First Week of School

So it’s been a few weeks since I moved to Korea and I’ve been having so much fun exploring and meeting new people. I’m now living in a dorm at 연세대학교 (Yonsei University) called SK Global House. Fortunately, I ended up with a Korean roommate. Although she grew up in Argentina and doesn’t know Korea very well, it is extremely helpful to have someone who can explain what things mean. She speaks fluent Spanish and Korean, and even learned English through watching TV! How cool is that? I wish I could speak Korean as well as she speaks English by watching Korean dramas all day. J

The weather has cooled down a bit, so walking is more bearable. Most people here do a LOT of walking. There are many hills here, so we get some good exercise just walking to class or out around 신촌 (Sinchon) area to shop or get food. If you like shopping, then there are a lot of good shopping areas that are mostly outdoors. My friends and I like the ones around 이대 (Ewha Womans University), 홍대 (Hongdae), and 명동 (Myeongdong).

This was my first week of school too. I have a Korean through Ethnography class that seems interesting. The class is made up entirely of other foreign exchange students from all over the world. As for my business classes, they have mostly Korean national students in them. I heard that Korean students are required to take a class in English, so hopefully I get a chance to practice some Korean!

Our school has been getting ready for something called the 연고전 (Yonko games). 연세대학교 and 고려대학교 (Korea University) are rival schools and every fall semester they have a big competition and play games, such as basketball, ice hockey, and soccer. It’s coming up soon, so we just had a cheer orientation. We learned a lot of the cheers and saw video clips of previous games. These students are so passionate and proud to be here, so it’s cool to see everyone get together and show their spirit. I’ll let you know how they go!