Week 3: March 01-07, 2022
I can't believe it's been a month of living in Seoul already! 5 months sounded a lot longer in my head but while enjoying my time abroad, I truly didn't realize how fast time has been flying by. Since school was starting this week, I decided to do as much as I could and continue to explore my favorite as well as new areas. This week I went back to Gangnam and Hongdae by myself and walked around to see what kind of food places there was. I have to admit that one of my favorite things to eat here is the ton katsu. I never really cared to eat it back at home, but in Korea I can't begin to describe how good it is! Another favorite food find I came across was Knotted Donuts. This place was on my bucket list before coming here and while walking around Gangnam, I came across their pop-up shop. I would describe this donut as similar to a malasada + souffle pancake but a lot softer, and with a cream filling. (I definitely think this is better than a malasada though!) They also sold a variety of drinks but they're mostly known for their cute smiley face cakes and cream filled donuts. I would 100% recommend this place to anyone who visits here!
Over the next few days, I went to Hongdae to visit the Line Friends Store + Stylenada's Pink Pool Cafe, more cupsleeve events in Yongsan and brunch places in Apgujeong. After having fun everyday for the past two weeks, school is finally starting up again. My first day of class was March 2 and I'm taking 4 classes this semester. My schedule is Monday-Thursday with one class on Monday and Wednesday's and then three on Tuesday and Thursday's. (Yay for three day weekends!!!)
After only having two days of classes this week, I spent my weekend hanging out with a friend and going to Itaewon on Friday for dinner, the BTS pop-up store on Saturday and spontaneous sightseeing right after, and meeting up with my KUBA buddy group on Sunday for lunch and a campus tour.
Seokchon Lake + BTS Permission To Dance Pop-up Store
Week 4: March 08-15, 2022
I started off my week with round 3 of registering for classes during the add/drop period. I've been telling everyone registering for classes in Korea is just as hard as ticketing for concert tickets because of the limited availibility in each class for exchange students. This time around, I knew I wanted to drop two out of four of my classes during this period since they didn't transfer back to UH as any business credits. But this time, I made an excel sheet of all the business classes that would transfer back to UH and fit into my schedule. (Tip: always have a list of back-up classes in case you don't get your priority because it will save you a lot of stress and time!!! I unfortunately learned the hard way when I didn't get all my classes during the first round of registration and wasted a lot of time) To prepare myself even more, I went to a cafe nearby my place because my wifi isn't the best at my goshiwon but, turns out the cafe was filled with other students trying to register as well. I heard it's common that students often go to PC bangs or cafe's to register because they offer faster wifi. As I was watching the seconds count down until registration, my hands were shaking from nervousness because this was the last and final period I could register for classes. As soon as it hit 6:30 PM on the dot, I quickly searched for the classes I needed and registered for both courses in two minutes and FINALLY got both of them! I instantly felt more relieved than ever. I can't even begin to stress how this has been giving me anxiety all week but I'm glad it's over now! Below is my schedule for this semester and so far I really enjoy my classes! I have three online and one offline and luckily it allows me to have a lot of freedom after class to do whatever since I end early most days.
The rest of the week I took the time to adjust to my new classes and catch up. Wednesday was a holiday in Korea so I hung out with a friend to go cafe hopping and shopping around Hongdae again since it's the most popular place for those kinds of events. The cafe culture in Korea is on the next level and it's definitely something I enjoy doing here. Whether it's discovering new cafes to study at or to hang out with friends, I love the cozy and comfortable atmosphere it provides!
On Friday, I went to register for my ARC (Alien Registration Card) in order to live as a foreign resident in Korea during my stay. The process is fairly easy and quick and luckily I booked my appointment early on in February because there are no walk-ins allowed. All I have to do now is wait three weeks to go back and pick it up and I'm done! I'll have a lot more access to facilities here in Korea such as opening a bank account, online shopping, and more. After my ARC appointment I went to meet up with friends to check out the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. (Fun fact: It's free if you're a student, all you have to do is show your school ID at the ticket booth) I really enjoyed the exhibit and hope to visit more in the future! After, we walked around Hanok Village and it was pretty as a lot of the stores and cafes actually looked like actual traditional houses. I definitely want to go back again to explore all the alleyways as well. We then ended the night trying mozzarella cheese ton katsu (a very popular food item in Korea, and I highly recommend!) for dinner. Although we were full, there's always room for dessert! So of course, we walked to a nearby bingsu place in Anam. This place is a popular chain as you can find it everywhere. We got strawberry and their limited edition cookie oreo shave ice with a side of brownies and mochi. Bingsu is my favorite dessert to eat here because I love the shave ice texture since it's so soft and light and enjoyable to eat with toppings. I will definitely be coming back here especially since this is only a 5 minute walk away from campus!
Over the weekend, I went to IPark Mall in Yongsan. This mall is about 10 floors and gigantic. I barely walked around 3 floors in 3-4 hours. I'm already planning on visiting again with my friend because we didn't even get to walk around half the mall yet because there's a lot of stores and so much to look at! However, I mainly came to check this place out for the Popcond square which had a Marvel Popup, Crayon Shin-chan cafe, and Studio Ghilbi store. Everything was so detailed such as the stores and the food at the cafe. There were also a lot of merch you could buy. Since it was so crowded, I unfortunately couldn't eat at the cafe but I'll be sure to come back! The next day, I hung out with my KUBA group again and we were supposed to try on Hanboks and visit the palace in Anguk but the weather will be rainy and gloomy all week so hopefully we can go back in Spring! We ended up eating at a really good dumpling place, going to a flower cafe, walking around Hanok Village and eating soft serve that was only 2,500 won and the best soft serve I've ever had! (While writing up my blog posts I think you can see how much I enjoy the food here..)
Even with school, my social and school life has still been enjoyable so far and I'm more than happy to be studying here!
IPark Mall, Buddy day, & Cafe Hopping
Comments