Second Week Reflections

As we mark the end of our second week, let’s hear from some more of the students in the Gaming & E-Sports program!

Meet this week's group of students: Rocco, Ari, David, Colin, and Riley! Let's hear what they have to say about their second full week of experiences in Korea and in the Gaming & Esports program.

1. If you could use one word to describe your time in Korea so far, what would it be?

ROCCO: Breathtaking

ARI: Enticing. There is always something to look forward to every day.

DAVID: Rejuvenating

COLIN: Fun

RILEY: Fulfilling

2. Tell me about one challenge you’ve faced so far and how you dealt with it.

ROCCO: A challenge I have faced is definitely my energy level. At the end of each day, we have free time, but most days I feel super tired and stay in the room. However, whenever given the opportunity, I try to get out and explore the city.

ARI: One challenge I’ve faced is losing my wallet on the train. I was having an absolute heart attack when it happened! I put my trust in my program leader and Korea’s lost-and-found system. The train service system was able to find my wallet within the hour. I felt extremely grateful for the person who found it and who helped me find it and proud that I was able to keep myself calm.

DAVID: A challenge that I’ve faced is feeling homesick and missing my home language of Vietnamese. I’ve found that FaceTiming my friends from home, and listening to Vietnamese music and watching Vietnamese dramas comforts me.

COLIN: Trying to make friends to talk to. I overcame it by getting myself involved in activities with them and at least trying to talk to them.

RILEY: The language barrier. I dealt with it by paying attention during Korean class.

3. Tell me about a fun or unique experience you’ve had.

ROCCO: A fun and unique experience I’ve had was when a group of us traveled to the LoL store to buy chicken shirts - right as an LCK game ended. We accidentally ended up holding up lots of people from ordering other items.

ARI: Out of all the memories, I’m always reminded of one funny moment. A group of us went to McDonalds and joked that we’d end up dropping our drink or spilling something. My friend ended up dropping his whole burger out of the holder and my drink slid off the side of the table!

DAVID: A unique experience that I’ve had is ordering the New Jeans meal at McDonald’s only to realize that I didn’t actually order the New Jeans meal and that I only got the paper bag with the New Jeans packaging!

COLIN: A fun experience I had here was when 8 of us went to the PC cafe and played 4v4 Valorant.

RILEY: I had a lot of fun watching Nanta because of the very different performance art and funny comedy. Plus, it was non-verbal so I could understand everything fully.

4. What are you looking forward to in the final week of the program?

ROCCO: I’m looking forward to all the places we will visit and the experiences we’ll have.

ARI: For the last week of the program, I’m looking forward to going to the PC cafe with the Gen.G students and staff.

DAVID: For the final week, I’m looking forward to doing some final shopping for myself and friends. I’m also looking forward to finding closure as the program comes to an end and planning my next adventure.

COLIN: I don’t really know what we will do the last week, but I hope that I can have the fun I am having now with everyone during the last week before we all say goodbye.

RILEY: Less walking, more gaming.

This post marks the end of week two and the second round of student interviews, so if you didn’t see someone you know on this post, keep an eye out for next week’s post where they will be featured!