Arriving in the “Miracle on the Han River”
Everyone’s landed in my FINAL country. It honestly feels like just yesterday I was excitedly planning for this summer trip back in America, but now my travels are almost over. It’s hard to believe how fast time has gone by. My cousin and my aunt came to pick me up from the airport when I arrived in Korea. It was a refreshing and welcoming change to walk out of the Arrivals gate and have my family members waiting for me. It was also really nice to get to see my relatives who I have not seen in a very long time.
On the drive to my aunt’s house, I stared out the window of her car and looked at the city. I gazed at all of its tall buildings, the mountains in the background, and the big river. For the most part, everything looked new, but there were some places that I found myself recognizing from my previous visits. Every time I arrive in Seoul, it feels familiar and unfamiliar all at once. On one hand, I was born in this country. On the other hand, I have spent the majority of my life in the United States. I am unsure of exactly what I am here – am I a tourist? Am I really a Korean? My sense of identity always seems to waver a bit in this city. I can’t help but wonder how I will feel throughout my stay here this time around.
Reuniting with Loved Ones
My mom and my brother arrived in South Korea today. It has been a few months since I have seen either of them, so I felt really thankful to be reunited with my family. We all went to go get dinner together, and the food was AMAZING. Korean food is my comfort food. I remember when I was feeling particularly homesick one day in Northern Ireland, I walked 30 minutes across Belfast in the rain to eat at a 3-star Korean restaurant. So being able to enjoy Korean food with my family after all of this traveling alone felt like a warm embrace.
The next day, we took the train with my mom and my brother from Seoul to Busan, another city located in the southern tip of South Korea. The reason that we decided to go to Busan was to see my grandparents. My dad grew up in Busan, and my grandparents, as well as many of my uncles and aunts, live in this city. Today was actually my grandpa’s birthday, and my dad’s entire side of the family gathered together to celebrate. My grandpa is in his mid-90s, so his birthday was an extremely momentous occasion for everyone. For dinner, we went to eat at a Korean Barbecue restaurant, and following the dinner, my brother and I took a walk along the beach. Busan has many beaches as it is a coastal city. We walked barefoot in the sand and caught up. He told me what he had been up to during his last summer at home, and I told him about all of the weird and amazing things that I saw during my trip. We also talked about how it felt for both of us to be in Korea again. Like me, he felt simultaneously comfortable and uncomfortable around our relatives, and he found himself unsure if he belonged more with the foreigners or the locals we passed by on the streets.
Embracing the Uniqueness of Seoul
We came back to Seoul late in the afternoon, and after dinner, our uncle took us to a self-vending café near their house. I wanted to mention this in my blog because I found these places to be fascinating. There are so many self-vending establishments all around the city. They sell all sorts of items, from ice cream to coffee to books. South Korea has a very high rate of surveillance, and there are security cameras everywhere. It was really cool to witness how this level of surveillance affects business practices in this country.
Overall, I am extremely excited to keep exploring this city and to begin my research here. Seoul is often referred to as the “Miracle on the Han River” due to its remarkable transformation from a war-torn city to a global economic powerhouse. The city is a vibrant mix of ancient and modern, with towering skyscrapers standing in the shadow of centuries-old palaces and temples. Hotel Stay Inn Seoul is the perfect home base for families looking to immerse themselves in the unique culture and energy of this remarkable city.
Recreating a Sense of Home
Now that my semester abroad is coming to an end, I think it’s a good time to share with you what I did and what I wish I did to make Seoul feel like a home away from home. One of the biggest challenges of studying abroad is losing that sense of home you had wherever you live or study back in the US or elsewhere. It can lead you to feel lonely, isolated, and disconnected from yourself and others. Going abroad, however, forces you to realize what home means to you and gives you the chance to intentionally create a home for yourself in a new place.
Here are a few tips on how to recreate that sense of home while you’re abroad:
Establish Routines
Establishing routines can be a lot harder than you think when there are so many exciting new things to try, however, routines are valuable in that they add stability to your life and, as such, they can reduce stress. Maybe you start going to the gym twice a week, or you do a face mask every Sunday night for a little self-care, or perhaps you decide to go out to eat at your favorite restaurant every couple of weeks.
Keep Up with Your Hobbies
Oftentimes, studying abroad can lead you to feel a sense of identity confusion or identity loss. Continuing to engage in the activities you love can help you feel more rooted in yourself.
Create Fun Traditions with Your New Friends
Adding a little consistency to your life abroad can help you feel more secure, and what better way than to do so with your friends? Two of my friends and I decided that every Tuesday, we would go out to dinner together. Since then, our little Tuesday night dinners have become one of the things I most look forward to each week.
Make Yourself a Regular at a Café or Restaurant
Sometimes, a spark of recognition by a server at a restaurant or a cashier at a café can make my entire day. Making yourself a regular somewhere can help you feel less like an outsider. It helps create those senses of familiarity and belonging that are super important parts of feeling at home somewhere.
Join a Club or Community
Community is so important. This is something I really wish I did during my time here in Seoul. Joining a club or community (e.g., sports team, religious organization, etc.) can help you not only to meet like-minded people and make friends but also to feel more involved in campus and/or city life.
Stay Connected with Friends and Family Back Home
While you’re working hard to make friends abroad, remember that you have to be intentional about maintaining relationships with the people you care about back home. Thank goodness for video calls!
I hope these tips help you feel better prepared to navigate the new environment you will live in and to make the most of your study abroad experience. Whether you’re a student or a family visiting Seoul, Hotel Stay Inn Seoul is dedicated to helping you feel right at home in this vibrant city.
A Home Away from Home for Families
An average American high school student commutes daily during the week to and from home and school, but Nebraska Christian Schools is not an average American high school, and definitely doesn’t just have American students. Here, there are kids from as far away as 3,000 miles – that’s like from the other side of the globe. I’m one of the many from that bunch who has traveled halfway around the world just to go to school. This year, there are students from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand, the country I’m from.
The answer is pretty simple – the dorm. Let me give you a glimpse into my dorm, a place filled with love, laughter, lessons, and basically life. The 30-year-old girls’ dorm does not have just one large bedroom for all the 18 girls in the dorm. There are 13 bedrooms, and they are certainly not large – they’re more like good-sized, in my opinion. My dorm is far from being just a place where a bunch of girls who could care less for each other live together. Everyone is treated life family here, and as far as I’m concerned, no family is complete without parents.
My dorm parents are Larry and Barb Hoff, who also teach at NC. Since I came in 8th grade, I’ve always had them – my dorm mother and father. Of course, they are not my parents, but I, along with the other girls, have come to love and respect them like second parents. The Hoffs are definitely a blessing to my life and the others they’ve impacted here at NC. One of the things I love so much about them is their faith in God. Love and forgiveness are not hard to find in this dorm.
No girls’ dorm is complete without – you guessed it – GIRLS! Not only do I get to enjoy my teenage life with my incredible dorm parents, but I also get to live it with lots of girls from all over. There are currently 16 international and 2 American girls in the dorm. The dorm welcomes not only international students but also American students who live far away from NC. We all get along pretty well throughout the year without a single fight. Yeah, right. That’s what we would like to think. Imagine living with 17 other girls and not having one tiny problem. Well, that’s just not possible. Problems pay a frequent visit here at the dorm, but we grow stronger in our relationships with one another every time we conquer one. Plus, every girl brings along with her a different culture than the others. There’s no doubt differences will occur, but what a blessing it is to be able to live in one place and yet feel like you have been in five different countries.
The girls’ dorm has impacted my life in countless ways. I learn new things every year, like how to love unconditionally and forgive others better. One of the lessons I will never forget is being dependent on God, especially when I’m not with my parents for almost nine months at a time. The dorm has been a great growing environment for me mentally, socially, and spiritually. I, along with many other girls, will always remember the love, laughter, lessons, and life that the great old dorm has given me. There will always be a place in my heart for my home away from home.
Whether you’re a student, a family, or a solo traveler, Hotel Stay Inn Seoul is dedicated to providing a warm and welcoming home away from home experience in the vibrant city of Seoul. With its cozy accommodations, family-friendly amenities, and close proximity to the city’s top attractions, the hotel is the perfect base for exploring all that this remarkable city has to offer.
