Until We Meet Again~ Blog Assignment #8

Although it has only been one week since I've left South Korea, I can already boldly state, without a doubt, that I really miss that country. It truly feels as if the entire month of July has gone by in a flash. Now that I'm in Japan, with about five days to go before my return to the United States, the realization that my journey is ending has finally hit me. Though I am saddened by the fact that I have to return to my normal, less-adventurous life in Fort Smith, I will always remember that this trip was the first of many more to come.

Throughout my stay in South Korea, I really wish that I could have had more confidence in my speaking abilities. Several times, usually during our meals, I missed the opportunity to practice ordering food or asking for things in Korean. Strangely enough, my proudest moments also had something to do with my Korean language speaking abilities. The first time was a conversation with an older Korean lady in a public shower room, the details of which I'm sure you do not want to hear. The second was talking with a shop lady about her products and it involved using numbers and pricing. The best way to learn a language is to use it with it's native speakers, right? I will definitely continue to improve my knowledge of the Korean language and use it more during my next visit.

Interestingly enough, the culture shock that I seemingly skipped in South Korea has found me in Japan. My knowledge of the Japanese language is poor, as I only know a few phrases and some random hiragana characters. At times, I really feel like a foreigner wandering around blindly. Thankfully, I am staying with a friend that can speak Korean, Japanese, and English, and he has really helped a lot with translating and helping me find what I need. I will now enjoy the remainder of my trip in Asia and hope that I can return again soon.

Near the End - Blog Assignment #8

When I thought about the subject for this blog post last night, I was actually to the point where I was ready to go home. I could not really find anything else interesting to do in Shinjuku and I was running out of things to see in the surrounding areas (at least not that I would go to by myself), and the capsule hotel didn't exactly have welcoming amenities where I could be comfortable just hanging out there. I was starting to feel the loneliness of being by myself in Tokyo for 3 days, until I briefly made a friend on the street while looking for a place to eat crepes. It was nice to have someone to talk to, and he went out of his way to show me a crepe stand. We added each other on Facebook, and I headed back to my capsule hotel for the night. I think a little bit of direct human contact did me some good. 

Today I really only got to do one thing, which was to see the wonderful Ghibli Museum, but I otherwise was worn out from hauling my luggage from the capsule hotel to the subway station lockers, and then later from the lockers to the hostel in Asakusa where I am now. In my exhaustion I was thankful that I will be going home soon where I can just drive everywhere and stay inside and out of the heat, but as I checked in to the hostel I started to wish I had stayed here the whole time. The amenities here are very nice for the price, the location is great, the air conditioner is cool, and the staff has taken so much time to make wonderful area maps divided by interests. If I would have had maps like these in Shinjuku, it wouldn't have been so hard for me to figure out where I'm going. Google Maps unfortunately isn't very useful for exploring an area or finding landmarks. 

I'm excited to spend tomorrow seeing what there is to do around Asakusa, and I think I'll wish I had at least one more day. I feel lucky to spend my last two nights here, because now I feel like I will end my time in Japan on a high note. Maybe next time I travel abroad I will see about finding better maps, or making my own based on my own research. Now I will go have a nice meal and see the nearby temple lit up at night, so I won't have any regrets on missing out on its beauty. 

I can't wait to come back and explore with my best friends some day, and now I will know what to look for. 

Blog #8

As I fly ever closer to home I am unendingly engulfed with emotions and nostalgia. How is it that travel and the experiences contained therein can generate affective responses on such a level as to immobilize an individual? How do I return home to live my life in its former simplicity after a journey of such magnitude has shaken who I am to such an extent that my entire future plans have been thrown from its previous place of surety into a roulette of indecisive potential?

I am, to state it simply, in mental flux, but in more complex terms I have reached a point close to the end of my undergraduate career that desperately seeks the most secure path to an end goal of professorship. This trip has opened my eyes in this metaphorical sense: previously, I saw one path; a path that led to a Masters and later Ph.D. in an English-related field – though the route to success is shrouded in mist with a spotlight at the end It was a singular goal where I felt confident in my ability to navigate the unclear path. This trip has done both good and bad in the sense that it has illuminated that I am not approaching a singular path, rather a crossroads with a variety of potential ends. This is good because I see potential; I see possibilities created by my experiences, but bad in that now every decision at each fork in the road will forever affect my career and future henceforth. In many cases my strongest wish is that I had done this program two years ago, as I had originally planned, rather than waiting until now. If I had done so the time to make these types of decisions or prepare further to pursue certain decisions would have been more plausible.*

Why did I not prepare further? Supplementary language preparation would have furthered my experience in South Korea exponentially, allowed for deeper connections with Korean individuals, and as a whole reduced anxiety of situations where stress was often needless.

My experience in Korea is unforgettable. Korea is a beautiful nation with an abundance of history, friendly individuals eager to learn, and a busy yet seemingly smooth lifestyle. I will certainly return there again, but in what capacity is yet to be known. For now it is back to the grindstone of my degree and pursuits – further motivated and inspired.

*I am now faced with the decision of teaching English in Korea prior to pursuing graduate school, studying immersion Korean to prepare for an East Asian or Korean Studies masters program (which would entirely reroute my academic career), or continue my path as a rhetoric-focused English major pursuing English purely with the potential of teaching in either the United States or abroad.

It's Only a "See You Later" Not a "Goodbye" - Blog Assignment #8

As of right now, I am on my flight back to America, and I already miss South Korea. Many thoughts run through my mind; thoughts of happiness because I will get to see my friends and family, thoughts of sadness because I’m leaving my favorite country, and thoughts of bitter sweetness because the friends I’ve made here I won’t be able to see in a long time. This has been one of the best months of my life and now that it’s over I really have no regrets. Of course I did not get to do every single thing I wanted to do, but why rush things when you are enjoying every last minute traveling the country you love. This trip has definitely determined my future travel plans; I have already decided that I am going to come back to South Korea. Korea has been so full of culture, nature, and excitement. I know I haven’t experienced everything yet because there is so much to explore. The next time I come back, I will go to all the tourist sites that I missed; for example, the Han River, the Namsan Tower, and the other three palaces. My proudest accomplishment, however, is that I’ve made some really close friends. When studying abroad very deep friendship start to develop and I’m proud to say that I have a couple of friends that I will be visiting when we all get back to America. Although, I did not make friends with everyone I feel that making a couple of close friends is better than making many acquaintances. I wish I could’ve managed my time better because there were moments that were wasted because I did not know what to do due to the lack of research. That problem, however, could be easily fixed next time I come to Korea. So to end these blogs I'm not saying goodbye to South Korea but see you later.

Picnicking in a park on the last night in Seoul.

Waiting at Incheon Airport for our flight home.

Blog #7

Here I will provide the account of my experiences on day twenty-four of my trip to South Korea – July 30, 2015:

Officially the final day of the program, as far as activities and classes are concerned, though certainly not the end to most of the students stays here. Woke up, like any other day of the program in Ulsan, but the environment of student behavior was already drastically different. A depressive unspoken tension of conclusion lay heavy on all the students who quietly grabbed breakfast for the final time as a whole body of students undivided by return travels to respective nations.

Even with this precursory despondency the staff would not have any sort of negative start to our final day. We began with a talent show, which I practiced three hours before on the previous night. There were so many talented students whose performances ranged from traditional dances from China to the amazing singing of Desperado by one of the staff [Leo] to the conclusion of an adorable Chinese student who sang and admitted her love to an American student she had grown close with on the trip who had to leave the day of our program commencement (this was not only unanticipated, but marvelously sweet).

Directly following the talent show was our program commencement and closing words. The commencement was quite standard with the giving of certificates and general applause. The program escalated to a passionate pinnacle with closing personal statements by program students, which were both tearful and wonderfully honest. It was a truly touching experience.

The rest of the day was a kind of zombie-like haze, swift goodbyes and time that passed by at seemingly break-neck speed, but not without a cheerful concluding meal with friends, for those that remained.

Blog #6

What a wild time this month has been – certainly the most unique conglomerate of coursework, historic site visits, and activities that I have ever encountered. From the beginning of my experience in Korea, my expectations were much more academic in nature. The level of informality and ultimately low-stress academic environment had both positive and negative attributes.

The program allowed for extensive student flexibility and an ideal environment for the amateur academic traveller due to the University of Ulsan’s emphasis on student comfort. Coursework was generally straightforward and covered topics mentioned prior to program matriculation. In regards to completed academic goals, I was able to learn a lot about Korea’s economic, business, and sociological environments at the level I expected, or above in the case of economic and taught historical information.

The aspects I found particularly lacking were primarily in the sector of language education and general academic rigor. I joined the program expecting to spend far more time and energy focused on Korean language learning, and was disappointed to find that they only taught consonants and vowels (which I learned prior to my arrival in Korea). The limited phrasal and vocabulary teaching was a limiter on my abilities to socially interact, and ultimately may have contributed to lost experiences with other college students linguistically due to this inability.

As a whole I feel my academic expectations were met to some level of satisfaction – especially the history-loving side of my scholastic interests. There is certainly no perfect program for mixing this large quantity of information across several, multi-faceted fields, but they attempted to do so and created an enjoyable and comfortably educational experience in the process.

Exploring Japan - Blog Assignment #7

Because I have been busy wrapping thing up in Ulsan and I spent the last few days moving through Busan, Fukuoka, and settling into Tokyo, I want to discuss my day in Tokyo in this blog. 

One of the things that has surprised me as I moved around Tokyo today is how much the neighborhoods can vary. In one neighborhood there can be so many different places to eat that it's difficult to choose, and then if I go a little farther out of the area there is absolutely nothing but expensive hotels and office buildings. It took me 30 minutes to decide on a place to eat last night because there were so many restaurants. Today, as I rode the subway from Shinjuku to Koto, I saw the stark contrast from buildings plastered in advertisements to expensive high-rises set against extensive landscaping and the beautiful ocean. 

When we were planning this trip, Luis and I decided to try out a capsule hotel for experience. We found one that accepts females (I read before we searched for one that capsule hotels are originally made for business men who stayed out late after work), though I was a little disappointed to learn that this one only offers spa baths for men. I think that this one was originally built for only men as well, and they only added one floor for women recently and did not have space to make a spa area for women. At least the showers are nice. 

Luckily, the reason I traveled to Koto today was to visit an onsen that also has attractions and restaurants inside. It really made up for not being able to use the baths at the capsule hotel. The outdoor bathing area was a new experience. It was nice to feel the breeze while sitting in warm water. After I tried out all of the baths I had some chocolate banana ice cream to cool myself down, and later I tried an odd version of takoyaki that was about four or five times the size of the normal ones. It had not only squid inside, but also corn, cabbage, hot dog pieces, a quail egg, and other ingredients that I can't remember. It was very odd and surprising with every bite, but still pretty tasty. 

I spent the rest of the day traveling to a few suggested shopping areas to try and fulfill promises to myself and my friends about what I'd bring back. I couldn't find the trading card game that my friend wanted, but after a long search I did finally find the different flavored Kit Kats that my other friend wanted. I can't wait to try them with her when I get home! 

After shopping and riding the trains and subways all day, my back and arms really hurt. I tried to find a nearby place to eat so I could hurry back to my hotel. I stopped to look at the pictures at one place that served mostly desserts and drinks made out of fresh fruit. I almost passes because I thought fruits can't be dinner, but then I remembered how filling fruit was when my best friend and I used to make huge platters of it as kids. I decided a dinner of fruit would be just find for that reason, and actually I had been craving fruit for most of my trip. To my surprise when I sat down and looked at the menu, they had a dish with 3 slices of steak that was surrounded by a variety of fresh fruit. Everything was perfectly ripe: grapefruit, orange, honeydew, watermelon, peach, strawberry, and grape. I had a watermelon juice to go with it, and I was so happy with my decision. The fruit was much better than what you can generally buy at grocery stores at home. I also had been craving steak as well, so it was a really nice dinner. 

Maybe I'm not otherwise good at choosing restaurants however, because the two best places I've eaten at in Japan were the two places Jen's friend took us to in Fukuoka. They were both the type of ramen restaurant where you choose what you want on a machine and then hand the ticket to the server, but we had ramen at the first place and gyoza and fried rice at the second. The ramen and gyoza were the best that I've ever had. It took me by surprise that the best places I've eaten so far were also the cheapest. I hope I come across more places like that for the rest of my trip!