Wow. I cannot believe that I will be leaving for South Korea tomorrow. This trip still barely feels real. The day after I took my last final exam, I will be on multiple plane trips and eventually land on the opposite side of the world…on Monday! I am super grateful that this trip was able to occur, and, after reviewing the itinerary, I know that I will have a great time.

To be prepared to leave tomorrow, I had to balance my time between studying for finals and packing. It was difficult trying to understand everything that I needed to complete before the flight, but I had a lot of support to know what to bring, especially from my brother, who went on the trip two years ago. I had to call my credit card and phone companies, draw money from the bank, and create memo cards for my wallet with a currency exchange rate and contact information, among other tasks. I also had to download multiple navigation apps, and I practiced using the maps by entering different places I want to go and tracking how long it would take from our hotel to those locations. Some of the sites I most want to visit include the Lotte World Tower, Cheonggyecheon, and the Myeongdong Night Market. All these locations are within twenty minutes of the hotel, and you can get to each via an efficient subway system.

Again, I am very excited about the trip, and I am certain that it will go by way too fast. Two weeks sounds like a long time, but I know that the schedule will be packed with fun adventures that will go by way too soon. I truly enjoyed my first year of college, and this trip will be a continuation of that trend. I look forward to not only the cultural experiences but also learning more about the future and how smart systems, like in South Korea, will eventually be implemented in the United States and around the world.