Meet Vedish Thimma (he/him)
Program and Location:
Spring, Hanyang University; Seoul, South Korea
Major/Minor:
Mechanical Engineering Major
Why did you choose to study abroad?
I remember one of the first things I decided on going into university was that I had to study abroad. I knew for certain that I wanted to explore what was out there, and experience how different life could be in another country, amongst a new people, and within a new culture. That being said, I also knew it had to be the furthest possible thing from my comfort zone―I’d been abroad a couple times in my life, visiting India to see my relatives, and on a couple trips to Europe and such. But I’d never spent more than 2 months out, and even in University, far away from my hometown and old friends, I knew at the very least what the norms of society were.
When you look through media covering Korea, you see a concrete jungle spanning as far as the eye can see, a haven of technology, fashion, and beautiful melding of foreign and domestic history and culture. However, unlike other countries, like Greece, Italy, and Japan, that I’d already done some research into, I only knew about Korea what I could see at virtually face value. All I knew was that I wanted to be a piece of that puzzle, and I can definitely say that 4 and half months there gave me that and so much more.
What did you learn about yourself?
It’s been almost impossible to describe this trip to my friends and family back home―the effects of it on my personal being and outlook were so immense that the words I know haven’t been enough. I’ve been sticking with “life-changing” as the catchall to my experience. I know that hypes it up a bit, but I had hopes of that going in, and it exceeded them all tenfold. I remember reflecting on this topic a lot in my program, sitting by the Han riverside watching the sun set, the city lights dancing on the waves, or while sitting on the sun-stained plastic chairs on my Goshiwon’s terrace. I’ll highlight some below.
Friends: I lived in an exchange student share-house called Hanyang Habitat. The rooms were cramped, and my cubicle restroom’s shower head sprayed directly onto the toilet. But through it I instantly got to start living with 50 students from around the world, and thus my eyes were thoroughly opened to what was out there. The personal experiences that I got to hear about, and what I simply observed through the minute actions and mannerisms these people practiced, tore down many preconceptions I had about countries and people. At the start we discussed the differences in our countries and practices, but by the end I feel like we were so incorporated in each other’s lives that I learned what it meant to find a family. And that we are all really more similar than different.
Purpose: To put it succinctly, living in a city where the possibilities were endless helped me realize that, well living in a city is the best, and that I want to live in no other way. Every day was something new, something mind-blowing, and that constant feeling of exhilaration I got from exploring and never knowing how a night would end was unparalleled. I feel like what I want out of life is very much this, to feel like this, and at the same time, help people get that out of their lives, even for a second, with the stuff I create. So yeah, this trip helped me a lot creatively.
Public Transport: This is a kind of simple one, but just having access to rail that connects you to nearly every part of your city is something I shouldn’t have taken for granted. I love driving for fun, nothing beats it, but commuting is made so much better when it’s as reliable, cheap, and as seamless as Seoul’s is. All the information you need, down to which train door to exit out of to transfer fastest to your next train, is on Naver Maps. My last month, all the bikes in Seoul were made free as part of a green initiative; little things like that were kind of commonplace, but were just the cherry on top.
What was one of your favorite parts of your program?
The dichotomy of everything: There was this very visceral fear I had initially, sitting in my hotel’s mattress my first night in Seoul. It was scary how many new things were coming at me, a barrage of new culture, language, and norms to get used to, like a hailstorm. Fast forward a month, these things were the highlight of my day, as my heart beat like a roaring engine (fueled by coffee) as I soaked in all I could. There was always a constant restructuring of perspective and lifestyle―for example, a lot of days that explosive pursuit of wondrous experience was eclipsed by lazy talks, where the coffee was really only there so we had a reason to lie in the shade.
Walking by the Han river: My favorite place in all of Seoul, maybe the world now (at least on the Top Ten best places for Vedish, if that was a list), is the Han river. Walking, sitting, and people-watching was done best here. You could get a real sense of the hustle and bustle of the city, as hundreds of people walked past, each mulling over their worries, wishes, and hopes. At the same time, from a particular apartment top that me and friends frequented, all of that buzz melted away, replaced by calm, as we stepped away from the aged concrete walls. I remember having a discussion with my friend from Chicago here: we discussed just how fragile time is―one moment you’re grinding away in university, the next all your friends have gone their separate ways, and you look up and see just how gray your parents have gotten. There’s not a moment to waste, and the time passes regardless, but at the same time, you can never stop yourself from idolizing the future, and not savoring the present. Hangang is my favorite.
The ease of connection: It was so easy to make friends. I’m sure this isn’t that foreign to most, as the nature of university usually yields this, but it’s definitely a source of comfort when you’re in a place so far from home. I was able to make best friends off the street, just by saying hey. Whether they were from Paris, Stuttgart, Knoxville, Milan, Seoul, Leicester, Prague, Hong Kong, Jakarta, or Montreal, everyone was so willing to be friends, and I loved that. Photography: Seoul is a photographer’s haven.
What advice do you have to future study abroad students?
Don’t stop for one moment. But also don’t beat yourself up over what you “miss out” on. There’s so much I wrote down and said I’d visit for sure that I ended up forgetting about, but who cares? There’s a fine line between ambition to do lots, and skipping the little moments to speed run every possible sight. Sit and admire the leaves that fall.
Spend so much time, as much time as you can, with your found family. And make a new playlist. Buy and eat as much as you possibly can (the exchange rate is good, you’ll walk it off, and yolo).
Were you surprised by anything during your time abroad?
Seoul specifically is almost too safe, monotonously so, so when something wild or crazy happens, it’s kind of a treat. My professor self-described this as Maeum Spacing. More than likely, you’ll have to do those things for yourself: get a rag tag group together, exit at some stop on the train, and more than likely things won’t go according to plan but you’ll have a blast.
How were your classes abroad different than if you would have taken them at NC State? Did you take any field trips or do anything outside of the traditional classroom?
As a Mechanical Engineering student, hearing Hanyang’s reputation for being a top Seoul engineering university had me excited (and fearful). The classes I took, Strength of Materials and Engineering Math 1 (ODE’s and Linear Algebra), were definitely tough, and I did have to do a lot of Youtube self-study, but the difficulty level was more or less the same.
I implore you to take Contemporary Korean Studies with Dr. David Tizzard―it’ll change how you view the development of society, and recontextualize all these little quirks you notice in culture. It was treated much more like a philosophy class than history, with a great discussion component that was aided by differing global perspectives.
At Habitat, our manager threw us a couple of dinner parties and took us on a weekend trip to Danyang, where we walked up what felt like a 70 degree incline mountain temple. We also played paintball, drove 4 wheelers, and sang karaoke in the winter chill, eating fresh barbeque to keep warm.
Would you do it again?
In a heartbeat. I can’t say I don’t miss it sometimes (all the time), and I’ll be chasing that high for a while, but I hope the time I had will prepare me to strive for continuous fulfilling experiences. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
