First Fall, First Snow

Fall

Because I was going to basically be gone for a majority of November due to my trips in Japan and Busan, I was worried that I was going to miss the fall foliage. Growing up in Hawai'i, I'm usually just used to sunny and rainy weather, so I was really excited to see the leaves change colors during the fall. Right when I got back from Japan and Busan, I was so glad to see the leaves still on the trees. While this may be common sense, I was slightly surprised because I thought most of the trees would turn orange or red, but they turn colors at different rates depending on the type of tree; some trees had no leaves, while others were green, orange, or red. I was also shocked to see Yonsei's Underwood Building turn red because I didn't know it could do that.

Winter

Fall went by so fast. Once the leaves starting turning colors, it felt like I didn't have enough time to see them before the first snow came. This is my first time seeing snow and it's actually one of the most amazing, joyous, and unreal experiences. The first snow came during late night and I couldn't even believe it was snowing since it was raining during the day. It was apparently Korea's heaviest snowfall in over 100 years! Later on, my friend bought some snow molds from Coupang so we spent 4 hours making snow ducks, hearts, hello kitty, and snowmen outside of our dorm. I love playing in the snow.

Since I never left Hawai'i before, I only experienced the cold to some extent. I thought Hawai'i gets pretty cold sometimes, so I absolutely suffered during Korea's winter. It started to get cooler around October, meaning long sleeves and sweaters, but the puffers started to come out near the end of November. Around November and December, the temperature would usually be around 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit, but some days, it would be low 20s! With my puffer, I needed to wear at least 5 layers of long sleeves, gloves, scarves, hot packs, just to feel okay, and sometimes, I would still feel cold with all of that; on the other hand, some of my other friends were just wearing 2-3 layers, so maybe I'm just sensitive.

Because Hawai'i doesn't really have clear, distinct seasons, it's unbelievable to see that here. Seeing the same places I saw during the summer, fall, and now winter feels so surreal; and to think, I experienced Korea in 3 different seasons. In the summer, it was hot and humid, and the leaves were green. In the Fall, it became more windy and the leaves were starting to change hues and fall from its branches. Now, in the winter, it's becoming extremely cold and the leaves are gone, but the trees are instead covered in snow.