Serendipity

Choices

The leap of faith. It is a decision, a crossroads, that all of us face at one point or another. Do you take the plunge, or stay back? In my case, this was the moment before applying for Summer Korean Studies. I was in the midst of figuring out what kind of person I wanted to be. So when presented with the opportunity to do something different and study abroad, in South Korea no less, I asked myself. Should I? And then I thought, there's no better way to reinvent yourself than going on an adventure of a lifetime. So I took it.

The Reward

At the time of writing, two weeks have passed since my arrival at Incheon International Airport. And I must say, it has been one of the greatest moments in my life. Day one in Seoul I met up with other CIEE participants and I found myself finding common interests with all of them. We had spent a good majority of the following two weeks visiting theme cafes, restaurants, karoyoke, movie theaters, arcades, ice cream shops, shopping districts, shopping malls, the Han River and just enjoying each others' company. We begun to meet more poeple within the program and start creating close ties with them as well. And then we went on the overnight trip to Gangneung and that changed everything. 

Rediscovery

After having fun around the cityscape of Seoul, we traveled across the peninsula to a place with a different atmosphere for an overnight trip. Having the chance to learn more about Korean culture and history, not just from a lecture but also from a hands-on approach was mindblowing. For example, we were looking at the Buddhist temple built in Taebaek, the mountain ranges just west of Gangneung, and learning more how the government exiled the Buddhists after people in power changed. It turns out the Buddhists were resilent for generations and continued to preserve through hardship in the mountain temples and now they are the only ones able to live in the mountain range and temple because it was later established as a National Park. I don't know when the exact moment was, but when we visited the Wolijeongsa Museum and I was spending some time going through the different exhibits and gaining awareness of the past conflicts and how Buddhists overcame them, I felt satisfaction, almost as if the where I am in current moment was where I was supposed to be. I guess to wrap everything up, I have found joy in new experiences and newfound knowledge, and I can't wait to see what else is in store!