Last Week

All great things must come to an end. Well this was my last week in the place I have grown to love. Sunday I went to church and had a farewell dinner with my BSF buddies at an all you can eat Korean restaurant called Carney Station. The food was so good. While there I realized I’ve been away from the states for two long because the restaurant just so happens to serve spaghetti and I thought it was amazing. The dinner was really nice and afterwards we went to coffee bean to chill and talk. I’m so grateful to my church members and Tina for taking me. Ever since I came to that church they showed me nothing but love and respect. I truly love all of them.

Monday I met up with the dance crew (R&B kids not pop N lock). We went over the usher routine and I almost had it down. We ended by going to get some Korean food near my apartment. That night I met up with Jaewon and two of his friends at (you guess it) the Hookah bar ha-ha. That night we went to a bar to play some darts and talked. I totally kicked Jae's butt the first round but he made a come back. Also while there, a ran into a kid from school who I thought I would never see again. The kid was name Joseph I hadn’t seen him since my second year of college. It was pretty funny to see the kid.

Tuesday was a very gloomy day so I pretty much did nothing. Wednesday I had breakfast with Natasha, and ate some toast and egg sandwiches. For lunch I met up with Kyla (the model) and one of her friends who was really nice. We went to a Korean BBq place. It was really cool and we got in to a good conversation about God. That night I met up my friend Eun Hee who I met at Jakes College. She didn’t have much time so we got some pizza and talked for a bit. Thursday was Natasha’s last full day in Korea because she was heading back to Kazakhstan to visit her family. So I wanted to do something special for her. So I got her a few little things and a teddy bear. That night we went to dinner and pretty much just hung out.

Friday ended up being the longest and most busy day in Korea. That morning I took Natasha to the bus station. After that I met up with the dance crew for one final practice, and got a little food. As soon as I met up with them I met up with my POP N lock crew to chill for a bit. Spark K bought me a new shirt, which was really cool. After I said good buy to them I went to Itawon to pick up some shirts for my sister and have dinner with Leslie and Natoshia (one of the girls from the 80's party). After dinner I met up with Won and the dance crew in Hondae to have one last crazy night of fun in Korea. We ended up going to this Hip Hop club and having a really good time. When I got back home to Hoegi I notice that I left my key in the locker at the Hip Hop club. Not knowing what to do I call my friend Yung in Busan. Saturday I was planning on going to Busan to pick up one of my bags so I decided to head there. So I road three hours to Busan hung out with Yung, went to the beach, ate some food, went to the Gun range, picked up my bag, and headed back for another 3-hour trip to Seoul. Daegou left me an extra key and I started to pack. The next morning Jaewon picked me up and took me to the Airport.

Well it’s been a week and I am now back in Chicago doing RA (resident advisor) training. This trip has been very beneficial for me and also made me think of a lot of good ideas to reach out to more international students. This is also the first time I've experienced Jet lag ha-ha. The main purpose of going to Korea was to experience Korean culture first hand, and I believe I did that. I'm so thankful for the friends I made, and all the wonderful and random experiences. I really would like to thank everyone who has helped me and made my Korean experience wonderful. With out all of you guys and gals (Jaewon, Won, Yung, Christine, Hanna, Jake, Tina, Natasha, Eun Hee, my BSF, New Feel Crew, and the Big ISIS) my experience would have been very lame. Words can't express the gratitude for everyone who helped me get here (GOD being the first, my family, Archibald motley fund, international affairs, Cheeyon Cha Korean advisor, Dijana Granov). I would hope by this trip more people would be inspired to go and experience a different way of life.

Well its almost time for school to start so I need to get back to business. Thank you all for reading my crazy adventure.

AHN YEONG !!!