While Abroad
The first emotions I experienced after arriving in Bali, Indonesia were excited, but also quite nervous. Arriving at midnight, taking a cab in an unfamiliar city, and concluding that I might die on the seemingly unregulated roads left me feeling terrified as well. When the sun rose the next day, I felt more at ease and happy to finally be at my destination. I met more of my fellow students and my host family, and explored the city of...
Life in Cuba
Life in Cuba has been amazing! Throughout my three, almost four, weeks that I’ve been here I’ve gotten the opportunity to travel around the island as well as the city I’m living in. I’ve gone to Trinidad and tried their local drink of Canchanchara (amazing), danced the night away in a discoteca in a cave, swam in the Caribbean at Playa Larga, seen the historical landmarks and monuments in Santa Clara, and gone to a coffee and tobacco...
Upon Return
After 35 hours of traveling, I arrived in my home-town airport. There were so many different thoughts running through my head, such as excited and relieved to be back home and also overwhelmed by the change in scenery. It took about a week to get used to being back; the first few days were challenging because I went from constantly being surrounding by people, walking long distances in the heat, and living in a developing country to...
Pre-departure
I chose to study abroad because I wanted to gain field experience in primatology, so the program I chose was the perfect fit. Several factors led to my decision to attend the Balinese Macaque Ethnoprimatology Field School, such as the right timing, the length of the program, the location’s high level of safety, my familiarity with the professors, and of course the fact that I will get to study macaques! In preparation for my trip, I...
Not my plan, but whatever.
Going to a new place always means meeting new people. That probably is the most fluttering, yet terrifying aspect of going to a new place. I did not expect any of this because I did not intend on starting a new relationship. It started with an email I got from my roommate. First, it was my first time living in a dorm so I was not sure if emailing your roommate was a tradition in a dorm-life. Second, it was Korea, my native country. I...
Only One Chance to Get the Treasure
As a citizen of Korea, but as a child who lived in America since first grade, Korea was unfamiliar to me. Just like any K-Pop star fans, Korea was a fantasy. I went to Korea on Fall 2016 for my social work field placement and on Spring 2017 for a study abroad. I decided to extend my experience in Korea because one semester was not enough to fully immerse into the daily lives of normal citizens. In order to see how culture come in play...