Hey beautiful friends & enemies~

Since I’ll be moving to Korea for an exchange year in less than three weeks, I randomly decided to start writing this blog again! So, this is officially my first new blog post… Thihihi! I just deleted all my older posts from a year ago because I wanted to start completely fresh. Hehe..

It’s been a while now. I stopped posting in the middle of my last journey to Korea, which was almost a year ago. The main reason I stopped uploading is simple: I didn’t know how to put my experience into words. I found it so difficult to capture everything I felt and saw, and honestly, I was just too lazy to keep typing. So, I ended up just stopping. BUT then, I got accepted into the BA+ program (more about that later hehe) at my university, which totally changed my perspective on this blog and gave me the inspiration to start writing again. ^^

The main goal of restarting this blog is to have a kind of diary-like platform where I can pour out all my thoughts, keep track of my memories, and primarily share them with my friends and family, so they can get a sense of how I’m doing. Of course, it’s also for anyone interested in my experiences in Korea, my journey studying Korean studies, and just my random thoughts along the way.

I’ll be moving to Korea on the 2nd of August for about 14 months. I’m really excited, and it still feels so surreal even though I’ve already booked my flight, secured a place to stay, and received my letter of acceptance from my exchange university—SOGANG! I can’t wait to experience college life in Korea. I told myself I’m going to approach this without any expectations. I’ve learned that having too many expectations can limit your ability to enjoy spontaneous experiences. Plus, if things don’t go as planned, it can be easy to think of it negatively, even though it might turn out to be an even better opportunity. (Maybe it’s just me thinking this way, LOL). Anyway, I’m still super excited and can’t wait to turn the page to this new chapter of my life.

It feels like almost all the preparations for my exchange year are done. I applied for my visa and will receive it on June 20th. However, I’m still having some issues with my BAföG (a German government scholarship that you receive, but you have to pay half of it back once you get a stable job). I also need to book my courses, and I’ll be able to do that starting on the 19th. I’m kind of scared, though, because in Korea, they mostly use Internet Explorer for all their online stuff (like university systems, online banking, etc.).

I’m planning to write another short post about the whole acceptance process and how I got this opportunity. I’ll also share the experience of finding accommodation. I’m not sure if this will be useful to anyone, but I’ll be posting a update sometime next week after I get my visa and everything is sorted.

And for now..

..stay tuned & motivated (for all those who still struggle with univ stuff like me)

..au revoir

-M