Tuesday, May 12:
Tuesday officially kicked off our three-week study abroad program in Korea, China and Japan. I'm an avid world traveler and have been to multiple Asian countries before like Singapore and Japan, but was especially excited to visit Korea for the first time and see the differences between sports culture here and in the United States.
Since I slept a solid eight hours on the plane, I wasn't that tired when I landed and went through customs. After going through customs around 5 a.m. and getting a car to our hotel around 7 a.m., we had plenty of free time to spare and explore the city. Thanks to Justin, we found a quality breakfast restaurant while walking called "Onion" with relatively low prices and items such as croissants and other pastries. For just six US dollars, I got two plain croissants, and they were extremely sweet, sugary, and fueled me up for the rest of the day. I'd give the croissants a 9/10; they didn't disappoint.
But there was one issue. It was still just 8:30 a.m. We didn't know what else to do, and our legs were already falling off after walking 10,000 steps. So, we continued to explore Seoul, walking into a random arcade, sitting and resting in a Starbucks for 30 minutes and more. My friend Jason and I even started a fun game - spotting as many American sports jerseys or hats in Korea as possible. We only found five MLB hats/jerseys (Red Sox, White Sox, Nationals, Yankees and Dodgers), but the game still shaved some time and we returned to the hotel around 11 AM.
After relaxing for four hours, we had our welcome orientation at 3:30 PM, where I met other eager world travelers and World Strides faculty. We got a glimpse of what the program entails, how to stay safe in an unfamiliar setting, and aspects of Korean culture. I was especially interested to learn about tipping in Korea and how we shouldn't tip at restaurants, unlike the United States. Overall, I thought the welcome presentation was extremely well-articulated and captivated my attention for what should be a mesmerizing trip.
While we didn't delve into much educational content on Day 1, we still got into groups for our trip-long scavenger hunt we'll be competing in. Each item or photo we take is worth one point, while the winner will receive extra credit for their participation grade. Some photos we'll look to capture are of anything related to Syracuse, a US flag, a Cybertruck and a moment where sport globalization is obvious without explanation. As for items, we hope to find a sports ball of any type, a fortune, and a non-US coin with my birth year on it. Some things will definitely be harder to find than others (ex. Syracuse), but we'll likely be able to take certain photos and find specific items at sporting events we attend throughout the trip.
Around 4, I started to become very sleepy. I was at 13,000 steps, but the night was just beginning. After meeting as a group downstairs, we attended a Temple near the hotel, where the sheer amount of color immediately caught my attention. While we didn't spend much time there, I'm very fascinated by religion and am excited to learn more about Buddhism while we are in Asia. Minutes after leaving the Temple, we walked by the largest instrument shop in all of Korea and walked on Insa. On Insa, it was great to see the street so lively and upbeat with outdoor restaurants and people cooking their own food. It was certainly a stark contrast from Syracuse!
Following 45 minutes or so of exploration, it was time for a much-needed dinner at Jangsu Hanulso. Simply put, I was starving after not having lunch. I didn't LOVE the salad and soup to start, but the meats were terrific. The tenderloin was easily my favorite, but all the steaks were delicious and freshly cooked. In addition to how the food tasted, it was a great opportunity to cook our own food and see it in front of us. I occasionally go to Gyu-Kaku and similar places in New York City, but the quality of the meat was on another level last night. Flavorful, salty but not too salty and fresh. Even with my eyes closing, it was an awesome welcome dinner. It was fantastic to sit with my roommates, who are pictured below, too.
I fell asleep before 9:30 PM and chose not to walk around after dinner, but I'll build up a sleep tolerance starting today. Since I went to bed at 9:30 last night, my goal is an hour later at 10:30 tonight. Trips like this don't come around very often, and I want to take full advantage!
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