I’m writing this in Korea at 00:30, June 30. I’m not going to lie, I completely forgot about writing my last blog for June. I just got off the plane from visiting Jeju island. On this rainy day with a side of a thunderstorm, the plane ride back to Daegu was rocky but I made it. I headed back to KNU to get my luggage from my roommate’s room and headed right back to the airport. Taxi ride was short and sweet. Then, I walked up to an oddly quiet and dark airport. Why does it look closed? It looked like that because it was, in fact, closed. I realized that the airport is only open from 5 am to around 11pm. Airports are usually open 24/7 in America but not in Daegu. Do I sleep outside? It’s raining and hot. I look like I just walked out of the pool. I’m soggy, sweaty and absolutely nasty. I smell like old leftovers. I find an E-Mart open across the street to my left. It was like T.E Lawrence finding a well with water in Lawrence of Arabia. Its like God has blessed me with this E-Mart. I found a seat to sit down to cool off. Then it hit me. I have a blog to write! Oh my god I forgot. With sweat dripping down my back, my greasy fingers, and a stressed induced headache, I start writing away at this blog. The guy working at this E-Mart chats me up like I’m the only person he has seen tonight which is probably true. I had a conversation with him with my broken Korean. He asked me where I was from and where I was going. He offered me a Pokemon pastry but I declined. But the horror settled in. Like a Conjuring movie, I was jump scared by the fact that this E-Mart closes at 2am. Where am I going to stay until 5 am? There is a 7- eleven down the street and a GS25 further down. I hope they are open.

Like a miracle, my Korean friend  responded to my text I sent her 10 hours ago. I immediately asked her for help and she helped me find a motel nearby. It was 50 dollars but I got a whopping two hours of sleep. Most importantly, I could shower and change into some clean clothes.

Around 3 hours later, I am sitting down in the airport that I wish was open 5 hours ago, smelling nice, feeling fresh, and sleep deprived. I’m waiting for my flight to Incheon airport for a connecting flight that will take me home. But not so fast! My bag was a little heavier than the limit given by Korean Air. That will be $101. Are you serious? I just want to go home. I didn’t have enough time to switch things around either nor could I even do that. My bags were packed full. I just had to take the punch to the gut and smile about it. At least its not $101 for every flight I have to take.

As I look through my window on the plane, I reminisce about the last five months I spent away from home. The airport not being open and the $101 I had to pay were mild inconveniences in the grand scheme of it all. I wouldn’t trade my experiences abroad for anything. I had some of the greatest experiences in my life in this part of the world. Meeting my best friend who I’ve known since first grade in Japan was a memory I will keep forever. We dreamed of going to Japan together for so long. Also, I was the first undergraduate from Mizzou to attend KNU and I explored South Korea a lot. The food was delicious. I loved the language and culture. I made so many great Korean friends and international friends. I’m not talking about friends like how you are friends with your co workers but real friends that you can talk about anything to and you hang out with regularly. I am so grateful for them. They helped cope with my homesickness and feel normal as an outsider in a different country to mine. Some of them I went on a trip to Taipei with. Taipei and Taiwan in general was amazing experience too. The dumplings were the best dumplings I have ever had in my life.

As I step back on the soil I was born on, I step back as a new version of myself. That new version of me is more confident, independent, has more problem-solving skills and has grown a deep cultural and personal connection to a country that I knew very little bit about. Before going to Korea, I didn’t know the language or the culture. Now I can read Korean pretty well and I can speak basic Korean. I understand Korean society on a deeper level and its pros and cons.

Like everything else in the world, it has its final chapter. This is the last chapter I will write for my time abroad. Thank you to anybody who read my blogs, thank you Dad for sending me messages which made me feel less alone and thank you to Mizzou for supporting my journey to South Korea. Finally, thank you South Korea and KNU for accepting me as an international student.

Goodbye South Korea. I will come back again. I don’t know when but hopefully soon.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Kyungpook National University