On August 17th, my long awaited dream to study abroad was just a mere plane ride away. Hailing from Hawaii, I had never traveled outside of the country before. It was a surreal moment to process the diegetic sound that articulated a warm "welcome to South Korea". Within moments of exiting Incheon Airport I was greeted by a golden hour of new beginnings. Taking a taxi, I arrived at my goshiwon Single House Sinchchon where I will be staying throughout this journey. The one room facility came with AC, a small refrigerator, desk, closet, shower/bathroom pod, washers, dryer racks, and a communal kitchen with (rice & ramen provided). A quick tip is that in Korea they do not flush toilet paper, there's an extra bin for disposing that type of waste. Korea is very conscious of sorting recyclables, types of hard plastics, and disposing of waste properly. Another important note is that I was also required to get a coivd test within 24 hours of my arrival. I got mine done near Sinchon station that I then later uploded the results online. I was even able to input my korean sim card to my phone (via mail shipment). I highly reccomend getting a virtual sim card to avoid the hassle of safeguarding a physical American one when you swap the two out. I upgraded my phone before I flew to Korea. I did this through the Apple store where they gave me the option to download contents into a virtul sim card, which did not take long. Overall, it was an unreal feeling as I unpacked my luggage and stocked my new home with Daiso necessities.
