By: Jacob Sedwick

As we prepare to leave for South Korea tomorrow I can’t help but feel excited and optimistic. Surely there is some anxiety as I’ve never been outside the country and the wake-up call is 2 AM. But all in all, I am very excited to experience this once-in-a-lifetime trip. It seems like yesterday that I was thrilled to receive my acceptance email into the Plus 3 South Korea program and the trip was months and months away. However today there are less than 12 hours until departure and this year has flown by all in all. The hours and days counting down to this trip in classes and dorms felt like eternity but the weeks and months leading up seem to have passed me by in the blink of an eye. As the trip approaches I feel excitement to learn and experience as much as possible along with connecting with the people in the group more.

Things I am looking forward to most on this trip include the Korean baseball game, the palace and temple cultural visits, and the visit to Camp Humphreys, one of the largest US military bases in the world. Between the culture, food, and tech, Korea is my dream personal and professional trip. The weather in the country looks mostly promising as after researching I learned that May is a great time to visit Korea and the weather will be warm and comfortable.

As I conclude my blog to get restless 5 hours of sleep I feel mostly gratitude. I am extremely grateful to the University of Pittsburgh and Dr.Yun and Chris for spearheading such a meaningful trip for my peers and me. In addition, I’m grateful for my mom and my family for letting me pursue this program and encouraging me through this process. Alright, now the looking forward to ends and the experiencing begins, I look forward to posting throughout my trip and logging my experiences. See you soon!