Why I decided to study abroad

Welcome to my first blog post!

This is my first time blogging so I don't really know how it works... 😓 I'm writing this post while I'm still in Sweden and therefore there isn't much for me to write about. But after many hours of contemplating, I thought writing about why I chose to study abroad might be a good start!

If you had asked me several years ago if I had the courage to go study abroad in a foreign country where I don't know anybody, I would've responded "Absolutely not! No way! That's too scary, I don't think I can do it." I've always been an introvert who always choose to stay in my own bubble of comfort zone. The thought of going to a foreign country where you don't know the language or anybody has always been terrifying for me. It still is, to be honest. But it's also the exact reason why I decided to do this. When I asked my family about what they thought about me going abroad, I thought that all of them would say "I don't think you can do it. It's a bad idea. Why study abroad when you can just study here?". But to my surprise, they were all very supportive "That sounds so fun! You will get to learn so many things and experience something that you've never done before. Go for it! You can do it!". At that point, I realized that it was me, myself, who was stopping myself for grabbing this once in a lifetime opportunity. I realized that if I let this opportunity pass, I will definitely regret it later on. And so, I decided to do it.

I believe that studying abroad will give me invaluable lessons and opportunities that will help me grow as an individual. I hope to make many friends and learn about their cultures and get more insight into their perspectives. Living abroad comes with huge responsibility and that's one of the things that will definitely help me grow. I hope to learn and experience a lot while studying abroad in Korea!

There are also several reasons to why I chose to study, specifically, in South Korea. One of them being that the cost of living is affordable. My exchange university, Chung-Ang University (let's call it CAU) and many other universities in South Korea offer dormitory and it's really cheap, especially if you live in Seoul. It's around 1,300,000 KRW, which is about 1,100 USD for one semester. That's around 275 USD per month which is very cheap compared to other living alternatives in Seoul. It's also convenient since the dorm is right where the campus is. If you don't want to live in dorms you can also rent a goshiwon (a small student room) or look for host families where you can get a room for a, not as cheap, but quite affordable price. Living off campus can be tough, especially if you don't know the language, so I would definitely recommend you to try out the dorms if you don't want to go through a bunch of hassle. But if you're one who are not afraid of challenges, why not try to learn a new language since it'll definitely come in handy in the long run anyway! There is going to be a separate post about the dormitory life in CAU so make sure to check it out if you're curious about the dorms!

South Korea is also known for its delicious food. Seoul has many street-food stands and markets where you can eat for a cheap price, I mean...who says no to that? I've tried a few korean dishes in Sweden but never been to Korea som I'm not sure how different it is. But I'm certain that I'm going to eat as much as I can while in Korea, just so that I can say that I've tried authentic Korean food haha 😄
And then there is shopping! Save some space in your baggage and don't pack a lot of clothes with you since I'm sure you will shop a lot when in Seoul because it's cheap and they have many cute and fashionable clothes! But if you have a larger size of clothes then I'd recommend to bring your own since I heard that it can be quite difficult to find anything larger than size L in Korea.

So if you are unsure whether studying abroad is a good idea or not, I'd say: go for it! Like seriously, just do it! There is literally nothing stopping you except yourself! Of course, it's not going to be a smooth ride all the way and surely there will be ups and downs but I think that you'll learn a lot from these moments! My first tip for you is: make sure to look into the university/country that you are considering studying at and just go with your guts!