In around 12 hours, I will be on the bus to the airport. As I am sitting here, preparing for our almost 16 hour flight to South Korea, I am so excited just thinking about the amazing experiences I will gain through this trip. 

In the weeks after my first introductory blog, I have found myself eagerly counting down the days until we land in Korea and start our journey abroad. It hasn’t even hit me yet that tomorrow we will be on a plane to our destination. For today, we will be wrapping up and having our last pre-departure meeting and dinner. We will then be going back to Nordenberg for the night. I don’t think I will be sleeping before meeting everyone else downstairs at 2:30 in the morning to load the bus to the airport. 

In preparation for the flight, I have checked my bags to make sure I have everything. I have also downloaded a few movies and shows just in case I can’t fall asleep on the plane. In addition to that, I also downloaded some music that might help me fall asleep.  But I plan on sleeping through most of the flight in hopes of combating the jet lag since we will be arriving there in the afternoon. I can’t wait to go shopping and visit the night markets. I am also very excited for the cultural activities such as the DMZ tour and the Taekwondo class. In addition to the cultural activities, I’m eager to learn more about smart systems from the company visits and seeing how it affects daily life in Korea. 

Although I am a little nervous about the long flight, I’m looking forward to this amazing experience where I can experience new things and further my academic and personal journey.