After being alone for so long, it’s sort of weird being with my sister again. I find myself struggling to deal with a change in my role and personality. In Thailand, I was a teacher, a mentor, and a valued person to the community. Being in Busan with my sister, I am once again just a younger sister who tags along to her events. I find myself frantically looking for the optimism and positivity that I am certain I left behind in Southeast Asia. I am discouraged because it gives me a glimpse of what it will possibly be like when I return home. I have reiterated again and again that the hardest part about returning home from a program is the feeling that it was all a dream. This is one of the reasons I keep on applying to programs one after another. Nobody around you has experienced what you’ve experienced and to try to explain it all is impossible. Sure, they can look at pictures and video clips, but they weren’t there. They didn’t wake up with the roosters. They didn’t live in a third world country. They didn’t see all the silly things I did with my friends. They can’t feel the change I’ve felt in myself over the last year.
Being in Busan, I’m also struggling to find the charm in this modern city. I am definitely experiencing reverse culture shock and I’m not even home yet! I suppose it’s because I’m in a limbo right now, on a sort of a vacation between two programs. With no daily schedules or routines, I feel idle and lazy.
[The next day] After feeling like such a ball of negativity the past two days, I made an effort to regain some of that optimism I lost. I need to stop comparing countries and accept that each place has its pros and cons. While it’s challenging to be around people who don’t and can’t understand what I’ve experienced, I consider this a good opportunity to prepare myself for when I am finally home. Since new student and exchange student orientation takes place on Monday, I’ve decided to spend an extra 2 days in Busan, moving into the dormitory on Sunday. I will be taking the midnight train on Saturday and arriving in Seoul at the crack of dawn on Sunday. This will help me to save time since I can sleep overnight on the train. A mentor that has been assigned to me by the International Affairs Office at Hanyang University will be available to help me with the check in process and getting settled in. For now, I will try to enjoy the rest of my time in Busan and look forward to starting my next program!

Photo Caption: A sight not found in Thailand - A string of yummy squid

In one of my previous blogs I mentioned that one of the hardest things about leaving an abroad program is not knowing when you’ll see your friends again. Two years ago, I was at Seoul National University for my very first study abroad program. During that time I made several good friends. One of these friends was an international student from New Zealand named Clara. During our last few days together, we would talk about visiting each other in our respective countries when we get the chance. As you can imagine, traveling from the States to New Zealand is not easy, nor is it cheap. We both knew it would be some time before we can see each other again. By chance, we found that we were both in Korea at the same time. I arrived literally days before she was leaving for New Zealand. So we arranged to meet at Seoul Station for a few hours before I caught my train to Busan.
Our little reunion was such a highlight for me because I know the odds of us seeing each other again are very low. We spend hours at a bakery catching up on life and reminiscing about our program together. This is something quite precious because nobody can quite understand the impact a program has on me besides the people who were with me during that time. It was really uplifting to be able to talk about how those times impacted us and changed our lives.
As I hugged her goodbye at the train station, we again talked about the next time we’ll meet again. Perhaps it’ll be at each other’s wedding. Or maybe it’ll be some spontaneous trip across the world. (New Zealand is really far from the States!) It was another uncertain goodbye but I think I’m getting used to it by now.
Picture Caption: A flash from the past - Clara and I 2 years ago at SNU

[Please note that this blog was written 2 days earlier but could not be uploaded due to limited internet access]


I’m currently sitting on the train to Busan from Seoul. I had arrived in Korea late last night around 11pm. It was a really rough night since I had spent the majority of last night sitting on the cold floor at the Incheon Airport in Seoul. Since my flight from Chiang Mai to Seoul arrived so late in the evening, I decided to camp out at the airport for the night instead of venturing out for a guesthouse. The other reason that I opted to sleep overnight at an airport rather than a nice bed is the cost. Perhaps I’m spoiled by the prices in Southeast Asia, but I just can’t bring myself to pay $20 for a couple nights’ rest. (I can’t even imagine how I will react to prices in the States when I return!) The value of the dollar and cost of living is, by far, the biggest culture shock I have to deal with as I bounce from one region to another. I suddenly found myself paying triple even quadruple for the same items that I would get in Thailand. While a hundred dollars would last a whole month in Thailand, I’ve already exhausted half of it in two days, just on transportation and snacks alone.
But nonetheless, I’m excited to be in Korea once again. This is the last leg of my long string of abroad programs. The earliest move in date for Hanyang University is August 26 so I decided to spend a few days in Busan, where my sister currently resides. I left Thailand early to give myself some time to readjust back to a first world country. As soon as I stepped into my gate departing for Seoul, I felt the difference. The passengers on my flight were all homebound Koreans. I immediately sensed the chance in the attitudes of the people. Gone were the open hospitality and warmth that I had gotten used to in Thailand. Gone were the easy going attitudes of the people around. Of course, that’s not to say Koreans are all aloof and unkind. But speaking from experience, I would say that Thai culture wins over Korean culture in terms of sense of community and openness. On the plane, I even found myself sitting next to a young woman in her shades, heels and short skirt who blatantly asked me to sit elsewhere. (How rude!) Anyways, so I arrived safely in Seoul, paid too much (in my Thai opinion) for some late night snacks, and parked myself near an outlet for the rest of the night. Early the next morning, I hopped on the earliest metro and headed towards Seoul Station, the major transportation hub in Seoul. From there, I purchased my ticket to Busan, Korea’s second largest city on the southern part. I am excited to see my sister after being away from family for nearly a year.

Picture Caption: My sister and I at the famous temple on the water