GANGNAM-GU

I spent today in Gangnam! And I really want to go there again, the shopping street alone was so long that we didn't have time or the energy to explore it all. I only bought one pair of cute shorts and some Korean face masks.


We ate at a lovely restaurant in Gangnam called Heart and the customer service there was awesome. I had salmon pasta, not really traditional Korean food, and it showed in the price, but it was so good. I also chatted with an old man in the subway about Finland and what I am doing in Seoul after he asked where we were from. Surprisingly enough, he had visited Finland in the 90's! He was also very impressed that we had noticed that certain seats were for older people and stood instead since the other seats were taken. A few people in the streets and subway tunnels also stopped and asked if we needed any help when we looked a bit lost :D How lovely!

 

Notice how in one clothing store you can count the calories consumed on the stairs while climbing them.. And there are a lot of stairs in Seoul everywhere. For example, our school is located on a hill and the dormitory is on the top of this pretty steep hill. A bit of a workout every time you climb it.
Right now I'm waiting for my roommate (she's also Finnish) to come back from the second dorm orientation so we can go to a chicken & beer place to eat. A bit more traditional Korean food this time :)

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Annyeong ha se yo! Hello from Korea! I arrived here today really tired after a long flight but had to get some things for my dormitory room right away (like a pillow, blanket and toilet paper), so me and another exchange student Annika from Germany went to get some food near the university and also took the bus to a small mall nearby :) It was funny to run into familiar H&M and Zara first thing there.
   The food was really good even though at first I didn't know what I was actually eating :D Turns out it was cold noodles and pollack. Good, but quite spicy. Surprise for my tastebuds even though I knew to expect spicy food here.

 

I just love the view from my dorm room! I don't have a roommate yet but I expect to get one tomorrow after the rest of the students arrive. Today was also the first dormitory orientation where we learnt a lot about the rules in here (there are a lot) and different activities. I'm struggling a bit with all the Korean language mixed with English :D Also the Internet/wifi at the dormitory has been a pain in the ass not working most of the time and I really hope it will get fixed soon.
Now I'm super tired after a long day of traveling and exploring new things so it's time to go to sleep!

CHUNG-ANG HERE I COME

Summer is almost over, which means it's time to get back to studying. This year, for me it also means moving over 7000km away from home to Seoul, South-Korea! I am starting my fall semester student exchange there next week, in Chung-Ang University. My plane leaves on Sunday evening and hopefully I will arrive to Korea on Monday morning. My feelings at the moment range from super excited to super nervous :D
 

The application process started already in February, when I sent the application for student exchange to my home university. Then in March, just before Easter holidays, I got the email of acceptance. From that moment on, I've had a lot of work to do. I have, for example, sent soo many different applications and documents, acquired a visa, as well as different medical and bank certificates, gotten vaccines, and just taken care of a million things and details related to me actually going to live and study in Korea for autumn. When applying I didn't really realize how much there actually was to do, but looking at the bigger picture, the work has been worth it. Although there might have been brief moments of desperation along the way :D
A little statistics: the population of Finland is approximately 5,4 million, whereas the population of Seoul, the capital of South-Korea, alone is 10 million. Which is to say, this trip will be a huge cultural change. However, I think it will be a positive challenge for me. I have already talked to some of the other exchange students coming from all over the world and it seems like most of us share the same feelings: excited but nervous.
One thing I'm a bit bummed about though, is the fact that you can't play Pokemon Go in Korea :D