Using the Subway System

       The subway system in Seoul is a primary way of transportation if you want to explore all the things the city has to offer. It is set up similarly to the metro-system in France, but in my opinion it is much cleaner and much nicer to use. When you first enter the subway, you won't find stations to buy tickets at. You will be immediately sent through part of what I like to call the "underground shopping center in Seoul." Underground is basically a mall where you can find "Cold Stone Creamery" and clothing stores. If you couldn't find what you needed above the surface, try under the ground. Back to topic, though, if you are on a timely schedule, try to avoid shopping and instead navigate to the entrance gates of the subway. Here you have two options as a way of payment to get in: A T-Money Card or purchasing a ticket at the ticket machine. The easier of these two is to buy a T-Money card, which I will explain now.
       A T-Money card is either an actual card, like a credit card, or a cellphone charm, that you can buy at any convenience store and that you can put money onto to pay for you subway, bus, or even in some cases your taxi ride. My T-money card is Hello Kitty brand. :) After you put so much Korean Won, the Korean currency, onto this card, you can immediately use it to pay for your ride. To use the card, you simply scan it on the T-money scanner at the subway gate or when you first enter the bus and then you are in. IMPORTANT: Make sure that when you are done with your ride, you scan once again as you exit! You do this because if you don't, you will be charged for the full distance that your method of transportation goes! It is a huge waste of money, so you don't want to forget. On the subway, though, you don't have to worry because you have to scan to exit the gate.
       If you decide not to use a T-money card or if you just aren't going to be in the area long, you should just buy a ticket at the gate. To do this go to a ticket machine and press the language in which you speak. If you want a one time ticket, you should click so and then select which station in Seoul you will be exiting on. NOT the last station on your line if you are transferring. You may need to change lines, but you can do this without leaving the gates. I will explain this more in detail later. After you have selected your destination, you need to enter the amount of adults and children that need tickets. Your machine will then tell you how much you owe and you should insert your money in the slot. Your ticket will be deposited and you can scan it on the gate to enter.
      There is one more important thing I should mention about getting onto a subway, before you pass through an entrance gate. MAKE SURE THE GATE YOU ENTER IS TOWARD THE DIRECTION YOU DESIRE. Entering one gate could lead to the train heading in only one direction, and if it is the wrong direction, your trip could take hours longer than you want it too. The best solution for going into the wrong gate is to look for the handicap gate and press the call for help button. When you do this, someone will speak to you and you can speak English to tell them your problem and they will let you pass. This is if you bought your card at the station. You will have to buy a new one. If you have a T-money card, simply scan out of the gate again and enter the appropriate gate.
       When navigating the subway system, there are some things you should understand. There are multiple lines in the subway, each recognized by a different color on the map. Each color line will only travel on that line, so you will need to transfer lines if your origin is not the color you need to be on. You will want to find the subway station nearest to your destination and navigate to it planning for different line transfers. If you need to transfer to a different line, you will here bells or tweeting or some type of music play while riding that train signifying that you are entering a transfer station. Get off on the station that transfers to your line and follow the arrows on the wall that point you to your transfer colored line. These lines on the wall are colored to match the train line color. Once you have transferred, just ride until you reach your stop or the next transfer station.

       While riding the train, it is normal for it to be hot and crowded. There are seats on the side for people to sit on and bars to hold onto while standing up. In the back of each train car, there is a designated 6 seats that are for elderly only. Make sure you don't sit in these seats. Also, if you see an elderly person standing, offer them your seat. It is viewed as impolite not to do so and they may yell at you. When holding the bars on the subway, you are supposed to look straight forward, even if there is a person sitting straight in front of you. This way you create more space in the train for everyone else. When entering and exiting the train, be careful. If it is crowded you will want to push through the crowd so you don't miss your stop or train. Once the doors close there is no way to open them.

       Above all, enjoy your train ride. Public transportation can be a great thing, especially because it is cheaper and fairly fast, especially in Korea where it is kept so clean. Also be glad that you aren't walking because Seoul is a big city and walking it all is almost impossible. To see more information on this, please view my uploaded videos on my youtube account and remember they might not be there yet, as my time is constrained. And as always, if I have left anything out or if you have questions, please comment me and I will be sure to reply.

Life in Seoul

     I have been living in Seoul, South Korea for about a week now and it has been a great experience. Now I am not going to go into great depth about what specific things are like in this post, but I will go over some of the things that I have  experienced and I will also be talking about what the society is like as a whole.

      First arriving in Seoul, all I wanted to do was go out and explore the city, but Seoul is a complex one. If you don't know by now, Seoul is a huge city divided by the Hangang River. It is broken into multiple sections, each with their own name. Each of these areas are broken down even further depending on what subway station you are near. The area I am currently in is called Sinchon because the Sinchon station is the closest to my university. Traveling to other areas, though, is easily accessible through trains, buses, and taxis, as it can only take a matter of a few minutes to travel into a different section of Seoul via train.Once I learned this, I was free to explore the city, although I think it is best to explore your own area first before you go out to others.
       In Sinchon, everywhere you look there are restaurants and shopping stores. Although I did not know this at the time, in actuallity, most of Seoul is like this. The restaurants are fairly compact together and they are even stacked up horizontally on top of each other. This is different from the U.S. because most shops are standing vertically right next to each other, using the top floors of their building as office space (Ex. III). In Korea though, the shops are horizontally stacked so you have to look up the building to see what is all in it (each floor is a different store or restaurant). If you aren't distracted enough looking up at the shops while you are walking, you will be navigating through the bikes, cars, and street vendors that line the sidewalks. Yes, in S. Korea cars are allowed to park on the sidewalk if necessary, delivery bikes are allowed to drive on them, and if there weren't enough restaurants, street vendors line the sidewalks so you can sit under their cover and eat at them.Thinking about it more, it appears that within an area by a subway station, it is divided yet again by shopping and eating districts. All the places to eat and vendors are located in the same area and close by you will find that all the places you see are shopping centers. These two ares, shopping and eating, are always placed right next to each other so it is hard to tell when you move from one to another. Besides eating and shopping areas, convenience stores, movie theaters, and back ally ways though, I haven't seen much else to the life of Seoul. In my opinion, I believe there are major business areas more towards the river in Seoul and that these too are clumped together into the types of businesses you find in a certain area. You would think that this would be bad for business, but with such a large number of people living in Seoul, I would imagine each of these places does fairly well in clumped areas because it draws a crowd.

        As for the people of Seoul, I can generalize that most I have run into are friendly people when you talk with them. That may just be because they are trying to sell you something, but most people know basic English and are willing to help you understand what they are talking about. The encounter with people walking down the sidewalk though is a different story. In Korea, people don't like to make eye contact because it is awkward. If they do make eye contact, they never look friendly about it. Most people, I assume, are just trying to get from point A to point B and if you are wondering around slowly you will get pushed around or pushed off into the street. The sidewalks can get very crowded, but occasionally you will have someone say Hi to you in English, which is a nice treat. I even had someone shake my hand once. They seem very welcoming to American students, but I assume that is because of the relationship they have with the U.S.
       Coming into Seoul, there is also plenty of things to go out and experience, and each section of the city is known for something particularly. So far I have been to the Korean palaces, some entertainment buildings, I have shopped in Insa-dong, and I have a long list of other things I would like to do, like see the Seoul Tower and the Rainbow bridge. If you are coming to Seoul, I would suggest making a list of everything you want to do so that you can complete it all and find other things to do and also so that you experience the city to its full potential.

In case of an Emergency

If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I have had such a hard time coming to South Korea. My flight was delayed, I missed my connecting flight, my luggage was left in the U.S., I missed my meeting time to go to the hostel, I was lost in the airport with no hostel address, and I even lost my passport!! It was a rough time, but yet still a good learning experience for someone whom had never traveled alone before. So here I am offering you tips and advice on what to do if anything similarly bad happens to you.

1. Flight Delay
    If you realize that your flight has been delayed, immediately talk to the flight attendant to see if you will still be able to make your next flight. If you will be cutting it close and might not make it, see if the flight attendant can't get you a back up plan immediately, especially if you are on a tight schedule. If you wait to see if you can make it to your flight without this backup plan, chances are that you won't make it and will get stuck because even though the flight time may not take time, the boarding and exiting time does. Also, if you cut it too close, your baggage won't make it to your destination with you for sure. With my experience, I talked to the attendant but he just told me to run. I didn't think to ask him for back up tickets, but I realize now that I should have.  I ran and still didn't make it.

2. You Miss A Connecting Flight
   If you arrive at your second airport and have missed your connection flight, once again talk to the flight attendant immediately! Make sure that they check multiple airlines so that you can get the soonest flight out. There may be a plane leaving only a few minutes later that you can take. For asian flights, these mostly leave in the early afternoon, so if you don't want to wait another day for your flight, try to get on any flight flying to an asian country as soon as possible. If you have to wait at the airport though, just realize that there is nothing that can be done and that you have to relax. In my case, though, I had a plane that I could catch to Shanghai leaving in only a few minutes. I had to run to the gate, waving my ticket in the air, so that they would wait for me. Luckily I made it because I was on a tight schedule.

3. Your Luggage Doesn't Make It
   If your luggage doesn't make it to your final destination with you, just realize there is nothing you can do to get it to you now. Check and make sure it is not on the rotation belt at the baggage pickup, and also check the lost and found. If you are sure your luggage hasn't made it, go to the luggage help center and show them your luggage ticket. Yea, make sure you have these with you at all times! At the help counter, they will look up the location of your luggage and will tell you what flight it will be flying over on. Then you will have to fill out a form telling where you want your luggage to be shipped to and what phone number the airport can call in confirmation. If you are flying over for school and you don't have this information, use the schools address and phone number. Then once you get to school, you can inform them that you lost your luggage and that it will be shipped there. Your school will be happy to receive it for you.

4. You Don't Know Where to Go When You First Arrive
   If you had a designated meeting time with people at the airport so that you could travel together, make sure you contact them and let them know you are ok if you are going to be late. If you are so late that they can no longer wait for you, try asking an attendant at the airport if they can help you get to your destination. If you are younger, many attendants want to ensure that you have a safe trip so they will help you as much as you can, especially if it is late at night. In Seoul, when you arrive at the airport, there are multiple ways to get into the city. There is an express train, a commuter train, limousine bus, and taxis. You have to be careful when you plan your transportation because the buses and trains stop running after a certain time at night, and also the taxis will raise their prices. If you are forced to take a taxi and you cannot speak the language, once again ask an attendant if they can help you hail a taxi and find out the price. Sometimes, when taxi drivers know you can't speak their language, they will charge you more. Receiving help from attendant will help you eliminate this problem.

5. Losing your passport
    If you lose your passport, you are in trouble. You need this passport as proof of your identification and you need it to enter and exit the country. When you first realize you have lost your passport, try and retrace your steps. You may have dropped it along the way. If you have traveled between destinations during the time between you last had your passport and when you realized you lost it, try calling the places you had been in between to see if they had found your document. Always, Always try and contact someone whom can help you look for it and whom might have it. In my case I asked my hostel father, the taxi driver, and I even called the airport. If you cannot find your passport, immediately contact your program coordinator! They will help you get in contact with the nearest embassy to help you try and get a new one. When I went through this process, I was also informed that I needed to file a police report first before I could get a new one. This is why it is good to talk to your coordinator first, because they understand the language and can help you file a police report. If worse comes to worse and you don't find your passport in the next couple of days, you will have to apply for a new one. To do this you will need a copy of the police report, a new passport photo, and about 150 US dollars, if you need a U.S. passport. It is very expensive, but necessary. Luckily for me, someone found my passport in the next few days.

Travel Tip 1:
When packing your carry-on, make sure that you pack supplies that you could live off of for at least two days. You don't want to be stuck without any extra clothes at all, because wearing your sweaty airplane clothes is nasty. Also, I would recommend packing more pairs of underwear than the number of outfits you have, because you can always re-wear outfits, but you don't want to re-wear underwear!

Travel Tip 2:
Always keep your passport close by you until you have settled into your final destination, where it can be stored safely. The best thing for this would be a passport pouch that fits under your clothes close to your body. It may be uncomfortable, but as long as it is zipped, you don't have to worry about losing your passport. Definitely do not keep your passport in a pocket that you zip open frequently. It can fall out! This is probably what happened to me, and ever since, my passport has been secured next to me.

Jeju Island

 

Grandfather Stones

            Jeju Island was a beautiful place, although in most areas of the island it was rainy and humid. Very Uncomfortable. I feel like going on this trip was a great thing for me though because it is where I met most of my current friends. On the island, Halla Mountain surrounds you and you can see it everywhere you look. Disappointingly, the main top part of the mountain was covered in clouds when I was there, but I am sure that in August, out of the rainy season, it is a beautiful sight.           
            On the first day of my trip, we went to Mini Halla Moutain where we saw the women divers show or Jeju Haenyeo Mulgil  and were told to hike up the mountain. I was too tired from all the plane travel and

Mini Mount Halla

bus riding to even think about climbing this mountatin, so I only climbed halfway up. Good news on the mountain though! I was chased after and was told that they had found my passport and that it was being mailed to the hotel for me so that I could get back into Seoul. It was such a big relief because if I wouldn't have found it, I would have had to go to the police station, file a police report, then go to the U.S. embassy with $150 dollars and a passport photo just to get a new one. I am glad I didn't have to go through that!




The woman divers show at the mountain was also a spectacular sight!

Women Divers Going Out to Sea

These woman are in their 50s all the way up to their 80s and they dive underwater without any fishing gear except goggles to find food. They can only stay underwater a few minutes, but when I was there they caught a few squid and some sort of crab I think. What I also want to note about this experience is that before these woman go out to sea, they sing a really long song about their journey. The song was all Korean so I didn't understand it, but this is a song that they have been singing for hundreds of years  so it was really a treat to here. I will upload a video of this song soon, so watch my Youtube account for any updates.

Jeju Folk Village

            Also on the first day of my trip, we headed up to a traditional Jeju village where all the houses had hay roofs and had been standing for what I think I heard being 600 years. It was a really interesting part of ancient Korean culture that is still standing and that people still live in to this day. I know I could never live like that. After the village, we also got to eat some traditional Pork Bulgogi. You cook this in the pan in front of you and then eat it along with the many side dishes they give you. My favorite thing to do with this is to take a lettuce leaf and put some of the pork and rice in it and wrap it up. MmmmMmmm Delicious!
            On my second day of the trip, we headed to the O'Sulloc tea museum where I enjoyed looking at the old tea cups. We also got a chance to see how the tea was roasted and we got to even try/buy some. I tried the tea, but i didn't like it very much because I just don't care for tea. I did though use the opportunity to buy some souvenirs though. My step-mother loves tea!
             After the tea museum, we headed off  to Jungmun Daepo Columnar or jointed-lava point. This is a

Jointed-Lava Point

place where you can see what happens when hot lava cools instantly when it touches the sea. It was really cool because the water here was such a pretty, clear blue and because the rocks were black and rectangular shaped. Apparently the rocks become rectangular when the sea washes over them, although I still don't understand this well. While at this location, I also used the opportunity to try some of Jeju's famous oranges. You can find these oranges all over the island and they are delicious. I would definitely recommend trying some if you plan to ever visit there. Soon after I got to eat again. My lunch for the day was roasted Mackerel, which I didn't enjoy at all because the whole fish (tail, head and eyes included) was laying right in front of me. I know some people enjoy this, but I just couldn't stomach it so I ate rice instead.

Roasted Makerel

Cheonji-yeon Waterfall

            After lunch, we got to go to the place I was most excited for: The Cheonji-yeon Waterfall. The pictures I had seen of this place were beautiful. There was clear water and bright plants around it, but when I got there I was a little disappointed. The water was dirty and there just wasn't much to see. I had already seen Niagra Falls, so this waterfall didn't compare. Once again, I used to opportunity to buy a few souvenirs for my friends.






            Back on the bus for a short distance, we were led to a cruise. The cruise was stationed next to this

Bridge by the Cruise

really intricate bridge that I believe was in a Korean drama, but I am not sure.  We soon boarded the boat and had a long boat ride on the rocky waters. For a few minutes, I really did believe some people would fall off but they didn't. The weather was still rainy and was not good for this trip, especially since the boat wasn't taking us anywhere. What I found unique on this ride though was that I saw some fisherman standing on the bottom of a cliff only a few feet from the water. I had no idea how they got there since they obviously couldn't have climbed down, so I found out that a boat drops them off there everyday and then picks them up. I still think the idea of this is stupid since they are in such a dangerous spot, helpless and in such bad weather.
            My mind though was quickly taken off this though as we went downstairs in the boat for a beggars performance.  Wow! This performance was... uh.. unique. The man doing in was dressed as a blonde girl whom almost looked like a prostitute. He sang karaoke, and told jokes, and evenly fake stripped to get money. Even on his underwear he had clap written and would occasionally flash us this sign. What I found out was that this is how all beggars used to get money on the island! I sure wouldn't do that. It looks ridiculous.
         Finally my last stop for the day was Iho beach, where it was finally sunny. Since I didn't have my

Iho Beach

luggage, I didn't have my new swimsuit, which made me a little mad, but I did get to walk around in the sand. It was really nice, until the wind blew and the sand cut against my legs. I think what I enjoy most about going to a Korean beach is that they offer you a place to wash your feet in after you walk around in the sand, so you dont get sand in your shoes. It was so much easier to use that just trying to put your shoes on by the sea and then getting your shoes sandy. America should start doing this too!




           On my third and last day I was tired and ready to go back to Seoul to settle in. All day we looked at rocks, at the Manjanggul lava tubes and at Jeju Stone Park. The lava tube cava would have been cool if it wasn't really cold and practically raining inside. Water kept dripping down from the ceiling and I didn't have an umbrella to protect me. I am lucky I didn't catch a cold! In the stone park, we basically got to see more traditional Jeju ways of living and how they used stone to make statues and tools. The trip was really interesting, but I don't think I enjoyed it to its full potential because of the weather.
          The weather did clear up when we went to Dokkaebi or the Grotesque looking spirit road, where it appears as if the road is on an incline, but if you turn your car off it'll roll uphill. It is said that a troll pushes your car up the hill, but scientifically it is just an optical illusion. This was the end of my trip in Jeju Island!

Grotesque-looking Road Troll

          Later on in this blog, I will be writing more about Jeju lifestyles, and eating and living in Korean so keep reading. This so far had just been an account of what I have done, but soon I will post more educational blogs about specific topics including what to do in an emergency, how to navigate in Seoul without knowing Korean, how to use the bus/subway, what eating in Korea is like, etc. If you have any specific topics you would like to hear about, please comment me and let me know. Thanks!

Flight to Seoul and the Start of my trip

The morning before my flight left I was a nervous wreck. I was sick from the night before and  leaving my boyfriend was so upsetting. I got up and took a shower, letting him sleep. When he woke up, though, I couldn’t pack and my mind couldn’t think as to what I needed. To this day I still feel like I am missing something. I quickly looked around as to things I needed and put it in my suitcase, so I wasn’t even later to the breakfast my parents were already waiting in the car for. My boyfriend, my step-mom, my dad and myself went to eat at Farmerboy, even though I was too sick to even really eat anything and I still couldn’t let my boyfriends hand go. I only ate scrambled eggs, white toast with grape jelly, bacon, and hashbrowns, with a coke to drink.  After we finished eating, we went back to my dads house for one last thing I needed and then we headed out at about 11AM. At the airport, I checked my baggage and started to say my goodbyes. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I was crying more than my family and I couldn’t stop hugging them. I was terrified of the journey ahead of me. Yet still I walked through that security gate. Now if anyone ever says that you need to buy food before I long plane. They are wrong unless you eat constantly. I bought a bag of chips and a chocolate bar and I didn’t touch them the whole trip. Even today, I still have the chocolate bar. I would recommend buying a water though because you want to keep your hydrated.

          Back at the airport, I had a rough time. First of all, you have to arrive at the airport like an hour before your flight, but my flight was delayed about an hour so I had to wait even longer. Even worse, delaying my flight to Detroit could make me late for my connection. And I was right, it did. Arriving in Detroit 30 minutes after I got onto my plane, I ran to my next gate. Running was so hard with my carry-on luggage and my laptop. I had to occasionally stop to walk. I was still late to my next flight, and even though I could physically see my plane, they were no longer boarding. I had missed my flight. Talking to the airport attendant, I was most likely to not arrive on time to my destination. I was going to arrive a day late and miss my field trip to Jeju Island. Luckily, they found another flight for me that would get me there on time. The bad part: It was leaving in 2 minutes. Yet again, I ran, waiving my ticket in the air, until I had finally made it onboard the flight. I had made it, but I knew my luggage didn’t. It was stuck in America and I was on my way to Shanghai, and no I did not have my original window seat. I sat in the middle row, in the middle. It was very uncomfortable and I could not sleep for the entire 13 hour flight. I couldn’t even see the television and I hadn’t received headphones. The only thing that got me through the flight was the really kind old lady from china whom sat beside me. We talked frequently on the flight.  Four movies played, none of which I got to watch. They were The Tourist , the Green Lantern, and two other movies of which I cannot remember. On the flight, I was served two meals, a snack, and frequent drinks. My two meals were chicken and beef, served with a roll, a salad, and fruit. The 13 hours were long and I had to walk frequently because my legs were killing me. It was very uncomfortable and I couldn’t sleep a wink. It didn’t go fast, but I eventually arrived in Shanghai. Yet once again, I had another problem. I got lost and no one spoke English. Only through headshakes and nods could I figure out where to go. I thought I could just straight to my next flight, but I really had to go through customs and enter China. Which was cool except I was supposed to pick up my baggage, which was confirmed to still be in the US. So I left the airport only to reenter the airport at another location. At least I got stamped into China. My connect flight in China was two hours later than my original connection time, putting my time to arrive in Korea at 12:15 AM! This meant that I would miss my meeting with my US friends and I would have to take an expensive taxi to my hostel. My only good thoughts thinking this were that at least I would arrive on time to my field trip.

          Entering the airport again to head to Korea, I was tired and just wanted to lay in bed. The bad experiences so far made me want to run back to my family and cry, but I knew I couldn’t. I was on my way to Seoul, flying on Korean Air. I found out that it really is true that all the stewardesses are beautiful. Their uniforms were so nice and precise, with their cute bows. The flight was only an hour, but I still got another meal. At that time, I was still so full that I didn’t eat much. I couldn’t even see what I was flying over because it was dark. 

          In Korea, the airport was empty. I had to talk to the baggage people about having the baggage shipped to my university, so I got out even later. The man helping me though was so nice and he spoke English well. Since I had missed the last bus, he helped me locate my hostel, call the, use the internet, and he even walked me out of the building to help me get a taxi for a cheap price. Nicest man I have ever met! The taxi ride was long, about an hour, and the man spoke no English, but it was a nice quiet ride. I just took in the sites until I got to the destination where my hostel family would be picking me up. They too were some of the nicest people ever. The hostel was small but really nice. It had a giant cartoon picture on one of its walls, and best of all, the hostel was close to the YG Family Office, where I could possibly see G-Dragon! I felt comforted to be someplace were nothing else could happen to me. I was finally with my USAC program partners and I could sleep. But, oh no, wait! I lost my passport! I looked through all my bags and could not find it, but it was night time so I had to let it go for the night. The only problem is I couldn’t sleep knowing my passport was gone. The few hours I rested my eyes were heaven, since I hadn’t fallen asleep in like a day. The morning came quickly and I was one of the first to wake up, so I took a long deserved shower. It was so refreshing.  The moment came, though, when I had to wake up my hostel father and tell him my passport was gone. He called the taxi and the airport for me, but there was no sign. I had to leave for my school without it.  

          The subway station we took to get to school was just like any other. I had to buy my ticket and find my way to the train. Only, we got on the wrong train so we needed help getting on the right one. One of the elevators we took even had baby poop smeared all over it. Disgusting! But we made it out anyway and took the final walk to our school. It was a long walk and all up hill. Even worse, I had to drag my luggage up the hills and I was already tired.  I said we should have taken a taxi, but my USAC friends didn’t want to, so we walked. I got sweaty and hot really fast, but my determination got me up the hill, although my body wanted to die from lack of sleep and from my airplane legs.

          In the University, I finally was able to contact someone who could help me get my luggage and solve my passport problems. It was only then that I realized I needed my passport to get to my field trip destination. Could it get any worse? Good thing I kept a copy with me or else I wouldn’t have been able to go, although I didn’t get confirmation that this copy would work until we got to the airport to leave again. The problem this time was not that my copy didn’t get me a ticket, it was that once again, my flight was delayed. This time for two hours. My group and I were missing out on the first part of our trip. I figured I was the bad luck. So without passport and without suitcase, I headed to Jeju island with only one set of spare clothes. I may be wearing dirty clothes now but at least I am not in the clothes I wore to Korea. I was now in Jeju Island!

Voltage Converters & Calling Abroad

Recently, I have been packing for my trip to Korea and I have come upon some useful hints and trips for anyone who may be having preparation troubles.

Voltage Converters
When traveling abroad you need to really pay attention to the electrical devices you are taking. Not all countries run on the same voltages as the US. Many in fact run on 220 Volts, where the U.S. is 110 Volts. When first looking at this information, you might think that you would need a voltage converter which would safely change the higher voltage into your desired amount. BE CAREFUL THOUGH! If you don't pay attention you may buy a converter you don't need. Computers for instance don't always need a converter. Many laptops now can handle a wide range of different voltages and they will work slower or even malfunction if a converter is used. All you need for most computers is a plug converter so that your computer plug can fit into the wall. My advice is to also try to charge as many devices as possible on your computer so you don't need more plugs or a computer.
            Another common electrical device is a hair dryer. If you don't have a dual voltage hair dryer you WILL need a converter, BUT I recommend that instead of buying a converter (which can be heavy and can weigh down your suitcase) just buy a dual voltage hair dryer. A new hair dryer will be cheaper, lighter, and you can use it when you get back home. Once again, with a dual voltage hair dryer, all you will need is a plug adapter. In the end, unless you are carrying more equipment, you should NOT need a voltage converter and should only have to buy one plug adapter. (You can surely unplug your computer to plug in your hair dryer.)

Calling Abroad
 Calling Internationally can be really expensive, so here are some ways to make it cheaper. USE SKYPE or some other similar type of calling service. If you buy a subscription, you can get a free voicemail and a discount on an online number. My advice is to get a subscription to call landlines and mobile in the U.S. ONLY, with voicemail, and an online number, which together should be about 30 dollars for three months. This way you can call home cheaply, they can call you with no additional charge to them if your online number is in their area code, and they can leave a voicemail when your not there. What I would not recommend is paying extra for text messages to your friends in the US. It can get really expensive and you will be too busy abroad to really text them a lot. Instead, your friends should sign up for skype too and you can message and call each other for free. If you must have a cell phone in your pocket, though, I would try to find a place where you can rent a phone in your study abroad country. These fares are cheap and they often give student discounts. Most of these rental phones are prepay phones and they are nice to use to contact your new study abroad friends, but I wouldn't recommend them for calling home. These phones should just be used to make calls in the country you are staying in.

Packing Tip of The Day:
If you are worried that you will buy too much abroad and will have no way of bringing it back home, consider this: Try getting two suitcases of similar size (one slightly smaller) and put the smaller suitcase in the larger one. Then just pack up the small one on your way there, zipping it inside the bigger one, and on your way home pull the two apart so that you have two suitcases to take your things in.

To Help You Prepare:
Look to see if there is anything to do to set up your wireless internet before you get abroad. Many times you will have to install a new program, and it is better to get this done in the U.S. when you aren't frantic to get online. When you arrive at your destination and have instant internet access, you will thank me.