When my plane departed for my study abroad in South Korea, it would be the first time I ever travelled outside of the United States. I landed in a country with a culture, language, infrastructure and landscape far different from my hometown in Missouri. In my first month, I’ve had to navigate nearly every experience for the first time, but luckily, I have a good support system to help me with this. First, when I arrived at my dorm in Dankook University, my roommate happened to be Korean. This is rare, as most exchange students’ room with other exchange students, and I haven’t met another exchange student with a Korean roommate so far. From the first day, my roommate was able to help adapt to this new lifestyle, whether it be navigating the bus and subway system, how to order at restaurants or providing me with supplies that I didn’t have yet. Dankook University also has a group of ambassadors for exchange students. These ambassadors helped a lot with becoming familiar with the campus, answering questions and also providing fun activities for us exchange students to participate in. These events were a great way to meet and interact with other exchange students, and they are how I made my first friends here. I also wanted to get involved more with campus life, so I joined the volleyball and English communication clubs. These club activities have not only been fun but have been another great way to make new friends with other exchange students as well as Korean students. My first month in South Korea I also spent exploring my city, Yongin, as well as Seoul with all of the friends I’ve made. I really love travelling around and seeing new sights, cultural attractions and eating food that I’ve never experienced before, but I think most of all I like experiencing it with my friends. I feel really lucky that I’ve gotten to meet all of these different but like-minded people, and I think that after my study abroad experience, while I will have enjoyed experiencing a new place, the people will be my favorite part.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Korea University