Tag: study abroad

Praying for Prague

Published on by jillianec516Leave a comment

*Gun violence warning

It’s absolutely insane that it’s just two days before my flight and I received texts from family in the US asking if I was okay because there was a school shooting today at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. I am so in disbelief, and my heart is extremely heavy. 

The Czech Republic has honestly felt like one of the safest places in the world while I’ve been here. I can’t imagine how much this is going to affect the families, friends, and colleagues of the victims. And even just the general Czech public. A shooting like that just does not happen here.

It’s four days before Christmas. The holiday season for a lot of people was just crushed, in this country where school shootings are not a topic of conversation. This is the deadliest school shooting Europe has seen in the past 15 years. 

with a heavy heart
I took this photo this morning around 10 am because I wanted a picture of the Czech Flag. I didn’t notice it was in front of a school. I didn’t realize that this photo would probably be more significant to me than I thought.

I have so many words to say that I’m now at a loss for words.

Even right now sitting in my dorm room in Brno, just over 100 miles away, I’m hearing some bangs that are honestly making me scared to leave for the night, even though those bangs might have been happening every other night. I sound paranoid in my head, but it’s terrifying that even in the safest feeling of places this can just randomly occur. I hear police sirens every day, but today they feel like they mean something different. Czech media already said the shooter was eliminated, by suicide, and that the public is not in danger.  

In 2019, when there was the Walmart shooting in El Paso, my heart was frozen for the whole day. I am absolutely feeling that feeling again. My community did not deserve that, and neither did this one. I hate sitting with this feeling. 

Tonight I’m praying. This country has been home for the past few months and it’s a devastating note to feel like I’m ending on. This happens in America, even though it shouldn’t, and the fact that it happened here- it’s f*cking heartbreaking. It’s a devastating routine in the U.S. that I pray doesn’t ever repeat here.

There is a lot of violence happening this Christmas season, all around the world, and my prayers are with every person affected by the hatred of others. Even though the Christmas decorations are beautiful, God, this season has been so ugly.

Funny American Things in Korea

Published on by stefaniepaikLeave a comment

Korea is well-versed in deep history and culture. On the other hand, Korea has grown into a very diverse country that offers global companies that are localized to Korean society. So to commemorate all of the strange American things I have experienced, I created a list of my favorite places.

Costco

The wholesale company, based in Washington state, has various locations all around Korea. In the greater Seoul area 6 Costco’s. The layout of the Costco is the same as the ones in the US, the only big difference is that the Costco here are multi-storied. Korean Costco will have parking on the basement floors, and then there will be a 1 and 2 floor for merchandise. Merchandise is localized to Korean taste. The best part of Korean Costco’s experience is the food court. The most popular item is the bulgogi pizza. It was fairly good, but I found the cheese on the pizza to be a little strange.

Ikea

While Ikea is Swedish and not American, I enjoyed going to Ikea for fun back home. So Ikea here is generally the same. All the merchandise is the same, still a long labyrinth of furniture. At the Korean Ikea, the menu is similar to the US menu. One thing I noticed is the large amount of vegan options. It’s interesting because vegan options are not super extensive in Korea, but it is growing among the population. The food was pretty good; thought it was a little bland. Also, the garlic bread was sweet, so I didn’t like it.

McDonald’s

McDonald’s has locations all around Korea. Recently, Korea has been doing more localized menu options such as the Jindo green onion burger. In my personal opinion, I don’t like Korean McDonald’s. The fries don’t have that signature American saltiness. Also, McDonald’s does not allow customization so I don’t want to order any burger cause I hate tomatoes. It is a fun experience to try but don’t expect it to taste the same as America.