Within 48 hours, I will be thousands of miles away from the friends, family and home that I must leave behind in the States. While part of me wishes I could pack all their support and familiarity in my carry-on bag, I’m also eager to begin my adventure in South Korea.
One of the greatest challenges I anticipate throughout this trip is the 15 hour long flight. The farthest I’ve ever traveled by plane thus far is Aruba, which was merely 4 to 5 hours long. However, I’m comforted knowing that I’ll be traveling within a group of peers and professors who will be able to support me as I face such a daunting flight. It is this same group that I am certain – after extensive pre-departure meetings – who will serve as moral support as we all overcome particular challenges. Through our shared experiences encountering a new language, food, culture, and way of thinking, I anticipate our group becoming very tight-knit very quickly. In fact, after our final pre-departure meeting, I believe we already are. Seeing everyone’s smiles and bubbling excitement as we enjoyed one last dinner at home and played icebreaker games was very reassuring that we are bound for an excellent next two-weeks.
Particularly, I am eager for us to engage in both the leisure and professional visits during our trip. For example, I am looking forward to our taekwondo class on Thursday morning given my passion for kickboxing that I’ve developed over the past few years. Learning another martial art from professionals within the country of origin is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I’m incredibly grateful for. Professionally, I cannot wait to tour at Hyundai ever since my team and I researched their smart system car technologies to educate our peers about in one of our pre-departure meetings. More so, as an aspiring electrical engineer, it will be a great chance to witness such technologies first-hand as I work towards narrowing what I’d like the focus of my future career to be.
As I anticipate such challenges and exciting experiences, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I’m very thankful to the global experiences office in the Swanson School of Engineering and my professors for having granted me the opportunities I’ll encounter on this trip. Of course, I’m especially grateful for the support and encouragement of my family who have made my journey abroad possible.