Starting this chilly morning by boarding the charter bus to go to the DMZ, which is the border between North and South Korea. It was very interesting to see the amount of security and the precautions needed to enter the area. To get there, we first had to drive in the charter bus, then transfer to another bus from the tourism center. On that second bus, a military officer came on board to check our passports before we could enter the area.

In the area, we went through the tunnels and visited the observatory. The runner (possibly “the route” or “the path”?) had a steep, steep, steep hill to go down. After that hill, we had to duck due to the rocks and pipes. We wore helmets to enter the tunnel. The observatory had an overhead view of the trees, allowing us to look into North Korea.

Overall, it was an exciting experience. To me, the highlight was seeing all the other tourists there, as the majority of the visitors were either European or from the United States.

To end the day, we went to a baseball game! The cultural differences definitely stood out. First, you can bring in outside food and bags of any size. I was able to bring in my large tote bag as well as my water bottle. We ordered fried chicken as a group for dinner and brought it in to eat. I saw people with all types of food—big and small.

Another interesting aspect was how they cheered. The cheerleaders lead chants when the team is batting. Each player seems to have their own cheer and accompanying song. Personally, that was my favorite part—dancing and cheering for the team I was rooting for. Honestly, the culture around sports here is a lot more entertaining to me than in America. I ended up enjoying the day a lot more than I expected!