Meet Haley Ephraim
Due to COVID, my original gateway location of Ireland was canceled last-minute, and I has to option to switch to Korea instead. So I decided to go to Korea rather than stay at Fairfax. This was a very last-minute change. This meant I would be going to a country I did not know much about and did not know anyone else going. I still decided to go, and it was totally worth it!
A Rough Start
I landed in Korea and met up with a few other students from Fairfax who were on my plane. We did the whole airport things, then went to get our covid tests. My covid test was a difficult issue for some reason and I had to sign some papers that I did not know what they said. I then went into quarantine like the rest of the students on the IGC campus.
The next day, I got a phone call that my covid test came back positive. I was taken to a different quarantine facility. I did not know where I was, and I did not know any Korean. I stuck out my 10 days in a hospital in Ansan and was picked up by a Mason Korea staff member to be taken back to campus. I was out of quarantine before anyone else since I only did 10 days since I had covid. I was alone out of quarantine to find my way around the area. The first two weeks were the hardest because I had a different scenario and was on my own for a few days.
However, once everyone started getting out of quarantine, everything changed. I met some of my closest friends and my boyfriend and once the semester was over, I wished it wasn’t and that I could stay longer.
Adventures
The 5 months I spent in Korea, around my schoolwork, my friends and I explored probably every square inch of Korea.
- I went scuba diving on Jeju Island and went to Busan for spring break and stayed in an Airbnb with my friends.
- Got to go on a DMZ tour, which was my all-time favorite experience in Korea.
- Visited and stayed in Hanok village, where we got to dress in old-traditional Korean clothing and sleep in a traditional place. We slept on the floor on mats with no air conditioning.
- Visited Lotte world, which is the Korea equivalent to Disney world.
- Hiked lots of mountains, but the best one was Hallasan Mountain, the biggest mountain in Korea.
- Visited the Han River many times and got to see the cherry blossoms bloom.
- Visited countless temples that were so gorgeous.
- Got to see the Gangnam style statue, in Gangnam, that plays Gangnam style on repeat 24 hours a day.
- Visited a city called Samsung, which had a huge mall and the coolest pixel screen that made the images look 3D.
- Shopped at street shops everywhere, which was so fun. I bought so many clothes. I got a bellybutton piercing and 2 tattoos. We were able to enjoy the nightlife in Hongdae on the weekends which was so fun! I met so many people. I am still in contact with one girl I met. She is an international fashion model.
Overall, Korea was an amazing experience, and I cannot wait till I can eventually travel there again!
Author Spotlight
| Name | Haley Ephraim |
|---|---|
| Major | Criminology |
| Hometown | Dallas, Texas |
| Study Abroad | Global Gateway Korea |
| Highlight | The DMZ was definitely one of my favorite things! The tour was amazing, and it was super cool to learn about the history between North and South Korea. |
| Challenge | I am a picky eater and do not like anything even remotely spicy. I stuck to cheeseburgers and pizza mostly. |
| Favorite Food | Miso soup |