Feeling: Homesick 😦
Listening to: VIXX-On & On
A lot of people back in the states have been asking me this: What did you do for Halloween? How did you celebrate? What do Koreans do? Well I can answer this all in one word:
Nothing.
I didn’t do anything for Halloween, because there was nothing to do. Halloween is generally not celebrated here. There is no trick or treating and no one really dresses up. There are some stores that put up some decorations, and there are some Halloween drinking parties in Itaewon. But partying is really not my thing. I actually had a few Korean classmates come up to me and asked me if I was going to dress up. I told them that I wasn’t because I didn’t want to spend the money on a costume that I’d never wear again, and they seemed disappointed!
I did, however, Google some unique Halloween things that Seoul has to offer. In Itaewon there is a cupcake shop that is called “Monster Cupcake” that sells..
…You guessed it: Monster cupcakes.
Though the cupcakes are a bit pricey (Around $5.00USD a piece), the store was super cute, and just Halloween fix I was looking for! Aside from the tasty cupcakes, they even had some fizzy lemonade (ie. Monster Blood). The manager was super nice, too. He even let me pet his dog sitting in the entry way.
If you’re looking for Halloween in Seoul, I would recommend going to Itaewon. When I was there I saw a bunch of foreigners dressed up as warlocks and pirates..and that was a week before Halloween!
Homesick
I’m not gonna lie, and I’m not gonna pretend it didn’t happen: I did get homesick during my stay here. I’m not sure if it was brought on by the fact that I couldn’t celebrate fun holidays that I have always grown up with, but I did have that time where I was like “I want to go home.” At first I was embarrassed to admit it, but an acquaintance of mine made a comment that set me straight: “It’s completely normal to be homesick when you’re studying abroad. I’d be worried if you WEREN’T homesick.”
Things I recommend doing to deal with being homesick
- Find Familiar Things – Aside from missing family and friends, when you get right down to it homesickness is about missing what is familiar to you. You miss what surrounded you and what was a constant in your life. And with studying abroad, consistency can be a rarity. So find things that are familiar to you, and take the time to put yourself in a”safe place”. Personally for me, my familiar things were these three things:
- Oldies music – Music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s reminds me of my family at home, because whenever we’re together it will involve music. I hadn’t listen to this type of music on my own for awhile, and it put a smile on my face because it brought back some old memories of our gatherings in childhood.
- American comedians – More specifically Kevin Hart. He’s hilarious. Not only is it nice to listen to your own language, but it’s also good to relieve stress with a a laugh.
- Video games – My 3DS has been a good buddy of mine here. Video Game’s have the ability to take you out of reality and put yourself in the fictional world you are playing. So when you’re done battling villains or leveling up, you can come back to planet Earth with a fresh mind.
- Don’t Stay in That Place Too Long – Though I am saying surround yourself with familiar things from home, DON’T STAY THERE. If you do, you’ll regret it because you’re taking away the small amount of time you have in this trip. Take some time to regroup, get on your feet, then get back out there and take advantage of everything available.
- Get excited about something – In order to get back on your feet, you need to get excited about whats going on around you. For instance: I love Pokemon. I’ve been playing it a lot lately. So what in Seoul can I do involving Pokemon? After a Google search I found there’s a Pokemon Center in the Shinsegae Mall. Although it turned out that it was no longer there, I had a blast window shopping. Getting together with friends in the international exchange student community in your school is a good idea, too. They might be going through the same thing you are.
Music – VIXX
In the spirit of Halloween! I thought we go with the boy group known for their creepy spooky concept: VIXX! They are a 6 member boy group that have been increasingly rising in popularity over this past year. When they first started out, they debuted with your everyday average KPOP group song. But then they release their 3rd single, “On & On”, with a zombie/vampire like concept that immediately got attention. They’ve been carrying on this creepy concept ever since. It’s got kind of a Micheal Jackson “Thriller” thing going on. I’m showing a video of their live performance rather than the music video because…well frankly I think its super cheesy and has way too many special effects that takes away from the song.
Though this song is a bit old, I picked it over their latest single “Error” because it’s more upbeat. Both songs are super good though. If you like “On & On” I definitely recommend checking out “Error”.
My Days as an Exchange Student in S.Korea 