To a New Life in Korea

Hello,

How long has it been since I visited this blog? A year? Two years? Maybe more. I'm not even sure of it myself anymore. But, based on the recent edit, it must have been around one year. So, where should I start?

   On 20 February 2016, a new page has been turned in my life. A new place, a new environment and a new life experience. On that date, I finally flew to Seoul, South Korea to start my life as a student. What happened before I came here? What was I feeling back then? Now that I think about it again, it's all kind of blurry for me. It's surprising how much I can't remember when I believe it was an important period of time for me. Well, for a few weeks before the flight, I remember I was busy packing my stuff. Most of them were food I believed. Not a lot of clothes and definitely no books were brought. Well, except for three novels which I do not count as books for, well you know, studying. They were Dan Brown's book and my current book of the Mortal Instrument series (Which I have not read yet here for almost a year). I remember being nagged by my mom to bring more clothes. It was cold here since it was only February. It would still be snowing but hey, I did not know that. All I thought was I'll buy them once I get there. Oh, how wrong was I.

    On the day of the flight, I remember thinking I wouldn't cry. My family was there to send me away, along with close relatives of ours. A few of my friends came too. That was a nice surprise. I felt bad I couldn't hang out with them before the flight. I still haven't said sorry have I? I promise I'll meet you guys as soon as I come back. I'll keep that on my phone as a reminder, just in case I forget about it. Where was I? Right, the not crying part. That was 100% wrong obviously! The JPA officers were busy calling us out to hand our passports and I went there to get mine, I went there with the belief I could get it and go back to my family one last time to say goodbye. Meh, guess I thought wrong. After getting my passport, they immediately ushered me to enter the gate. What? No! I haven't hugged or said goodbye to my parents yet. I immediately cried after that. I looked around, kind of embarrassed for crying but, I saw lots of my friends were crying too. But, I remember thinking at least they get to say goodbye to their family. I felt jealous of them. (Bet my friends didn't know I was thinking that way). Then, I got a surprise call from my mom. I cried, saying I was sorry I couldn't say goodbye and a lot of other stuff that I can't even remember now. I talked to my dad too. A big step. Since I'm not that close with my dad. It was kind of awkward our relationship. (Still is but, it changed since I came here. I can feel that I'm getting closer to him. Albeit very slowly and with very small steps). A good friend of mine was on facetime with me, constantly being with me all the way from entering the gate until boarding the flight. That was a huge help for me. (Shout out to Didi! Thanks, dude.)

 

    The flight wasn't anything memorable but, the arrival was. When we arrived, one of the Korean teachers (I'm gonna call them 선생님 from now. It's pronounced as 'sonsaengnim' by the way), Ham sonsaengnim greeted us warmly (extra warmly with hot packs ready for us) and I was very grateful since it was freezing at that time. Brrr! Note to juniors, please be ready to brave the cold when you guys come here. It's really freezing and you guys won't be liking winter anymore when you come here. (Although, that only depends on your personal preference. I didn't like the winter from the start. I always loved the autumn). We met up with our seniors, got whisked away to our housing, and went out to buy some stuff for our house. And that wraps up the day. 

    Oh, how I felt when I arrived? Freezing! That was the only thing I could think of. Then, my expectations? Um, not much really. I kind of knew how it would be from the start since I've come here before. So, I was prepared to face the new environment and crowds in Korea. But, I guess it would be fun to talk about it is to live here. I might put that up in my next post.

If you have anything (and I mean anything at all) that you're curious about of Seoul, South Korea, or the life here, go ahead and ask me in the comment. I'll pay extra attention to make sure I satisfy your curiosity

Signing off.

This has been 하나.