Hello!
My name is Jasmine. I am a 1st gen Mexican American. Third year global studies major at the UO. I am currently in Seoul for the new geo program “K-Pop and Beyond in Seoul”. I mainly chose this program due to my interest in Korean culture and the hands-on experience of the program. In our faculty led class we have some days in the class and some out and about exploring and analyzing the city of Seoul.
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I have been here for about a week already and it certainly has been memorable. From meeting many new people from back home and all over the world, exploring the exciting sites of Seoul to accidentally leaving my phone behind in a taxi. It has been a whirlwind of experiences. I have been settling in slowly. The first couple of days mainly consisted of running around the city trying to explore before starting my classes at Hanyang University (the local university the program is in collaboration with). Up till now developing a daily routine for the reminder of my time here.
Coming here I feel like I didn’t have any expectations on how the city and people would be. But, after this week I have a lot of mixed emotions. I was certainly not prepared for the weather; it has been a bit difficult. The humidity and my hair have certainly not been the best match...and has definitely made me stand out more than I’d like. The city is extremely fast paced, and you need to be on your toes. Navigating around, so far whether walking around or riding the local public transportation has been easy. The local navigation apps do a great job at giving detailed information. And it’s been exciting to put my Korean language skills in action after taking the Korean language courses at the UO!
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I am looking forward to sharing some more of my experiences in Seoul!
Jasmine Vasquez Contreras, Diverse Ducks Ambassador