Seoul 서울 ~ I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

Christmas season in Seoul! I can't express how excited I am, excited to the point that as early as now, I'm researching on just what winter looks and seems like there through people's blogs who've been there. Furthermore, I've been crazy about winter fashion there. Fashion is a big thing, and one of the most important things I believe is to be able to blend in with the crowd.

I've already bought a couple of winter-worthy coats and jackets, but I feel that it won't be enough. As suggested by my boyfriend, it would seem wiser to buy jackets there if the ones I bring along won't be warm enough. That said, I've gone canvassing online on what exactly is winter-worthy apparel in South Korea. I have found a blog that contains pretty pictures of winter fashion (the comments along with make absolutely no sense, but that doesn't really matter).

(http://louboutinpumpss.blogspot.com/2010/12/south-korean-fashion-mm-winter-snow-day.html)

It all seems so picturesque. The beautiful white snow. The fun of dressing up in big coats, scarves and boots.

When investing in some winter clothes and fashion, there are three essential pieces that everyone needs: a big coat that actually keeps you warm, a scarf and a pair of sturdy and comfortable boots. At the end of the day, it all comes down to keeping warm and feeling comfortable at the same time.

Destination: South Korea 대한민국

"Korea is one of the four seasons of mountain topography, and one of the most northerly countries to be affected by the great seasonal wind reversal."

Earlier this year, I was given a great opportunity by my university to do an exchange program in Seattle, USA. It was an amazing five months that was only successful because of the months of hard work and preparation beforehand. I met so many amazing people, whom I'm glad to call my close friends for life. While I was in the US, I was able to tour all the places I had wanted to go to, which includes San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. To experience seeing all these amazing cities and the act of travelling has kicked off my thirst for more travelling opportunities.


This December, I will be venturing on a whole new exciting journey to the beautiful land of South Korea. For many years, I have only dreamed of going to this beautiful country. Now, I have a beautiful purpose. Not only will I be able to go to a new country, I will be able to visit my lovely boyfriend. While I was doing my exchange, I had the opportunity to meet many fellow exchange students from various places in South Korea. Living, studying and doing almost everything together with them was a fascinating experience. I was able to observe their mannerisms, listen to them speaking their language, and observing their culture. With four months to go, I will be doing many things to prepare myself for this trip. First, I will be taking a Korean language class for beginners, which will start from October and end in December. Although classes are only once a week, it will be very, very helpful. Second, I'm currently taking part in an NPO called Language Connection, which conducts language exchange sessions to bring togher international students from Japan, China and Korea to socialise with local English-speaking students. I've only attended a total of two events, but it has been going good so far. Session are usually every Thursday night. Third, since I am taking semester 2 off to take a break, I've enrolled in two online courses provided by a university in Queensland. The units I've decided to take are Asia-pacific courses, an introduction to Asia and China from the 1900s to 1945. I hope they will be very interesting and stimulating subjects. The downside to taking these units is that the study period will be during when I will be overseas. I am unsure on how I will be able submit my assessments, i.e. essays. However, I think it is too early to worry about that.


In the meantime, I hope these activities will keep me somewhat busy and entertained until December comes.

Snow covering the roofs of buildings and houses in Seoul.

Entry number 1, 나의 첫 번째 항목

I've read so many travel blogs by people who have travelled the world and shared their many stories and experiences via the world wide web. The idea that your blog/diary/journal being read by practically any person (provided that your privacy settings is set that way) was - and still is - a rather nerve-wracking thing. But I've come to enjoy how I've been able to enjoy reading many travellers' accounts of their amazing experiences of being in different countries through this way, blogging.


After having completed an exchange program in Seattle for five months, it has triggered my travel-happy button. My next destination is South Korea this Christmas, which I am very excited about. Recently, I discovered an amazing blog entitled The Marmot's Hole, which includes many current news and events happening in South Korea as well as many amazing pictures shared by the blog's author (http://www.rjkoehler.com/).


In addition to the blogging experience, a friend of mine who I became good friends with when I was studying in Seattle has begun his own travel blog, which will serve as his main communication tool for keeping us informed of his exchange in Japan. So, I'm inspired to start my own blog. My aim is to be able to store as much stories and experiences to keep for myself for future reading enjoyment, and to share to the world.