As a BA (Hons) International Relations with Politics student at LBU, studying abroad in South Korea felt like an incredible opportunity. My course is all about understanding different political systems, cultures, and international dynamics, so actually living in another country adds a completely different perspective to what I learn at university.

Specifically, choosing South Korea made a lot of sense to me. It's an important actor in global politics, especially in East Asia, and living here enabled me to see international relations in practice rather than just reading about it in textbooks.

Whatever your reasons for studying internationally are, what no one really tells you is that the first week abroad is chaos.

Exciting chaos, but chaos nonetheless. The first thing that completely betrayed me was my sleep schedule. South Korea is about nine hours ahead of the UK, which means my body had absolutely no idea what was going on. The first few days I was hungry at 3am, awake at 5am, and ready for a nap by mid-afternoon. If you don't fix your sleep pattern quickly, your body basically decides to operate on vibes instead of time.

For me, the first week was honestly the most important one. It's the week where I had to get organised. I needed to buy bedding, pick up small things for my room, unpack properly, and figure out the public transport. These sound like small tasks, but they matter a lot once classes start.

I'd honestly say this is the make-or-break week. Most of us arrived about a week before lectures began, which means I had a short window to get my life together. If I'd spent that week doing nothing, I probably would've felt behind before classes even started.

At the same time, it's also the week where I started discovering my new city. Walking around Seoul at night was one of my favourite moments. The city is beautiful after dark, with lights everywhere and so much energy.

It's also the week where I started meeting people in the most random places. I made friends with people I met in the lift (elevator), people living down the hall, and other exchange students who were just as confused as I was trying to understand the subway map.

And then there's the language part. I thought I'd prepared quite well before arriving, but the moment I actually spoke with locals I realised Duolingo may have slightly overestimated my abilities. Suddenly everything sounded way faster than the lessons I'd practised.

My first week was a mix of chaos, excitement, and discovery. But that's the thing about it: the first week is really what you make of it. Even if your first week feels messy or overwhelming, it doesn't define your whole experience. There's always another week to try again.