Today is a month since living in Seoul and it has actually felt like a month's worth of seeing, eating, doing, and experiencing. I have been reflecting lately and there's a few things I want to share about in this reflection. I will separate them into categories for an easy read.

Seoul City
This city has not disappointed me and I feel with each new experience, it just gets better. There is so much to do and as much as I have done and flooded your facebook walls with my photos, there's still so much I want to do: more palaces, sightseeing, touring, exploring, finding hole-in-the-wall places, things not in a lonely planet book, and more. Just more. At this point, I don't want anything to stop yet and I feel if I'm not doing something I'm not making the most of my time, though my purpose here is not only as a tourist, so this sets me back a bit, which I'll elaborate later in this post.

Seoul FoodSo when I look back on all my photos, there's been a lot of food, but you may be shock that this is actually not the top damage in my budget. Meals in Seoul has been way cheaper than a meal in Edmonton. I have also noticed that Korean food is generally more healthy with less fried, greasy, or msg added foods. However, having analyzed my consumption habits, I think this next month I will aim to lessen my indulgence at all those unique cafes and bakeries and try to eat in more. I am on my way to figuring out what is cheap to buy at grocery stores and I think with better planning skills, I will be able to keep my wallet and waistline in tack. Sometimes eating out can be cheaper than eating in, but when you split the cooking time and costs with friends, anything is possible. Actually, I really do miss making food for myself too.

Seoul PeopleKoreans are a different bunch of people. Having been to HK a handful of time, I would never consider ever in my entirety live there, but I would consider and love to live in Seoul. Having said that, this is what I'm thinking at this moment, who knows if I'll change my mind by the next month. Why you may ask? Well, for one thing, I couldn't figure it out for the longest time, but having skyped a friend earlier, I found the word. Passion. Koreans have passion in everything they do as if it was imbedded into them from day 1. Even the ajummas who clean after us college students have smiles on their faces and greet us with enthusiasm when we passed by (and who likes having to clean up piles of cup noodles, wipe disgusting stains in the kitchen, and trash garbage dumped all over the lounge?! seriously, some students are so dirty here) Koreans may look, stare, and even point at you when your a foreigner, but its really just out of curiosity or care for you (don't be shock if an ajumma slaps your leg for not wearing socks outdoors during the winter months).

Seoul CultureI have close to no culture shock. There are a few things I was quite taken a back by, such as the affection same sex genders show for each other (especially guys), but I've come to acknowledge that this is their way of caring for each other and its rather a cute bro-mance. The mannerisms of Korean guys are so different from American guys, and its actually so sweet to see a guy hugging their guy friend when they meet them. Though, I do dislike those who spit and the vast amount of males that smoke in public and their admittance to smoke indoors at certain places (ugh). I also cannot understand why a girl would ruin her outer beauty by smoking either, but the choice is hers. As for the language barrier, its been better than I thought, and I find myself improving in my Korean as I'm constantly expose to it. I am also loving all the walking I am doing-tanking all those stairs and steep climbs.

Seoul Education/YonseiYou may not have known, but I didn't know until I arrived either that my university is considered an "Ivy League" school of Korea, one of the top three universities that spell out 'SKY' (Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei Uni respectively). Despite this fancy label, in the shoes of an exchange student, there is no pressure for us to live up to this title as we are marked on a pass/fail basis (having said that, I definitely want a mark better than a pass). So far, I don't feel any stress yet and perhaps for one thing it's because I'm only taking 4 courses, 1 is taekwondo so pretty much the workload is three classes. To be honest, I haven't really been keeping up with my studious habits as I would in Edmonton, but I need to do something about it before all my uni skills goes sliding. It's one thing to label yourself as an exchange student and define it as an overseas escape to fun, but another thing to ruin your transcript and have your escape backfire to doom. Thus, I am still trying to figure out a balancing act before school and play.

Seoul Life & BeyondUp to now, everything has been pretty much smooth sailing. Friends have asked if I'm homesick and the answer is no, I'm not. Being here has allowed me to learn things I wouldn't learn living at home such as buying groceries and living with a roommate (Amen, because mine is an absolute sweetheart), and if I was independent before, I feel that more than ever now. Sometimes, I do wish my friends back home could be here to experience what I am experiencing, but otherwise, I am cherishing my time here with passion like a Korean. With tentatively three more months to go, I will use all of my energy to do well in school, play harder, explore deeper, and travel farther.

Happy one month Seoul!