Korean Expat Community for National Disasters

Hello everyone. My name is Nguyen Thi Thu Huong. I am from Vietnam. I came to Korea to pursue my doctoral program in September 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic had broken out in Korea as well as all over the world. As a consequence of social distancing, I did not have the opportunity to make friends and expand my social network. In the first 2 months when I came to Korea, I only went out once a week to go to the supermarket. Besides, it was my first time living far from my family, I was almost depressed. I was always thinking negatively, and almost every day I cried and felt very tired. Then, with much encouragement from my family, I tried to find my way to overcome that situation. Now, I would like to share with you guys my experience to improve both physical and mental health during the pandemic. First, I want to talk about mental health. I used to be a pessimist. Especially, since coming to Korea right at the time of the outbreak of the pandemic, I always worried about things that haven't happened yet, and I always thought about the most pessimistic situations. As a result, it made me stuck in fear and self-doubt. After that, I was fortunate to meet 2 friends who always thought positively. They always talked and thought very positively. They told me that it was a waste of time to worry about things that had not happened yet. That statement helped me wake up. Since then, I have always tried to think positively, read positive news, play more with positive people, spread positive thoughts to pessimistic people, and try to avoid negative thoughts. I set goals for each day, and when I finished my goals, I was satisfied. Second, I will talk about physical health. Honestly, I'm a lazy girl with rarely sports, so when I was in Vietnam, I often got sick 2-3 times a year. When I went to Korea, I told myself that it would be dangerous if I got sick because I didn't have anyone to take care of me. So, I have planned to exercise daily and maintain a healthy diet. Every day no matter how busy or during a stressful exam period, I always tell myself that nothing is more precious than my health, so I don't miss exercising even just a day. Every day, I practice aerobic at home for about 1 hour. On summer days, sometimes I go jogging in the stadium on my campus or play badminton with my friends. Besides, I always keep a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and drink fruit juice every week. With my determination to exercise, over the past 1 year in Korea, despite facing changes in climate and environment, especially in the extremely cold winter, I have been fortunate to always be healthy. We won't be able to do anything if we don't have health! How about you? What have you done to improve your health? I am looking forward to hearing from you!