Month: March 2024

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ANNA IN SAN JOSÉ, COSTA RICA

¡Hasta luego, Costa Rica!

Anna Hedrick

Yesterday, I could hardly believe my study abroad program was coming to a close. Today, I am sitting at the gate in Juan Santamaría International Airport, preparing for my flight home to Washington state. I feel ready to return, but it’s a bittersweet feeling to leave behind the people and places that have become your home for the past ten weeks.

I’ve dearly missed my friends and family in the US; during my program, I often thought about them and envisioned telling them about all my adventures. I can hardly wait to see them again, and give them a big hug! Something else I’ve missed about the U.S. is pedestrian safety and traffic norms. Throughout my program, I got used to crossing the street literally whenever possible, and putting my faith in the driver’s hands whenever I got into an Uber or bus. It wasn’t always a comfortable feeling, but I learned to accept it. I’m looking forward to driving my car again when I return home.

In addition, I will miss my mamá tica (host mom), housemate Clarissa, my amazing friends (both from the U.S. and Costa Rica), as well as the families and professors at SiNEM, the music center where I did my service-learning.

Also, I’ll fondly remember aspects of daily life in San José. Every morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, distant car honks, and sunshine streaming through my curtains. I’ll miss being in my relaxing home stay and chatting in Spanish with my mamá tica before breakfast. I’ll remember walking through the busy streets of San José, taking the bus every afternoon to service-learning, going on exciting excursions every weekend, and squeezing in tough morning workouts at Gym ProSalud. But most of all, I’ll miss Costa Rican culture: the inviting atmosphere, the affection and care toward others (hugs!), the delicious food (gallo pinto!) and the positivity and happiness expressed in Costa Rican frases, expressions, and attitudes. I am so thankful for all of it ❤️

When I return to the US, it is possible I’ll experience reverse culture shock. For example, I probably won’t greet strangers with “buenos días” and a smile when I walk down the street. It’s likely that I’ll experience physiological changes in response to differences in diet, exercise, and climate. Washington is much colder and drier. It might be difficult to adjust to a faster paced lifestyle as well, and adapt to differences in the *perception* of time (Costa Ricans are a little more relaxed and forgiving when it comes to schedules and the concept of time.)

My plan is to share my stories and photographs with friends and family, as well as my blog, of course. I’m thinking of creating a mini documentary with my photos and media, or designing a slideshow presentation. Luckily, I have two weeks of break before starting spring quarter, so I plan to rest and gradually readjust to my life in Bellingham, WA.

I think that staying in contact with my friends from Costa Rica will be essential in keeping study abroad a key factor in my life. Luckily, I can communicate via WhatsApp or iMessages with mamá tica, my music professors, the Costa Rican students and families, the ISA staff and my best friends. Also, maintaining and improving my Spanish is crucial. I will continue speaking Spanish with my friends in Bellingham, in Costa Rica, and from all over the U.S. I’ll incorporate Costa Rican phrases into my daily speech, and try to cook one Costa Rican dish a week. My study abroad program may have ended, but my Spanish journey is still blooming. I feel very bilingual now, and I look forward to growing my language skills and cultural competency long after I leave Costa Rica.

Studying abroad in Costa Rica has been a beautiful experience and I’m thankful that I had the privilege of visiting this country and meeting such wonderful people. The social connections that I’ve made are the most valuable to me, and I feel like I’m part of a special, diverse community. Muchas gracias to WWU EdAbroad, International Studies Abroad, the ISA on-site staff – Adriana and Xinia, my host university – Universidad Veritas, my host organization – El Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical, including my supervisors Esteban and Guiselle, as well as my mamá tica – Guiselle, and the community of friends I made along the way. ¡Que les vaya muy bien!

Hasta la próxima y pura vida 🌺🫶🏼😄 ~ Anna

PRE-DEPARTURE

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How to Get Around South Korea

Posted by DACEYN on 

There are several methods of traveling throughout the country, however depending on the city you study in or visit, some may be better than others. Please be aware that some options may only be available to foreigners via a website and not an app, so plan wisely.

Cross-country:

  • Taking a train (website)
    • There are several different kinds of trains in Korea that one can take, but the fastest is the KTX. A long-distance train that you can take to travel between major cities, the KTX is the fastest way to get around to different provinces. There are other, slower trains that travel to smaller cities where the KTX does not go, which can also be accessed online. There is luggage storage available for check-in bags, but it is very limited. There is also overhead storage for smaller bags.
    • Regardless of the kind of train, they will arrive at the stated time on your ticket, so DO NOT BE LATE. When you book a train ticket, there will be train car and seat number listed on your ticket – sit in your assigned seat for the duration of your ride even when other people get on and off as this will be your seat until your stop. Just before each station, the name of the stop will be stated in Korean, then in English so don’t worry too much about not knowing what stop is coming since these announcements combined with the stop time listed on your ticket will let you know when to get off.
    • Booking a KTX ticket: simply look up “ktx train” or “railninja” and you will be able to book tickets after setting the city names and date. If you receive no result, then a KTX train does not take that route and you will have to resort to a different kind of train (try looking up “Rome2Rio korea trains”) or a bus.
  • Taking a bus (website or in-person)
    • Long-distance buses are a cheaper, but longer alternative to the trains. There is undercarriage storage that can fit check-in bags, but you must do this on your own. These buses will make a singular stop at a rest stop for 15 minutes during the journey. These stops while have several food vendors, a convenience store, and restrooms. Employees here are unlikely to speak much if any English so you can check if there is an electronic order station at the stand, use a translation app, or learn how to order food. The 15-minute break is strict – they will leave without you.
    • Booking a bus ticket: there are ways to book tickets ahead of time online, but it is best to just look up “city a to city b bus tickets.” An easier, but riskier way to book tickets is to go to the station and buy tickets at one of the kiosks. Another option would be having a Korean friend buy bus tickets via the app (it is not advised to use the app on your own; it requires a Korean phone number and ID, but even if you have this, foreigners usually have trouble with it).

In the city:

  • Taxis (app)
    • Getting a taxi is very simple in Korea as the app, Kakao Taxi, is available to foreigners and is very easy to use. You just set up your pick-up and drop-off locations, pick the kind of taxi you would like to take (with estimated price), and the app will search for nearby taxis. It will show you if/when a driver has chosen your request and how far away they are. It will also display the license plate number and a picture of the driver so you can easily tell if the car approaching is the correct one. There is a caveat though – you must have a KakaoTalk account and a Korean bank card to pay via the app, so you would need to pay the driver directly if you do not have these (you will select how to pay before the app sends out the request).
    • Depending on the city you are in, the drivers may or may not speak English. In Seoul, they are more likely to, but most will not in other cities, including Gwangju. Occasionally, a driver may ask for clarification of the drop-off location, so have a translation of the address ready on your phone or know how to say it in Korean.
  • Buses (in-person)
    • In order to take buses in the city, you will need to buy a T-Money card. These can be bought at any convenience store and are usually around 5,000 to 10,000 won for the card ONLY (price varies depending on the design). You can charge the cards at any convenience store as well – they can only be charged with cash, excluding coins.
    • You can find bus stops and times on Naver Maps – this will show you the bus number, stop number, and when it arrives down to the minute.
    • While the price of a bus ride can vary a little based on the city, rides are usually 1,250 won. You board the bus, scan your T-Money card and find a seat or place to stand. Scan your card as you are getting off as well to avoid potentially paying more.
      • There are different kinds of seats on Korean buses: regular, elderly, pregnant women, and disability seating. These will be indicated by the color of the seat. While it is generally socially acceptable to sit in the specified seating, you must move if someone boards after you that needs that seat.
    • The buses move very quickly, so find a place to sit or stand fast as the bus will move even if you aren’t sitting/holding on. In the same vein, prepare to get off at minimum a stop before by pressing the “stop” button (located on the wall) and getting ready to leave. You will know when your stop is coming via an accouncement as well as a screen that lists the upcoming stop in Korean and English.
  • Subway (in-person)
    • The subway works very similarly to buses: you need a T-Money card to use the subway and you scan your card before and after your ride. Naver Maps also shows directions via the subway so using that for the subway too will be helpful. When on the subway, it is advised that you do not talk, or if you do, make it short and quiet as this is the local etiquette. It is also not advised to sit in the pregnant women seating unless it is super crowded. Even then, you must move if someone else needs it. Stops will be announced in Korean and English and they will tell you what side the platform is on as well.

Japan: End of Program – Ethan McConkey

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   mcconke  Uncategorized

What Have I Missed?

I think that there’s two things I have missed the most while I was gone.

One is food. As much as “American Food Culture” is an ever-debated topic on the internet, I have missed the foods that were normal to me. Of course, I’ve become accustomed to much of the food here, but I miss things like my mom’s cooking, and the restaurants I used to frequent, both in Bellingham (The Black Cat!) and in my hometown.

More importantly, I have missed people. As much as I have enjoyed (nearly) every second of my time here, I do feel ready to go back home and spend time with friends and family. A few of my friends started going to school, and another moved into a new place, and I have missed these things which I would’ve preferred to be around for. This is a natural concession of going abroad (luckily, nothing bad has happened while I was here) but I think it is important to make sure to stay in touch with people while you’re away!

Reverse Culture Shock

To answer the question; I’m not sure if I will experience reverse culture shock. I initially believed that I wouldn’t, but a friend of mine (a fellow Western student who was also studying abroad at the same university) told me that he was feeling some upon his return.

Regardless, I’ll have about a month after I return before I go back up to Bellingham, so I should be able to readjust back to the US (and fix any jet lag) with no real problems. That’s the goal, anyways!

Study Abroad as a Memory

Many of my friends unfortunately left at the end of Fall, so there are only a few people left as of now. Just last night another friend of mine went back home for Spring, so I had to say goodbye to him. The rest of everyone I talk to is staying for Spring, so I will be saying my farewells over the next few days, as I head home in about 48 hours, as of writing this.

I plan to continue studying Japanese for the foreseeable future. In December, I’m planning on taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, a government recognized test for (as you can guess) Japanese language proficiency. In the future, I want to teach English in Japan, but I am also considering applying to graduate schools here.

I want to try my best to maintain connections after I leave. I am making sure that I let everyone know when I leave that if they ever end up in Washington, to let me know, so we can try to meet up again. I want to try to at least message people occasionally, as I’ve met many cool people here that I hope to remain friends with in the future.

Wrap-Up

Apologies for a bit of a short entry, I’m pretty busy packing up and meeting up with people in these last few days. This has been a wonderful experience, thanks in no small part to the people who make WWU Study Abroad run smoothly!

Personal Goals For Study Abroad

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Posted By Daceyn, March 4th, 2024

What do you hope to gain and how much research have you done on your host country and culture that will better prepare you for this experience?

When I initially thought about studying abroad in terms of what I wanted to gain from it, my mind was solely on academics. I thought about how I would meet my major and minor requirements, how I would need to choose the right number of classes to meet the minimum number of credits, things like that. Later on, however, as the departure date got closer, I thought about how I would be able to experience a completely different culture firsthand and how that would change everything. I would need to learn a new language and new customs that were unfamiliar to me in order to get around and do things.

For research, I had been interested in going to South Korea for a time now, and had watched many videos and read different articles about what it was like to study and live there as a foreigner. I wanted to be informed about differences in how classes worked to how much more fast paced certain things would be.

What are you most excited about? What are you most scared or nervous about?

What I was most excited about was the same thing I was most nervous about: visiting a new country. I had never been outside of the US. before this, and now I was going to be on the other side of the world without any family or longtime friends. I was excited to explore and experience a new culture and language and everything that comes with that, but was also nervous because that those same things could pose challenges for me.

What strategies have you implemented that will allow you to overcome these challenges and take full advantage of your opportunities?

Self-care and indulging in my hobbies. Finding ways to relax and recenter myself after exploring or trying new things has been key overcoming my nervousness about going to and being in a new country. Making friends has also been a good way find new opportunities of going out and visiting places or traveling that I likely would have never done on my own.

Host Country and Cultural Immersion – Study Abroad in South Korea

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Posted by Daceyn, March 4th, 2024

What are your favorite things about your host location thus far?

It’s hard to say what my favorite things are, but it can be summed up with this: South Korea has been brilliant!!

The natural scenery is beautiful, particularly the bamboo forest that I visited. Coming from Washington, I love views of nature and walking through the trees. Seeing a bamboo forest was on my list of things to do while in the country and I am so glad that I got to see one!! The city views shouldn’t be forgotten since once you get up high enough—like at Namsan Tower or Jeonil Building 245—looking out over the other buildings is very beautiful.

Other things that I’ve quite liked is having the opportunity to try different foods that I probably wouldn’t have been able to try in the US. As a somewhat picky eater, I usually don’t choose meals that I’m unfamiliar with, but being in a country that has such different meals, it forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and I have enjoyed most of what I’ve tried.

Tell us about the university, academic experience, the classes, student life, and clubs or activities you are involved with? How are the locals, are there any differences or similarities that have surprised you based on your expectations?

University is both similar and different than university in the US. There were a lot of little things that I didn’t expect to be different and that I had to adjust to. For example, classes in the US are the same amount of time regardless of what day of the week they are (i.e. a history class that goes from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Mondays will also go from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Wednesdays and Fridays too). At my host university however, the history class may run for two hours on Mondays but be only an hour for Wednesdays and Fridays. The times that classes are held is also rather different. Classes are listed in 50min blocks (MWF) and 75min blocks (TTH) and are numbered for each block. So, the history class would be Mon. 2 and 3, and Wed. + Fri. 2 as classes start at 9:00am. This was very confusing.

The locals are lovely and clearly understand that, as a foreigner, I don’t always understand what someone is saying or that they may need to repeat what they said. Oftentimes, they will know a few words in English relevant to their job and are able to tell you what they are asking. They also have no issue communicating through an app as they are very understanding since my host university has many international students.

Did you experience culture shock when you arrived in your host country? How did your expectations about your experience compare with the reality of your day-to-day life? Is there anything you wish you would have done or researched more to better prepare you for your experience?

Culture shock is given, regardless of the amount of research a person. There were so many little things that surprised me (like the aforementioned class things) that it took some time to get settled in despite what I already knew about. I kept my expectations realistic, especially for a country that is often sensationalized and seen to be as perfect, so my experience so far has mostly been what I expected except for the little things.