Writing after trip to my home country, Korea

Hello people!

First of all, I want to say sorry for such a late next entry.

I had a visa problem, so I had to go back to Korea.

It took 13 hours plane ride to move between Korea and U.S.A.



'13 hours of Plane ride'



During the trip, I was so busy that I could not find any spare time to do other stuffs. I went back and forth between Seoul and Busan, which are two cities that are located most far from each other in South Korea, in order to meet my relatives one in near Seoul and the others in near Busan, renew my passport, have interview with U.S. ambassador to get a Visa, and small business that I had to do in Korea.



Spent over 30 hours in the bus during the trip



Like I said above, I visited many places for 20 days of stay in Korea. Although the trip was hard, it was certainly worth it.  



'Cho-eup Middle School' - the middle building



This is my middle school; I went there about 4 years ago. This is the picture that I took during the trip. I visited there in 4 years, and it sure changed a lot. While touring my old school, I thought about my friends and the girl that I used to like (Unfortunately, I never had gut to ask her out …). I couldn’t meet any of my friends; I miss them.




 

Map of subways in Busan; subway reaches every corner of Korea



During the trip, since I don’t have my personal automobile, I had to look at this map for quite often. Because the public transportation system in Korea is very good, one can travel every corner of Korea without a personal car. (Of course, it is slightly more uncomfortable than a personal car, but you can ‘Go green’ and ‘save some green’)

Usual summer day in Korea: it’s ALWAYS raining. I know most of the Californian or those people who live in a place which has desert-like weather would think of rain as moody or cool, but if there is too much rain in the summer, it is the worst. You have to turn on fan or air conditioner not because it’s hot, but because it’s very humid; moreover, you can’t not open the window because of mosquitoes.

 

Just before I leave Korea at 'In-cheon international airport'



Bye Korea, my home country! See you in years!

Visiting Korea in 4 years was a really meaningful experience for me.

Especially, Talking with my father and relatives provided me chances to find out more about myself.

When I was about 2^nd grade in elementary school in Korea, I learned how one’s heritage and ego are important in one’s life. I never believed and understood those things at that time. However, after this visit, I have better understanding of where I came from and who I really am, so I could draw more clear picture of my future.

This year I enter the college; long 'life race' starts now



As an international student, one of the most frequent questions that I get is ‘Do you like Korea better or U.S. better?’ My answer is this: ‘Korea is my home and U.S. is my school to me.’

No doubt, spending all my high school years in U.S., I more learned numerous things that helped me to develop more intellectually in U.S. than I did in Korea. However, after long race, where I can take a break is my home, not my school.

As I was meeting with my relatives, I received many helps both emotionally and financially. After 4 years, my home was still in the place.

With nice GPS that guides me to my future and support from my home, I think I am ready to go for a long race!