Right now, as I am beginning to write this journal entry, I honestly cannot believe a whole semester has already gone by! I have so much to share, where do I even start? I now think back to when I had been thinking about wether I should come to Korea for one semester or a full year, and I am so glad I chose a year. Just one semester in this amazing country would have definitely not been enough. During the months I have spent here I have done more than I had done in my entire two years of college back home! It’s been surreal. I also experienced snow for the first time and wow, that was amazing as well. It was actually a kind of a “movie moment”. Me and my friends had stayed up all night around the city and had gone to McDonald’s at 5am while we waited for the subway to open so we could go home. The second floor of that McDonald’s has a huge window, and suddenly one of my friends yells “Guys look! It’s snowing!”, we all turned around and as soon as I saw the snow I ran outside. It is one of the best memories I have made here in Korea so far.
On a sadder note, I should also talk about a part of study abroad that we never really wanna think about. Many of my friends were in Korea for just one semester, and those who had to leave have already left. I cannot begin to tell you how sad it is to watch the people you have grown so close to during these five months wave goodbye to you at the airport. I have made friends from all over the world, there are now small pieces of my heart in the Netherlands, in Boston, and in Malaysia. Those who have now gone back to their countries have done so with a promise that we will all meet each other again. I really hope sometime in the future we can keep our promise. I too will go home soon, but only for a month before I come back to Korea for my second semester. I will be going back to the US to visit my parents and get away from the cold weather for a little bit. See, I enjoyed seeing snow for the first time and all, but I am still a Floridian and I cannot handle the cold weather very well. Also, I am greatly missing my family and I really want to eat some of the food I’m used to eating, so I decided to go back for a little while before next semester starts.
Next semester will be an exciting one! As soon as I come back to Korea in February me and two of my friends will travel to Japan for 8 days, right before the semester starts. I am also looking forward to registering for my classes soon, as well meeting new wonderful people and making new unforgettable memories. The best is yet to come!