sandreaAndrea Stowell

Hi! My name is Andrea and I am currently a junior at SUNY New Paltz. My major is Early Childhood and Childhood Education with a concentration in English. I have always had an interest in traveling so I could not pass up the opportunity to study abroad! I was actually born in Korea, but adopted as a baby so I have never been and don't know too much about the Korean culture. I'm excited to learn as much as I can while having the time of my life!

All articles by sandrea

 

Things I Wish I Knew Before Traveling to Korea

*The information provided is solely based on my personal experience in Korea. To any female traveling to Korea… Because you are a foreigner it’s ok to dress as you would in America, but most Korean women do not show any skin on their upper body. Short skirts, shorts, and dresses are accepted, but showing any
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Why You Should Study Abroad

It has been one week and two days since I returned to the states. As soon as I got home I started working, which has been keeping me busy. I honestly miss Korea a lot. It might be too early to write this blog because I haven’t been home that long, but I can’t help
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Back to the States :(

My 7 weeks in Korea is over. Yesterday, I flew back and landed at JFK around 11:00am. Leaving my co-teachers and students was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my entire life. The past week has been a very emotional, but I am so blessed I met the people I did.
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Clubbing in Hongdae!

Last night a group of students and teachers went to Hongdae to go clubbing. Everyone knows Korean clubs are the best so we had to experience it at least once. We decided to go to NB1 and NB2 because they are hip-hop clubs and play the best dancing music (most clubs play techno, but we
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My Weekend Trip to Cheongpyeong!

This weekend was the first time I went on an overnight trip outside of campus! A group of us (teachers and students) spent the night in Cheongpyeong to explore the countryside and bungee jump for the first time! Cheongpyeong is very far from just about everything. We had to travel 2 ½ hours to get
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Academic Classes

I have officially completed my first week of classes. In the morning from 9am to noon I take beginner Korean. I have two different teachers throughout the three hours I am in the classroom. My first teacher is named Bae Hi Yeon. I can’t tell if she doesn’t know how to speak English or chooses not
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Food Adjustment

Before I left for Korea I had my mom make all of my favorite meals because I knew I would miss American food. Prior to coming to Korea I never had authentic Asian cuisine so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In my college town there is a Japanese restaurant that
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My First Week Experience

It has now been a week since I arrived in Korea. After getting off the plane I was exhausted and could hardly function so it didn’t hit me that I was in a foreign country. Once I met other American students at the airport and talked with them I found out they felt the same
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Flying with KoreanAir

Like I mentioned in my first post I don’t have any flying experience. Since I was nervous about finding my way around the airport I decided to fly with KoreanAir because they offer direct flights to Korea. There were pros and cons to doing so. I loved not having a layover, but a 14 hour flight was not
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South Korea… Here I Come!

In exactly two weeks I will be in South Korea. Up to this point I have felt nothing but excitement. It still doesn’t seem real that I will be leaving the country and traveling across the world for the very first time. I have never been outside the United States before so I have no
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