After the flying for 14 hours straight and navigating our way through the Incheon airport, we were finally able to breathe in Korean air. We met our Asian Institute host, YJ, and tour guides and got on the bus to take us to Seoul. Rob, one of our tour guides, lectured us on many interesting facts about the country’s history, culture, people, and cities while we were on our way to downtown Seoul. The fact that stood out the most to me was that most of the cars in Korea are either black, white, or gray in color because of the sense of unity the people have; no one wants to stand out too much and be considered an individual instead of part of the group. Looking around as we were driving, I immediately noticed this and rarely saw different colored cars. I also noticed upon entering the city that there were stores everywhere; one business after another on every street, and I’m curious as to what kind of service each provides. Observing the people, I could see that Seoul is a very social city; people are always casually walking around together, whether to shop, eat, or visit sites. The dress style is also something that caught my eye. American street style is much more casual than what the people of Seoul were wearing. After seeing the everyday fashion of Seoul, I am even more excited to shop.

The restaurant for our group orientation was very traditional and inside a museum. Throughout the dinner, I found myself quite overwhelmed with the food; servers came out with plate after plate to be shared among four people at a table, and I could not keep up with it. I was only able to snap a picture of the first round of food consisting of different kinds of fried pancakes and glass noodles shown below. I tasted everything from two kinds of fish to duck and lotus roots to black sesame porridge.

To end our day, we were given free time to explore the area around the hotel. It just so happened that there was a festival right down the street for Buddha’s birthday. There was a mini concert, and from there, colorful lanterns led the way to Jogyesa Temple where large amounts of people came to pray, dance, and check out all of the lights. The colorful lanterns had papers attached with prayers and wishes written on them. There was also a section of white lanterns with prayers for those who have passed away. Each note is sent to a Buddhist monk who will prayer for whatever was written. It was barely 10 pm when we all felt exhausted, so we found our way back to the hotel to rest for the next day’s activities.