My first few days in Seoul were a bit more challenging than I expected. When I arrived, I was shocked to discover that SNU was located on a mountain – a fifteen minute bus ride from the nearest subway station. At first, I was a bit scared to venture out. The bus had dropped us off at the dorms, which were located in a different area than the main part of campus. There were so many trees that I was unable to see any of the buildings that I needed to find for classes. Google Maps was useless as there were no walking directions or building names available. There was no wifi in the dorms, and my data was terrible because it was the free international version that T-Mobile provided with my phone plan. I felt overwhelmed. I was alone in an unfamiliar country that spoke an unfamiliar language with no one to turn to.

Luckily, my roommate arrived the same night that I did, and we were able to head down to Myeongdong with a large group of people the next to get a sim card. Although the plan was a bit expensive, having a quick, reliable connection wherever I went was a game changer. Some of the people in the group had been in Seoul before, so I relied on them a lot for navigation. I learned how to use Kakao Maps and Naver to get around and got used to the complicated subway station. Over the course of the week, I became familiar with the main roads of campus and was able to get around without help.

So far, SNU ISP has been a lot like the start of freshman year. I am able to meet so many different people from all around the world and experience new things with them. Since my roommate is British, I have been able to learn a lot about cultural differences between two seemingly similar countries. I was incredibly shocked to find out that the King of England was also technically the king of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia – it is the reason why they have prime ministers and not presidents.

Since both of my professors happen to be American, classes have been quite similar to the ones I have experienced at Pitt. The only major difference is that they are three hours long, four days a week. This is because we only have four weeks instead of the usual fifteen. Each class is packed full of information and can feel a bit long. Luckily, my professors have been very engaging and have made each class very interesting.

After class, I usually relax in the dorm or head down to town to explore. It’s a bit hard to go every day as transit to the major areas of Seoul can take an hour and a half. I’m a big foodie who loves spicy food, so my favorite experience so far has been trying all the amazing foods that Korea has to offer. I try to eat something new every meal, and I have never been disappointed. Seoul has been amazing so far and I can’t wait for the weeks to come!

Signing off,
Joanne