As I sit in the airport terminal waiting to board my plane headed for Los Angeles, I begin to think in retrospect of my month-long stay here in Korea. Although this was my first time traveling abroad, I am glad to have had the convenience of going to my fatherland. In further providing me with convenience, the Ewha International Summer College (EISC) served as an organized program through which I have been able to experience the quaint nuances of Korean culture.

Among the many cultural excursions offered, my favorite had to be the “Ballerina Who Fell in Love with a B-boy” performance. Watching the undeniably talented dancers was enthralling, and the audience was fully entertained from start to finish. As an added bonus to the fantastic show, we were given the chance to take pictures with the stars of the show, of which my friends and I took full advantage.

Aside from the organized events scheduled by the EISC, I had the most fun simply befriending students from all across the globe. True, upon first entering the program, I thought that being the youngest student in the program would prove to be a setback; after all, naïveté can only take me so far. Contrary to my intuition, my fellow Ewhaians were not only hospitable but also accepting of all people, despite whatever anomalies they may have had. I am so pleased to have made such a diverse and fun-loving group of friends here in Korea, some of whom I am positive will remain my friends for a long time to come.

It is also imperative that I mention the plethora of affordable restaurants within the vicinity of Ewha University. I was amazed at how great the food tasted and how little money I was required to spend. However, it was not long before the cheap prices in food were compensated for by the vast amounts of money spent on my frequent outings in the bustling city of Seoul, which, by no means, I regret.

I enjoyed every minute of my stay in the EISC. Without a doubt, the grueling four-and-a-half-hour Korean language classes were tiresome, but my teacher developed an efficient pedagogy by which the students were entertained and engrossed. In fact, I even enjoyed spending time in the dorms working on my Korean homework with my classmates. Despite the many hours my friends and I would spend on our homework, we knew that with its completion would come plenty of fun and relaxation. As I soon came to witness, the night was always young for us EISC students; we found it possible to experience much of Korea’s culture, even at the latest of hours.

With that, I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to the Scholarship Committee of the Ewha Womans University Alumnae Association of Greater Washington Foundation (EWUAAGWF) for selecting me as a Ewha International Summer College (EISC) scholarship recipient. I thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity of getting in touch with my roots, learning of my heritage from the very best professors, and experiencing the freedom