Week 13 – Saying Goodbye

As the semester is coming to an end in a few weeks, my program hosted their last two events of the semester this week. The first one, a sunset cruise on the Han River. This was an activity I saw before coming to Seoul and wanted to take part in, but it is rather expensive so I thought I would not get to do it. I am glad my program financed this activity for us to take part in. On the cruise I realized just how big Seoul is. It is different noticing on a map how large a city can be, but to go through the center of the city at a high speed really puts it into perspective. There are so many places/neighborhoods I have never visited in Seoul. Although I won’t have the opportunity to visit all the neighborhoods I missed, it was interesting to see the city from a new perspective.

The last event of the semester was a Farewell Banquet. At this event we ate a buffet meal, played South Korea/Yonsei University Trivia, had a talent show, and there was a raffle for Yonsei University merchandise. It was a chance to say goodbye to the other students in my program, the program office workers, and the professor in residence for our program. It is also a time of reflection, a reminder for me to reach out to the professors I feel I have created a strong relationship with to see if we can stay in touch in the future. Thinking ahead to possible graduate school applications, it is important to have professors you can contact for letters of recommendation.

Time to survive final projects, papers, and exams while also hopefully getting in some more sights in Seoul before I leave. What a crazy few months it has been.