Riding the wings towards Korea. I felt tired, excited and determined all at once for what lay ahead. What was waiting for me here?
In August 2020, I decided to study Korean and it was a time when I felt stuck and I had no idea of what the future held. I set myself on this path with the thought that maybe this could take me somewhere, but I couldn’t have predicted that by July 2023, I’d be on a plane heading towards Korea.
This is a night during our first week, after moving into our dorms, exploring campus, going into town for necessities and having our first classes. The campus at night is beautiful with greenery and the lights, and the moon was so bright. It was both unfamiliar and grounding.
That night was as surreal as how I felt: “Am I really here?” It only started to become real when I felt the humid air, rain and my tired feet as I walked through campus. As I listened to the cicadas and frogs, which I thought were ducks, and tried to read the Hangul signs to find the way back to the dorm, I started to realize that I really was here.
Chungbuk National University (CBNU) has a beautiful wooden path that winds through a forested hill that can be taken to go back and forth from the dorm and building where classes are. It’s wonderfully shaded on hot days, filled with the sounds of rain on leaves on wet days and softly lit at night. I even saw a firefly the first time I walked on the path.
The walks in the mornings to class through the shade of the green pine trees and the gently illuminated path as I walk back at night have already become indelible memories. In this new place with new people and new experiences, the walks are when I can quietly think about the day ahead or contemplate what has happened that day. CBNU is full of new paths to explore.
The traditional markets are filled with the atmosphere of a lifestyle of a not yet bygone time. You can see many different types of Korean food and even how they’re cooked as you walk by. It reminded me of markets in Laos and Thailand that I’d seen before and gave me a feeling of familiarity.
With every new place I found myself in or each new thing, I’d always find similarities and reminders of what I’d experienced before. Like the chapssal twisted donuts that use the same glutinous rice flour that my family uses for steamed sweet rice balls, which both have the same addictive chewiness, or wondering how the plants in the garden back home were after seeing the tomatoes and garlic in the stalls.
On a rainy day I accidentally happened upon a downtown area where the paths still have an old fashioned feel. I loved the merging of old and new and the sense of discovery of the moment.
All the steps I’ve taken have carried me here. I still haven’t reached the destination I’m striving towards but I've already come a long way. There will inevitably be stops and starts but I just have to keep moving forward.
Judith Ehm Foundation Fellowship Recipient
Korean Intensive Summer Language Program (KISLP) Participant
Cheongju, South Korea, Summer 2023