On the third day of orientation we had our language placement test. My language placement test was one of the things I was most worried about coming to China. I had barely even looked at Chinese for the last month and a half! What if I was placed into a lower class, then I would […]
Author Archives: Richelle
Adjusting and Orientation
The next morning we were up bright and early (more like everyone else was up at 4am and I was the only one who was remotely adjusted) for orientation. There was breakfast downstairs starting an hour before our meeting but I decided to go down a little later and have a shower. The shower was […]
Arriving in China
The day I left for China I had to leave my hostel at 7:15 to get to the airport on time. I needed to be at the airport 2 hours before my flight, the bus to the airport takes an hour and a half and I knew it would take me a good 20 minutes […]
Richelle visits North Korea
… well, close enough to take a picture. My last full day in Korea I woke up super early (6:45) to take a tour of the DMZ (de-militarized zone). I was picked up in a van at my hostel and driven to a bus containing tourists to see the DMZ. There were 4 English speaking […]
Plumpricots and Hannah Montana
Day 3 in Seoul: The next morning I decided to explore Myeongdong. I made my way down the hill of death to the main Myeongdong street. On the other side of that street was the Korean version of an outdoor mall with street vendors, shops, cafes, and tons of people. Now I was dumb and […]
Exploring Downtown Seoul
My second full day in Seoul, I packed up my things and, with the help of Monica, moved into my hostel in Myeongdong. We were smart and made two trips with the luggage this time. The goal was to spend the day wandering downtown Seoul, exploring what the city has to offer. My First Time […]
Cat Cafe and Grapefruit Tea
Wow I’ve been so busy and tired I haven’t been able to post anything! I’m in China now, but so many things happened in Korea I think it’s really important to write some posts about Seoul. My week in Seoul was JAM PACKED so I have to split what happened into different posts. Day 1: […]
Stepping into Seoul
The following is the story of my first time embarking on solo travel away from home. I was about to study abroad in China, but first I was traveling in Seoul for 5 days to meet up with my Korean friend Monica. The Plane to Seoul The plane ride on Korean Air was my first […]
Sleepless in Seattle: 3 days till lift off
I’ve been in Seattle for over a month now and time is going slower than GW bannerweb on the day you have to register for classes- aka painfully slow. From New Years day on, it seemed like I would never leave. I was so used to having school and work and sorority stuff and friends […]
Why Study Abroad in China?
Why study abroad in China? That’s a question I’ve gotten a lot in the past few months. Many people decide to further their Chinese language by studying abroad in China. So why take Chinese in the first place? That’s a better place to start. As Maarten Troost says in his hilarious book Lost on Planet China […]
