First post from the Land of the Morning Calm!

It’s been a week since I arrived in Korea and as far as first impressions can say, all is well in Korea.

1) Weather – It is now the start of spring so the weather ranges from 0 to 8 degrees every day. Pretty warm in Korea's stanard. Sometimes, the wind from the north gets pretty bad so it feels like friggin negative especially when I am out of the apartment at night.

2) Transportation – Anything better than Philippines’ transportation is good enough for me. But seriously Incheon International Airport is one of the world’s best. Bus system / Train / Subway system in the city is also impressive. And most importantly, no traffic.

3) Security – Generally, Korea is a safe country when mugging is the concern. At the airport, people just leave their luggage to go to the restroom, buy food, etc. People don’t normally lock their apartments. My lab mates leave their bag and other personal effects at the lab. No trust issues.

4) People - HUGE language barrier, goddamit. It’s like ME vs KOREA when it comes to communication. There is less barrier at school since most students can communicate in English (though not much), but it’s like a war when I get out. Ahjummas and ahjushis don’t know how to speak English. Honestly, if not for the language barrier, Korea is a good place to live in. My labmates are thoughtful and hospitable enough. Just don't know until when. Hehehe.

5) Support group - is GREAT. There are about more than twenty Filipino scholars around Cheonan area, nine of us are in one school together. All of the graduate students in KNU are from UST, and they are really supportive. They take care of our initial needs, accompanies us to groceries, church, and points us to cheap places for shopping. It's no joke to move in another country with higher cost of living and different language that's why I am so grateful for the support that I got here from my fellow Thomasian / KNU friends.

I know it's too early to say if I made the right decision or not. Along the way, I expect a lot of hard times with my colleagues and professors, loads of struggles when it comes to living away and alone, emotional stress, physical stress especially with the cold weather and what not. But all of these struggles will be charged to experience -- experience that I can never have had I not moved away. So yes, all is well.