## Time Flies When You Are Having Fun This is already the **fourth week** I’ve been here! So far, I’ve seen TWICE live (twice!), climbed a mountain, visited countless museums, and met some great people. I’m speaking more and more Korean to get around, spending less time glued to my phone for directions, and eating out like the locals do. This whole experience has truly been one of a kind. ## The Peaks Last week was packed, but I had an amazing time! Let’s go over some highlights. ### TWICE Anniversary Celebrations On , TWICE celebrated their 10th debut anniversary. For the occasion, they organized a whole range of events — most of which I managed to attend. I watched their Anniversary Eve livestream on , went to their movie on , and visited their pop-up store on . Then, on , I had the incredible opportunity to attend their special 10th anniversary fan meeting. It was such an unforgettable experience — ! Being in Seoul for this celebration really felt like living every ONCE’s dream. Now that the festivities are over and they’re heading back on tour, expect a bit more of my usual “daily life” posts — though rest assured, their songs are still playing on loop every day. ### New Schedule is Working (Out) Great I’ve changed up my daily rhythm a bit. Last week I noticed how easy it is to overwork myself if I don’t take proper breaks. Now I start each day by writing my blog post for the previous day, make sure to head outside for lunch, and take my workout break *on time* (well… mostly). It’s made such a difference. Taking breaks consistently helps me conserve energy throughout the day and gives me more life *during* work instead of after it. As a bonus, it also means trying more foods from my list! ### Dining Out More I feel like I’ve completely gotten over the “dining alone” hurdle I had at the start of this trip. The restaurant food here is just too good to miss out on. Every day around lunch, I pick a dish I still want to try for dinner and look for a nearby restaurant that serves it. I’ve gotten good at spotting single portions on menus, and I don’t feel awkward anymore ordering for just myself. It’s actually become something I really enjoy. ### Having Friends Having friends helps a lot with eating out too! So far, I think I’ve got *two*! I met **Katherine** at the Digital Nomads drinks event on , and she happens to live in the same hotel. We’ve gone out for dinner twice already and are planning to make it a weekly tradition. We keep each other posted during the week and share tips for things to do around Seoul. We’re planning a trip to **Lotte World** on Sunday (). Then, on , I had a **Bumble date** with Sooyeon. The evening turned into a fun, in-depth conversation about Korean culture. I got to ask all the questions I’d been holding onto since arriving, and learned a ton. She even invited me to join her and some friends for a theme park trip next Monday ()! ### Doing My Democratic Duty All week I’ve been listening to podcasts, interviews, and debates about the Dutch elections. I’m a bit of a politics nerd, so it’s been such a treat to follow along. While programming I’ve been mixing work and and politcs all week. I wrote about who I’m voting for ([Daniëlle Hirsch — #23 for GroenLinks-PvdA](https://groenlinkspvda.nl/onze-mensen/kandidaten-tk25/danielle-hirsch-2/)) on and dropped off my ballot at the Dutch Embassy on , which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. ## The Valleys Not everything went perfectly last week — here’s what didn’t go so smoothly. ### Missing Out on Tickets, Again! I’ve been having *terrible* luck with tickets this trip (with one glorious exception, of course). I missed out on TWICE tickets for Taiwan (both days), TWICE tickets for their second day in Macau, and this week — MAMA tickets and the StarCraft tournament on Sunday. It’s not that I’m late — I set reminders, alarms, and sit ready at the exact moment they go live. But still, no luck so far. For the StarCraft tournament, I’ll try asking nicely if I can enter without a ticket and just stand in the back (I read online that the sometimes let people do that). If that doesn’t work, I still have the StarCraft exhibtions match on (I did get tickets for that one). I’ll also try to get MAMA tickets from a reseller, but I am kind worried about a repeat of last time. ### Working Remotely Can Be Pretty Inconvenient I’m really lucky to be able to work remotely like this. In the mornings, I focus on programming, and in the afternoons, I handle meetings. But since the overlap with my colleagues is only a few hours a day, I often have to cram every meeting into that small window — and if something gets delayed, it pushes everything back a whole day. Even trickier is when I run into an issue in the morning that I can’t solve on my own. I just have to wait until everyone else wakes up before I can get feedback. I’ve found ways to manage — like picking up smaller tasks in the meantime and communicating extra clearly — but this comming weekend the time difference will grow by another hour, which will complicate things further. ## What’s Next? Next week’s shaping up to be really exciting! I’ll have to work some unconventional hours to make time for everything, but it’ll be worth it. Here’s what’s coming up: - : Running **Bridge-to-Bridge**, and I want to get some drinks in Hongdae - : Visiting the **flea market** near my hotel - : **Lotte World** with Katherine (and maybe the ASL finals? 🤞) - : **Everland** with Sooyeon and her friends - : **GeForce Gamer Festival** — StarCraft Exhibition Match + **LE SSERAFIM** performance! - : **Halloween party** in Itaewon Four weeks down, and somehow, it feels like I’ve only just arrived. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

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Day 9: Saturday, October 4, 2025

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My favorite days in Seoul