So it's been about eighty days since my last blog post. That has been quite a long time and I hope that if I have any readers out there things you're still keeping up with me. I don't think I write very well or in a humorous or bantering manner so I bet I'm still really boring. Sorry guys for being lame :)
I've explored a great deal in Seoul, going to places like 명동 and 동대문 where I've have lots of fun shopping, eating, and exploring the different sights and sounds that are the capital of Korea's 서울. Seoul is a vast metropolitan area connected through an elaborate 지하절 system, moving its inhabitants quickly and effortlessly everyday from early in the morning to late in the evening. There has been so much to do here, but I think the hardest thing about the life of an international student who doesn't know what they're doing in a foreign country is navigating yourself around the country to find things that you want to do. Its been a big problem for me finding things around here that are fun, different, and interesting, in contrast to the typical international student night life here.
It mainly consists of drinking at clubs and bar hopping which is good fun and all but wears down your wallet and may grow old after a while. While at Yonsei I wanted the opportunity to contribute myself to Korea and do things for the local Yonsei community but a majority of the programs here are participatory gatherings and not clubs dedicated for a collective purpose. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I haven't seen a group where foreigners and native Korean Yonsei students come together to achieve a common purpose. There are instances of intercultural and international mixing but they are few and far between and there continually exists a giant physical gap between the international dormitories and the dormitories that house the native Korea students. These are one of the issues that stem the division between international and Korean worlds.
Even the programs here built for fostering intercultural friendships like Global Angels, which is a volunteer group, and Yonsei Language Exchange, which is a language exchange group, seem like they need more work. I won't be specific, but a 30,000 won fee to volunteer and a language exchange partner who doesn't respond to texts or doesn't prompt for meetings can dishearten someone. I'm not stuck in a rut because I can always have another positive venue for which to contribute things but it's just been hard to be generally satisfied here.
So I've tried contacting volunteer agencies to see if I volunteer some of my time. I have a lot of free time. But, it seems that no one has contacted me back in response to my e-mails. It has been a really big kick to the gut to feel this way, that you have no outlet for which to contribute your time.
My classes too feel inconsequential in comparison to the learning and aptitude of my home university classes. Yonsei is known to be a top-ranked Korean school but I think the international classes and classes which are taught in English (options that only international and exchange students can take) are far easier than American counterparts. But I type these statements with a grain of salt as I'm only here for a semester and not a year so I can't really give a broad expansion on what classes here are like. I bet you that the native taught Korean classes are far more difficult and live up to the academic reputation that Yonsei university has.
It's been a slightly depressing reflection so far of my time here.
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