As the whirlwind that has been the last few months continues, I found myself in Seoul, Korea during mid-march for the annual Asia Pacific Association of International Education (APAIE). This conference served as my professional development for this year as I expanded my views on the field of international education. While there not only did I learn about that field, but also had an incredible cultural experience. Here's a few rambling thoughts on the experience.
Before attending this conference I was unaware, probably obliviously, about the business of international education. The APAIE conference felt more like a trade fair meets business meeting as global representatives from Universities and agencies from around the world were wheeling and dealing to spread the study experiences of our students. This culture of the conference made me a bit uncomfortable as it seemed that the professionals there were solely concerned with boosting international student numbers, MOUs with more campuses, and their "international" image. There were few conversations about quality, institutional enhancement, and the student experience. After my initial shock of the "business" nature of the conference I was able to find a lot of really interesting professionals and conversations about the experiences of students who study internationally. I had too many take away lessons to bore you here, but if you want some materials or food for thought just say the word!
In addition to the whole conference, I got to experience Seoul! This was my first time in Eastern Asia and once again I would use the adage "it's a different world"! My time in Seoul got off to an auspicious start as my ATM card from Qatar would not allow me to take out cash in Korea and my USA credit card was not accepted by any Korea banks. This left me with 0 cash (if Sarah Marr was with me she surely would have had cash to exchange...) and a week in country. Luckily, my hosts of my Air BnB room were able to charge my credit card and give me cash at a cool transaction fee of 15%...the things you do during desperate travel times. Once money was squared away my exploration began.
Before leaving for Seoul a friend, Katie Hyon, graciously gave me three full pages of things to do in Seoul. This ended up being my go to source of information and I was able to knock off nearly every site she recommend. I walked the streets of the traditional hanok village, I dined with the locals in Gwangjang Market, attempted to hike the fortress wall, experienced historic palaces at Gyeongbokgung, sang Karaoke, ate Korean BBQ, and much more. Anyone visiting Seoul, please ask for recommendations. One of my favorite parts was simply being part of a real and fully functioning city. There was life all around, rich history, deep traditions, a bustling public transportation system, and a language other than English. Speaking of transportation, after growing up learning how to navigate NYC (thank you Mr. Kearney...), navigating Seoul was a BLAST!!! SO many buses, metros, cabs, etc all in a foreign and indecipherable language was quite the challenge. But by the end of the week I had mastered it with the best of em.
As a final story I will leave you with this...as I have traveled I have tried my best to be an adventurous eater. Now this isn't just eating street foods or whatever the local cuisine is, that goes without saying. I mean eating the things you won't get anywhere else. This has included sheep brains in the majilis, fried scorpions in Bangkok, and everyone's favorite story...Ox Balls in Nairobi. In Seoul I ventured into eating a large sausage looking coil filled with a strange form of rice. Tons of locals were eating it, you can see it in the picture below. I had about two pieces of it and just couldn't do any more. The speculation of not knowing what was in it was too much. I come to later find out it is called Soon Dae and is a mixture of rice and animal blood. Not for the faint of heart...but when in Seoul!!!
That about covers it for this session. After Seoul I jumped down to New Zealand to see Kristal (my third time there in 9 months...) for a week of adventure, the great outdoors, and Hobbits. Stay tuned!!!
Before attending this conference I was unaware, probably obliviously, about the business of international education. The APAIE conference felt more like a trade fair meets business meeting as global representatives from Universities and agencies from around the world were wheeling and dealing to spread the study experiences of our students. This culture of the conference made me a bit uncomfortable as it seemed that the professionals there were solely concerned with boosting international student numbers, MOUs with more campuses, and their "international" image. There were few conversations about quality, institutional enhancement, and the student experience. After my initial shock of the "business" nature of the conference I was able to find a lot of really interesting professionals and conversations about the experiences of students who study internationally. I had too many take away lessons to bore you here, but if you want some materials or food for thought just say the word!
In addition to the whole conference, I got to experience Seoul! This was my first time in Eastern Asia and once again I would use the adage "it's a different world"! My time in Seoul got off to an auspicious start as my ATM card from Qatar would not allow me to take out cash in Korea and my USA credit card was not accepted by any Korea banks. This left me with 0 cash (if Sarah Marr was with me she surely would have had cash to exchange...) and a week in country. Luckily, my hosts of my Air BnB room were able to charge my credit card and give me cash at a cool transaction fee of 15%...the things you do during desperate travel times. Once money was squared away my exploration began.
Before leaving for Seoul a friend, Katie Hyon, graciously gave me three full pages of things to do in Seoul. This ended up being my go to source of information and I was able to knock off nearly every site she recommend. I walked the streets of the traditional hanok village, I dined with the locals in Gwangjang Market, attempted to hike the fortress wall, experienced historic palaces at Gyeongbokgung, sang Karaoke, ate Korean BBQ, and much more. Anyone visiting Seoul, please ask for recommendations. One of my favorite parts was simply being part of a real and fully functioning city. There was life all around, rich history, deep traditions, a bustling public transportation system, and a language other than English. Speaking of transportation, after growing up learning how to navigate NYC (thank you Mr. Kearney...), navigating Seoul was a BLAST!!! SO many buses, metros, cabs, etc all in a foreign and indecipherable language was quite the challenge. But by the end of the week I had mastered it with the best of em.
As a final story I will leave you with this...as I have traveled I have tried my best to be an adventurous eater. Now this isn't just eating street foods or whatever the local cuisine is, that goes without saying. I mean eating the things you won't get anywhere else. This has included sheep brains in the majilis, fried scorpions in Bangkok, and everyone's favorite story...Ox Balls in Nairobi. In Seoul I ventured into eating a large sausage looking coil filled with a strange form of rice. Tons of locals were eating it, you can see it in the picture below. I had about two pieces of it and just couldn't do any more. The speculation of not knowing what was in it was too much. I come to later find out it is called Soon Dae and is a mixture of rice and animal blood. Not for the faint of heart...but when in Seoul!!!
That about covers it for this session. After Seoul I jumped down to New Zealand to see Kristal (my third time there in 9 months...) for a week of adventure, the great outdoors, and Hobbits. Stay tuned!!!
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