This is only the third week of courses (a post on those will follow on friday), yet the most popular topic among the other exchange students is fleeing Seoul and the corresponding plans to do so whenever there is the possibility to. Even though we all are enjoying our time in the city, this is not a surprise at all, given the frequent opportunities that open up for us.
Some of us have more free time than others, having course-free weekdays while others have courses on saturdays. I personally am on the winners’ side, as I only have courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Four-day weekends, baby!). Although I did not do any weekend trips that fully use those extra days yet, I can imagine spending some of those in the mountains or other cities like Busan. And how about an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament on Saipan Island over the weekend of November 11th/12th?
Furthermore, every one of us will get to enjoy Chuseok, one of Korea’s most important holidays. Being settled from October 3rd to 6th this year, the Koreans are heading to the house of the family elder, feasting, and commemorating the deceased family members. In a nutshell, one can describe it as the Korean Thanksgiving holiday. Because this country packs quite some people on a relatively small space, especially when looking at Seoul, the Motorways and Railways will be atrociously blocked during Chuseok. This actually makes Seoul an attractive place to stay in during that time, considering that many Koreans are heading for the countryside.
While many other exchange students are leaving for Busan or Jeju island, I was scared away by the horrendous price surges during Chuseok and the possibility of thousands of others having the same ideas. However, I realized just an hour ago that I’d have 11 days in a row because of my university schedule, which makes me think of travelling outside Korea!
Speaking of this, my winter semester effectively ends on December 21st (All exams done by then), and my spring semester courses start on March 1st next year. 70 days of free time means that I will be leaving Korea for an extensive journey abroad with a good friend of mine! Most probably, we will explore South Eastern Asia in all its variety, including Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and maybe Myanmar, Hong Kong, Macao, and Malaysia. Because the procedure will be similar next summer too, I will probably spend less than eight out of my twelve months abroad in the actual Korea!