I haven’t been on here to post in a long time and I have a huge backlog of posts to make about my adventures in Korea and in Japan. I will begin posting those (most of the Korea ones will consist mainly of pictures since details may be a bit fuzzy by now), but Japan is still severely fresh in my mind (especially since I will be heading back there in just a few months).
Anyways, I’m just posting to let everyone know I am alive and I will be posting posts within the next few weeks. Thanks.
I’ve been meaning to make some entries (since I’ve been in Seoul for two weeks now), and intended to do so this past weekend, but I came down with a horrible stomach virus. I have been sick for the past three days, and I haven’t felt much like doing anything.
Ah, soooo much to tell >< So this is just a filler post until I get better.
The title for this post comes from yet another of my favorite songs. It loosely translates to ‘Will I learn the answers if I go there with my eyes closed?’ I think a lot of the times our first impressions via sight can keep us from experiencing something to its fullest. If you have a preconceived negative notion of a certain area, a certain culture, then you are bound to greet your first cultural interactions with slight apprehension. Luckily for me, everything about Korea excites me, so I am assured that from the moment I set foot on Korean soil till the moment I return to America I will be quite open to any and all cultural nuances.
The choice to study abroad in Korea was an easy one to make, but getting there was not so easy. While the application was simple enough to fill out and submit, once accepted I found myself confronted with a communication breakdown between myself and Sogang University. Now I’m normally a patient person, a skill I developed from training young horses, but patience is not never-ending, and eventually I began to run out of it.
This first breakdown occurred when I misunderstood what fees I would be paying directly to Sogang and what I would be paying through my college. I sent an email to the Asian study abroad advisor, and he informed me of which fees I had to pay directly to Sogang. I then immediately consulted Sogang’s website, where the fees were listed, added up the totals, and sent an email to them requesting confirmation of the total before I would send them my credit card information so that they could charge me. I never received this confirmation. I believe I emailed them at least three times requesting this information. Once I never got a reply, and the other two times I received replies, but they addressed the other accompanying questions I had sent, not the budget question (the most important in my opinion).
Finally, since the due date for the fees was literally the next day, I simply sent them my credit card information and requested (in faith) for them to charge me whatever they decided to charge me (within reason of course). The next day I had a large amount of money charged to my account. It was less than I expected, but I figured that I had miscalculated somehow. However, a week or so later I was charged again. This time the total was much closer to what I had anticipated, but I knew that one of the charges had to be false. Since it was a large sum of money, I get a bit distraught and sent them an email. For once, they responded promptly, and notified me that they had made a mistake and were rectifying it. Days later I received a credit to my account, and everything was peachy.
Now I understand that Sogang is currently dealing with an influx of foreign students, and that it can be difficult dealing with them all at once, so I am willing to forgive and forget the headaches I went through trying to pay my bills and obtain some specific information. I was told that such a communication breakdown had never occurred before, so perhaps I’m just a special case. It doesn’t help that I’m a super nervous person, and that when I don’t meet deadlines, or when I run late on things, I have miniature anxiety attacks.
I found that the best way to communicate with Sogang is to put your emails in all caps, and bold the important sections of your questions. This way they’re more likely to not only respond to your email, but to actually answer your question. Once I started to apply this method, the return emails became a lot more specific and helpful.
About two weeks before my departure date, I was sent an email stating that Sogang needed a headshot photo from me, and that I needed to make sure that I brought a doctors physical to orientation. I was a bit shocked. The photo was no big deal, since I had already submitted one for the Japan program, so I had it left over. However, the physical was another story. I had recently had one done, but it was specifically done for Japan, with the paperwork required for their college. So, I had to schedule another doctor’s appointment to get another physical examination done. As a result I obtained a copy of my vaccinations and a letter stating that I am in perfect health. I hope those two are adequate.
Sogang also sent a nice preparation letter which explained how to get to the University from the airport, some items we should consider bringing, and surrounding stores we can shop at to buy bedding (since the dorm does not supply blankets or pillows). Since it’s going to be monsoon season in Korea while I’m there, they suggested that students bring rain boots. However, I think they’ll take too much room in my suitcase, and plus I think they’re ugly to wear. So, since I like the rain, I decided to just deal with it. The humidity on the other hand is going to be hard to handle, especially since it usually causes my hair to get super frizzy.
In just a few more days I’ll be on my way. I guess I’ll put up a post every day until then. My goal is to blog at least once a day, even if the entry is short. I want to remember every moment, and the best way to do so is immortalize it in writing (and pictures, which will be abundant). Again, I will be posting up other stuff on my other blog, so if you’re interested, shoot me an email.
I’ll leave you with the music video for ‘Run’ by Epik High. Tablo, the rapper without facial hair, actually graduated from Stanford University with a major in English. He writes very profound pieces of music that tend to challenge the government and society as a whole. I hope to pick up his book while I’m in Korea. I almost bought it before, but shipping was too expensive. You can check them out at mapthesoul.com. The site can be read in English or Korean (their attempt to reach a broader audience).
If you can only see boxes above, you need to get with the program and install asian language support on whatever computer you’re using. For those of you who can see it and can’t read it, the title is actually a line from one of my favorite songs (Fighter) from one of my favorite Korean artists (SS501), and reads, “I was born strong, no one can stop me.”
I think that line describes me pretty well. I’m a strong minded individual who never backs down from a challenge and always strives for victory (usually perfect victory). However, as my leaving date approaches, I’ve begun to realize just how insecure I actually am. I have never ventured out of my home country, and embarking on a trip by myself to a country so foreign compared to mine is quite a daunting adventure. I can’t say I’m not up to the challenge, but I do know I am a bit apprehensive. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let my nervousness get in the way. No. I’m going to suck it up and face my fears. After all, I signed up for this trip hoping I could learn to be more confident outside of my comfort zone.
So, I would like to apologize in advance for my poor writing. I’m a bit bad at impromptu blogs, which is why it took me so long to get this introductory post up. I have this weird little desire…no, necessity to control every aspect of my life and to have it come out perfect, including an insignificant blog post such as this. However, since I’m leaving soon, I decided to basically attempt to throw that out the window and just write something down. Anything.
I went shopping this past weekend for new clothes and shoes. I know that many advise not to buy a bunch of new clothes before you leave, so that you can buy clothes while you’re there to fit in with the fashion. However, all of my current clothes are literally so old they’re falling apart. I’m very frugal with my money, so I hardly ever buy myself new clothes. I still have a lot of shirts and pants from 9th grade (and even some from middle school!) so I figured I needed a few new things before I left. I managed to find some really awesome deals, and I ended up buying more than I anticipated. However, so far I’ve been able to fit everything in my luggage, though I may be removing a few things to make room in case I buy some clothes to bring back with me. It’s not very likely, since almost right after I get back from Korea I’ll be heading to Japan, and I need to save as much money as possible. Most of my money will be spent on trips around Korea rather than objects. I want to see as much of the country as I can before I leave.
I’ve almost finished packing. I don’t leave for a few more days, but I wanted to get a head start. It eases my nerves if I’m ahead of schedule rather than behind on what I need to do. The only stuff I have left to do is buy one or two more things, print out all my paperwork, and get some passport photos taken to take with me in case the worst happens and I manage to lose my passport.
My flight leaves around 6:00pm on Friday the 18th. I will transfer in Chicago and take a Red Eye (great movie btw) from 1:00am to Seoul, where I will land at Incheon airport at 5:00am, June 20th. The airline I’m taking, Asiana, is notorious for being late, so I may land later than that. I’ll have to stick around the airport for a while before I head over to Sogang, because they won’t be opening the dorm until 9:00am. However, my Sogang buddy JuHyun is going to come meet me at the airport to make sure I get to Sogang.
Orientation is at 5:00pm. I’ve already made contact with the two other students from my college who are going to be there, so I hope to meet up with them. Before that I intend to go shopping for some essentials, like a towel and bedding. Sogang doesn’t supply bedding or pillows, so I have to buy my own. It’s not a big deal. I want to get a hairdryer right away anyways, so at least I now have a viable reason to go shopping right away.
I’ll be taking the Korean Immersion Program at Sogang, which consists of 7 hours ( I believe) of Korean language class a day, four days a week. That’s a lot of class time. I meant to keep up with my Korean studies after I left for summer break, but I’ve been working two jobs (one of which is literally 11 hours a day) and I just haven’t had the time. Depressing, but I’ll just have to hope I can make a significant dent in the entrance exam so I can place high and get into a higher level Korean class.
Going to Korea is a dream come true for me. A lot of my Korean friends have asked me why I like Korea so much, and I honestly cannot give them an answer. This may sound weird, but I feel drawn to Korea, as if I’m meant to be there. The language entices me, the culture entrances me, and I can’t get enough of the food haha. My ultimate dream is to live in Korea upon graduating college, but we’ll see how that goes.
What will I miss most about the US? Not much. My family of course, but other than that, I don’t particularly feel attached to much here. I know what will hurt me the most is leaving my dogs behind. So far I’ve been able to keep them close to me, even when I went to college (I got an apartment just so I could take them with me). My dogs mean the world to me. No, they probably mean more. I don’t think I would be the same person without my dachshund and my shiba constantly cheering me on in their own special way. To be away from them for so long is going to take a lot of strength on my part.
What am I looking forward to the most when I arrive in Korea? The boys, haha. Just kidding. Actually I’m looking forward to trying all the different kinds of food, and exploring Seoul (especially the night life). I want to have the best time I can while I’m there. I’m also looking forward to studying the language. I wish I could obtain fluency without work, but alas all good things come with a price, and that price is consistent perseverance. I’m going to try to speak as much as I can in Korean to avoid the whole ‘fall-back-on-english’ trap many foreigners blunder into. I can’t guarantee much though. I have this odd innate fear of messing up someone’s native language in front of them, so this is definitely going to be a challenge.
Anyways, anyone who knows me will know that I am constantly updating myself on Korean pop culture and music. Korean music is a big part of my life, so I’ve decided to share that part with my readers. Every post will have a music video attached, and I encourage you all to listen with an open mind. After all, it’s nice to listen to something new once in a while, isn’t it? Definitely a change from the same American songs that play over and over again on the radio (*cough*Ke$sha’s “Your Love is my Drug”*cough*) ===which is a horrible song by the way.
Anyways, I present to you SS501 (my second favorite Korean boyband), and their song Fighter (kind of old, but not bad). I got a version with English subtitles. Oh, and the weird poor English intro is common in Korean songs. It frequently makes me cringe.
Also, for those interested, I have a separate blog set up for my non censored and politically affiliated posts. I have a high interest in politics, and I like to speak my mind. If you’re interested, feel free to send me a private message at my email sab5169, and I’ll send you the link.
I’ll probably have another post up tomorrow. I have more I want to say, but I’m too tired now -.-
