Movement By Lydia

Whenever I told people I was going to South Korea, they were always saying things like "don't die!" or "be careful!" because they immediately thought of the situation with N.Korea. Depending on where you live, reports about North Korea can be really crazy and make the country seem like they're constantly at war with South Korea and that South Korea is super dangerous because of the threat North Korea poses. Well in South Korea, people aren't nearly as frantic and worked up over North Korea because they're used to it. So to be honest, problems with North Korea should NOT be your main  safety concern if you are going to South Korea. What I think is more important to talk about is personal safety in South Korea, specifically Seoul (where I lived). That's what this post is going to be about- personal safety and dangers! I'll talk about what I think is important to know/do to stay safe and my personal experience and thoughts on safety in Seoul,...

In continuation with my last blog post, here is the second "Post NSLI-Y/College Life" blog post. This one is geared more towards alumni, but anyone can read it to learn of some of the opportunities you get as NSLI-Y alumni and know how to keep up with language studies even after you come home from being abroad! This blog post ended up being much longer than I expected, so I have split it into two different posts:  Part 1: Keeping Up With Korean  Part 2: Opportunities as a NSLI-Y Alumna They're quite long, but I encourage you to read both of them. They're filled with personal but relevant post-NSLI-Y experiences that will hopefully be beneficial to you. ALSO, I saw that NSLI-Y started sending out notifications last week, so HUGE congratulations to those who will be going abroad with NSLI-Y this year. And to those who don't get it, congratulations to you  too , really. Congratulations to you for even being a semifinalist and for applying to NSLI-Y in the firs...

Wow, I haven't posted on this blog in months, even though I had intentions of posting more over the summer and during this past winter break. It's hard to believe it has been almost two years since I received that exciting notification telling me I was going to Seoul, South Korea for the summer! When I talk to people about my time in Korea, sometimes I  still say "last summer" before I realize it wasn't just last summer... it was two summers ago! Time flies, I've gotten old. Okay, time to get to the actual blog. This one is geared more towards alumni, but anyone can read it to learn of some of the opportunities you get as NSLI-Y alumni and know how to keep up with language studies even after you come home from being abroad! This blog post ended up being much longer than I expected, so I have split it into two different posts:  Part 1: Keeping Up With Korean  Part 2: Opportunities as a NSLI-Y Alumna They're quite long, but I encourage you to read bo...

Hey guys! Forgive me for not posting about NSLI-Y stuff, but I thought it would be somewhat interesting to post about what I've been doing post-NSLI-Y. I participated in the program after my junior year so when I came back from Korea I was a senior. I graduated from high school two weeks ago, which still seems a bit surreal, but I'm excited for what's ahead! Before I tell you where I'm going to college in the fall, I thought I'd just talk briefly about college applications and decisions. I ended up choosing a school that was not really on my radar (for multiple reasons). I applied on a whim thinking I wasn't even going to get in (and at the time, I didn't really care if I did or did not). My mother is the one who really wanted me to apply to this school to be honest haha.  Despite submitting my application 30 minutes before the deadline, I got accepted!! Before being accepted, I didn't even really consider the school or have any interest/intent...

I know you are all excited to eat authentic Korean food in Korea, so this post will be all about restaurants I ate at during my time in Korea and loved! It can be kind of overwhelming seeing all the options of restaurants to eat at in Korea, so hopefully this post will help you! Okay, so I wrote this when I thought you'd be going to Sogang University in Sinchon this summer (like the previous years did), but you'll be going to a different school in a different area. You may or may not find yourself in Sinchon, but some of these places can be found all over Seoul anyway! Either way, I hope this post is helpful to y'all ^^  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 토마토김밥 (Tomato Kimbap) This is a restaurant many of us NSLI-Y summer kids found ourselves eating in at least a few times in the summer. It was right on the way to Sogang University (where we had classes) from the subway station, so it was convenient... and che...

I know this is something you are all excited for, so I thought a blog post on street food would be fun! I LOVE street food (and just Korean food in general) and definitely ate my fair share of it. In this post I'll talk about the different kinds and street food, my favorites, and show pictures of the food!  Hopefully it's entertaining ^^ Street food stalls are all over Seoul... I would pass multiple ones every day, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find street food, especially in popular areas (Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Hongdae). --------------------------------------------------------------- GUIDE TO KOREAN STREET FOOD: 떡볶이 - Spicy long rice cakes in a sauce made from red pepper paste; also contains fish cakes, sometimes egg (depending on the place) 순대 - Blood sausage; pig intestines stuffed with noodles (당면), barley, blood, and other various fillings (also depending on the place) 오뎅 - Fish cakes, also called 어묵 (Korean name); fish cakes on a stick. These are ...