Week 1 in Korea - Settling In and Exploring
South Korea ·Hello! This is a blog about my arrival in Korea and all the different culture shocks, food, and fun that I did during the first week.
Of course, to start off the trip, we have to go back to the San Francisco Airport. On the day of my flight, I made sure to double check I had everything, quickly looked around my room for anything forgotten, and I was off to the airport! I got to the airport three hours before my flight and breezed through check-in and TSA, and before I knew it, I was sitting on the plane already halfway to Korea. On the flight, I knew my life for the next 4 months would not be the same as in America. But it still felt like if I went to sleep, I would still wake up the next morning in my comfortable bed back home. It was only when I was landing in Korea and I was looking out the window that part of reality hit me. Once I landed and was off the plane, I went through immigration and customs and instantly fell asleep in a hotel. The next day, I boarded a bus from Incheon to Seoul, and I got checked into my dorm, where I will be staying the rest of the semester, SK Global House.
The first day was a lot of getting settled into the Sinchon area and cleaning the dorm (which was really dirty for some reason). But I was able to explore the Sinchon area for the first time and also get dinner with a bunch of other exchange students in Gangnam. But it was only when I woke up on August 25, after I had already spent my first full day in Korea, did the realization that I would be here for the next four months hit me. I remember laying in bed and having some sort of existential crisis. However, I was able to move on pretty fast and continue to explore Seoul.
I also wanted to write about some of the things that I noticed about Korea and culture shocks that I experienced. There are a few positive ones. For example, there are so many convenience stores and pharmacies everywhere. I could literally walk 1 minute from my dorm into a convenience store and buy so many things. Also, the public transportation is really clean, efficient, and convenient, and I can get anywhere in Seoul using buses and subways. Seoul (at least the Sinchon area) feels very walkable, which is great because I prefer to walk. But there were a lot more negative culture shocks that I experienced that I really don’t like about Korea (maybe because I am not used to it). Here is a short list:
- It rains randomly in the summer. Like there will be rain for 30 minutes and then clear for 1 hour and then a 10 minute rainstorm, and it keeps repeating. Also, the heat and the humidity make the weather so much worse
- All the napkins are so small and flimsy and not real
- You can’t bring a knife into Korea (I got held at customs because I had a knife in my checked luggage)
- Most chopsticks are metal and flat, so they are hard for me to use and pick up
- There are no sidewalks a lot of the time and you just walk the same road as cars
- Cars and motorcycles will just run you over for fun
- All the food is Korean food. It was really hard to find non Korean food, which I am really not used to since San Jose is a very diverse place in terms of restaurants
Overall, this first week was really fun. I met so many different people and went to so many different places. One thing I am realizing is that I have some sort of spending problem, because in my first week, I’ve been to Olive Young three times and bought so many things each time. Here are some pictures of Korea I took:
