South Korea is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating countries I’ve ever visited. Before coming here, I had little knowledge of this place or its culture. Seriously, the only thing I knew was that this place is jam packed with fermented food and that the people are friendly to foreigners such as me. I learned about the SeoulMate program before coming here. I was in frequent contact with my buddy, and she helped me out with my final preparations.

Then, after what seemed like the most horrible bunch of flights I’ve ever been on, I was welcomed by a few other SeoulMates.

They gave me a good first impression and pretty much guaranteed me that my stay here in Korea will be a pleasant one, and that they’d try their best to help me out. Right now, I’m almost three months in Korea, and I have to give them credits, because they played their part very well. The SeoulMates organized a few monthly events and are always ready to help me or the other students out. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to attend a lot of the events, but the ones I did attend were lots of fun. Not just because of the activity itself, but because I got to hang out with people I usually don’t spend my time with.

One of those events was a pretty big tour through Gyongbokgung Palace. I talked with a lot of those people and I really got to know them. In some cases, I found mutual interests, which is really nice, because it has taught me that the world - how big it may seem - is actually quite small, and that’s because a lot of people tend to think in a similar fashion. After the palace tour, I kept hanging out more and more with lots of different people.

 

Oifik Jaylin Exchange Student
oifikyoussefi@gmail.com

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