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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Today marks the day that I am officially starting my study abroad journey! I will be flying on a direct Korean Airlines flight from the Honolulu Airport to Incheon Airport. The flight will last about 10 hours and I will land in South Korea at about 5:55pm in the afternoon. To be honest, I am quite dreading the long flight as I always experience some air sickness. Also, this will be the first time that I will be flying completely on my own. Fortunately, my friend, Julie Li, will also be flying to Korea - but on a different flight. We plan to meet at the baggage claim at Incheon after we land to regroup and find our AirB&B host. Our AirB&B host is very nice and will be picking us both up from the airport to drive us to our room. We will be sleeping there for one night before heading to Yonsei first thing in the morning to check into our dorms. Dorm check-ins start at 9:00am and I plan on being there bright and early so I can settle in quickly and relax a little before I start exploring the city. Leaving home is a bittersweet moment as I am excited to be able to finally live my dream of studying in South Korea, but also a bit sad as I have to leave my friends and family. The time difference doesn’t make it easy as there is a big 18+ hour difference between Seoul and Hawaii. :,( Luckily, phone apps like KakaoTalk, FaceTime, and Facebook Messenger help connect me back to home. It puts ease to my mind that Hawaii is only one call away. I highly recommend downloading the KakaoTalk app well before traveling to Korea to help familiarize yourself with the user interface. KakaoTalk is the main form of communication for local Korean citizens. I also recommend checking the weather trends leading up to your flight to S. Korea so you know what to pack and bring on the flight. Currently, it is around 0 °C in Seoul. To help you out, I have a created a little carry on packing list below. Note: this is what I have packed and you can pack more or less depending on your needs.
Until next time~ Cheers!
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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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