For my fifth week in Seoul, South Korea I knew I wanted to do more and experience more of this city before it was time to leave. I wanted to leave with the least amount of regrets as possible. I wanted to live in the moment and not waste a single minute and to let this study abroad trip become my most and first most significant trip abroad. Therefore, my friends and I wanted to mark our place in Korea by locking our friendship at the N Seoul Tower. We wrote our nicknames on the lock, initialed it, and finally dated it. All of us took a picture with the lock as we faced the night sky and the smiles on our faces was something I would never forget.
The following weekend after classes, we found out about a cruise party that was being hosted on the Han River and we knew we did not want to miss out on this opportunity since we had never been on the river before. The cruise ticket not only consisted of the cruise, but it also gave us access to the Octagon Club in the big city of Gangnam. We got to the cruise at 6pm and was surprised to see the number of people that attended. As we entered the cruise, we were provided with food and drinks and the party slowly begun at the sun started to set. Music marked the climax of the cruise party as people slowly got on to the dance floor to move their body along with the music. The dance performance before really got people hyped up to dance afterwards. During our time there, we also ran into other Korea University study abroad students and got a chance to know them.
After leaving the cruise at 10pm, we took walked into the crowded city of Gangnam’s nightlife into the Octagon club with the other international students we met. As we entered the club, the dance was still quite empty and spacious since it was still pretty early during the night. Our group entered into the dance floor and started to dance to the music. As time passed, the dance floor got more crowded as the late night settled in. It eventually got so crowded to the point where everyone was literally right next to each other. However, the loud music in the club drowned out all our worries and responsibilities for the night. That night was one of the most memorable moments where everyone was enjoying themselves and had smiles on their faces.
As the night started to settle down into the quiet darkness, we all returned safely to the dorm by catching a taxi. Before leaving, we all said our goodbyes to the people we met that night. It was good to know that we would be seeing them again and be able to hang out with more people.
Proceeding onto Sunday night, we went to the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDL) which was one subway station away from our university. The DDL was a cultural center of Seoul that was known by a silver curving structural landmark that reflected its surroundings. Meanwhile, surround the DDL was an expanding field of roses that were lighting up in the night through LED lights. These roses were the fake white roses that had LED lights in the center of the flower and a long stem that was embedded into the ground. The image of the lit rose field made the night quiet and peaceful. The night was so calming and soothing in a way. As the light wind blew in the summer night, it was the best way to end the eventful weekend.
