An incredible weekend in Busan

Our journey began by taking a subway from Sinchang (where our university was located) to Asan Station. Once we got to Asan Station, we took the KTX (Korea’s bullet train) all the way to Busan. Let me tell you, it was surprising how fast that train was. After about a 2.5 hour commute, we finally arrived at Busan Station. Once we made it, Joon-young’s mother had been excitingly waiting for us. It was about 9pm and both Joon-young and I were a bit exhausted, but it didn’t stop us from exploring around his neighborhood. I was able to see his elementary and high school, as well as chill at a few parks he went to often as a high school student.

During my first month in Korea, I had already made friends with a lot of the Korean students. Among many of the friends I made while studying at Soonchunhyang University, there was one in particular who was from Busan.  His name was Joon-young. Having known him for just a couple weeks, he happily invited me to visit his home and family.

From there, we both set off on our weekend adventure to Busan. Since it we had a long weekend ahead of us, we made sure to explore as many things as we could. As a foreigner, I found it very exciting to be traveling around Korea, yet alone being able to visit my friend’s hometown.



Bottom of Busan Tower

Day 1

After touring Joon-young’s neighborhood, we returned to his home where I met his mom, dad, and older brother. During my stay in their home, I felt so welcomed by the hospitality that Joon-young’s family provided me. Even though it was my first experience staying with a Korean family, they made it pretty comfortable for me. What I enjoyed was how much food was prepared. There’s nothing better than home-cooked meals. I was able to get a taste of authentic Korean food in a Korean home. From different types of kimchi to an array of soups and other dishes, they made sure that I ate well, which I had no problem with.



Busan International Film Festival

Day 2

After taking a rest after our journey to Busan, Joon-young and I headed out to Haeundae Beach the next morning. With just a 20-minute walk from his home, Haeundae had already been packed with people. I have to say, it was pretty interesting to see a beach outside of Hawaii. Although the waters weren’t as blue as Hawaii’s beaches, I still enjoyed walking along the sands of Korea.

While at Haeundae, we noticed that the annual Busan International Film Festival was being held. We were lucky enough to see so many interesting types of films that were specifically produced in Korea.

After our stop at Haeundae, Joon-young’s family picked us up and we drove all the way to Daegu for his grandmother’s birthday. At the restaurant we went to, I was introduced to a lot of his family. From aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it, I got to meet his family tree.

During the dinner, the table was laid out with so much food. By now, I’ve taken in the fact that Koreans can eat, and I mean eat WELL! There’s so many words to describe how delicious the food was. After talking with many of Joon-young’s family members, I was requested to sing “Happy Birthday” for his hal-mo-nee (or grandma, 할머니). I truly felt welcomed by his family.  After the restaurant, we all went to noraebang (karaoke) and ended the night walking around Daegu Park.

Final Day

During our last full-day in Busan, Joon-young and I traveled to many parts of Busan, starting off with Jalgachi Fish Market. There were so many vendors everywhere, fish auctions taking place, and a wide assortment of fish. I was amazed at how busy this market was, but then again, it’s one of Korea’s famous fish markets.

One interesting I tried, and is also one of Korea’s delicacies, is live octopus. Personally, I grew up eating octopus in Hawaii, but I haven’t tried it live. Joon-young insisted I try, and as adventurous as I am, I went for it. I would have to say, it wasn’t as bad. Although the tentacles got stuck to my teeth, I enjoyed every bite of it. I left the fish market pretty full.

Next, we went to Busan Tower to check out a 360 degree view of the beautiful city. It was interesting to see how colorful many of the building were. It was like a crayon box. In addition to the buildings, there was an ocean view which made me feel like I was back in Hawaii.

After Busan Tower, we headed out to another traditional market which was near Jalgachi. At this particular market, we went on a food venture. This time, it was all about the street food. What Busan is known for is their hotteok. It’s a delicious pancake dessert stuffed with sugar and peanuts. For just 1,000 won ($1), it was definitely worth waiting in line for.

Throughout the afternoon, we explored the market trying many types of street foods such as mandoo, tteokkbokki (rice cake), fishcake, and soondae (Korean blood sausage). By the end of our day, we were pretty full.

As our weekend trip started coming to a close, I stopped to realize how amazing these past few days has been. From sightseeing all over Busan, visiting so many traditional markets, and trying new foods, this is probably one of the highlights of my time in Korea. After my trip to Busan, it made me want to visit there again. Significantly, this experience helped me learn more about my friend, his family, and the Korean culture.

The Land of Smiles

I technically can't prove this theory, but I am strongly convinced that time goes by faster in Thailand... It is already the end of February and I am wondering where all the time has gone!?!

Anyways, a lot has happened sense my last post so brace yourself...

The guy in this picture is me, but that is not the point. The important thing to notice is the awesome Aladdin pants that I am wearing. They are life changing. Hands down the best purchase I have ever made. This picture is taken on a swing bridge I went across while traveling in Malaysia. 

I had the opportunity to travel Malaysia over a long weekend break. Previously knowing little to nothing about this country, it turned out to be one of my most memorable experiences thus far. Malaysia has so much to offer! Amazing food (the Indian food was my favorite), beautiful hikes, interesting nightlife, and wonderful people to top it off. 

Going up the Mountain

Batu Caves

Petronas Towers

View from the top of the hike

Malaysian Garden outside of Kuala Lumpur

The previous month has been filled with many new adventures. I had the opportunity to travel almost every weekend to different parts of Thailand. Khao Yai (The Pictures below) was a weekend camping trip filled with hitchhiking, playing guitar around a Thai camp fire, hiking, and trying to avoid the monkeys that steal your food.

One weekend I traveled two hours north of Bangkok to the old capital of Thailand known as Ayutthaya. This is a very historical town filled with rich history and old temples. Our days consisted of going to floating food markets on the river and bicycling around the city to different temples.

I know what you're probably thinking... are you even going to school? I can assure you, I have put in plenty of school time, especially the last two weeks of midterms. In fact, this is the hardest I have ever worked in college. The Thai work ethic is vigorous and they take the academics here very seriously. I have also been told that I shouldn't of taken math classes in Asian countries...? (Lesson learned) I even have to wear a uniform here! (Notice below)

I continue to immerse myself in the Thai culture. At times I am still in disbelieve how different the way of life is here. Nevertheless, I have come to thoroughly enjoy the culture and people that make up Thailand.

That's all I have for right now! I leave you with a picture I took at a floating market near the school I attend.

While sitting at a riverside restaurant, a very sweet older lady casually canoed by with a boat filled with bananas. I'm guessing this is the place the person who created Banana Boat sunscreen got the idea?

Hello from London!

Hi, Nicole here!

I just wanted to say a quick aloha from London! It is beautiful and glorious and so different from Hawaii. There are so many things to do and so many places to see. I am located in the heart of London and I go to Uni at Regent's Park which is a park owned by her royal highness the Queen. It is cared for every day, snow or rain.

I chose to study abroad in the Spring Term because I was curious about the difference in weather. Wrong choice. I love the sun and warm weather. But the good thing is, in London it is an average of 38 to 40 F.

Packing Options 
(Because the weather in London is wack. For example, snow at 30F one day and then sunshine all day at 48F.)

Packing Tip: Pack basics and purchase coats and clothing in London. There is a great thing called Unidays which gives discounts to students - yay! Also because Londoners are so fashionable and if you are into fashion you might have a lot of fun shopping at Oxford Street! There's a glorious place called Primark, H&M, Topshop and Selfridges.

Also don't bring too many electrical appliances (electric tooth brush, hair dryer, hair straightener etc.. Ladies, you can purchase a hairdryer at a Boots because you don't want to blow anything up.)

- 1 winter coat
- scarf or gloves
- 3 sweaters
- 3 pants + jeans
- 1 or 2 walking shoes + 1 boots or nice shoes that will keep your feet dry. (Skip heels the roads are horrible and mostly cobble stone or bricks)
- 4 long sleeves or short sleeves to layer
- 1 dressy outfit
- 1 week worth of socks and under garments
- 1 or 2 power convertors and adapter (amazon or best buy)
- travel shampoo and etc. (you can purchase these at Boots as well)

First Week in London 
I arrived at Heathrow and exchanged some cash. The exchange fee was 3 pounds.  Then I took a cab with my room mate to Regent's University, where we picked up our room key. It cost us 80 pounds which we split. If you don't have too much luggage you can take the tube but it is less of a hassle (after a 15 hour flight) to catch a cab. Then we made our way to North Gower. For some reason, the IPO/Study Abroad team at Regent's tries to lump a lot of study abroad students together in the same living situation. I shared a flat with five other girls from the mainland and one girl from Argentina. There are three rooms and each has a private bath and shower.
I had arrived in London on a Saturday and had the Sunday to relax because famous orientation week started on Monday. Regent's is serious about orientation week. There was a trip/tour through London on Saturday that I missed. The orientation was very informative and provided a great opportunity to make friends. In just the first day I met girls and guys from Germany, Australia, Brazil and many girls from the east coast.

Here is Regent's University on a snowy day. 

Regent's Park is huge. Every day, every hour people run around the park. There is also an observatory, a zoo, foot ball fields, and a beautiful lake populated with swans and ducks.

The walk from North Gower, the off campus residency, is 10-15 minutes but if you have a beautiful view every morning it might take a little longer as you enjoy the sight. 

And then we had a sunny day. Another gorgeous view on the walk to school. 

The sunset is almost like home! (At Regent's Park). 

So many beautiful sights to discover in Regent's park. 

First Week cont. 

Westminster Abbey is beautiful. 

Hello Big Ben!

An exquisite statue at Buckingham Palace. 

London Eye on a gray day. 

So funny story... They were filming Sherlock Holmes in an apartment right next door to my flat in North Gower! 

Hi Benedict Cumberbatch! Good work there. 

Props on the set of Sherlock BBC. 

A hui hou kakou! 

My first week in Seville, Spain

When I first arrived in Seville, Spain, I was greeted with a dinner with my program directors and got to try some great Spanish food like Jamón ibérco and croquetas.

The first week, I went on a walking tour with my program director and was able to see a lot of popular monuments.
One of the key areas of the city, and basically the spot that I've been referencing to give directions, is the Cathedral of Seville. It is the largest gothic-style cathedral in the world. Its famous bell tower, La Giralda, is visible from so many places around the city and, to me, seems to be the most important landmark. It was once was a minaret when the cathedral was a mosque during Moorish control of the city. Its construction began in the 1100s, which is hard to wrap my head around! When climbing up it, there are ramps instead of stairs because someone used to have to ride a horse up there multiple times a day to call out the prayers from the top of the minaret.

La Giralda (bell tower)

Side view of the Cathedral of Seville

 I also saw Plaza Nueva, the city hall, a building where historical records are kept called Archivo de Indias, and "Las Setas" meaning "the mushrooms" which is a building but also modern art.

"Las Setas" which looks like mushrooms

City hall

Later the same day, I walked with the other student from my program to the Plaza de España which is AMAZING. It looks large from the outside but not extremely special. However once you are inside the area you can see a channel of water going around the perimeter, extremely intricate bridges and lamps, and the facade of the building itself is covered in hand-painted tiles, images, and sculptures which only get more and more impressive the closer you get to the building. There are two large towers at either end of the building.

One of the towers at Plaza de España

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

Italia è così bella

It has been two weeks into my semester studying abroad in Firenze (Florence) and so far it has gone nothing like I would ever expect! Our trip began with a five day long orientation in Rome where we went on tours every day and dinners every night with my entire class at Richmond. I got the chance to see and venture in the Colosseum. We had one free day in which I took the opportunity to skate this park outside of Roma. Skateboarding has given me the opportunity to meet many hospitable skaters that have showed me around Italy and have really helped me learn italian quickly!

I'm in Florence now where I have had the chance to take a wonderful painting in Florence class for school and we get a museum card for students that gives us free admission to all the wonderful museums!Our next project is going to be a massive 3ft X 2.5ft full body self portrait oil painting! Ill keep you all updated on it once Im finished.

First project we are doing a still life painting with

Egg Tempra paint we made from scratch!

Salute! To my first blog post of many. Hope you all are having wonderful abroad experiences as well!

Sushi Making in Japan

Hey, ya'll!

Check out this quick video I made documenting my sushi-making experience while studying abroad.