Sunny Yusufji: Blog Post #1

First Impressions

I decided to study abroad in Seoul because I wanted to start traveling in Asia; I have been to Europe several times and I just didn’t feel compelled to go for more than a few weeks at a time. However, I always dreamed of traveling around Asia: it seemed kind of scary to go by myself on a solo trip, so I thought going on a study abroad trip might be good since I’ll be with a bunch of other American students who are also trying to navigate a new country. I keep hearing about all the cute cafes and pop-ups that happen in big cities like Seoul and Tokyo so I decided to just take a leap and go!

My journey actually started in Japan, since South Korea has a law that prevents students from traveling internationally for 8 weeks after arrival. I spent about 3 weeks in Japan traveling around the major cities (and visiting lots of Pokemon centers!), and I finally made my way to Seoul in late August. After having spent some time in both countries, I think that Japan is easier to travel to for the first time, but you will definitely experience some culture shock, like not being able to easily find a trash can! South Korea is a little bit complicated to navigate (literally – Google Maps doesn’t work here and the local map services are confusing at first) and trying to book anything without a Korean phone number is nearly impossible. However, once you get past those two hurdles, I think that it is easier to stay in South Korea for an extended period of time. Seoul has one of the best public transit systems in the world, and most businesses are open quite late and there are plenty of 24 hour places, so you almost never have to stress about making it to a business before they close.

Traveling with CIEE has also been amazing: they organize excursions for us that are already paid for, and they often include special festivals or events that are only for our group. So far, I have visited a pottery master in Mungyeong, several UNESCO world heritage sites in Andong, Bukchon Hanok Village, and Gyeongbukgung Palace with CIEE, and each trip was an absolute blast! In addition to the trips, the CIEE staff is also so helpful with navigating things like Yonsei University’s very confusing registration system or registering for the Alien Registration Card, which is required for foreign exchange students. I’m looking forward to more trips with CIEE!