Getting a haircut

Last week, I made an appointment with a local hairdresser — quite the experience, since I quickly found out she didn’t speak any English. Yesterday I prepared some example pictures and reviewed the vocabulary I’d need. It’s not often you get to use the exact kind of phrases you learn in a language class.

Once I arrived, I said the Korean sentences I had practiced and then showed her the pictures. She understood right away, got to it. We even managed to make small talk — honestly more than I usually do back home in the Netherlands. We talked about why I came to Korea, how my language studies were going, and what I still wanted to do while here. She was shocked to hear how expensive haircuts are in the Netherlands (I paid only €13 here!).

I really enjoyed testing my Korean like this. Realizing I could hold a basic conversation without thinking too much about every word was such a confidence boost. Now I just wish my hair grew a little faster so I could go back sooner.

On my way back, I also found a smaller supermarket closer to my hotel — much calmer than the big one I usually visit. I think I’ll start shopping there more often.

Mixing work and politics

After my haircut, I went back to the office to continue my workday. I’d felt pretty swamped the past few days after picking up some new tickets that took longer than expected. Today, though, I finally had time to focus on my main sprint goals and made really solid progress — even catching up on lost time and getting ahead for next week.

It’ll still take a bit for my colleagues to review everything and for me to process their feedback, but it felt great to make up ground.

Today also marked the first episode of the Nieuwsuur Lijsttrekker Interviews — tough, in-depth interviews with Dutch political candidates. As a bit of a political junkie, this was exactly the kind of fix I’d been looking forward to since the elections were announced.

Dinner with a friend

In the evening, I met up with Katherine — someone I met last week at the Digital Nomads Drinks event. She’s staying in the same hotel, so I convinced her to join me for dinner. We went to an all-you-can-eat BBQ spot recommended by my hairdresser. My Korean skills came in clutch once again since the instructions were only in Korean.

It was really nice sharing a meal and talking about our solo travel experiences. Eventually, we were politely ushered out as the restaurant was closing, and we walked back to the hotel together. We already made plans to grab dinner again next week, so it seems like I’ve made a friend!

Today was a great day — practicing my Korean, catching up on work, and ending it with good food and company. Exactly the kind of balance I was hoping to find here. Here’s to more days like this!