Seoul Diaries Part II

Hello hello! And I am back with a new round of information about my life in Seoul, South Korea. Without further ado I will jump straight into it.

It’s still hard to believe that it will be a month since I left Pakistan. There are definitely moments that I miss home, all the lovely smells of frying onion, spices and the heat that I long for in Korea. Oh yes, we have been experiencing these extremely strong and terribly cold winds definitely coming from up north, likely Siberia. One dresses light seeing that the sun is up and I walk out of my dormitory to experience the most illogical cold winds that are not something Pakistan experiences in September. So yes, I miss the sun, and I miss my thin clothes that I used to love wearing back home. Let’s not forget that I did catch the flu and have worked hard on pushing it away with Korean Honey and Citron Tea. IT IS SUCH A GOOD THING!

Weather aside, the academics are proving to be relatively easy for me. Maybe because I was longing to get back to studies for the past four years, and also because if I enjoy what I study, then it does not scare me. However, I do believe that I am experiencing certain things socially that I was not exactly prepared for. Longing for company and friends, I seriously feel somewhat isolated, which is something I have experienced most of my life back home. Somehow, I wanted to dispel all that is negative when I got here. However, despite studying among all foreign students I feel like the inclusivity that I was hoping for is not really the case. It is yet to be figured out whether it’s me, the others or maybe even how things roll when you become a global citizen. Nevertheless, I do make the most of any and every opportunity I get to have fun and meet people. Living in my dorm room day in and day out is just not going to serve me well in the long run, because I must push myself to see and experience new things because I am finally where I wanted to be for so very many years.

On this note, may I please make a special mention to Epik High! YES! EPIK HIGH PERFORMED AT MY UNIVERSITY LAST WEEK! This weekend was a long weekend because Korean celebrate Chuseok (추석) to welcome the changing of the seasons and is usually known as the Autumn Festival. So the week before the official holidays, our university had it’s own festival. Many food trucks came to the university with very delicious things to eat: from Mexican to Korean, they had too many options. On Thursday night, Epik High came to perform, and I was in the second row standing right in front of the three men. Tablo even walked up to where we were and well, I caught him in a video I was shooting; currently the happiest moment of my short stay in Korea. And I am still not over when DJ Tukutz introduced him as Haru’s father. If only her favourite idol, G-Dragon was not in the military. Oh well, I did get to catch such a big act. What was even more thrilling was knowing ALL the Korean lyrics to most of the songs and singing along with all of the Koreans in the audience. So much hard work on learning Korean for the past seven years.

Friday night, I got to see Chung Ha perform live, but sadly, I wasn’t as psyched about her so never made any videos. However, it was absolutely shocking to see the way Korean boys came running to the football field in throngs. It was only short of a stampede and I literally felt like Mufasa caught up in the stampede of all the wild animals in Lion King. However, from what I saw of Chung Ha, I was so happy to see a Kpop idol with a full body, something so rare among these celebrities. She looked healthy and not undernourished like many others we have come across on various fan sites etc.

I believe I should end my update at this point because this young lady must study, even though I wish I had more to share. However, bit by bit, I shall share more and more about my life over here. There are still two years to entertain you guys!

P.S. The Epik High picture is not my own, sadly. I was too busy making videos and those are the very things my account refuses to let me post. For those of you who know my Instagram handle, that is where the fortune is hidden.