Stories from Seoul: Exchange students, together strong

Serena, a staff writer at the Ram Page, is currently abroad in Seoul, South Korea as part of the student exchange program to experience a new lifestyle. This is part of a biweekly journal of her experiences while overseas. Enjoy!

Commuting to Dallas – Fort Worth to catch my Korean Air flight took nearly four hours. I stopped at a Western-themed gas station on the way and picked up some chocolate coconut milk and a mango fruit bar. The official check-in times for the I-House dormitory at Ewha Women’s University ended at 7 p.m., and the longer I was trapped in DFW’s infamous traffic jams, the more worried I grew about finding a hotel in Seoul to stay the first night at the last minute.

Pulling up to DFW’s airport, I realized I had been emailed that my flight was delayed, so, a little merrier, I passed through security. Fairly uneventful, my computer passed through without causing a stir, but my Nintendo DS ensured that the security personnel checked twice. To pass the final hour at the airport, I took a seat in the less crowded section near Gate 11, and finally got an opportunity to check on messages via “Kakao Talk,” one of South Korea’s most used messaging apps. I had 152 unread messages, courtesy of my fellow exchange students.

Boarding the plane, I moved over a seat for the couple next to me to sit together. Thus, I got the window seat. Korean Air provided a lot of items for passengers to enjoy during the flight.

The child returning home behind me and I were enamored by the window during the beginning and end of the flight. During the flight, most passengers slept, played on their phones and watched movies on the screens in front of their chairs. I ended up watching three movies and still had lots of time left over, because my flight lasted 15 hours.

Eventually, I ended up chatting to and befriending the couple next to me, who moved to Dallas from Vietnam. Our first sight of Seoul included many islands and ferries chugging through icy waters.

As I was collecting stories from other exchange students here, I got incredibly lucky; I checked in on time, my roommate was courteous, the airport bus driver and security guards were amazing, and I got all the supplies I needed for the first day. Many of my fellow exchange students arrived too late and stayed in hotels for the first few nights.

On the second day, I went through my ever-growing to-do list to see what I could check off. Despite the severe jet lag, I had to wake up at 8 a.m. so I could register for the classes I needed at 9 a.m. Class registration at Ewha is famously competitive, but I managed to get the classes I needed.

Afterward, I had such a long list of things to worry about that it was difficult to choose what to worry about first – finding a global ATM and Shinhan Bank to pay the dorm bill, working on home university classwork, finding the local convenience stores and university cafeteria, etc. On my way out to explore the parts of Seoul near Ewha, one of the exchange students in our chat let us know that she also needed to get things done, and we settled to meet in our dorm’s courtyard.

Waiting for that meeting, I meandered around the dorm’s halls to locate basic necessities. After a while, I ended up finding the printing, studying, cooking, and praying rooms. In completing this task, I encountered another friend who offered to help me find my classes in exchange for helping her with the printer. The printer was incredibly confusing.

In the courtyard, my fellow exchange student and I met up and asked another exchange student passing by for directions to the local Daiso, a chain of variety stores. Then more exchange students decided to join our group – two turned into four, four turned into seven, seven turned into 16.

Here in Seoul, I’ve noticed you either carry a bag with you or you buy a bag in the store. You have many options – paper, opaque fabric or sheer fabric. The closest Daiso had two small floors – the first floor offers beauty products and snacks, while the second floor offered home supplies, such as blankets, cleaning products and eating utensils.

We split into two groups afterward – some chose to eat bagels – and I joined the others to return to the dorm and drop off our purchases. I ended up in a group of four, and we struggled to find a restaurant serving food that aligned with dietary considerations. We ended up eating at a local restaurant serving orange chicken.

Lastly, my friends worried about not having a SIM card that worked in Korea, but they had forgotten their passports. We went to a local convenience store to buy a T-money card so we could use public transportation. These must be bought and refilled using cash.

In the end, I questioned to myself, “How come?” and ended up gaining a vague sense of what other people’s lives were like so I could better understand them. Sure, the jet lag seems unbearable, and combined with the homesickness caused by feeling like you’re not in control of anything, it hurts for the first few days.

Even if you’re good with all that, there’s travel sickness to worry about. This sickness has many causes and strikes down people in different ways: time difference, eating and sleeping schedule upset, unfamiliar foods, anxiety, stress, etc. Even with a good support network, it’s hard to combat.

I loved meeting so many interesting people, but I’ve also realized that I’ve taken so many little things for granted back home. I miss the greenery and having everything I needed within my grasp. It’s a different feeling when you can return home and truly relax versus returning to a house where you feel transience in the air, but I certainly love the diversity here in Seoul. I can finally walk down the street and buy specialty foods, like halva and kimbap, instead of having to home-cook everything. The 7-Eleven stores and restaurants here are also “fire” compared to the ones I’ve seen in Texas. All in all, it’s an experience I’m down to experience.