Lox's style

Unfortunately, as I have stated previously, I could not attend Fashion Week for the whole week. I could only attend 3 days out of 6. I had planned only two days, and we all know that planning for a fashion show, especially as a girl, it takes ages. So you could imagine my self induced panic when I decided I would go to Fashion Week on Friday as well. However, this time Yasmin did not join me. But just like the first day I attended of Fashion Week, the clothes and amount of people amazed me. I have seen known faces, new faces, and even newer ideas of outfits. That made me realise how vast fashion can be. Maybe trends to repeat themselves, but they’re never exactly 100% the same.

And just like that, dressed in an oversized white shirt, with dress pants and a pair of moccasins on my feet, my eyes hid behind a pair of sunglasses and a small handbag, I made my way onto the ‘peasant’ red carpet on Day 2, the 25^th of March.

NOTE: I will put the Instagram, when known, below the pictures

Either in a good or a bad way, depending on the way you view things, Korea is not what you would expect. I certainly was shocked, in a good way. Since the plane landed until I had to leave for the Christmas break, Korea never ceased to amaze me. I knew not to go there with any expectations, but it is impossible not to have any type of expectations. If you are an avid KPop listener or KDrama watcher then there is a certainty you’d build up expectations. Fortunately at that time, that stage had passed for me and I decided that TV and music are not enough to put any stamps on Korea for me. However, I will admit, I wouldn’t have minded to go through any of those cliché drama moments at the airport when the girl passes the guy she is about to become enamoured with, or I wouldn’t have minded luckily bumping into one of my favourite groups while at the airport. Wishful thinking and childish but a girl is allowed to dream right?

Maybe I did pass by some of them, maybe I saw some of them, I am so bad with faces and names when it comes to Korean actors/actresses/singers that whenever somebody just asks me who I like I just have a Google tab open and do the rude but well known pointing gesture; ‘This one’. Do no judge, there are so many of them that my brain just gave up after a while. Now I do not even bother. It did not bother me though, not being the lead in a makeshift drama. I was so amazed with everything that was going on around me that, ironically, I am pretty sure I did not take everything in. And I can tell you now, no matter how big your eyes may be, it is impossible to understand everything that might be going on around you straight off the bat.

If you are not a Korean drama fanatic or a Korean pop listener then you won’t be as pressured to form an opinion before, and I think this makes it a lot easier. You have a clean slate and you could write over that. So yes, in a way I am warning people to TRY and resist Korean dramas and Korean pop. Not that it would stop you in any way, one thing I have learnt is that you can’t resist them no matter how much you’d want to.

I could talk on and on until my fingers hurt about the shocks you could experience whilst in Seoul, it does depend on the person though and how prepared they came. Some things that should’ve shocked me did not, and some things I thought I was ready for, turns out, I was not. So everything that has to do with culture shock is basically one’s experience. For me it had to do with meeting people, fashion, language, looks and little things that I did not think they should’ve shocked me but they did.

I went on long enough blabbering without giving any concrete example. This would be the perfect opportunity to do so. For example, things I was already prepared for; not talking loudly on the subway-which is more of a social rule than anything. I’m not normally a loud person, but I did change my opinion when I realized what the ‘Korean quietness’ means. Ironically since the city is always busy and loud, never been to New York but I would imagine Seoul gives it a run for its money when it comes to ‘the city that never sleeps’ title.

The loudness of the city is something that I thought I would be prepared for but I wasn’t. I am a city girl, and I am used to living in big, busy cities, however, Korean big, busy cities take the cherry on top. There is traffic at any time of the day or night, there is always somebody on the streets and unless it is a National Holiday, there is no way you will not encounter people any time of the day. Majority of the shops (convenience stores) are 24/7 and this makes it a lot easier for students that realise mid night they are hungry and they have no food, or they have midnight cravings. Or if you are in need of ‘party food’.

The subway environment is a lot different though, nobody speaks, people rarely speak and when they do it’s like they’re not so it doesn’t make a difference. Nobody eats, drinks on the subway. There is a general unspoken rule that you do not sit in the seats that are reserved for older people, pregnant women or people with certain disabilities. Thus even though nobody is sitting there and nobody seems to need them, they’re unoccupied. The other rule is that if you are younger and if you sit on a ‘normal’ seat and there are older people that come at the next stop and they have no seats, all the ahjummas and ahjussis (older women and men) will glare at you. In fact, it is better not to secure any seats at all, especially if the ride is shorter than 30 mins. If you know you’ll be standing for an hour or more on the subway, just go for a seat and ignore the stares. It’s bound to happen anyways.

Land of technology and umbrellas.

Also, do not stare if you see people with their phones everywhere, looking into their phones on the subway and my favourite, when walking down the street or crossing the road. And they rarely bump into anybody, it is like they have their own sensor attached to them. They do have the tendency to stop in the middle of the road so the people that are walking behind should be careful not to bump into them.

And because we are still during the cold season, and it is still raining and snowing and people are using their umbrellas everywhere, forget it. Do not use your umbrella if you do not want to get stuck into a ‘walkway traffic jam’. During the rainy season, everybody is out and about with their umbrellas, and I did say how busy the city is. Now, imagine all those people with an umbrella, and add the phone on top of that as well.  Welcome to human Flappy Bird!

I would have more things to say, however, I don’t think anybody has the patience to read them. I know I wouldn’t! I will only say that you have to come prepared for Seoul. As in, as prepared as you’d be for a marathon. Nobody waits for you here, they’re all just living their lives in a very busy, jammed manner. Now take a breather because I am sure this post is exactly like what I’ve just described about Seoul!

If I could travel without the means we use now to travel, I would. I love traveling. I hate the means though. I despise them, not because I have a fear of it, but because I am not a patient person in all honesty. I hate sitting on my ass for hours on end without being able to move. Not that I would do much but I start feeling a bit claustrophobic, and I feel as if I am wasting time. I do realise how much of a blessing it is sometimes, it is the perfect time for some me time, for some pampering (as I said before facemasks are a must), catching up on lost sleep (and we all know that even after 10 hours of sleeping per night we still have sleep to catch up on), read, write, anything that I couldn’t do at home because of various reasons (eg loud family, people always calling you and wanting to talk to you, life in general etc.). Think that is the only good thing I could say about flying. I have done a lot of that during the past 3-4 years, and I have started getting used to it, now it doesn’t bother me as much. I found the perfect routine and I stick to it every time. Try to either sleep, read, listen to music. Do not forget the hand sanitizer and the hand cream (dry hands are the worst thing in the world). Lip balm. As little make up on as possible- if any at all. Do not drink fizzy drinks or alcohol. Water as much as possible (drink not water the plants). Ask for extra if needed.

Long haul flights are the best when you would like to have some personal time. At the same time, if you are not a patient person (I definitely am not) after 4-5 hours this personal time begins to become a torture. That is when I would usually try to sleep. And that is when everybody else, who’s obviously started sleeping as soon as the plane took off starts waking up. And rattle the back of my seat, and the babies on the plane start crying in hunger, and people start going to the toilet. And my plan to sleep goes straight down the drain. And it’s not like I find it easy to sleep on the plane anyways. It usually takes me ages to fall asleep whilst on the plane. However my mindset does change to ‘time to sleep now’ and the yawning and grouchiness starts. Which makes it more impossible to cope with everything that is going on around me. Then, is when I decide I need to help myself a bit and fall asleep and I would accept the glass of wine that the flight attendant gives me. Not saying that is okay, usually alcohol does not help with dehydration-it usually makes it worse, however, it helps with falling asleep. Not promoting underage drinking here! If underage, alcohol is out of the question.

Usually before I would go to sleep I would go on a rampage with my face masks and hydrating products. Before I learned that hydrating on a plane is important for my skin (this might become boring if you’re not interested in your skin’s health) I didn’t bother with anything that had ‘face mask’, ‘hydrating’, ‘cream’ on it. I would just use lip balm because I hate cracked lips. I did not realise that those cracked lips was my body telling me ‘Oi idiot, losing water here!’ I would get off the plane and not feel its effects immediately. I’d be fine usually until the next day, when my skin would start breaking out and kill me with its dryness. Ever since then I started using extra hydrating creams and face masks (usually clear ones) while on the long haul flight. If the plane ride is shorter I’d make sure to hydrate well the night before and apply a face mask. And only apply the extra hydrating cream before the flight and use minimal make up and completely forget about make up while on a long plane ride. (boring part is over)

Another tip, would be to never sit on a window seat. Unless you are traveling with friends that you could bother constantly with going to the toilet. Window seats are amazing if you know you have a small bladder and not as many necessities. Or if you know you’ll sleep the entire way. However, if not, window seats are the worst. I happened to sit on a window seat on the flight there and it killed me, especially since I have a small bladder and a lot of toilet necessities. I am a bit of a germ freak especially on the plane, and the hand sanitizer I had and the wet towels they gave us were not doing it for me.

Arriving in Korea wasn’t as bad as I thought, I had an overnight flight and slept for a bit on the plane (when I could finally fall asleep). Surprisingly, I wasn’t jetlagged at all. I did have to fight with myself for a bit to be honest, to go to bed at 10pm that night, but the excitement and the fact that I had an entire room to clean and luggage to unpack before I knew it, it was 10pm already.

Now, it all depends on the flight and timezones. Some people have difficulties with jetlag, and I read about any and every possible tip I could. Including the ‘do not eat whilst on the plane’ one. And I have to say that whilst I might find it a stupidity, it might actually work. If you have the patience not to eat out of boredom on the plane. Not eating for a while and then eating gets you easier in the time zone. Not to mention the fact that after you eat you do tend to get sleepy. But then, a 17 hour flight, with another 12 until I’d go to bed it was impossible for me. The fact that even if I became sleepy on the plane after I’ve had my meal but no matter how sleepy the food makes me the amount of noise and shuffling around still keeps me awake is another story.

I needn’t worry though, for the jetlag missed me completely every single time. Weirdly enough it did not miss me at all after a 2 hour change in the timezone.

And that was the start of my adventure. After that long plane journey, which in the end became my nemesis and I dread doing it again, my longer placement journey began. And no amount of facemasks or hydration, sanitizer or sleep could have prepared me for it. Well maybe sleep might have helped a bit…

Time, money, culture, language, leaving people behind, traveling altogether, being by myself…the list could go on forever really. Those were all the things that crossed through my mind when I decided to take the placement in South Korea. The most important bit though…how would I be able to survive the food and using the chopsticks??

Funnily enough, panicking came after the preparation. It’s always been like that though, for example, when I have an exam, I prepare and then I panic. No, really, I’m lying. I panic all the time. Panicking is me and I am panicking (see what I did there?). Default settings. Crap ones, but they’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

This situation was not making it better. It made it worse. After I prepared though. I did my research, and that was probably the best thing I could’ve done. I tried to find as much as possible about the place I would be going. And it is a bit more difficult to find things about South Korea. There has been a migration phenomenon in the last few years where many people went there, that is true. However, all the information I could find was conveyed only by people who are working there, not students on placement, or students in general. I found out a lot about the culture and what I could expect from Korea from youtubers/bloggers such as Simon and Martina and ChoNunMigookSaram. I got a general idea of what I could be experiencing there. People are different, and circumstances are not the same. I knew these will not help me as much. I knew no other way about preparing for it though.

Now that was the moment I started panicking. And if you’re like me, and you don’t start packing until the last minute and not surprisingly you find things you forgot to take with you, you might find yourself in a pickle. Panicking here is not an option. I had to swallow it all and start taking my mother’s advice (after a few years of her nagging me, and me not listening to her thinking I knew better, I finally listened) and started packing earlier. 2 days before, not much but it’s still better, and I am still learning! I tried looking for information about the weather and thought what I might be doing there, what I needed from home that I could not find there (that is another post in itself to be honest, there are many things to comment about on that), what I could buy there, what I could leave there when I would be leaving.

That was another problem. Even though my placement would be for a year, 8 months to be more specific, I would be splitting it in two. Half and half, and I would have to leave my first semester accommodation, return home, and go through the stress of finding accommodation and sorting out packing once more two months later. Now let’s be honest, who wouldn’t panic in this situation? So many things to think about, so many things to do. I had to do it not once, but twice. I still have to do it, as my year there is not over. I could’ve stayed there for the entire year, but I felt the need to go home. To something that is familiar to me, and Christmas was coming. Call me a familist, but I think Christmas should be spent with the people you love. In my case I’m talking about family.

Thus I started packing and panicking at the same time. Did not help, found that out later. I packed what I thought I needed, and I am saying this because I found out once I got there, I haven’t packed half of the things I needed. I had the essentials and I was spot on with the things I thought I needed there and wouldn’t be able to find, thankfully. The rest I bought there, not cost effective, but I had to. What is done is done. Next time I know not to do it again.

I had finished packing (or so I thought), now I had to finish panicking. Foolish to hope that I could overcame it. I did, in a way. On the surface I was determined not to show it. I had family that kept saying how brave I am do be doing something like this. That made me think about the fact that I was the only person in my family (close family I mean) to have left and move away to another country. Not once but twice. Not only the country but also the continent. And while a year is not enough to be considered moving, it is a significant amount of time I would be going; so for my sake I shall call it moving.

Hearing people say how brave I am, made me want to look braver on the outside, I paraded like a peacock whilst on the inside I was actually as close to a deer caught in the headlights as I could be. Used all the tricks I could, counting sheep (that actually helps to calm you down more than it does falling asleep), giving myself pep talks. At some point I did start to believe myself and everybody else. I was brave…in a way. Thing is, there is a thin line between brave and stupid. Don’t know which side I am on but I’m guessing a bit of both. Now, I realise that this stupidity has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

That was the hardest thing I had to do. For them I wasn’t only going for four months, for them I was going forever it seemed. I think, family, loved ones, friends, are the hardest things to leave behind. No matter how many amazing new friends you’d be making on the way, the ones that you already have and the family that will always be there for you will make you re-think your decision. However, I knew I wasn’t leaving them forever, and they knew I was doing this for myself. That this will help me grow and in the long run it was beneficial. It still did not make the decision easier. And saying goodbye was harder. I had to suck it in. And my family has been amazing, they encouraged me, and no matter how hard it was for them to see me leave, they told me goodbye with a smile on their faces and supported me all the way in my decision. The smile on their faces made the goodbye a lot better. I would’ve started crying (which I did, on the plane with my face hidden behind the facemask I had on-sad or not sad we shouldn’t forget to moisturize while on a plane) if they had not smiled.

I was able to communicate with them through WhatsApp and Skype, the time zones made it a bit harder but they understood.

As I said before, I was the only one in my family to have left, and that also made me realise as I was reading Gloria Steinem’s book ‘My Life on the Road’ where she describes the travel bug as being part of her, being passed through her genes by her father, I had nothing of that. So where did my love for traveling come from?

The amazing new friends I made while there helped immensely, they became my family away from home. You don’t realise how big the world is and how amazing people can be until you start exploring outside of your comfort zone. Then you’ll have no other choice but to start interacting with others and make friends. And what amazing friends you can make.

…I thought I was ready enough for South Korea. But you learn from mistakes. It did not matter I would be facing one of the worst winters there and not have my winter jacket because I was too stupid and I forgot it at home. Or that I would need less shirts without a sleeve and more shorts rather than the endless amount of sleeveless shirts and the two pair of shorts I had. Or that I would need a functional camera to capture all the amazing things I have experienced- the phone just wasn’t able to keep up with the amounts of fun I had (I still regret that one). I can’t say I will not be making any mistakes from now on, it is impossible not to (the endless amount of times I forgot my toothbrush when I went on vacations taught me that) but I know I shall be better prepared for my next semester there. Already packed my toothbrush-and that’s pretty much it! I still have two weeks left…

South Korea is probably the furthest place anyone can think of. And nobody thinks they’ll get there at any point in their life, unless traveling is what you do for a living. Certainly I wasn’t thinking about getting there at any point, and traveling is not what I do for a living no matter how much I’d want it to be.

 

Somehow I did end up in South Korea for my placement year. Studying at Korea University has been one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had so far. Unlike anything I have been through, even though I did go through a major change when moving to the UK, going to South Korea has been more stressful. I have started my placement on the 1^st of September. The long flight tired me out, but it did not damper the anxiousness and jitters. Before starting university we had an orientation week where we met our Korean Buddies (imagine student ambassadors). They had planned the whole week for us, helping us accommodate and get used to the country and language. We visited lots of places such as the Blue House and the Gyeongbok Palace. They took us to see Nanta, we had lunches and dinners. And the most amazing thing of them all we went to Lotte World (think Disneyland). I could go on forever about the amazing time we had whilst that orientation week. For now I will just talk about a day in my life.

 

Before I start, I have to mention I am a third year Biomedical Science student at Aston University. I will also specify that study placements are completely different than work placements, I am pretty sure everybody knows what going to lectures is like. And that you have enough free time (sometimes you do before exams only for it to be cruelly snatched away during exam time) for yourself. That is why I will incorporate a day in my life “lecture style” and a day in my life “skiving style”. A day in my life no matter what the day is, and no matter what I have to do that day, starts bright and early in the morning; got college and gym to thank for that. I would gym at least 3 times a week, thus I’d be up right before the sun, drink my coffee for that extra boost on the rooftop, watch the sunrise- and as romantic as that might sound the smoggy Seoul and the prospect of sweating on the treadmill killed every romantic streak that might have. I did enjoy going to the gym with my friends and enjoy the inbuilt TV on the treadmill. At least KBS Music (sort of like MTV in Korea) killed the boredom and Proustian effect of running on the treadmill.

 

Our Livingtel (student friendly accommodation outside of campus) is not far from the campus at all if you like walking that is and if you study on the main campus it’d take about 10 minutes; if you happen to study on the science campus you either love walking (20-30 mins) or you pay 1,250KRW less than 1GBP which might not seem like a lot, but when you have to do this at least three times a day it becomes costly. Every house or apartment block in Korea has a rooftop with either a small garden like ours or weightlifting gear (actually wondering who uses those, haven’t seen anybody use them). Each flat occupies a floor and it has 9 rooms with en suite bathrooms and a small kitchen which is not useful if you’re Gordon Ramsay, but for a student who lives more on microwavable food it works out perfectly. In Korea it is polite to take your shoes off when you enter a flat and we had to abide by that otherwise we would have had a very upset manager on our case. The rooms were not extremely big, however, I was mostly out and about so that did not bother me at all. I know some people use their rooms to study instead of library, I did not. Korea has such an extensive range of coffee shops that I opted to study there instead of the library or my room.

On a day when I actually had lectures I would get my shower after gym (no stinky allowed), eat breakfast (no fainting allowed) and set off at least 30 minutes before lecture. I have to add, I do love walking and I mostly chose my own two feet to take me to the university, I wanted to change my mind so many times though, because it is not only walking, but also ‘hiking’. Seoul is full of hills and mountains, and there are very few streets that don’t require your leg muscles in perfect shape.

I would stop by one of the cafes and grab a coffee and usually I’d have my lunch from the convenience stores that pepper the city. The majority of my lectures were after lunch when my mind would start to fall asleep, especially after the gym session, thus refilling the battery was needed and brave the hills and the crowd and get to lectures. I would be there for a while and afterwards I would either head off to one of the cafes or home to study. Sometimes I would grab dinner with friends, or eat at home. The prospect of microwavable food does not sound very tempting for me so I mostly ate out. The menus would be extensive and you’d have a range of good, tasty and cheap foods (would not go over 10GBP for 3 people) sometimes we’d go out drinking or just to enjoy ourselves. Then we’d go back home and try to head off to bed. I say head off to bed (I’m talking about 12-1am)  but we’d end up goofing around for around 2 more hours. The exchange students I have met have been amazing and we have exchanged a lot of customs and had a good time finding out about each other.

Now, on a “skiving” day, that is where things get complicated. We’d go and try to visit places. Our knowledge of the language being limited though, I say try, we mostly got lost, or melted on the way there. Summers in Korea are worthy of the word ‘hell’. We’d go visit places like Myeongdong, Itaewon and Gangnam and spend all the money we’d have with us only to complain later we shouldn’t have done that. All in good fun though so it was all worth it. We’d eat street food and laugh at the overpriced imported clothes.

At night we’d go out clubbing (we’re still young and all that YOLO got to us) mostly in Hongdae and Gangnam. Clubs in Seoul are extremely expensive but you get your money’s worth. The music and atmosphere makes it all worth it. Plus, looking at it, the clubs look all fancy and good in any picture.

 

In the end I can say that, even though not expected, my experience in Seoul, South Korea and at Korea University has been an amazing one. I have only one complaint though…even after 4 months I still don’t know how to say ‘I don’t want any more drinks thank you’.