After my first night, I realized how hard it's going to be for me to adjust to Korea's timezone because the next morning I woke up at 5:30 AM and could not go back to sleep since it would be 10:30 AM in Hawaii and I never sleep in that late normally. But on the bright side, I enjoyed watching the sun rise from my window. It's starting to finally hit me that this will be my new home for the next 5 months! :) Since I couldn't go back to sleep or leave my room, (since I'm stuck in quarantine for the next 7 days), I decided to organize my room more and watch Netflix until breakfast. Since it was only my first day I didn't know exactly when each meal would be delivered until I heard a knock on my door at 8:30 saying breakfast was ready. Every morning, breakfast is toast with jelly and butter with a side of orange juice and fruit which is exactly what I would eat at home so I was happy with this. After eating, I received a text from Mr. Kim saying to get ready because we will be going on our first adventure, walking to get our first PCR test. In Korea, you must get a total of two PCR tests, one within 24 hours of arrival and the second one 1-2 days before your quarantine ends. I was already excited to go out of my room but when he told us we would walk to the testing center, I was more than thrilled. Right now in Seoul, the temperature ranges from about 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit which is freezing for me. Especially coming all the way from Hawaii where we don't get to experience weather like this, it felt like a treat. I didn't know how warmly to dress but I ended up putting on one layer of thermal clothes in addition to a sweatshirt, long pants, and a big padded jacket and I was ready to go.
I went walking with 5 other students too and we ended up taking the long route to the testing center which took about 30-35 mins. We even got to walk through a fruit market which was really cool. I heard fruit is quite expensive in Korea but Mr. Kim told us if we ever wanted fruits, to definitely buy it from there as the prices are cheaper. After walking for a while, my hands were starting to get cold and I forgot my gloves at home. I definitely learned my lesson from that day on..
As we arrived at the site, I realized how lucky I am that Mr. Kim guided and took us because none of the workers spoke English and the process was really confusing. There was a long line and I thought we would have to wait in it but we ended up not waiting at all and were out of there in about 15 minutes! You had to fill out a document on your phone which asked for your basic information such as name, nationality, place you're staying at, and phone number. Once you fill that out, you go to another line and hand your passport to the worker and they also type in your information in the system and hand you your testing swab. I sat down in the chair expecting to do the test myself but the worker does it for you. As I took many covid tests before coming here I was not expecting it to be painful. But here, they do it for you and stick the swab all the way up your nose for two seconds. Although it was short, I felt my eyes tearing up because of how painful and high they stuck it up. (I'm already dreading going back for my second test soon) But after that I was just relieved I got the first one over with and how quick the process was once again.
After we all finished testing, Mr. Kim decided to take us walking back to our place but on a different route. Since my place I'm staying at is right across Korea University, he showed us a popular alley/street filled with shops and restaurants that all the KU students go to after school to grab a snack and hang out. It was really nice and peaceful at the time we went and not crowded at all which I liked. Some of the places I remember passing by are Gong-cha (my favorite bubble tea place!), Daiso, Ediya Coffee, and a bunch of convenient stores that I'm already eager to go in. He then took us to this famous kimbap place to pick up lunch for us and the other students who are also quarantined and I was so excited to go back home and eat it. (We didn't go inside the place to pick up the food, we just waited outside for him) After picking up lunch, we walked on the backroad which was actually almost on Korea University's main campus! I was shocked to see how close I am to the school and can't wait to walk there everyday this semester. The campus buildings looked like it was straight from a movie. I was in awe to see how different the buildings were compared to UH's ones.
After an almost two-hour long adventure, we finally arrived back home. Now all I can think about is the next day I'm able to go out and explore on my own and with the new friends I already made.
A few pictures I took from my first day out + Quarantine Meals!
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