My stormy journey started when I applied for visa granting but the Embassy in Vietnam closed and restricted for months.

Getting off from flight and proceeded the immigration papers did take smoothly so I was so excited to use English here.

Yet, everything came totally different when I moved out from the Incheon airport’s exit. I was guided to contact the Healthcare team (in white uniform) about the Corona virus quarantine but they, from the old to the young one could not speak English.

Then I had to consult the information desk whether to take bus or KTX to Gwangju city since my program coordinator was not sure how could I get to University in that situation. Honestly, it was the first time I tried KTX so I was so much confused that I could only ask the people around or the passengers who also join in the same transportation.

Everything I did were observing others did and imitate them, from buying tickets of shuttle bus from airport to KTX station and of KTX to Gwangju.

Yet the disadvantage of taking KTX for a freshman like me was I did not know where is the stop I would get off. It was different from express bus that they would stop at the final destination and passengers can recognize easily.

The ticket I held in my hand was only in Korean so I started looking around and came to talk to a man with some luggage that I thought he was a foreigner also.

Luckily, I found him as a Chinese who worked in Korea and also stop in Gwangju city like me. Moreover, he could understand and speak a bit English so I ask him to let me know when to get off the KTX. Of course, I had a long night and flight from Vietnam and did not dare to take a rest on KTX to make sure that I did not miss the stop. It’s the first coping strategy I did to arrive in Gwangju city, but it’s just a beginning for more challenges ahead.

After taking PCR COVID-19 test, I was brought to take my quarantine in a hotel since dormitory of Chonnam National University (CNU) at that time had no vacancy for such isolation.

After 10 days of staying in isolation, I was allowed to go around the hotel, but not yet to the dormitory until there’s empty room for me. Without a phone simcard and internet connection, I tried to search for pharmacy on google map when I stayed in hotel, then I captured the route from my hotel to that pharmacy and convenient store. Consequence, I depended on these screens to go and back with sometime getting lost but finally could return to hotel safely.  

Registering for bank account is another obstacle that I am sure not many people experienced like me.

The first time I came to Gwangju bank inside CNU was nearly 3 months after entering Korea and just right after I got the ARC (alien registration card).

Of course, I had tried 3 counters until one bank teller could communicate in English agreed to service me. However, when I confessed that I haven’t registered an official simcard, they refused the service.