Today I road a train en route to Busan, South Korea. To celebrate the ending of my midterms, a couple of friends and I planned some trips together. About twelve or so people are going to travel to Busan with me but after that, my friend, Luann, and I will be going off on our own to Taiwan for 4 days and Osaka for one week. This will be the first time that I will be leaving South Korea since arriving. Prior to this, I have only been to Jeonju which is another city in S. Korea. Most of my friends left for Busan yesterday (Thursday) afternoon but I had to stay back because of my ITM class today (Friday). It was possible for me to miss this one class without it affecting my participation grade but I didn’t feel comfortable not attending class. This class only meets one day a week and every lesson is content heavy. I am glad that I ended up staying and attending class because now I feel a little better about having fun for the next two weeks. Yes, you read right! I will be traveling for two weeks straight! :D Next week is going to be jam packed with holidays like Buddha’s Birthday and Children’s Day. The following week will be elections day in Korea so that is another holiday that I have utilized for my travels. I woke up early today to pack (yes I know that this is last minute but this was the only time I had during the week.. haha) and finish up some last minute planning. To help you future travelers out there, I have created this packing list for the two weeks! Feel free to tailor it to your own personal needs. I did not bring a carry on luggage suitcase with me to Korea (silly me) so my only resort is to pack in a large check-in luggage. In the end this worked in my favor because I plan to do some shopping while in Taiwan and Japan. For now, it is only a bit of a hassle because I have to lug it with me on the bus and train. Thank goodness I have a friend traveling with me to help me carry it haha. I had a blast riding the Train to Busan! Luckily, I didn’t turn into a zombie on the way there. My friend, David, and I decided to ride the fast KTX since we were traveling at night and didn’t want to miss the bus. There is an option to ride the longer train for half the price but we couldn’t afford losing anymore time. We were on the train for about three hours and then we got off to catch the bus to our respective Airbnb’s. We had to take the same bus but we were going to get off at different stops. I felt the most nervous about having to leave David because it would be my first time traveling alone to a foreign location in South Korea. Google maps was also not working for me ㅠㅠ so I had to pay close attention to the bus stop names - With my limited knowledge of hangul I had managed to make it to the Airbnb in one piece. Currently, my friends and I are staying at a place close to Haeundae Beach which is a prime location for tourists. Luann and I went to the beach at night to just chill and hang out. Some nice strangers on the beach gave us sparklers to play with after seeing us admire their fireworks! I had a wonderful start to my travels! Until next time lovelies~ Cheers!
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Midterm season is upon us at Yonsei University. The hustling and bustling of the students is constant and stress can be felt throughout every hallway. If you are studying at Yonsei during the spring semester, that means that you will experience your first round of midterms starting second week of April and ending typically at the end of the third week or sometimes at the end of the month. My midterms officially start next week Monday (April 17, 2017) and I will be finished by the Friday of that week. In total, I have two in class midterms and two take home midterms. Luckily, I only have one class that I am really worried about which is my Productions and Operations class. Other than that, my Entrepreneurship, International Management, and Korean class should not cause me too much stress. My Entrepreneurship and International Management classes require me to review a case study and give my recommendation on whether or not a company should continue with their business plan. Each question is tailored a little differently but the concepts are basically very similar. Both of these assessments encourage me to do outside research on top of reading the provided materials that were given to us. I have one week to complete this essays so I am not too worried about finishing in time. As long as I am on top of it and do work every day I am sure that I have what it takes to complete these assessments with good marks. I found this method of taking a midterm very interesting as it does not require me to memorize facts and data; instead, the professors allow and even encourages us to look for outside resources to help back up out statements. They expect us to apply what the material we learned in class to real life situations. The theme of “it’s not what you know, its how you find and use that information” is very prominent throughout the business courses taught here at Yonsei. Personally, I prefer this method of assessment opposed to the scantron method as it allows me to think outside the box to expand my thinking and personal learning. I have in class exams for my Korean class and Productions and Operations class. I am not too worried about my Korean class because I find learning the language fun and enjoyable. My productions and operations class on the other hand is causing me a bit of grief as there are a lot of theories and formulas to remember for the midterm. One other thing to note is that there are not too many classes that provide review/ practice tests for the students. That means that you would have to study the material all on your own and hope for the best when you take your exam. Some tips that I have to give are to start studying well in advance before your midterms. At Yonsei, like in most asian countries, your grade is based on a curve. That means that if you score above the class average you are fine but if you score below then you will have to work a lot harder during finals season to be able to pass the class. Students here at Yonsei University are among the best in the nation and have experience studying really hard for assessments. I am not trying to intimidate you, but it is of the utmost importance that you try your best in all of your subjects. Working hard only benefits you in the long run, so although it is really fun to explore a foreign country in your free time, please remember that you are also here to learn and be a student. Another tip that I have to give is to go to the professor’s office hours to ask him questions and clarify anything that you are confused about. Once you develop a personal relationship with the professor and they see that you are really trying your best, they will be happy to take time out of their busy schedule to help you. |
About meMy name is Elizabeth (Liz) Q. I am a full time student studying at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. I am extremely passionate about helping people, learning things and developing relationships. Archives
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