My two weeks in South Korea was a once in a life time amazing experience. I learned so much and had so many great experiences. When I first applied for the Plus3 program I did not know what to expect; and even the day that we left Pittsburgh, I still had no clue what would be in store for me. These two weeks provided an opportunity for me to be engulfed in a culture I had never experienced before and had me continue to work on so many essential skills for my future.

South Korea is a completely modern country in terms of technology, and in some ways, they had technology used in ways that is not adapted yet in the United States. The people there are all very nice, and helpful when we reached out and needed assistance from locals. Although the language barrier was tough at times, we were able to find ways to communicate. I was able to explore one of the largest cities in the world, Seoul, and learn the business side, the historical side, and the modern culture side. I believe that Plus3 gives students tons of scheduled activities to learn what is essential to understand the country, as well as enough free time to be able to explore the country and create your own opinions on the country. I was able to see historical temples during the day, and go out and explore the city, and even go to a baseball game, at night. Our company visits gave us a ton of different insights on how companies are run in Korea. One thing that I thought was very fascinating was that come visits we met with people from Korea, and others, we met with immigrants to Korea who were working at the company and we got to compare their experiences. I believe the people who were from other countries, just like us, were able to relate with us and give their opinion on a foreigner in Korea. On the other hand, the people who were from Korea, did not have a previous opinion on Korea, since they had been in Korea their entire life, so their thoughts were totally authentic.

While in Korea, I had to work in a team, and in general work on making sure everyone was taking full advantage of the two weeks we had. When we were given free time, we had to make sure everyone got to do what they wanted, and that is hard to do when everyone had different stuff they wanted to see in such a short time. Not only did we have to take this into account, but most of us did not know each other before going to Korea, so learning to compromised with people you do not know well is an important skill for my future. Besides team work, I learned a ton about how business is done in Korea. There is the hurry hurry culture, where everything has to be done quickly. Although I only learned about this one culture, it will help me in the future to think that people have different backgrounds in how they get work done, and even if I am not familiar with how a certain culture does something, I should try to see others point of view.

I had such an amazing experience in South Korea. I was able to see so many amazing places and meet so many amazing people. Being able to travel to the other side of the world and see places like the DMZ was something I am extreme lucky to have been able to experience. I believe that studying abroad is an amazing opportunity and something I would like to do again. If anyone has the opportunity to go on a trip like the Plus3 programs at Pitt, I would encourage them to do it. This experience was truly incredible.