Soob's blog

R2. Living in a small city wasn’t so bad after all

Revised version

It’s great to live in a metropolitan city.

I love the metropolitan lifestyle–specifically the convenience of living near every place I could ever want to go to. There’s always something going on. Whether it’s a movie, a play, or musical, living in a city gives you access to a myriad of entertainment opportunities. There’s also a lot of different ethnic shops and restaurants (from Ethopian to Italian) because of how diverse my city is.

However, in more suburban areas/areas there are fewer options and transportation is less efficient. If you live outside of the city, you have to plan ahead of time to buy train tickets as well as incorporate the commute into your schedule. You also need a car to get around when you live outside of the city–whereas in the city, most people don’t use cars because cities have good public transportation systems.

I used to think that I could only live in big cities, but when I had to move to a smaller city called Sejong for work, I realized that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. Sejong is a medium-sized city and it’s the administrative capital of Korea therefore it has alot of government buildings. I’ve become very fond of Sejong, even though it is smaller than Seoul, I like it because it’s more relaxed. I can go for leisurely walks and listen to the sounds of nature along the river that is 5 minutes away from where I live. I enjoy these walks because of how peaceful they are.

Draft

Small city or a big city?

I love living in a metropolitan city ! Firstly, I enjoy convenience provided by a city.

Secondly, I love diversity. In a large city, you have a wider range of choices for anything. For example, if you want to eat out, you can start from pizza to Ethiopian traditional dishes. However, in countryside you have fewer choices.

Thirdly, it’s easy to move around without having a car. Cities have a better transportation system. While you have to drive to the nearest supermarket in a countryside, you can just walk to the closest convenience store. It’s much more time-saving and efficient.

Even though I didn’t want to leave a metropolitan city, I had to because I got a new job in a smaller city called Sejong. It was so inconvenient because I had to wait for the bus for 20 minutes. And there’s nothing to do in the city. However, after I got used to this city, I also learned to enjoy the city. I walk along the river hearing frogs and bugs. After taking a walk, I feel much more relaxed!

Revised after Ringle class on Friday, 21 August 2020 with Catherine

R1. Different ways of spending holidays

Revised version

I hate this pandemic. Without it, I would’ve gone to the South of France to enjoy a long holiday. Although this is not an option at the moment, last year when I was between jobs, I was able to take two months vacation. At the beginning of July, I flew to Nice to see my boyfriend and his family. It was a little awkward at first for me to see them in bikinis and trunks, but I got used to it as time went by. My experience with them was so different from what I would’ve done with my family.

Firstly, we don’t really wear only bikinis in front of each other, we would always put on a light jacket or T-shirt to cover ourselves. Secondly, I would put on sunscreen every two hours, to cover every part of my body exposed to the sun. However, my boyfriend and his family love to sunbathe. They put on sun oil to make their bodies tanned, which my family doesn’t like to do. Thirdly, everyone had their own freedom to choose what they wanted to do. My family would spend all of the time doing activities together when we’re on holiday. However, my boyfriend and I were able to take some trips or eat out just the just two of us. What was more surprising was that this freedom also applied to his parents. On the one hand, his father would swim and on the other hand his mum would read a book.

Draft

I hate this pandemic. Without it, I would’ve gone to South of France to enjoy a long holiday. Last year, when I was between jobs, I could take two months for vacation. At the beginning of July, I flew to Nice to see my boyfriend and his family. It was a little awkward at first for me to see them in bikinis and trunks, but I got used to it as time went by. My experience with them was so different from what I would’ve done with my family. First, we don’t really wear bikinis with family. Even so, we put on some light jacket or T-shirt on it so that you don’t see yourself only in bikini. Second, I would put on sunscreen every two hours, to every part of my body exposed to the sun. However, my boyfriend and his family loved to expose themselves under the sun. They put on sun oil to make their body tanned, which my family would hate so much. Third, everyone had their own freedom to choose what to do. My family would spend all the time together doing some activities on vacation. However, my boyfriend and I could take some trips or eat out for just two of us. More surprisingly, his dad would swim on one hand. On the other hand, his mom would read a book on the terrace, which I don’t think would happen with my family.

*Revised after the Ringle Class on 19 August 2020 with Joanna (except the title……. forgot to include the title in the draft)

*First ever writing focused class

About Me

This is my very first post! I’m excited! I’ve wanted to create a blog to share my ideas, my dreams, my experience, my travel stories and tips! Simply because I got a lot of help and tips from other blogs for my trips or settling down in new cities, and so on. It would be wonderful if I could connect and interact with you!

There are many different topics I would like to work on, but right now it will be:

Travel – I have lived and traveled in different places in Asia and Europe, and would like to share some moments, thoughts, and beautiful photos that I really cherish.
Sustainability & Green – My areas of interest include sustainable development and finance, impact investment, energy, climate change, so I would like to keep updated on the issue and share some ideas.

Since I would like to continue this in the long term, I will publish one post a week 🙂