Student Takeover - Our Final Day: Just the Beginning

It was almost impossible to imagine that after three amazing weeks, our time in Seoul had come to an end. Waking up and having our last breakfast together felt like a dream. We woke up and went to class just like any other day ,not yet realizing how little time we had left with each other. We spent class laughing over each other’s music videos, a project we had all been working on for the last three weeks. Relaxing and watching each other’s work was the perfect way to end class, leaving us feeling light-hearted and reflective over all we had accomplished.

Excerpts from our music video covers

After indulging in our last lunch all together, we sat back down in the classroom to listen to alumi presentations. Cari Cakes, an youtuber currently living and working in Korea, as well as a CIEE alumna talked to us about how to create a potential professional career in South Korea. Following this, a CIEE alumna from last year came in briefly and told us about her current study abroad program and how her CIEE experience the previous year had impacted her.

After a quick stop back at the dorms, we were all glammed up and ready for our farewell dinner. We walked as a group to a Korean Barbeque restaurant, and during some of our last moments together engaged in fun and reflective conversations as well as enjoying some delicious food! We even ended the dinner with some amazing ice cream cake!

Having a blast at our farewell dinner!

Lastly, we gathered in Sinchon and exchanged some words and memories from our trip. We stuck around for a few minutes after the wrap up, saying bye to each other and shedding (just a few) tears. We headed back to the dorms for the last time, preparing for our flights the next day. It was an emotional night for all of us. While we were happy to have had the experience, many of us were not yet ready to leave Korea and all our new friends. It finally began to register that while our time together had drawn to a close, this was only the beginning of our biggest adventure yet, our futures abroad. 

Authored by: Parker Hearst, Session 2 K-Pop Immersion: Global Discovery