Especially during this current political climate, it was interesting studying and living in South Korea as an American. With two historic presidential administrations happening in both countries, the US seeing Trump’s second term and South Korea impeaching and prosecuting their former president, and having a rushed election. Due to these two events, I was asked a lot of questions about what it was like being from America, and whether all the things seen on the news, TV, or movies were true. I honestly found this type of question interesting, especially from my friends, because it opened up a lot of opportunities for organic cross-cultural conversations. My German friend and I talked a lot about the differences between the two, especially since she was from a small town in Germany. My Korean friend, on the other hand, loves American music, and I love Korean music, and that created an interesting dynamic between us. My Korean friend was also adamant on giving us the “true” Korean experience, introducing us to different restaurants, showing us around his hometown, and driving us to a place we would’ve never gotten to see otherwise. Aside from just building friendships from these interactions, also grew my soft interpersonal skills and intercultural awareness.

My goal while in Korea was to make a lot of friends, especially since I felt like I wasn’t doing that (by choice) while in Pittsburgh, and I did that exact thing. I joined a student club, a language exchange club, and participated in the events for international students through KUBA. Through these clubs, I made Turkish, German, Korean, Swedish, and Japanese friends. Though I felt like I was pretty open about engaging with different cultures before studying abroad through different forms of media, being able to speak to people from these countries expanded my knowledge about the true reality in these countries.

I was also able to develop my Korean proficiency during my time in Seoul, both in the classroom and with friends. Though I feel like I didn’t develop as much as I would’ve wanted, there is still a big difference in my abilities from before I went to Korea and after, and I’m proud of that. I plan to continue studying hard so when I return in the near future, I can communicate freely and not feel dependent on speaking English to convey my opinions in their entirety.