build their lives here or make future trips and I feel inspired to make my dreams happen as well. Of course, the journey is the reward and the best thing about studying abroad has been meeting so many amazing and open-minded people from around the world. I hope one day fate will bring us back into the same path again after this program comes to an end.

Sick while abroad in South Korea? Here are some tips.

Sorry for the lack of updates! I just recently recovered from a flu and midterm exams (a horrible pair to have actually). I learned some valuable lessons from this experience though:

• Make sure to pack some cold medications from the U.S.A. before heading to another country (researching to make sure it is legal first of course)
• Vitamin C is scarce in South Korea. Tropicana orange juice is around $8 and fruits in general are expensive…you will certainly want to bring some Vitamin C pills with you to keep your immune system up
• Visiting the international clinic is way more expensive than visiting a Korean clinic, however if you need a doctor’s note for classes (almost every class in Korea has required attendance) then you will need to visit a real hospital and get a doctor’s note. Pharmacy notes may not be accepted
• Make sure you’re always ahead in your classes so you can afford to miss a few classes – this flu bug severely put my academic performance in jeopardy and getting through the flu was extremely difficult while trying to stay up cramming and doing homework
• Bring a friend if it makes you more comfortable, but just make sure you go early enough to the doctor! My doctor told me if I had been a few days later I would have developed pneumonia
• Be wary of consuming raw food in Korea…some friends have had some nasty experiences doing that. On that note never drink tap water. My friend hiked a mountain here in Seoul and when she got the top someone gave her tap water and her stomach was in trouble for at least a week
• Most Korean pharmacy’s sell cheap over-the-county fixes as well – you might want to try those if you arrived without any medication
• Sleep is essential – and on that note make sure you air out your room and throw away anything that might be housing the germs as well
• Try calling home…it might make you feel better. I know every time I talked to some friends or family members I felt better about my illness. It’s re-assuring to speak to someone who knows you well about your troubles. Skype has unlimited calling in the United States for $7/month and it includes landlines and mobile phones so you can talk to your family and friends all you want!
• Make sure to save your receipts so you can report it to your travel insurance!

Watching a movie at Megabox in Sinchon

I visited my first Korean movie theater today: Megabox in Sinchon. We saw the new Three Musketeers movies starring Orlando Bloom (which isn’t out in the U.S.A. until October 21st). It was an entertaining movie – it reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean or Sherlock Holmes.

Getting to the movie theater was a little confusing at first because it’s on the 5th floor of the building. You ride the elevator up and then you’d expect to see a box office, but the box office is actually by the concession stand (you can’t even enter an American movie theater without your movie ticket).

Movie tickets were relatively cheap. 9,000 won for a movie ticket at night (roughly $8). I heard if you come during the day they are like 5,000 won, but I’m not sure. What is different is you pick the seat you want to sit in. I don’t think this would ever work in the U.S.A. since people are always going to the wrong theater, but it was cool to pick out my seat. Luckily, this movie was pretty empty so we were able to sit where we wanted once we entered the movie theater.

What I loved was the cheap prices of popcorn and soda. A large popcorn is only 5,000 won. Popcorn is so over-priced in the United States. Every few months they seem to increase the price by 50 cents or $1 so the cheap prices here were welcome by me! They don’t have napkins, but tissue paper instead. I thought that was odd.

Inside the movie theater, the seats were stadium-style (yes!) and the seats were so comfortable I could fall asleep in them if I was tired. The soda holder actually can go pretty low, so your soda isn’t as visible when you’re watching the movie. The theater wasn’t as loud as I am used to in the United States, but still loud enough. The movie screen was noticeably clearer than most of the theaters in Tampa.

The movie had Korean subtitles, which was slightly annoying until I became used to ignoring the text. It was interesting being able to understand some of what they were saying (thanks KLI). Another odd thing was there were no movie trailers for upcoming American  movies – the movie started immediately after the Korean commercials.

Visiting the movies in South Korea is more affordable than the United States so I plan to take advantage of this and watch new movies whenever I have a chance. Next week I plan to see Paranormal Activity 3! Scary ><.

The 1st Korean Food Tour for Foreign Foodies

I have been selected to be on a team for the 1st Korean Food Tour for Foreign Foodies. My team and I will travel to the Jeollanam-do province in Southwestern South Korea to try various food dishes and blog about our experiences. In addition, a television crew will follow us around and film us and the tour will later air on KBS2 (a major broadcasting network here in Korea). You can follow my adventures eating through Seoul on my food blog Carlos Eats. I will add a directory soon to this website as well.

I am quite excited to go on this tour sponsored by the Korean government. Jeolla is known for having beautiful sights and the time we are arriving (the end of October) should be a great time to fully experience autumn in Korea. I will be writing about my experiences on here as well as this perhaps one of the biggest opportunities I have obtained since arriving in South Korea. Many adventures to come soon 🙂