Made it through the first week of school! (plus pictures of KU campus)

Phew~ It's finally Friday and the first week of the semester is over. After a stressful two weeks of course registration and countless visits to the International One Stop Center to change classes, I have my class schedule finalized at last! Because I had to be put on the wait list for all business classes (and trying to get into other classes), I basically missed most of my classes for the first week. :( The ones that I actually attended, I ended up dropping them. One economics course that I signed up for was listed as being taught in English but when I went to the class the professor lectured in English, however, he wrote everything in Korean on the board and his handouts were in Korean as well. I had no choice but to switch to something else.

Anyway, aside from the hectic registration process here, the weather has also been very crazy this week. As I mentioned in my previous post, there was a typhoon that hit Korea on Tuesday. Luckily, it didn't do any damage in my area; just a lot of wind and scattered showers. The following day, it was bright and sunny and Korea was back to its hot weather. Yesterday, which was Thursday, was a day full of heavy rain. It was pouring from morning to evening nonstop. And finally today, it is very hot and sunny with clear skies. The weather in Korea really can't make up its mind!

Lastly, I got around to taking more photos of KU's beautiful campus when it was nice and sunny! Enjoy~

(There is even a hike on campus!)

First-day-of-school Blues

The fall semester at KU has officially started and it's already off to a bumpy start. (I apologize in advance for this negative post.) First of all, I am really disappointed with the way this school has set up course registration for international students. In short, it's a nightmare that I'm glad I only have to face once. So far, I have only been able to register for two classes (both of which are not anywhere near my top choices). I mainly wanted to take business courses here (hopefully a couple that can transfer back to UH to fulfill my required courses) but I have come to find out that the demand for business courses here are so high that many students are not able to get the classes they want.

However, that is not my main issue here. At KU, exchange students are required to do their course registration in person at the International One Stop Center. This "paper" method creates a huge inconvenience for exchange students because we need to turn in a new form every time we want to add or drop a course. In addition, since there are so many exchange students registering during the same time frame, there is constantly a long wait at the One Stop Center. And when I say long wait I mean hours! Many students have to try again the next day!

In my personal experience, I had attempted to register on the second day but the wait was so long that I had to come back on the third day. On the third day, I went there not long after they opened and there was already lots of people there. I ended up waiting about two hours before it was my turn! Once it was my turn, the woman told me that all students registering for business courses would have to be put on the waiting list. Even the economics courses that I had chosen as a back-up plan were all full already! Furthermore, they don't tell you alternative measures that you can take (because they don't seem to know themselves). I strongly feel that they should allow exchange students to register online. It is already the first week of school and I still have no idea what classes I'm going to be taking. I've tried talking to professors in person and emailing them but most of them say that there is nothing they can do at the moment. I have also talked to many exchange students who are in a similar situation as me and we are all very frustrated with this process. I have heard so many great things about Korea University (and its business school), but I had no idea course registration would be this difficult! It really is upsetting and creates a lot of unnecessary stress. I really hope that Korea University will improve their registration process in the future and that none of you are discouraged in coming to KU.

Also, to add to all this bad luck, Korea is expecting a typhoon to hit tomorrow!!

I'm finally in Korea!!

안녕하세요! 

It has been about a week since I arrived in Korea and I am loving every minute of it! This post is a bit overdue since I've been busy moving and settling into my dorm (and of course exploring Seoul) but I will catch you up on what I've been up to so far.

I arrived at Incheon International Airport in the afternoon of August 17 and the first thing I noticed was the heat! It was very warm and humid outside which did not help since I was already tired after a nine-hour flight and not sleeping the night before. However, the excitement of finally being in Korea gave me enough adrenaline to stay awake. My friends and I walked around a bit before having dinner at a restaurant in 홍대 (Hongdae), which was near the hostel we stayed at. Our first meal in Korea was traditional barbeque meat and side dishes. It was probably one of the best things I've had so far in Korea :)

The next day was the day of my move-in to my dorm. I was very excited to see what Korea University looked like, and of course what my dorm room looked like! I was surprised to learn that my school is located on what seems to be a mountain; everything is built on hills! The walk from the dorms to the main campus is quite a workout and the campus itself is HUGE! Despite the mini hike up to my dorm, I am still able to appreciate the beauty of the campus. Many of the buildings on campus look like castles; it is truly stunning! I definitely feel like my legs and body have grown stronger due to all the walking!

Aside from walking, the main mode of transportation in Korea is the subway. Since I've lived in Hawaii all my life, riding the subway seemed very confusing and scary at first. With the help of my friends I was able to pick up very quickly on how to navigate the subway system. After only a few days, I felt very comfortable with riding the subway alone and it is now one of my favorite things Korea! Korea's subway system is truly amazing and extremely efficient, not to mention inexpensive!

To recap, my first week in Korea has been wonderful; I love the food, transportation, and all the sights and sounds of Seoul!

Quick update + wiring money

So there are about 5 days left until I depart for Korea and I am super excited!! Unfortunately, I got sick earlier this week which was the last thing I wanted since I was already stressing over last-minute preparations for Korea. I am feeling a little better now but hopefully I will be fully recovered by the time I leave for Korea.

In my first post, I briefly mentioned the topic of wiring money and how simple the process really is. However, I will go into more detail now about how to wire money and how the process works. For Korea University, the only way for international students to make payments for dorm fees is through wire transfer (unless for some reason you are already in Korea before the payment deadlines). If you are someone like me who has never done wire transfers until now will most likely be confused with this process. When you wire money from one place to another, you are basically sending money from one bank account to another. For example, when I paid for my dorm fees I had to transfer money from my personal bank account into a bank account at KU that is specifically linked to my student account so that the money gets credited to the right person. So how exactly do you wire money? Well, the easiest way is to go to whichever bank you have an account with and ask the teller to do a wire transfer for you. However, you need to be sure you have the appropriate information with you when you go to the bank. You will need to provide:

1. the name of the bank you are sending to,
2. address of the bank you are sending to,
3. SWIFT code,
4. account number that you are sending to,
5. and the name of the beneficiary.
(These were all included on my billing statement from KU so all I needed to do was print it out and show the bank teller.)

In addition, the bank will charge you a wire transfer fee on top of the amount you are planning to send (I have an account with First Hawaiian Bank and their fee is $50).

The main reason I wanted to add this explanation on wire transfers is because I experienced some bumps in the road when I did it and I hope you will not make the same mistake that I did. The biggest thing to keep in mind when doing wire transfers is how much money will actually reach the final destination. Many people do not realize that the sum of money you send out will actually shrink by the time it gets to its destination. This is because your money is sent through one or more Pay Through Banks before it reaches its final destination. Each Pay Through Bank that your money passes through will take out a small amount as a transfer fee. There really is no exact science to calculating how much money you should send out so the best thing to do is to convert your money and then round up by a substantial amount. It is really up to your own instincts! Remember to look up the most current exchange rate or use a currency exchange app!

When I did my first wire transfer for my dorm deposit of 200,000 won, everything went smoothly and I only overpaid by a mere 882 won (which equals to roughly 80 cents)! Unfortunately when I paid for my dorm fee, I guess I miscalculated and I underpaid by about 42,000 won. I checked my housing account online and despite the status showing 'Dorm Fees paid', I was worried that my room reservation would be canceled due to my outstanding 42,000 won. (The housing contract states that any rooms not paid before the deadline would be automatically canceled.) Because I did not want to risk becoming homeless in Korea, I rushed to the bank as soon as I could and did another wire transfer which cost me an extra $50 that I could have avoided if I had calculated correctly the first time.

That is all for now!

First post on my very first blog!

Hello everybody! 

Since this is my first time blogging I'd like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Eva and I am currently a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am majoring in accounting with a minor in Korean and I plan to graduate in the spring of 2013. Earlier this year I got accepted into UHM's MIX program which is basically an international exchange program that allows me to study at any partner school of my choice while still paying UHM tuition. I have chosen to go to Korea University (고려대학교) for the coming fall semester and this blog will help me document my study abroad experience and share what life is like in Korea!

I've always wanted to travel around the world but haven't been able to go to many places yet mainly because of school and money. I felt that studying abroad would be the perfect experience because I would be able to travel and continue my education simultaneously. I delayed my application to the MIX program for many semesters because I wasn't sure if I would be able to afford it or be able to live on my own in a foreign country. So this year I finally decided to apply because I realized that I only have one year left before graduation and I didn't want to lose the opportunity of a lifetime. Thankfully, I was chosen for the Freeman scholarship which offered $5,000 toward my international exchange program expenses!

The reason why I chose Korea as the place I wanted to visit the most stems from my love for K-pop. I used to listen to K-pop here and there in high school but it wasn't until my freshman year in college that I really fell in love with Korean music. And from music I started to watch a lot of Korean dramas which then inspired me to learn the language and embrace the culture.

At this point, there is approximately 2 weeks left until my departure for Korea and I can barely contain my excitement and nerves! My flight is scheduled for August 16 at noon and luckily I am not going alone! I will be flying to Korea with two of my friends who will also be studying abroad there (however the three of us will each be attending different schools). We planned to leave on the 16th because we wanted to explore Seoul a little bit before the official start of the semester.

Most of my preparations for the trip are already taken care of because I told myself that I would definitely not procrastinate. My friends and I purchased our plane tickets months ago and I made sure to get my student visa early so I wouldn't need to worry about it later. As for my dorm fees, wiring money to Korea was the only method available (aside from paying in person) and it was something I wasn't familiar with and have never done before. I had to do it two separate times; once for my dorm deposit and again for the dorm fees. A friend of mine who previously studied at KU told me that my bank can do the wire transfer for me. In the end I found out it was actually a very easy and simple process.

So all there is left for me to do now is to exchange for some Korean Won, figure out what classes I'm going to take and practice my Korean. Oh yeah...did I forget to mention, PACK??