So despite the fact that I haven't been posting at all recently, I am really wanting to get back into blogging my life especially as it has taken an interesting turn with me moving to Korea.
When I first arrived here it was a pretty stressful time, you have to adjust to culture shocks coupled with the stress of settling in or as I like to call it "nesting." It is the same process whenever you move somewhere new but I found this process particularly difficult being in a foreign country.
Now I have been learning Korean on and off for 3 years as I started before I went to university, however, my university degree is not an intensive language degree, in fact, the language classes come secondary to my main major which is Asia Pacific studies. I always have a hard time figuring out how to explain my major to both people in the UK and in Korea, think Social studies, History and culture studies centred on the East Asian region add a dash of political discussion and some more language route focussed cultural studies (in my case Korean) and there you have it. Just a tonne of assignments and no exams besides those to keep track of language progression.
No amount of preparation in the classroom in the UK can really prepare you fully for the big move to Korea though, In the first week alone I was finding my basic communication skills although useful would not fully suffice for the administrative processes like signing for a one room (accommodation) or getting a bank account, I heavily relied on the help of Korean friends. However, everyday, I am learning new things and gaining confidence in the language and beginning to ask questions in shops and not feel like finding the nearest fire exit or window to jump out of.
It is easy to get frustrated and have breakdowns, cry a bit, want to pull your hair out and to say "I give up, I cannot do this" over and over but once you come out the other side of that first month you realise, life isn't that bad. You've been given such an amazing opportunity to learn and to grow as a person within a different culture and a different country. As cheesy as it is you really do only live once (I think) so you might as well go for it.
In the first month, My Macbook broke down, which was an interesting experience as I am in one of the few countries Apple has yet to touch therefore although having worked for them for 4 years I sadly went to the country of its biggest rival Samsung. Which is both hilarious but frustrating for my poor Macbook. Thankfully I have the world's best parents who swooped to my rescue and lent me enough money to buy an LG notebook which whilst does the job totally threw my plans to blog and vlog out the window... with the absence of my final cut pro setup and my super fast Macbook I am stuck with a glorified word processor which is more than enough for what I need but you can understand my frustration.
I will, however, find a way to vlog and edit, somehow just don't expect Mac quality sadly. I also had problems with my neighbours, with my bank account and deliveries it can feel like the world is against you sometimes but once you calm down and put everything into perspective you realise you've been blessed with a pretty cool life and material goods just aren't that important.
I want to write more detailed posts on the different aspects of setting up in Korea so blog posts about University, Accommodation general day to day culture shocks and learns so I will end this post here, but expect to hear much more from me, hopefully, I can stick to a much more frequent post schedule and hope you all have a great day.
London Nuna x
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