Mya Kwiatkowski, TEAN: Korea University Spring 2024
Through the TEAN program, I was automatically placed in Korea University’s Anam International House Dormitory. The roommate assignments were random, but my roommate happened to also be a student of the same program. The dormitory has four floors for students, half for male students and half for female students. There is a communal kitchen on the first floor, which has plenty of places to sit, designated refrigerators for each floor, food storage cabinets for each room, stoves, and sinks to wash dishes. I personally did not spend a lot of time in that space, but since dormitory regulations prohibit food in the rooms, eating in the seats provided is a good option. Anam International House also has a communal laundry room in the basement floor. Housing around eight washing machines and only five dryer machines, sometimes my laundry days were a struggle. Depending on the people who are doing their laundry as well, I would either have to wait until either machines were done or remove their laundry myself if they never came back to unload.
Each floor is set up the same—there is a seminar room with one couch and the water refill machine, and a lounge that nobody uses because there is no furniture to sit on. The rooms, however, were small but I did not have many complaints. Each room is a double and you share a bathroom with a shower. I have always used a communal bathroom and shower in previous years dorming at Pitt, so this was a nice feature to the dorm setup. As the semester kicked-in, I found myself very comfortable in my new home-away-from-home. I had a great roommate too, so living in Anam International House was a great experience. The dormitory itself is very clean as well, with no curfew and can be easily navigated.
The real challenge is the hill one must climb up and down to get to the dorm. It is very long and steep, so prepare your good shoes—particularly when ascending it. I was not prepared for the athleticism needed to walk to and from my dorm every day, but it became much easier as my time in Korea shortened. Overall, I would say Anam International House was a pretty good dorm—where its location is convenient for classes and going out for meals, meeting friends, shopping, among other activities. The hill, although not my favorite, gave the dormitory a sense of privacy and seclusion away from the busy streets near campus—something I grew to appreciate and love.
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