SoĀ I think the only proper way toĀ start off this blog post is with an apology for everyone who has waited for my return to the blogsphere. Between the last post I made and now, things have been a touch hectic. What with a trip to Busan, midterms, extracurricular school work, and everything else in between, any moment of quiet Iā€™ve been lucky enough to find has been met with much needed rest.

But I digress.

Some tickets from a few of the films I went to see.
Some tickets from a few of the films I went to see.

What should I talk about first? I guess I should begin with the trip to Busan which Iā€™m sure you already know about since Iā€™ve been telling everyone (and their mother!) about. October 12thĀ to 21stĀ sees the Busan International Film Festival, and from the 16thĀ October, I was in town and ready to binge consume some acclaimed cinema! As would be expected, I was privy to some exclusive screenings of films that I struggle to adequately describe for their brilliance. For most films the cinematography was superb, but then again so was pretty much everything else from the characters to the narrative pacing. When I think about each film the first thing I remember is the emotional quality that each film has, and how it made me feel to have watched it, whether that be nostalgia, excitement, boredom or discomfort.

Some of my favourite films were the simplest ones, and as a self-proclaimed ā€˜writerā€™ it was a really nice thing to witness. Iā€™ve always found it tricky to work around writersā€™ block and a lack of inspiration, so it was quite encouraging to see these simple narratives become such amazing films.

Onwards.

One thing Iā€™ve been up to since the last post was a visit to Noryangjin fish market with my buddy. Think Billingsgate market but with lots of restaurants just upstairs. Thatā€™s Noryangjin. While there, we feasted on fish, surprising nobody. My friends had more than I did, as it turns out I donā€™t much like the texture of sashimi. Also, the pieces were very big. They also indulged in crab andĀ Sannakji,Ā which is ā€˜liveā€™ octopus eaten raw. I, unfortunately, was not having any of it, especially after mentions of tentacles sticking to teeth and other parts they should not be sticking to. For me, I can think of very few things that sound worse.

Fog outside my window early in the morning.
Fog outside my window early in the morning.

Weā€™ve been having some strange weather over here, Iā€™m sure youā€™ll beĀ superĀ excited to hear. Winter has arrived like a slap in the face, and with it has come snow. Itā€™s not a lot just yet but since it came as early as November, Iā€™m not optimistic for January. Weā€™ve also seen someĀ heavyĀ fog that was nothing short of Stephen Kingā€™sĀ The Mist.Ā I genuinely couldnā€™t see the top of the adjacent building.

One of the questions I get the most from both friend and family alike, is how my education on the Korean language is going. One of the midterms I took somewhat recently was for Korean, and having scored 23 out of a potential 30 points as well as 3/5 and 5/5 of other, smaller, tests, you would expect a certain level of ability with the language. However, I find myself in an infuriating cycle whereby I feel like things are starting to come together, that I haveĀ finallyĀ managed to grasp some fundamental understanding of grammar, only to move on and add something else to discover that such things arenā€™t what Iā€™ve understood them to be, and Iā€™m not digesting nearly as much as I thought I was. Itā€™s a frustrating pattern to say the least.

In truth, there are many reasons this blog post took so long to write. Iā€™ve been here now for just over three months and itā€™s taken some time but some semblance of normality has begun to take hold, and with that comes the struggle to figure out what is noteworthy enough to pen down and talk about for any extended length of time. Also, even though things are getting to be somewhat ordinary, Iā€™ve been finding it a little difficult to try to adapt to my surroundings. Everything has changed from what I am used to (as was expected, Iā€™m not that naĆÆve!) but I didnā€™t begin to consider how I might have to find out where I fit in again and how to get over petty fears and anxieties I thought I had aged out of. Itā€™s something Iā€™m still trying to figure out, but in the mean time Iā€™m just trying to get on with things.

For the time being, I donā€™t know what else to keep everyone updated with, so please let me know what youā€™d like to hear about in my next post and Iā€™ll be sure to include it!

Also, please be sure to leave a comment or drop me a message, I miss you guys back home! And if you haven’t already, do be sure to check my Instagram (seralou95) so you can see some of the things Iā€™ve been getting up to.

Until Next time,

Serena

Getting On With Things

Serena


Serena is studying BA Film and English at the university, and spent her third year abroad in Seoul, South Korea. When she isn't hard at work, she enjoys reading, writing, filmmaking, and photography.


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2 thoughts on “Getting On With Things

  1. Thanks for sharing your experience, i myself an international student living & studying in Canada. My experience so far is great, meeting new people, new learnings, new culture and more.

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