Getting Acclimated

Hello from Seoul, South Korea!

The past 4 days (or has it been 5? Who knows, time zones are hard!) went by in a flash. Here is what we have been up to.

Day 1- Sunday, June 12

Students arrived throughout the day at Incheon airport. We were pleasantly surprised with how smoothly immigration and COVID screening went! Students picked up their bags from baggage claim and were picked up by CIEE local staff. The bus ride to Somerset Palace Hotel was about an hour and finally after 16-24 hours, students and CIEE US Program Leaders (PL) were able to rest in the place they would call home for the next 3 weeks. Our local PL, Hyo Rhi, graciously organized for dinner to be delivered to each of our rooms. ​

Due to local regulation, we were all to be in quarantine until we could receive a negative PCR test so we were all bound to our rooms until the following day. Most students were meeting their roommate and spending the first night getting to know each other. 

Day 2- Monday, June 13

Because we were all quarantined, our hotel provided breakfast by room service which was a nice treat for our weary travelers. While some of the breakfast items were familiar, like eggs, sausage, orange juice, and pastries, other items brought students their first taste of Korea- like kimchi radishes, marinated tofu, and banana milk. 

We left our rooms for the first time since our arrival and gathered together to prepare for our walk to the PCR testing site a few blocks away. This was the students first time to meet and interact with their co-students. 

There was excited chatter as we moved through the streets navigating the busy sidewalks and alleys for the first time. 

We arrived at the clinic, checked in, and started our PCR testing. Surprisingly, students were not being shy and instead were taking the opportunity to get to know one another. In fact, we had to remind the group a few times to keep it down because their excitement was a bit too noticeable for the clinic staff's liking, understandably so! 

We left the clinic and Hyo Rhi seonsaengnim (teacher/miss/mr, a term of respect) as well as Yoseph seonsaengnim (local CIEE Program Assistant) split our group in 2 and led us on Insadong neighborhood tours. 

We walked through a Buddhist temple, saw important local art and statues, and had our first Korean convenience store and grocery store experience! Students stocked up on ramen noodles, water, snacks, and some produce to return to their quarantine.

Again, Hyo Rhi demonstrated her graciousness and hospitality by ordering everyone our first Korean dinner, doshirak, which is a tray of rice, protein (dakgalbi beef or fried fish), and banchan, meaning many sides which generally includes things like kimchi, pickled radish, marinated veggies, and more. We were pleasantly surprised by students' eagerness to try new foods- it was delicious!

Day 3 Tuesday, June 14

For the second day in a row, we had a beautiful breakfast spread sent to each of our rooms. We ate and enjoyed some rest while impatiently awaiting our PCR COVID test results. Thankfully we heard back from the clinic by 10 that everyone in our group had received a negative COVID test so we were clear to break quarantine. 

We left our rooms and headed to our conference room/classroom for the first time to attend orientation. 

After class, CIEE local staff Tina seonsaengnim (CIEE Seoul Operations Manager), Junho seonsaengnim (CIEE local Student Services Administrative Assistant), and Yoseph seonsaengnim treated us to a special traditional Korean lunch. 

Our meal consisted of over 20 items, all spread out to share at each table. Items included: grilled fish, pajeon (scallion pancakes), haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes), white kimchi, pickled radish, kimchi radishes, acorn squash soup, broth, hweh (raw fish) over salad with gochujang spicy sauce, marinated onion, japchae (sweet potato starch noodles and veggies), bulgogi (marinated beef), seasoned cockles (clams), green salad with sesame dressing, marinated chestnuts and water chestnuts, bean sprouts, and more!

For many students, this was also a good time to get a grasp on their chopstick skills. Korean chopsticks are unique in that they are metal and flat, making them a challenging tool with which to eat! Needless to say, we left lunch FULL and HAPPY!

We returned to our hotel to digest all that we ate and learned thus far. 

As if we hadn’t eaten enough, Tina seonsangnim took us to try ggultarae (honey threads) which is a dessert that used to be served to Korean kings. We got to watch a demonstration of how the dessert is made by stretching a ball of frozen honey over and over again until there are 16,384 strands then filling it with various additions such as almond. It is SO tasty.

Our next outing was for dinner that we postponed from 5pm to 7pm due to the lingering fullness. We broke into groups so that students could have their first bit of choice in what they wanted to eat. 

Erin seonsaengnim (US PL)  took Isabella, Carmen, Alejandra, Tania, Luthien, Jessie, Andie, Aniyahlis, and Tori to have their first Korean fried chicken meal. We left the hotel to navigate to our chosen restaurant but to our dismay, learned upon arrival that it was permanently closed. Students had to improvise but luckily found another fried chicken restaurant down the street. The chicken was tempura battered with corn– it was delicious! 

Amanda seonsaengnim (US PL) took Joon, Heidi, Elisa, Jay, Ruby, Cam, Areli, Cielo, and Gabby to get mandu but upon arrival, there was a sign that said all the freshly made mandu had already sold out for the day! Obviously, they had chosen a popular spot! By the time they returned to our neighborhood, all the local restaurants had closed so they came to the decision to eat like the locals do during late nights and had convenience store ramen and rice! Although the students were more than content with their meal and experience, Amanda bought the group ice cream and beverages. The group really enjoyed their experience wandering the local area in the evening with a cool breeze. 

Hyo Rhi took Audrey, Lia, Allison, Zoe, Isabelle, Abby, Alicia, Nik, Mekhi, Ayanna, Chris, and Zach to eat a Vietnamese meal.  The students ate pho which is a warm noodle soup dish with beef, bean sprouts, and other veggies. The students learned from Hyo Rhi that some peppers on the plate were decorative and not actually to be eaten! Way too hot! 

Stay tuned for more Seoul-ful adventures.....