bregjetokorea

[bregjetokorea]

5. Departure Time & Arriving in Seoul

And so the journey begins… My family and I woke up at 5.30 am to get ready to drop me off at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. My dog also came along as I won’t be seeing her for 4 months either ㅠㅠ. The drive wasn’t too bad and we arrived well on time. We had some coffee and later met with Bo-Jenna and her dad.

We together checked in our suitcases. It took some time and we needed help from a service worker because we had never done this before lmao. After that we quickly went to security and said goodbye to our families. It was so sad, and obviously I cried.

Then, Bo-Jenna and I went through security and found some place to eat. The other two girls we are sharing the Airbnb with, Parasto and Maud, were also here so we met with them. As we were eating, we got a disappointing email from Myongji. They told us that, as they’re taking into consideration the difficulty we may have experienced finding temporary accommodation for the 14-day quarantine period, they decided to allow us to check into the on-campus dormitory early. We all got so mad about it, because we won’t be able to get a refund from the Airbnb because we are supposed to check in tomorrow. We decided to just stay in the Airbnb and see if there’s going to be any changes. Furthermore, Maud also got an email saying that we won’t have to do the quarantine period at all (?????), and that Myongji is sending us some ‘guidelines’ for us to follow. We don’t know what that means…  And they never sent us anything… Anyways, time for boarding!!

Our plane to Helsinki left at 12:40. It was a short flight. I was watching Netflix and Bo-Jenna was sleeping on my shoulder the entire sit, so when we arrived in Helsinki I couldn’t move my arm. But it was fine. Because Helsinki looked so beautiful from up in the air lol. I have never been to Scandinavia before.

At Helsinki Airport we had some quick lunch at Burger King before boarding again. When we walked to our gate we saw so many people wearing masks. This was the first time I actually realized that I’m going to fricking Asia. Other side of the world Asia. Corona country. Waah.

We boarded the plane and I was seated next to Bo-Jenna and this Korean dude. The trip was soooo long though (9 hours). I watched Crazy Rich Asians on the screen and the rest of my downloaded Netflix series. I couldn’t sleep at all. During our flight we got dumplings and some potato breakfast and honestly it was good lol.

At Incheon Airport the first thing I did was put up a mask. EVERYONE was wearing a mask. We first had to walk through this device thing that checked our temperature because of the Corona. Then, we needed to get a document as proof of entering the country. It was all a bit confusing but I guess we all managed.

Then…. The first big problem started. As we were collecting our baggage, Bo-Jenna and I realized our baggage didn’t arrive… The only suitcase that arrived was Bo-Jenna’s carry on trolley. It was so frustrating, especially since we didn’t check in our own suitcases so it was not our fault of something went wrong. We went to check with the lost and found staff and they told us that one of Bo-Jenna’s suitcases still was in Amsterdam, and both of mine were lost. It was so mad, because we had to check in our carry-on baggage and I literally didn’t have anything with me. We went to fill in a Property Irregulation Report and were just hoping our baggage would be delivered to us soon.

Maud and Parasto had requested the Myongji pick-up service but Bo-Jenna and I didn’t. Since we didn’t have our bags, we decided to go to our Airbnb early to go take a shower and stuff and it’s way easier and cheaper going by subway. I knew where to go and what to do so Bo-Jenna and I picked up a T-money card really fast and hopped on the all-stop train to Seoul Station. Our stop was Hongik University station. About a 50 minute sit. While riding the train I have never felt so white before in my life. There wasn’t a foreigner to be seen, even though it was the airport train. And people were staring at us the entire time. We got out at Hongdae station and quickly found the right exit. Our Airbnb host gave us directions to follow on how to get to the apartment.

We followed the directions and everything went pretty smoothly. Except for the last part as it was kind of confusing which one of the apartments was actually ours. I first went to enter the wrong house but the code lock didn’t work. We looked around for a bit more and then eventually found the right house.

The neighborhood is really cute. There’s lots of small cafés and shops and even though there’s constantly people outside, it’s still fairly quiet. Which is surprising because we’re super close to Hongdae main street that is really crowded (and fun!).

When we entered the apartment, we were a little disappointed by how small it is. But it will do for the next 14 days. I guess it will be fun with the 4 of us.

Parasto and Maud arrived a few hours later as they were also waiting for a Swiss dude studying at Myongji who had also requested the pickup service. Their driver couldn’t find the house either, so it wasn’t our fault I guess it’s just hard to find. Anyways.

The rest of the day Maud and I got groceries. And I got some necessities like tootbrush, underwear (don’t buy this in 7-Eleven because it’s so expensive wtf), pads. Some things to survive the first days without my stuff. Then, at night we went to walk around the neigborhood for a bit and had some pizza at Wilson’s which is a pizza place close to our home. Super cute. 

That was it for the day, we were all tired and super jetlagged.

[bregjetokorea]

4. Final Preparations

Visa Application

January 13th, 2020

Bo-Jenna and I went to the Korean embassy in The Hague today, to apply for the D2-6 visa; a super tiring experience but that’s mostly due to NS and our stupid selves. I wonder if we can actually manage to survive in Seoul, we are such a great duo. Anyways, we left really early in the morning (still dark outside) and we eventually arrived at the embassy at 14:30!!! It was suuuuper busy. Mainly fellow students who were there for the same purpose. We had to wait really long. The consulate building was a tiny shoebox, Korean news was playing on the telly and a big picture of President Moon Jae-In was being displayed on the wall. The waiting wasn’t bad at all as we met a couple of girls traveling to Seoul as well. All of them are going to different universities. Hanyang, Sunkyunkwan, Dankook, Konkuk. No surprise, because our home uni is the only Dutch school that Myongji partners with.

Bo-Jenna and I both were stressed out the entire way to the consulate because we “might have forgotten to bring something”. Everything was fine, though. Imagine what it’s gonna be like when we’re actually packing our suitcases.

Anyways, some practical info; documents we needed to bring were:

The acceptance packet issued by Myongji;

Filled-in visa application form + passport picture;

Passport + copy;

Home university enrollment (< 3 months issuance);

Proof of financial stability (enough to cover personal funds on the certificate of admission).

They told us to come back January 21st (in 8 days).

Flight = booked

January 18th, 2020

Bo-Jenna and I booked our flights today. Actually, I think we should have done this earlier, and I would definitely advise you to buy your tickets much earlier than we did. But honestly, we were recommended to buy our tickets after the university acceptance and visa application. We don’t have our visa yet, but tickets were getting more and more expensive really fast (especially if you keep track of it via skyscanner alerts) and seats are running out (only 3 left on our flight waaaa). If we booked flexible tickets much earlier we would probably have saved a lot of money. Anyways, we did buy return tickets with limited flexibility to save money, especially because we are going home in the summer season so one-way tickets would SO expensive. We added 1.5 weeks of leisure time (lol) after our classes are over to leave some room for traveling if we won’t be able to do so during the semester. We are arriving on February 26th with one transfer in Helsinki. There is no way back anymore now.

Sum minor preps

January 20th, 2020

I got back my signed learning agreement from Myongji today, but courses are still subject to change, so I won’t share my courses yet until they are definitive. I also applied for a grant for public transportation as I won’t be using my public transportation card in the Netherlands. And I’m assuming I probably will be using my T-Money card (티머니카드) extensively so the extra money is very much welcomed. Yes. Planning on getting a card with a cute Kakao character design. Or maybe print a custom one at Hongdae station. I’m so excited for that lmao. Next to that, my dad and I contacted our assurance brokerage asking for a tender for the new insurances I need (travel, third party liability etc.).

Visa pick-up

January 24th, 2020

Today Bo-Jenna and I went to Scheveningen again to pick up our visa. This time everything went pretty effortlessly and we were only inside for like 5 minutes. On our way to the Hague, Bo-Jenna gave me a cute ass gift: a bullet journal to document our Korea journey, with a cute ass note on the first page!! She got herself one as well, so cute. It’s funny too because in my first post on here I wrote that I will just keep this blog without having something physical to document in, but now that she got me a notebook I am suddenly motivated to write in it and especially to document together!! I feel like it’s less of a ‘must’ thing to do now that I am keeping this blog, and I think I am going to use to journal she gave me more as a personal thoughts / scrapbooky thingy. We’ll see. I’m going to put it to good use.

After we were done at the embassy, Bo-Jenna and I went to Scheveningen beach and had a drink. Right after, my sister joined us and we went for Korean Barbecue in the city. It was a first time for me. And it was good. Only it wasn’t that good when I came home, because I :) threw :) up :) a :) lot :). A LOT. Sorry if it’s a bit TMI but honestly I’m glad I found this out while still at home. I’m pretty sure it was the seafood. I now know what type of foods to avoid in Seoul.

Finances and epidemics

January 25th, 2020

Today I got some practical things done. First, I ordered an insurance packet which includes insurance for a longer stay abroad: travel, emergencies, health care, liability etc. Then, and I found this out by chance, I ordered a new debit card because mine expires in June. Normally in the Netherlands, you get a new card sent to your home, but I will be away when it expires so I’m glad I found out about this now. Then, I ordered a credit card. Which a friend of mine told me is necessary to have. To at least have a MasterCard available in case I won’t be able to pay with my regular card. And it’s good to have sorted this out early on as well because it’s hard to get one if you’re a student with limited incomes.

And the last, but really important and somewhat scary thing: the new coronavirus stemming from Wuhan, China. It’s some scary shit because it’s a new strain corona that has not been previously identified in humans and it’s spreading SO fast according to the WHO. I’m not sure to what extent I should worry about it. I’m trying to do some readings about it and see if there’s any measures I should take in terms of safety. I do know that many of the incoming exchange students are actually from China, so I am wondering how this might affect our program.

Corona virus: a pain in the ass?

January 29th, 2020

Just now, we received an alarming email regarding the recent outbreak of the new coronavirus. Myongji officials are monitoring it closely as the health and safety of their students (obviously) is their first priority. They told us to book flights which do not include transit in and out of mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. So, about this, we don’t have to worry (but unfortunately, many others in the exchange program do).

BUT. What is stressing me out is, they also told us that, as more is being learned about the virus every day, we MAY be faced with a situation where they have to cancel the entire study abroad program for us. Of course, I do understand this as it is a global epidemic to which they should respond seriously, but it doesn’t alter the fact that this is the most stressful situation for me as we are supposed to leave in less than a month. We have done so much preparations... pls.... And the thing is, there are hardly any options for us left if we won’t be able to go anymore. I can’t transfer to a different foreign university anymore because most programs have started or will start soon. Also, by the time we hear from Myongji the programs in the Netherlands have started as well. I’ll really have to check with my university and insurance company as soon as possible.

Kpop took me

January 30th, 2020

No it’s not that dramatic (yet). What happened is, my credit card came in today and I got so excited I entered the raffle for BTS MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR in Seoul. I had to buy a frickkking army memership kit for it so I better got those tixxx. I also heard today BTS is coming to Rotterdam in July right after we come back, so that’s my backup plan. But going in Seoul is so much more fun and a unique experience. The only bummer is that you can only enter the raffle for just yourself and yourself only, so if Bo-Jenna wants to go we won’t be going together, as we can’t choose seats and not even the date. If anyone’s interested, my raffle choices are:

April 11th (Sat.) P seat 18:30 (KST)

April 18th (Sat.) P seat 18:30 (KST)

April 11th (Sat.) R seat 18:30 (KST)

Watch me winning tickets but not being able to go because of corona.

Preparing for a Plan B

January 31th, 2020

I checked with my insurance brokerage about a possible cancellation insurance and they will get back to me asap. What I found out is that the travel insurance I got covers cancellation when travel advise changes, so I’m not sure if that includes when it’s just my university that decides whether it is not safe to travel. So annoying. Furthermore, I was on the phone with at least 3 people from my university department about a plan B. Bo-Jenna has been busy with it as well, so my home uni already knew about the problem we’re facing. Anyways, apparently, my Year 3 coordinator told me she can enrol me in an ‘acceleration program’ as an alternative minor. I’m not entirely sure what it entails, but what I do know is that this is a minor in the Netherlands that would still allow me to travel abroad for a couple of weeks, so I would still be able to get that ‘abroad experience’, just not the one I want. But honestly, I don’t want to think about this option at all. I just want to go to Korea :( But my hopes haven’t faded. Myongji asked us to send them our flight information, so that means they are still really concerned with all the planning.

Radio Silence

February 3rd, 2020

I’m getting so nervous honestly. I have been talking with so many people going to do exchange programs at different unis in Seoul and, from what I heard; Yonsei is cancelling orientation and field trips, SNU is cancelling orientation, Sogang even pushes back their academic schedules. Korean gov apparently advises schools to not organize any large group events. No university has made a final decision on whether to cancel the entire program yet, but at least they are quite transparent about it. Myongji isn’t. It’s freaking me out. We are supposed to leave in 3 weeks!!

Certificate of Admission

February 4th, 2020

I received an email that our certificates of admission had finally arrived at our faculty’s office and that we could come and pick them up. So I decided to go to my home university really early in the morning. I honestly took so long for them to arrive, I don’t really understand why because Myongji said they would ship them using the fastest shipping method possible. The documents really were the same as the copies they send us, plus they included some practical information on dates and regulations. At school I met with my international officer and she told me that Myongji isn’t sending her emails and information regarding this situation at all. She asked me to keep her updated. It’s super weird.

Self-Quarantine

February 6th, 2020

Brace yourselves for a lot of shitty news. First of all, I wasn’t selected as a winner for the BTS concert raffle. So sad. Then the more shitty news; we got informed that Myongji will continue the exchange program. However, for everyone’s safety, they want us to sign an agreement with a coronavirus prevention guideline, and if we don't agree, they are not able to accept our admission. The agreement basically says we have to SELF-QUARANTINE for a period of 14 days. Those who applied for on-campus dorms must be able to prove that, at the time of our move-in, a minimum of 14 days has elapsed since our arrival in Korea. Also, only those who can prove that the minimum 14 days have elapsed since their arrival in Korea can take classes. We have to visit a local district office to be issued an official travel history document to prove such.

So, what this means for us is that we must isolate ourselves for 14 days since the date of our arrival in Korea, and minimize going out of our alternative place of residence (that we still have to find). 

So what we did is, Bo-Jenna and I immediately contacted our home university. I have been busy with it all day. At last, I spoke to my Year 3 coordinator on the phone and she is trying to get Myongji to be a little more lenient towards us non-risk students. There are literally zero cases in the Netherlands so far.

At the doctor’s AGAIN

February 10th, 2020

Yes. Again. But this time to get a health statement. My Year 3 coordinator asked me to get one so that they can send it as proof to Myongji to show to we show no signs over fever or coughing or whatever the symptoms of the novel corona virus may be. Even my doc thinks it’s all a bit dramatic, but we gotta do what we gotta do. He also told me he ordered face masks because the are running out EVERYWHERE, so I can go pick them up right before I leave.

Also, today I created a group chat with Bo-Jenna and the two other girls from the Netherlands who also need to look for a place to stay during those 14 days. We decide to get an Airbnb together to cut down the costs. Because my home university told me that they are not being able to give us any financial support.

Different starting date

February 12th, 2020

So I just saw, totally by chance, that Myongji is pushing back their starting date by two weeks. I already assumed this would be happening as literally all the universities in Seoul do this. But it’s so weird, because I find out while casually browsing instagram and saw a post about it only written in Korean. There are no statements in English about it and we didn’t hear anything (yet) from the international officer at Myongji. I’m guessing they will inform us, but it’s so weeeeird. I’m honestly fine with it as it means that we won’t be missing classes during our quarantine period, but I’m REALLY hoping they aren’t pushing back the ending date as well. That either means we won’t have any time left to explore the city right before we leave or we even might have to change our flights. Please pray with me.

Quarantine in Hongdae

February 14th, 2020

Today we booked our Airbnb. We found some decent place in the middle of Hongdae, super close to Hongik Univ station. Myongji recommended us to stay in either Hongdae or Sinchon, which I think is a bit weird because these areas are the most crowded areas of Seoul. But we were looking at places in Hongdae regardless as this is the student hot-spot of Seoul and really easy to travel from/to. Our place is a space with 2 bedrooms, a common room and a bathroom. It will do for those 2 weeks. Also, the host seems really nice. I’m guessing Myongji will send someone to check on us a couple of times during those 2 weeks. That’s probably why they recommended Hongdae and Sinchon to us, it’s quite close. But it sucks balls. We are not allowed to go out, only for getting absolute necessities. It’s so sad because we are in Hongdae, there’s so much to do. I guess it will be 14 days full of watching Netflix and playing Stardew Valley.

New game new name

February 15th, 2020

So, this is something I have been thinking of for quite some time now. My name, Bregje, really won’t do in Korea. It’s just unpronounceable. Quite some time ago, my Korean friend Jiwon really encouraged me to get a Korean name. I always thought it was considered not done or weird as hell for foreigners to do that and it might be really, I don’t trust him sometimes (만약 오빠 이 글을 읽고, 미안해 ㅋㅋㅋ). I even used to think my name somehow works when I transcribe it to sound somewhat the same, but I guess it doesn’t. Anyways, we discussed it some more and he suggested I go for 나현 (na-hyun) but I think that just doesn’t sound…. right. 현정 (hyun-jung) was another option but ???? feels too Kboo if I do that so I figured I have to just go by an easy international name. I took it super seriously. Yesterday I did some consulting on Reddit and decided the name ‘Becky’ (베키) works best and meets all my personal criteria. I am still debating whether I am actually going to introduce myself like this, as it feels super odd for me to do that, but it will definitely cause less confusion and frustration on my part.

Saying goodbye

February 22nd

I feel totally weirded out for some reason. The past few days I have been so stressed out. Maybe because I only finished my internship yesterday. But honestly, this corona thing is spreading like wildfire and it's scaring the shit out of me especially since a weird ass cult has been involved including a so called super spreader. Luckily, the infected area is mostly around Daegu so our program hasn't been cancelled (but the Yeungnam program has, I'm so sorry guys). I am not scared of the virus but about a sudden cancellation of the semester AFTER our arrival. But I should stop stressing.

But in better news, today I had my "goodbye party". Most of my friends were there and we had a chill afternoon of talking and they got me cute gifts and I feel so sad for leaving them. Thank you guys if you're reading this!! <3

Packing my bags

February 24th

Honestly I think packing my bags wasn't that stressful (my mom might think differently). Everything barely fit in my checked bag and my carry on exceeds the weight limit but let's just pray they aren't actually weighing our bags.

I'm so excited to go but also I feel a bit divided because we can't undertake any activity for the next two weeks. I'm sure me and the girls will have a great time regardless but this is not how I was picturing my study abroad to start off. Tomorrow I have to wake up early (5am) to go to Amsterdam airport!!

[bregjetokorea]

3. University application

In this post I was initially going to track all the preparations I am doing before leaving for Korea but I realized it was going to be too lengthy. I did try to code in page jumps but Tumblr didn’t want me to do that, so I decided to break it up into two parts: application and final preparations. This is the first part. It’s still long because the entire process, from being nominated to being accepted, took over 3 full months! I tried to just create a log of each step I took in this process. Perhaps boring, perhaps not. Here we go.

  Nominated for a semester at Myongji

September 24, 2019 

Today I received the news that I have been nominated for a semester abroad at Myongji University (명지대학교)! I am very happy because it was my first pick. My dad is also really happy because I told him Park Ji-Sung is a Myongji alumnus (actually, he really didn’t care). Next to being happy I’m also relieved because my friend and classmate Bo-Jenna was nominated as well, so we get to go together! Maybe it’s my anxiety playing again but going together feels a lot more comfortable than going just by myself, knowing that I’ll always have a friend there who is going through the same culture shock as I am, who I can always check with and I won’t ever feel like a complete loner. So, there’s that, I am really excited!

Getting nominated is however just the first step of a semester abroad and a torrent of information will be coming my way in the next few weeks. Below is a broad overview of some practical things that I should expect the next coming weeks:

My home university will send a nomination to my partner university in the next two weeks, and they will tell them that they wish for me to study at their university.

Within a few weeks, the partner university will send information about the application and possible forms.

I will register with the partner university, following their guidelines and submitting the requested documents. It is very important to familiarize myself with the deadlines of Myongji university!

After submitting the application, the partner university will inform me about the status of the application.

Once I have been accepted, I can make all the necessary arrangements, for example flight tickets, visa, etc.

So that’s it for now. I will update once I know more.

  Application time!

September 30, 2019 

I received the application information from Myongji University! The deadline is quite tight so the first thing I did was try to make an appointment with my doctor for a consult on which vaccinations I need for traveling. I need to provide proof of vaccinations and test results in my application. I also checked my health insurance but so far it seems nothing needs to be changed for traveling abroad and even my vaccinations will be insured (when I found out my brain made a mental dance of joy because dear lord jesus I didn’t know vaccinations were that expensive). I still need to look into other insurances like liability and travel insurance but I’ll save that for later, it’s not part of the application. I have 2 months to prepare all the documents I need. Usually deadlines and me are not the greatest duo and I end up submitting everything the latest possible moment, but now I am really serious when I say that I’d really like to have everything ready within the next month. That way there might be a small chance of being accepted sooner so that I can apply for a visa well in time. And let’s be real, I think I’m really gonna need this attitude in Korea too considering the competitive culture.

  Getting vaxxed

October 16, 2019 

Today I finallyyyyy had my doctor’s consult regarding my vaccinations. I guess I was a little too enthusiastic when making my appointment because initially I booked with an institution that wouldn’t insure my vaccinations (always check the fine print, guys), so I had to cancel that one and wait LONG (only two weeks but I’m impatient). But in conclusion, the consultation really is something you cannot skip because which vaccinations you’ll need to get all depends on your personal situation and your budget. The ones I got today are: Hepatitis A/B and DPT. I need to get a few repeat vaccinations and have a blood test done, but I’m not sure if I can do all of this within one sit yet. Which is kinda annoying because I have to take a half-day session off for it. But it’s all for a good cause of course and I’d rather not have jaundice or putty-like stools or whatever may be the weird ass symptoms of all those scary diseases. 

Going to my doc is of course not the only thing I have done so far. A few days ago I had my visa pictures taken. It’s early but I needed new pictures for the application so I thought it would be wise to combine these. Visa photos can be no older than 6 months so I’m good. There’s a lot more to it actually. Korean visa photos need to have a white background and a whole lot of other specs that are different from Dutch passport photos. This is another thing that I never would have thought about, but I’m glad the kind man at the photo studio knew exactly what to do. Furthermore, I have filled in most of my application forms and have received all of my recommendation letters. I requested all of these from the international office at the beginning of the application because apparently every document needs to be signed and it could take some time. But honestly everything is going a lot faster than I thought. The only documents I still need are my blood test results and a transcript from my home university, but that is just a waiting game for now.

  The things I’m willing to go through for traveling... amazing

October 28, 2019 

And yet I got jabbed another needle in my arm; a Mantoux shot to test if I’m tuberculosis negative. It hurt a LOT more than the vaccinations... like a burning stingy sensation, so you’ll be warned if you ever need to have this done. I would have gone to get this tested way earlier but my doctor was quite confused about how to test for tuberculosis at all. I don’t blame them; Myongji is saying some contradicting things in the application form (the language barrier problems have started, guys). After some consulting I am now pretty sure I just need to provide negative test results. But… my doc called me last week telling me I couldn’t get it done with them, so, today, I traveled all the way to the health services location, that of course is nowhere close to my home, to get my shot. Also, I was a bit stupid and got lost in the hospital while looking for the tuberculosis center (it isn’t located in the hospital itself, lol) so I came in late. But everything else went pretty smoothly, I told them to have the statement prepared in English, and I will need to come back in 2 days to pick it up. 

Meeting my travel buddies

October 30, 2019 

This morning I picked up my tuberculosis test results. They were negative, luckily; I didn’t endure the veritable hell that was ~ that shot ~ for nothing. Or maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit about how intense it was, who knows. Anyways, the morning was a fast process (I didn’t get lost this time) and I could, fortunately, get my statement written in English like I had indicated two days ago. 

After that, I went to Eindhoven, where my home university is, because they organized a pre-departure event this afternoon for all students who are going abroad in the Spring semester. It was nice coming back to university for once and seeing my friends again, as this internship life is draining all the energy out of me and don’t meet with them often anymore. It was also fun to see how many people from different study programs chose to go abroad. We first sat in on a plenary session on how to prepare for our minor abroad. Then a student shared her experiences of living abroad in the US. But then came the fun part: a networking event where students could mingle and meet the other students travelling to the same country! So, I finally met a bunch of people who are going to South Korea! I was so surprised to see how many people are actually going and even more surprised plus a little relieved to hear that most people’s main motivation to travel wasn’t because of Hallyu. I also heard from a bunch of people they didn’t get to go to their first choice, so I’m obviously really happy that Bo-Jenna and I do. Eventually I met the 4 other students who are going to Myongji. They seem really nice and everyone’s super excited. We created a group chat in which we can discuss the application. This one girl had asked Myongji for a course list of the English courses and she shared them with us, so we can actually start to already make a selection for the learning agreement! We also talked about housing and gained some helpful insights from the others. It for sure was an interesting afternoon!

  Finishing touches

November 13, 2019 

Another afternoon was spent at the doctor’s to have my final vaccinations injected. An interval of a month was needed in between the first two hepatitis combo vaccinations. I will receive the third one once I return from Korea to be fully protected. I also had a regular checkup including an eye test and blood pressure check. What I still need though, is a blood check for hepatitis B. I thought I could get this done today, but apparently I can’t. My doc told me to come by next week but I am scared I won’t make the deadline so I made sure to plan for this in two days, which could be too soon, but I’m willing to take a risk. Not sure if the results are going to be what I hope for, but they have to be.

We also found out a couple of days ago that all Myongji students, including exchange students, are required to take Chapel classes (?? are they called classes, I don’t know??), which will be FUN because we didn’t know about it before applying. I of course knew Myongji rests on a Christian founding spirit and education policy but I never thought Chapel is a must thing for every student. Myongji students actually opposed resistance to chapel requirements over a decade ago. And classes will nowadays, apart from praying, singing hymns and listening to sermons, also feature different programs like dance performances and lectures that convey Christian values to students in a more friendly way, and to attract the attention of non-Christian students. So, I’m guessing it will actually not be that bad after all and I’m quite interested in learning how this works in an educational environment. It’s funny because the country expert we met at the pre-departure event told me we would tops see a cross on the classroom walls when it comes to Christianity presentation. She didn’t know about it either. But I’m fine with it really, I am Christian after all, I just need to get used to the idea.

Last doctor’s visit

November 15, 2019

In the early morning I went to my doctor’s again to get tested for hepatitis B and to check my blood type because I didn’t know. I called my GP and the hospital I was born in but there weren’t any records of my blood type so only thing I could do is get tested for it as well. I will get the results of both hopefully early next week. And then I’m done y’all!!

Bo-Jenna has already sent her application to Myongji and the housing company URSeoul a couple of days ago. Which is good because we are planning on sharing a room together, which she mentioned in the form, so they already know that we are going to be applying together. We will be living in Twin City Namsan which has the most convenient location ever as the building is connected to Seoul Station and subway station. They have partnered with Myongji and therefore also offer shuttle buses to the university. They work with a first come first served principle so it’s a good thing they at least know us now. They told us that I need to send my registration form, for them to send us invoice, so I’m just waiting until I get the results right now. Kind of a bummer but we need to pay all of the rent up front but I guess that’s normal in SK.

It’s getting annoying now

November 21, 2019

More waiting! I called in on my doc two days ago but the blood tests results weren’t in yet. They told me to call them today, so I did. But when I called, the results still weren’t there. My doc said they would call the lab asking why it took so long. Turned out, the results were actually already there so they faxed it to my doc. My mom picked up the documents, and everything was fine, until I saw they put on my sister’s name on the document.... Apparently, the lab made a mistake... The correct stickers were stuck to the blood tubes, but because my sister had done a stools test earlier this year, she was in their system and I wasn’t yet. And since we’re twins, they blatantly assumed it was me that was in their system. The lab promised me that the correct documents will be digitally forwarded to my GP tomorrow. I’m really mad because they haven’t even checked my social security number which is like ?? normal procedure ?? So goes to show, I am glad I set the goal of being done a month early because if I hadn’t then maybe I would have missed the deadline.

I applied...!!!

November 22, 2019 

My sister picked up the correct test results for me today. Luckily they came in well. With this, I could finish my application!! I have applied!!!! This afternoon I sent my application to my home university and they will send it to Myongji. I also applied for the housing right after. So now we wait!!

mmm

December 6, 2019

It’s been two weeks since I applied, and I feel a bit weird by just waiting, especially since I have been so busy until now. I have been looking up information about applying for a visa and I have started picking courses. Only thing is, I think the course list we were provided with isn’t really up-to-date. I feel like courses are not described well etc. I e-mailed them about it but they sent me the same one. I know the official course list is not going to be out until February, so I guess I’ll need to be making changes to my learning agreement when I arrive in Korea. But my home university told me it happens a lot and that it’s not that big of a deal.

Furthermore, the housing company has never replied or affirmed my application. They also said they would contact Bo-Jenna last week, which they didn’t. I decided to shoot them a message on KakaoTalk (most popular instant messaging app in Korea) yesterday but they haven’t replied to that either, while I can see it has been read. So yeah, don’t know what’s up. Guess they’re busy but I think it’s a bit strange. And so we wait!!

Housing Problems

December 13, 2019

Received an email from Myongji today regarding the second Seoul off-campus dormitories (the one we applied for). I now understand why they never replied to me. Myongji partnered with the housing agency, but apparently, the contract between the housing agency and the landlord is no longer available due to an internal problem. They said that if we want to stay in the building (Twin City Namsan), we have to contact the landlord ourselves and it would mean the condition of the contract (room type, cost, etc.) would be different from what they offered initially. For this reason, Myongji gave us the alternative option to stay in the on-campus dormitory. We have to decide on this quickly because we need to send the application form in 5 days.

Decisions

December 16, 2019

Myongji sent us a different application form for the on-campus housing that allows us to choose a roommate. Bo-Jenna and I discussed it and we are going to apply for a double room. It’s quite the downgrade from the room we initially opted for in Yongsan but there’s not much time to find some other place anymore without spending all my savings on rent. Location-wise it’s great; we won’t have to take public transport to go to class every day. It’s only 20 minutes by bus to Hongdae. And it’s suuuuper cheap compared to Twin City Namsan. But there’s a lot of rules and restrictions that come with living on-campus. There is, for example, a curfew, the room is super limited, probably not that many international students, just a lot of strictness. Which isn’t necessarily bad, but I would like a liiiitle more freedom to... you know... do whatever. I guess we’ll have to live with it. I’m glad we at least have a place to stay. And we do save a ton of money so there’s more room to do fun things.

University Acceptance

January 7th, 2020

Hooooray. It took a while, but I received the UAL today which means that Myongji has accepted my application. We were sent the certificate of admission and the rest of the acceptance packet by email and they will send a physical version to my home university as soon as possible. However, I was checking if all my personal information on the certificate was correct and found that they made a mistake in copying my passport number. I emailed them about it as fast as possible (which was 5:30 am for me, rip) so I hope it can be changed in time. 

Also, my learning agreement got accepted by my home uni faculty and the exam committee so I now have official permission to follow a semester abroad. I only still need to have it signed by Myongji but that will happen soon so I won’t mention it anymore.

January 8th, 2020

Myongji took care of the mistake and has been in contact with the Korean embassy in the Netherlands to verify. Everything is ok now. I was also added to a Naver Band group chat by Myongji with other exchange students where all information regarding the exchange semester is discussed. They promised to send housing updates in there as well. I’m so excited, guys!!!

As these were all the preparations I needed to do for the university app, all the next steps (visa, flight, insurance, etc.) will be discussed in a different post which you can find here. :)

[bregjetokorea]

2. A Semester in Seoul?

September 21, 2019

Welcome back! I guess I didn’t scare you away with my first post so that’s good. Today I want to talk about why I chose Korea as my study abroad destination, and believe me, it’s not (mayble a little) because of kpop.

Motivation to go abroad

Let me first explain why I want to spend a semester abroad in the first place. Back at home I am majoring in International Business studies. As I am aiming to have a career in the international setting I strongly believe that international study experiences are an essential part of investing in my future career. But that’s not the only reason. On a personal level, studying abroad will give me the chance to develop myself as a person (and let’s be real, there’s a lot left for me to learn). Being in a different country means that I would be in many different situations that I would have to face on my own and in tackling these situations I will be able to discover my strengths and weaknesses, or at least that the plan. The fact that I will be left to do a lot of things on my own will improve my independence and confidence. Especially in a country where many people speak poor English. Being outside of my comfort zone would also benefit me by making me more aware of my own being and the world around me, which is definitely important for someone who hardly ever leaves their tiny hometown village. So, if I can successfully put myself out there and take care of myself, I think I will achieve my goal of developing as a person and becoming more independent.

Furthermore it would influence my professional outlook. Being in a foreign country would allow me to meet many new people with different cultures and build an international network which will help me in the future when I am looking for a job in the international field. It will most probably help a plain girl like me stand out more in future job interviews as employers often look for people who are independent and able to adapt to certain situations. Studying abroad would also allow me to experience education in a totally new setting. I find this to be very appealing as it would expose me to different approaches to education, helping me develop skills to deal with different forms of education.

But why South Korea?

While most of my peers may decide to follow a more... conventional path in choosing where to continue their studies, South Korea’s mix of old traditions and modern culture makes it a really vibrant and diverse country for many international students. I said conventional because, really, conventional TO ME is staying in Europe. I’m an inexperienced baby, okay. I actually was planning on staying in Europe for the longest time. Countries I was deciding between were Denmark, France and Italy. But as the deadline came closer I realized I’m doing this to step out of my comfort zone. I needed to go far.

You should however believe me when I say it was a very tough decision for me to make. Honestly I think it might have taken me well over a year (with many sleepless nights as the deadline approached) to come to a final decision. A country literally on the other side of the planet… The culture being so different from my own… I haven’t really been traveling a lot… Will I be okay? I sure scared the everliving heck out of my parents and friends when I told them about my decision. I have however thought about it EXTENSIVELY (all caps intended) and my decision is based on many different values. A thing worth mentioning is, and I’m not gonna lie or be embarrassed about it, I developed a specific fascination for Korean culture while riding the 한류 wave. With Korean popular culture being so present in international markets nowadays this shouldn’t really be a surprising thing to hear from someone like me who finds interest in many different countries and cultures. With that being said I would like to point out that I am a very rational person and I’m not expecting to find my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that leads to “The Land of the Morning Calm” (I have always wanted to use that phrase). I could actually write a ten pager about the reasons outside of popular culture why I want to go there. I guess you’ll get to see a lot more of that in future posts. Today I just wanted to talk about why I believe South Korea would benefit me on a professional level.

South Korea is one of the Asian countries where everything is on the rise. The economy has undergone a major change in recent decades. The Korean economy is one of the largest in Asia and plays an important role in the world (think 재벌 like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, but also the entertainment industry being one of the country’s biggest exports). Due to economic growth most Koreans live in major cities such as Seoul or in the surrounding urban areas. With its high tech products and electronic goods, South Korea has left its mark on the international market.

Due to the increasingly important political and economic role of Asia, many employers value Asia related knowledge and expertise. By gaining personal knowledge and experience by staying in South Korea I think I would stand out when looking for a job. Also, I am eager to further learn the language. Over the past year I have picked up quite a lot of the language (thank you Hyunwoo Sun) but learning’s becoming increasingly hard to do on my own without any cultural context directly available to me. I want to improve and feel more comfortable speaking Korean because I think it’s important to have conversational skills in a more exotic language. It proves that I am able and willing to learn niche skills.

These are basically the politically correct reasons for me to go. But something that might even be more important to me is that I think I am going to be having the time of my life!! It’s literally a once in a lifetime experience that I would regret not taking. And of course I do know that I am going to experience cultural but also personal hardships and struggles. I honestly think I will encounter a lot of them and that the culture shock will be huuuuge, but I am sure that these are the things that I am going to be learning from the most.

That’s it for this post. My next is probably not going to be up for a while because I assume the preparation process to be a slow one. I will keep updating and contributing to some other content on here too tho!!

#study abroad #studyabroad #korea #south korea #exchange semester #exchange #semesterabroad #semester abroad #study in korea #studying in korean #seoul #study in seoul #studying in seoul #seoul exchange #semester in seoul #study experience #erasmus #student life #korea life #seoul life

[bregjetokorea]

1. Why I decided to keep a travel blog

20 September, 2019

안녕하세요! Welcome to blog page and, more specifically, welcome to my first post! You’re either here because you know me in person or because you know me form twitter or you just randomly found this blog which is probably the coolest way so welcome!! Anyways, let me first introduce myself!! My name is Bregje, I am a 21-year-old student from a small village in the south of the Netherlands. Starting Spring 2020, I will be spending a semester abroad at a South Korean university. As I’m writing this I’m still in the application phase and have yet to be selected into a university (which is a lot more nerve wrecking than I thought it would be). I know you might think it’s perhaps too early to start writing and honestly it might be but there’s not really a different way to deal with my excitedness right now. And it makes sense too because the main reason for creating this blog is to document the entire process of going abroad and I think the preparations just as well play an important role in this process. I’m either way suuuuper excited to start sharing my experiences with you.

Disclaimer: I am not a writer!! I mean I write and I have whole conversations I’ve imagined while I’m in the shower or in bed or supposed to be paying attention to my classes. For my current internship I even am writing blog posts and I have written research articles for university activities. But I am not a creative writer. I once took one (1) creative writing seminar in my English course in which the student teacher told me I should “just describe the little pictures in my head” to which my immediate response was “what” but what I really meant was yeah but how do I make it good?

I constantly go through phases of wanting to reinvent myself. Not in the slight I want to be a better person or start eating breakfast every morning, but in the I’m going to actually become a morning person, lose all the weight I gained in summer break, become the human incarnation of Hera (what a mood), be mysterious/cool/adorable/intelligent/snarky, and either become a master artist, singer, etc. Point is, I am none of those things and to be completely frank I don’t think I’ll ever be. I’m not sure I even want to be. But since I also have no idea what I do want and I’m in a constant state of existential crisis I look up ways to do these things I say I want to do but never start.

Ever since bullet journals became a thing I started one but that didn’t really work out (as probably is the case for 90% of people who start bullet journaling). I figured I might take up normal journaling because it’s supposed to be calming and helpful and blah blah. Also, journals are gorgeous and again it’s my dream to suddenly become very good at different styles of art and making things esthetically pleasing (I’m pointing at all of my university friends who know how passionate I am about this). Summer 2018 I actually invested in one of those fancy Leuchtturm1917 journals you see all over journaling-Tumblr and I told myself that I would write in it every day starting when my second year of my studies began. Surprisingly I kept my word and did this for a good nine months. But you know, the content got quite boring soon as you probably can imagine me writing mostly about school. My friends were always asking me if they could read in it but I figured it was for the sole reason of it looking so neat and pretty (so at least one of my goals was actually achieved). The thing is, when I wrote I simultaneously imagined myself as this future Anne Frank and imagined everything I’m writing as if it were the narration of some 2000s era rom-com. I know I was just writing for me but I really got sick of it and, also, yes, I am indeed that cringey. I’ve tried to start a journal multiple times for other purposes, mainly to document my Korean learning. But what keeps happening is, I buy myself a nice notebook and I always write a single entry and then never am sure how to continue or I’ll get bored.

The thing is, I really do think it’s valuable to write down my experiences. It’d be nice to have something to remember even if it isn’t as esthetically gorgeous as my imaginary travel journal that is somehow filled with impeccable drawings of buildings and animals and people. If anyone is wondering, I did indeed succumb to my urge to buy yet another notebook to chase this weird obsession with being good at doodling and now have a blank sketchbook at my disposal. Best 4 (it was 5) euros I’ve spent at Flying Tiger. The thing about writing in a journal is that it requires writing. And I’m the slowest writer in the world (I NEED my handwriting to be pretty) and also I get very self-conscious about my penmanship. My sarcastic thoughts seem really forced and even though every other word I say is “shit” or “fuck” it seems wrong to write down curse words in pen and my hand starts cramping and I’m three thoughts ahead while my hand is still seven sentences behind and just gaaaaah. So I figured that if I really did want to keep a log of my travel experiences I might as well type them and honestly it’s about damn time that I actually use my Tumblr account so here we are. 

I still imagine a rom-com narrator type voice as I type this and I definitely imagine someone maybe reading this in the future (and then my anxiety kicks in a little because the thought of someone reading this and not liking it??? devastating. But maybe I shouldn’t have put my diary on the fucking Internet). I told myself my first post would be the whole “why am I doing this” in case I need a reminder 20 years down the road. Honestly, I feel ready to burst with the things that have not even happened yet and part of me wants to make this sorted by topic while another part of me wants to document by day but thus far both of those ideas are failing and this will probably be a mishmash of my experiences and memories/thoughts as I think of them. 

Soooo, we’ve now reached the end of this post and I feel the familiar anxiety of being unsure of how to end it. So I’m sorry if it’s a little awkward, you should definitely get used to that. My next post and all the rest of them will be more structured and actually talk about Korea (I guess that’s why you’re here in the first place I’m sorry) so there’s a lot to look forward to. Thank you for reading this far oh and please stick around!