Monday, May 20, 2019
Well, as we learned from Day 1, I didn’t sleep through the night the first night (spoilers I didn’t sleep through the second night either). Today we didn’t have to be anywhere until 12:30 to give everyone time to adjust to the time change, settle in, unpack and all of that.
Day 2 was not a sleep in day for me. Seoul is 14 hours ahead of Chicago, so 3am here is 1pm the day before at home. 7 am here is 5pm back home. Sleeping in probably won’t happen over the next few days. Around 8, my roommate and I decided to head out and look for some food. We were surprised that the dining halls/food courts/restaurants around campus weren’t open, and many didn’t open until 10. We went wandering around Seoul to find some breakfast and the city was absolutely dead!
There were a few coffee shops open, but they only sold coffee, not food. We walked a bit and eventually found somewhere open that would feed us: Tom and Tom’s. They had an English menu and American style breakfast sandwiches. Not the most authentic first meal in Seoul, but I hadn’t eaten since the airplane, so we will let this one slide.
We had so much time that we ended up walking around campus a bit that morning too. Let me just say this is the most instagramable campus ever. I didn’t realize how hilly Seoul is, but Ewah’s campus really showed those hills who’s boss. Two of the main buildings on campus are built into a hill. Every time we walk by there are girls taking photos into the “Grand Canyon” as our class has begun calling it, on the many gorgeous flights of stairs, on the walking paths, against the art walls, it’s an Instagram lover’s dream. I will take these photos too, but not until the sleep deprivation eyes are gone. If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right.
A pretty amazing thing happened this morning, I FOUND ONE OF THE ELUSIVE POKEMON! One down nine to go (bringing home 10 is the goal).
In the afternoon we all met up in our classroom. And in some cases, really met for the first time. Loyola’s graduate program is a cohort system where you are with the same students for the entirety of your time here. Because I am a part time student, I am now in-between cohorts. My cohort (great people) all graduated in May. My roommate is from that cohort and this is her last class before “officially” graduating, but they let her walk with the group which is good. Most of the women on this trip are in the cohort below us, my “new cohort”. Including this class, I have three courses left, and these lovely ladies will make up the majority of the seats in those classes. Then, I will walk with all of them next May and officially graduate this December.
After class we were sent on a treasure hunt to explore our campus, the surrounding area, and the neighboring university. We were also each given 10,000 KRW (about $10) to find a “secret Santa” gift for a member of our class to exchange later that night. I’m not a huge shopper, but it’s really interesting looking at what all they have here. Beauty and fashion are two cornerstones in Korean culture, and man, are there a lot of beauty stores out there.
Then we all met up at our welcome dinner. While Loyola planned a vast majority of our trip, very few meals are included in our program. Thank goodness they provided the welcome dinner because it was SO GOOD and we were so hungry, many of us had American snack foods (granola bars, gold fish, etc) for lunch. We went to Hyeongie Galbi for traditional Korean BBQ. The restaurant is three stories tall, and each floor increases in price and luxury. We ate on the third floor, because we are fancy. The meal consisted of traditional Korean beef BBQ with all the fixings and a soup course to round it out.
We have two Loyola professors with us on this trip, one of whom is a Seoul native. During dinner she taught us some Korean etiquette and introduced us to some great customs, dishes, and drinks. When I get home, let me know if you want to try some soju. It’s kind of a vodka, but made from rice. It’s surprisingly smooth, and is often mixed with beer to form a bubbly drink called somaek.
After a long day of running around the city, and still adjusting to the time change (14 hours ahead of Chicago), we all went back to the dorms for a good night’s sleep, well, sleep. When we got back, I was sad to find the development of blisters on the BOTTOM of my feet from adventuring in sandals I hadn’t worn since last summer, oops. That will be a challenge for the coming days. All in all a good first real day in Seoul. I’m going to bed with a very happy tummy.