After quarantining for two days in Hongdae, I was finally able to go outside and explore the magnificent party central of Seoul. I saw the see-through karaoke buildings, clothing stores, street performances, and cafes. Compared to Daejeon, Seoul is a very lively city with so many people so it was a little overwhelming being outside. I also got to experience my first Starbucks drink here! I found it really interesting how they have different cups for people who want to enjoy their drink inside and who want to take it to go. After that, I went back to my hotel room only to be surprised by a spontaneous plan. Gwen sent a text saying “Namsan Tower tonight??” How could I say no to that?! That place is known and seen in every single kdrama ever created!! Even my grandma knows what it is!! Laurie also responded to that text and said “yeah!! let’s do it!!” I put on my shoes once more and go downstairs to meet Laurie so we can take the subway. We found navigating the subway very easy and Laurie was impressed with how clean the subway was compared to the Muni back in the Bay Area. After taking the subway for 15 minutes, we finally made it to Gwen’s stop and met up with her. After another subway and bus trip, we finally made it to Namsan Tower and it was gorgeous!! We went to the very top of the Tower and we could see all of Seoul. We were literally on top of the world!! We then took the elevator down and say all the heart locks that we attached to the tower. There were so many heart locks and, surprisingly, many phone cases attached to the bar too. You wouldn’t believe the number of pictures Gwen, Laurie, and I took. Since we were at Namsan Tower, we decided to get a lock at a convenience store, write our names on it, and lock it to the bar as well. So if you go to Namsan Tower and see a little grey lock that says Gwen, Laurie, and Bri on it, just know that that’s ours!! After that, we walked around more to see the view of the city and took many pictures. Soon, we decided to head back home but instead of hiking down the big hill, we decided to take the cable car all the way to the bottom of the tower!! Although our view was partially covered by trees, we were still able to have an amazing time riding down and enjoying the view of Seoul. I had an amazing time in Namsan Tower and I hope to visit it again during the day!!
-Bri
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Because we no longer had any in-person group activities planned, I was able to head to Seoul early. I thought I would be more excited to head to Seoul, but I was pretty sad. I had gotten really close with some of the people on our trip. We would all eat together, explore together, and play games in the dorm. It also made me sad to think that I might not see the Korean students ever again. They really treated us with hospitality, and we became good friends. We didn’t get to say goodbye, and I was only able to tell them how appreciative I was over text.
Today I visited Gyeongbokgung which is the largest palace in Korea. It was only five minutes, via train, from my hotel. When I got there, I was watching the ending of a ceremony when a man approached me saying they were giving free English tours. I replied, “Okay thank you”. He took this as a yes and dragged me over to the tour guides. I then got a personal tour of the whole palace. The two tour guides were shocked at how little I knew about the palace and Korean history, so my tour was about 1.5 hours. The palace was so beautiful, and I was sad to hear that it burned down many years ago. As we went further and further in the palace it kept getting prettier and prettier. One of my favorite parts was the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion which was a venue on a man-made island. You have to look it up! I also really enjoyed the detailed artwork on the exterior of the buildings. The style is so beautiful. I learned that a long time ago when they used paint that they made from resources they found in nature, the paint would last around 300 years. Now they use paint that is artificially made and it only lasts around 20 years. The whole area was filled with people wearing Hanbok and I wish I would have rented one before I visited. The palace was way bigger, and hotter, than I anticipated so I got pretty worn out. After my tour, I got Starbucks and facetimed some of my peers from SF State. I’m sad that we weren’t able to experience it together. -Gwen Covid-19 isn’t something we can control. No matter how hard you try to sanitize, mask up, and social distance. Your chance of getting COVID-19 is most likely the same as the stranger next to you. As awful as that sounds it’s the sad truth. Our Cohort couldn’t escape the pandemic even though we were here to accomplish amazing things for young children. Yes, the COVID cases among us has made our program move remotely and ended our in-person program a little early. One could say we didn’t finish and they would be correct, but also they weren’t here with us going into the schools and seeing all of us working together as one big family to help each other to reach greatness. We needed just about one more week for our in-person program, so close yet so far. However, instead of being sad, or depressed, there is something we can control which is our mental and emotional state. I personally feel we the SF State cohort did a phenomenal job working here in South Korea with the Woosong university students and the kindergarten kids.
I feel so blessed and lucky that I was even able to come to South Korea and experience all of this. And I’m sure I share the same feeling with others in my group as well. I never told anyone this but I felt so happy being around people who wanted to work with children. Even though some had tons of experience with children compared to others I could see it in their faces they wanted to be here and didn’t want this opportunity of a lifetime to go to waste. All I heard was good feedback from our professors and graduate students towards us. Letting us know that we are doing an amazing job. Yes, of course, some constructive feedback, but in a positive way to push us in the right direction. To do more than what was asked of us and go above and beyond because these children deserved it. All in all, with our in-person program coming to an end I can’t speak for everyone else, but I have been doing my best to stay positive and just enjoy my time left in South Korea. It’s a beautiful and hot country here with various things to do. With my time off I’ve been using their wonderful track to run for my mental health as it helps me keep a positive mindset. While also trying to adventure out safely because I don’t want to get sick or get lost in this country. While doing so I’ve been able to take some photos of the things I’ve been experiencing. First is a picture of a sleepy cat that was on a table when I went to a cat cafe for the first time. Literally had cats of all ages just running around wanting to play with humans. 10/10 I would definitely recommend people to go if you have the chance. Next is a picture of a little river I suppose that I saw while walking across a beautiful bridge to reach a shopping market. I stopped to take a photo because when I looked down I could see small fishes swimming around and see birds just sitting in the water and flying away. It was a beautiful moment to just watch as nature is breathtaking sometimes. And lastly a picture of the beautiful red sky I caught from my dorm room as the sun was setting away. It’s always about enjoying the little things in life and keeping a positive mindset no matter what life throws at you. -Alex After finding out that there are potential positive COVID infections within our group, I had a nightmare last night where I flew back to the states early. I woke up from the dream around 5:45am and realized that I was still in Korea. I was glad that I didn’t leave yet, but I also felt a lot of anxiety and adrenaline. It was like I was on flight mode, so I got up and put my clothes on and headed out the door right away.
After leaving the dorm, I started calming down. The sun has not risen yet, so I took this opportunity to go on a jog and eventually ended up at “Sky Park”. The view from up there was amazing. Eventually, I headed down and went back to my dorm room. I felt like I my anxiety/adrenaline was still going off, so I showered and then headed to “Sky Road” to get some breakfast and restock on supplies. I was able to get the famous bakery, and got a veggie croquette and a veggie sandwich from there. I also was able to get a good photo shot of the “Mokcheokgyo Bridge” before leaving which really made my day since it was on my bucket list. I was able to get back to my dorm right before a Covid zoom meeting. After the meeting I headed back to “Sky Road” because I really wanted another pair of “Discovery Expedition” scandals that one of the Korean students recommended to me. The brand is known for their soft and comfortable footwear, which really helped my aching knees. After I got my second pair of scandals, I headed to the 5 floor Daiso that everyone was talking about. I didn’t get anything there because I kind of got everything I needed already but I really wanted to check it out. After Daiso, it was around 7pm and I knew the sun is setting at 8pm, so I rode the bus to Expo Park. I got to the park just in time for the sunset and was able to get an amazing shot of the Expo Bridge. Expo Park has a water area where families relax and eat food which was fun to observe. My day started out as a nightmare, but that nightmare motivated me to jog to “Sky Park”, go to “Sky Road”, check out “Mokcheokgyo Bridge”, learn more about a new shoe brand called “Discovery Expedition”, experience the 5 floor Daiso, and make the trip to “Expo Park” to get an amazing shot of the “Expo Bridge”. -Jonathan Jay |
AuthorSFSU Psychology Study Abroad Students Archives
August 2022
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