As my major is Korean, I got a chance to study in Korea as an exchange student for a year. It has been over 8 months now since I came to Korea last summer. Honestly, at first I’m not looking forward to the new life in Korea because I’m so afraid to leave my family and I’m so worried that I can’t adapt to the new life in Korea. But now I found that I love Korea more than I could say. Although I am living without my family, Korea just likes my second home because I’m so lucky that I met a lot of nice people here. They helped me a lot and treated me well. Just like family. They make me feel that I’m not alone. I think the life in Korea will be one of the most unforgettable experience in my life. I have a great time here. Just like a great adventure.
Firstly, it is the adventure in traditional Korea. I had a homestay during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. One of my Korean friend invited me to her house to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with her family for several days. It was my first time to live with Koreans. It was such an amazing experience. My friend and her family had been lived in China for seven years and they speak Chinese very well. They are so friendly and her parents treated me like their daughter. They taught me how to play the traditional Korean games 윷놀이and 화투. Her mother taught me how to make the traditional food 김밥. And I ate the traditional food called 송편 which Korean eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is very delicious. I like it. And my friend also took me to Seoul Land with her cousin at the Mid-Autumn Festival night. It was a great experience and we had fun there. We took the Roller Coaster, Pirate Ship, Bumper Car and so on. They were really fun and we laughed like children. My friend’s cousin gave me a little present that she won at the game. It was a great night and I will never forget it. Actually, the Mid-Autumn Festival is very important to Chinese. Chinese people are supposed to get together with their family in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although I couldn’t get together with my family at that day, I didn’t feel alone and sad because I had a special Mid-Autumn Festival with my lovely friends in Korea. They gave me such a warm Mid-Autumn Festival. I really appreciated what they did for me.
Secondly, it is the adventure in international Korea. I got a chance to take part in the Leadership Camp of International Students in 무주 last semester. To be honest, I was so worried about my poor English before the camp. I was so worried that I couldn’t communicate with the foreigners because I almost forget how to speak English since I came to Korea because I just speak Korean a lot everyday. But I was still looking forward to the camp very much. You know that, our university is women’s university so it is a little boring sometimes. So I was so excited about the camp because I could so many handsome guys there. Hahaha…it is just a joke. Although I couldn’t meet handsome guys in the camp, I still met a lot of new friends there. They are so friendly and we had a lot of fun. We rode bikes, climbed the mountain, drink and played games together. We had such a good time. And before the camp I didn’t have many chances to meet the American students at school. But we played together in the camp at that time and we became good friends after the camp. Although Michale, Sushanta and Victoria have been back to US now, they are so nice that I will miss them all the time. And I also want to give thanks for the other friends who I met in the camp. They gave me such a great memory in 무주, one of my most impressive adventure in Korea.
Thirdly, it is my birthday in Korea last year. Actually it was my first time to celebrate my birthday abroad. At first, I didn’t expect it a lot because I thought the new friends I met in Korea would not remember my birthday. But I was wrong. My friends remembered my birthday and I received a lot of wishes for my birthday from my lovely friends. It was really out of my expectation. And I received three birthday cakes. One is from my American friends, one is from the Family Mart 아저씨, one is from the friend I met in the camp. I’m such a lucky girl and I’m so graceful for that. And I also went to the Lotte World with my Chinese friends, Korean friends and American friends to celebrate my birthday. We had a great time there. Thanks for giving me such a great birthday. It may be the most unforgettable birthday in my life. My friends make me know that I’m not alone here.
Fourthly, it is about my part-time job. I have worked in the Family Mart near my home since last year. Actually at first I didn’t expect that I could find a part-time job in Korea because my Korean is not good enough. But the 아저씨 in the Family Mart gave me a chance. At first, I thought the job is very easy. What I need to do is just to stay in the counter and receive money. However, stock up and sort shelves. And I also have to communicate with the customers. At first, I made a lot of mistakes. Sometimes I charged the customers wrong, sometimes I broke the beer…I’m a trouble maker. But luckily my boss and the customers always forgive my mistakes and show much understanding when they know that I’m a foreigner. And some customers would even talk to me for a while and bought me a drink. I appreciated their friendliness and understanding so much. Although sometimes it is really tired, it is an invaluable experience to me. I can earn money by myself and I did learn a lot from the part-time job.
Fifthly, it is the art in Korea. I love art and I’m really impressed by Korean’s passion for art. Korean pay a lot of attention to art and combine art with daily life. Two weeks ago, I went to 헤이리 and 홍대 with my friend. I was deeply attracted by the special(artistic) buildings in 헤이리. My friends took a lot of beautiful photos. And It was my first time to make glass by myself. It is very difficult to me but really interesting. It was a great memory.
Actually, I still a lot of unforgettable adventures that I want to share. But they are too much to tell you. But no matter how much they are, I will never forget them because they are the most invaluable experiences in my life. Even though I have to leave Korea this summer, wherever I am, I will miss Korea all the time. I will miss the nice people who helped me a lot all the time. They give me courage to live without my family. And I will also miss 김치, 망동찜닭, 명동, 홍대, 성신관, 수정관, Family Mart, professor, everyone, everything in Korea, thank you for giving me a great time, thank you for giving me such a unforgettable adventures. And I believe that I will come back to Korea again because Korea is so important to me.
