From Center of the Universe to Halfway Across the Universe...... Ashland, VA to Seoul, South Korea

Hey y’all!

My name is Emma Churchman and I am a senior at Randolph-Macon College. This past semester, Spring 2022, I studied in Seoul, South Korea at Ewha Womans University. Although it may sound cliché, I can undoubtedly say that this experience has completely changed my life for the better.

---

Before leaving for Seoul, the Office of International Education at R-MC gave each international student a journal to record our daily experiences while abroad. The journal was titled “The Study Abroad Journal”. At first, I was not certain I would keep up with journaling on a daily basis, but I can confidently say that I wrote in my journal every day. I have always been one to value handwritten notes, letters, memorabilia from museums, concerts, and more. I knew that there would be experiences and moments I would forget about, and I wanted to make sure I recorded them. With that being said, I would love to share some of my daily journal pages with y’all but first, I want to share 3 points of advice for studying abroad.

1. CALL HOME!- I know it is easy to fall into the “I can do this on my own” mindset and refuse to lean on loved ones back home. I will fully and proudly admit that I talked to my parents almost every day while in Seoul. While to some, this could seem excessive, for me, it was my source of comfort and acknowledgment that I had so many loved ones supporting me from across the globe. Whether it was an hour-long call or a 5 minute FaceTime to see my pets, it not only comforted me but also allowed my parents to share this journey with me as they had been just as involved in the process.

Above is a picture of all the pictures, postcards, and notes that I brought with me from home to remind me of my people and everyone who was rooting me on.

2. IT’S OKAY TO BE UPSET!- You’re in a different country by yourself, during a pandemic, in your early 20’s, trying to navigate who you are and what your purpose is. Again, it is easy to fall into the “You should be happy, you are studying abroad and not everyone gets this opportunity.” While I of course agree that anyone studying abroad should be grateful for the experience, it is also understandable and realistic to be frustrated and upset at times. Things will go wrong, you’ll miss your train, misunderstand someone due to language barriers, miss an important event at home, and so much more. It is okay to acknowledge that you miss those things.

3. MOST IMPORTANTLY, EAT THE FOOD, DRINK THE DRINK, AND GO EXPLORE!- While you are there to study, you also have to take advantage of the fact that you are living in a different country, with different food, different people, culture, drink, hobbies, and so much more. Prior to studying in Seoul, I will fully admit that I had never had Korean food or drink. As a result, I was willing to try any food or drink I could while abroad in order to understand and appreciate the culture that much more. In regard to exploring, the best advice I was given prior to studying abroad was from my godmother; “Every day, take a different route to your destination.” This piece of advice pushed me to take a different path to class, my dorm, the grocery store, etc. At the end of the day, it is simply about how you observe, while simultaneously participate, in the culture.

Some of my favorite foods... Dak-galbi, Tonkatsu, Mandu, Korean Fried Chicken, Hot Pot, and so much more!

Drinks... Soju is the main drink of choice in South Korea but I may or may not have found a RVA beverage...

Explore.. There are way too many pictures to share but here is a range from galleries, historic sites, museums, shopping, etc. We even found a Costco!

---

Now.. here are some pictures of my journal from while I was abroad. Please, forgive the scribbly handwriting and random side notes. I wanted to make this as authentic as I could while being concise.

This particular journal entry was very bittersweet for me as it was one of my first days in the dorm and only a couple days after my quarantine had ended. Here are some pictures of my quarantine hotel room and campus.

As you can see, the questions are simple and often, my answers were only a couple words. While it may not seem like much, I can look at each page and immediately remember what happened throughout that particular day and the general emotions I felt.

Never go to an unlimited pizza restaurant... 3 of my friends and I were down with food poisoning for about 4 days. Just a bump in the road but made for funny stories! Here is a picture of my friend Kelsey delivering Pocari Sweat... basically Gatorade.

Just incase you could not read my handwriting, yes, we got stranded on a beach in Incheon. Here are some funny pictures of my friend Chris for reference of how "low" low tide is. We eventually made it to a different beach and were able to catch sunset!

Rabbit Hole was a Drag Show bar in Itaewon. We went to 3 drag shows while in Seoul and had an absolute blast. Mother in Law is a bagel shop a couple of blocks away from campus. Some of my friends would go everyday.

Some of my friends and I began attending an International Church in Sinchon. One Sunday, the pastor and his wife hosted us and taught us how to make gimbap.

I grew up in a baseball household and was so excited to attend some Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) games.

I do not have pictures of this but I had the displeasure of attending the hospital while abroad due to blurry vision and headaches. I included this to show that not everything is "rainbows and sunshine" while abroad, but, it always works itself out!

---

In addition to my journal, I made sure to keep admissions bracelets, sports tickets, museum postcards, brochures, and so much more, as keepsakes of my experiences in Seoul. Again, here are some pictures of my favorite keepsakes.

---

Lastly, I wanted to include a list of realizations I had while in South Korea. While I had done research regarding South Korean culture prior to leaving to go abroad, I truly believe comprehension of culture requires submerging oneself in the culture. Therefore, here are some of the main cultural differences I noticed:

1. Littering/trash: In Seoul especially, public trashcans are few and far between. Instead, there are street cleaners and machines that pick up the trash, whether from businesses or civilians, and dispose of it. It was very common to find piles of trash just on the side of the road.

2. Café culture: I have never seen and/or heard of a café culture quite like the one in South Korea. While they have “regular” cafes on every corner, there are also raccoon cafes, fishing cafes, cat cafes, goat cafes, and so much more. For online gamers, there are also gaming cafes with desktop computers and headsets that would stay open almost 24 hours. Here are some pictures from my favorite cafes…. Table A in Hongdae, Sunny Dog Café in Hongdae, Fishing Café in Sinchon, Cat Café in Sinchon, and Blue Drawing House Café in Sinchon.

3. Masks: When I arrived in Seoul, they were experiencing the largest COVID-19 spike they have had throughout the pandemic. While it was a mandate to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID, it was a norm to wear masks due to the air pollution and highly concentrated public transportation. Not only were masks required indoors, but they were required outdoors as well until mid-spring when the outdoor mandate was lifted.

4. Couple culture: The couple culture is vastly different in South Korea in comparison to that of the United States. In Seoul, it was not uncommon to see couples wearing matching outfits or at the very least, matching colors. I was also told that significant others do not meet the parents of their partner until they are close to getting married. It is a very serious and monumental occasion.

---

Overall, despite the craziness that faced my cohort and I when we landed in Seoul, I would not have traded my experience in South Korea for the world. I met some of the most genuine people I have ever met while abroad. I grew and learned more about myself than I ever could have imagined within the span of 4.5 months. My advice to anyone considering studying abroad: make it happen.