living,
Beginning is always
the hardest
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.
Allons-y
Siri, wake me up at 6am
At the end of the day…
Seoultastic experience
Beginning is always
the hardest
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 1st 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.
Allons-y
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.
Living situations
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.
Siri, wake me up at 6am
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’ll start work when my coffee does
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.
Ready, set….relax!
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 the end of the day…
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’.
Lox
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