May 17th: As our only free day and last day of the trip, our group decided to have a proper send-off by taking a trip somewhere not in Germany, but rather across the border to Salzburg, Austria. Today I decided to spend my free day in Salzburg, Austria. Although I originally was committed to going…
Category: Plus3 2019
Castles, Churches, and Cows
May 16th: White sausages, beautiful churches, a real-life Cinderella’s Castle….Germany is just pulling out all the stops. Today we started out with a breakfast that was a little bit different than the hotel’s usual Nutella and croissants. We had our breakfast today at a restaurant called Baindlkirch, which was, as we were informed, a “traditional…
Presentations Means Farewell Faurecia
May 15th: With our company visits all wrapping up to end with our presentations, the long day finished with a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Since presentations did not start until 1, being ready by 9:30 today was actually one of the longest I was able to sleep in. Despite this, I was still…
Climbed to the Heavens, Feels like Hell
May 14th: With approximately 660 steps (1,320 if you count going down) to start our day, we finished off one of the last city tours in Ulm, which was the most tiring day, to say the least. Today we would be visiting the city of Ulm, which was actually not in Bavaria, the state where…
Day 12: Picture-Perfect Neuschwanstein Castle
After the big presentations yesterday, everyone was feeling relaxed today. To begin the day, we went on a short bus ride to get a typical Bavarian breakfast at Baindlkirch. It seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere with the open fields and great views all around the building. Inside were many people already…
Parting Words: Personal Growth
Wow. What an incredible experience I just underwent over the past two weeks visiting a jump-started foreign country full of unique cultural and technological attributes throughout society and life. Having had some time to process, it is time for me to share my personal thoughts on various aspects of South Korea and the trip that…
A Final Reflection
Looking back at my two weeks in South Korea, I have started to realize just how much I have learned. Between the company visits, university lectures, and cultural experiences, it’s clear that I have had a once in a lifetime opportunity studying abroad. Perhaps more important than the memories I have made or the classroom…
Day 15: The Longest Day
May 18, 2019 Remember during my first daily when essentially skipped a day on the calendar because of the time zones? Yeah, that thirteen-hour difference really jumped us into the future. Well today, we made up for that with what can only be described physically and mentally as the longest day of my life. If…
Day 14: Beach Day
May 17, 2019 Our last day in South Korea was ours to spend however we like. On our way to the city, I once overheard a local refer to Busan as the Korean version of Miami, and that meant only one thing: we had to go to the beach. There really was no other option,…
Day 13: The Diplomat’s Perspective
May 16, 2019 We got to sleep in a little bit this morning. I always appreciate the opportunity to get in those extra few minutes. By ten o’clock though, we were off and headed to our first site of the day: the United States Consulate of Busan. Though it wasn’t initially in the itinerary, this…
Day 11: Hyundai Motor Tour
May 14, 2019 We left the hotel relatively early this morning to get on the road. Our short time in Ulsan was done, and we were headed for our final city, Busan. Outside of travel, we only had one thing on the docket today: a tour of the Hyundai Motor Tour. Just inside the city,…
Day 10: Day Trip to Ulsan
May 13, 2019 I’m definitely going to have to get some more sleep these next few nights if I plan on staying awake throughout the entire day. We had to be ready to go by 7:30 this morning, and that meant falling asleep the second we got on the bus. Thankfully, the ride was a…
Day 9: The Buddhist Temples
May 12, 2019 Don’t get me wrong. The university and company visits are cool. It’s been really interesting learning about the different ways in which Korean companies manufacture and market their products. But they just don’t compare to the awesome things we see and experience on our cultural visits. After our day off yesterday, I…
Day 8: Traveling to Gyeongju
May 11, 2019 If you had asked me at the beginning of today how I thought it would go, I would have told you that today was set to be the most boring day of our trip. The only thing we had planned was travel from the massive city of Seoul to the much smaller…
Day 7: The DMZ
May 10, 2019 Today began earlier than most. We had to be up and ready to go before eight o’clock, but no one seemed to mind the rush. Since the itinerary was released, May 10th was on everyone’s radar. Today was the day we got to visit the DMZ or, as our tour guide Rob…
Day 6: Taekwondo Training
May 9, 2019 Another day, another company visit. This time we headed out toward what everyone in town calls “the Google of Korea”: NAVER. At the vanguard of artificial intelligence and machine learning, this Seoul-based operation is an online platform that has developed its own search engine and web portal. It honestly amazes what people…
Day 5: Our First Company Visits
May 8, 2019 Wow, our fifth day is already over. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun. I feel like we’ve only been here for a day or two, yet we’ve seen so much. Today was our first of the more academic days here in Seoul. We toured a couple of companies…
Day 4: Hanyang University
May 7, 2019 After all the cultural experiences of yesterday, it was time to see how the other half lives. And by the other half, I mean students halfway around the world. See what I did there? Yeah, just typing it out makes me realize that it wasn’t that funny. I promise it sounded better…
Day 3: Gyeongbokgung Palace
May 6, 2019 Alright, alright. No more time travelling. No more half days. We’re here. We’re actually here, and we took full advantage today. We’ve done so much, I can hardly remember it all. I guess it’s a good thing I’ll have a digital record after my blog is complete. Anyhow, the actual content. Our…
Day 2: We Have Arrived
May 5, 2019 Okay. All things considered, today felt like a more of a half day than anything… or maybe a quarter day. I’m not really sure. After finally landing at the airport outside of Seoul, we got our first taste of what the country looks like. I think I speak for everyone when I…