You travel, you learn

Now that I am back home from Korea for about three days now, I have reflected a lot about my time there. It was my goal to be productive this summer, and as of yet I have accomplished more than just being productive; I've grown in many ways, met new people, experienced a different culture and embarked on a new territory in a region I have always wanted to go.

Although Korea did not feel like a complete culture shock, much of what I experienced justified the other culture I was raised by - Asian culture. I am not Korean, but some of the traditions (not all) are similar to Vietnamese. Getting to experience a non-Westernized country (although slowly becoming) was beneficial for me. Spending two months in Korea taught me many lessons. This summer (brace yourselves, I'm about to get a bit personal!) I realized that I was ditching my own 'kind of people'.

I make friends with anybody, regardless of their ethic background, but I always knew I was never part of an Asian community (which is one of the reasons why I went to Korea). I don't know why; maybe it was because I was raised in a dominating Hispanic community, but still, I never put the effort into making Asian friends. It irritated me sometimes because let's be honest, a lot of Asians in America group up with each other all the time and it sometimes confused me because it didn't seem open-minded. Little minded as I was, I realized all people with similar backgrounds group up together because  they don't feel a loss of identity like I do, and therefore they could relate to each other. Diversity is a great thing, but it's also always nice to be around people who grew up in similar lifestyles and traditions as you. Otherwise, you'd feel lost.

With that, I realized that I wasn't accepting myself. I believe I have Westernized myself so much that I forget to appreciate the valuable things that I should be grateful for - my family, my dual culture (or triple + British) and the traditions I grew up with - they should be embraced.

There are changes that I want to make in my life now and I want to be able to embrace and accept all that I am, as cheesy as that sounds. Making the most of what you have is the best way to live, isn't it? I do not and in no way have the intention on being racist or am I trying to bash on my own culture - for my whole life I have been very proud of my ethic background. I guess I should say, being brought up in two different cultures while having the Westernized, individualistic society dominating my sense of direction can get frustrating. Which in ways is funny because I can get pretty bitter about American culture and miss my life in Britain very much...let's just say that identity is a complex thing. It isn't about finding out who you are; it's about what you create in your life. And for me, thus far, my identity is a combination of all these things, whether I will figure them out or not, this is who I am. 

So thank you, Korea for helping me realize all of this. I've made such great friends with new people and have made stronger bonds with friends I've known in my life longer. This summer was one huge benefit for me and I will forever be always grateful for it.

And now, I will end with a video of this summer at Dankook, made by one of my wonderful students, Subin :)

To the next adventure ahead, this blog will always be updated :)

I've been thinking how the behavior here has been affecting me. Ever since I got back to America I feel as though I've been getting punches in the face. I am adjusting a lot better than I have been before, but I am getting really irritated by a lot of things and am constantly reminded of the reason why I wanted to study abroad in the first place. Being productive at the time now means a lot to me, whether I'm working on something that is school related, career related or spiritually learning about myself. I feel a lot better by doing this than getting angry and worrying because that doesn't take me anywhere really.

I have been thinking and doing a lot of research about what I want to do once I finish my degree here in San Bernardino. It gets overwhelming and exciting. I still have to take care of a lot of things for school where at the same time I have to look out for requirements if I'm applying for something international related during my school year. At least I could say, that I feel good that I'm already thinking of what I want to do once I graduate instead of waiting around until I do.

It's hard, but I'm trying to let the little things inspire me again, even if it means putting Love Actually in the DVD player just to hear the British accents or drinking a cup of Earl Grey in the morning.

PARIS

During my Easter break, I got the chance to meet up with my friend Pierina, who was also on exchange the same time as I was, but in Paris! I spent one week there and explored most of the city on my own since my friend was ill. We still got to spend a lot of time together once I came back from walking around all day, which was really nice because we made dinner together! It was nice to see a familiar face during that time since I haven't seen anyone I knew from home in a long time.

Paris is honestly, in my opinion, the prettiest city I have been to thus far. Everything is so impressive. The Eiffel Tour was the first big monument I saw in there, and my goodness, if you go to here and visit the Eiffel Tower, PLEASE take the route to where I am going to suggest. Take the metro and exit off of Trocadéro. Once you exit, continue walking left and to your left side, you will see it and I promise you, you will be in awe. If you want to get an idea to how it will look like, check out this video of Phoenix performing there.

On the first day I pretty much spent most of my time around the Eiffel Tower and walking down streets around it. I didn't go up it, but a few days later I did get to see Paris from up top at The Arc De Triomphe. I ate a crepe almost every day I was there (the best ones are by the Eiffel Tower). The food was very good. It was nice to get a break from British food and to see really fresh fruits and veggies (I'm sorry UK, maybe its because I always go to Tesco for produce).

I can't recall what I did day by day, but I wondered off a lot and found a lot of touristy sights off of road signs. I went to visit the Jardin Du Luxemburgh, Notre Dame, Musée Du Louvre, Sacre Coeur, Arc De Triomphe, and crossed a lot of known areas down River Seine. I took a day to go shopping too. Paris has really awesome vintage stores, and some of the vintage ones are really affordable!

I love the architecture

Notre Dame

The Louvre

If you're interested in visiting The Louvre and want to explore all of it, I suggest sectioning out which areas to go on separate days because its MASSIVE. You will get overwhelmed by the art if you try and cram all of it in one day. Got to see a lot of classical art and of course, the Mona Lisa.

She is very tiny in real life.

Sacre Coeur 

Foods me and Pierina cooked

I also got to spend time with my friend Shreya who was also on exchange in Paris. We met up, had Mexican food (which was surprisingly good by the way) and went out for drinks afterwards. 

Looking back at my Paris trip, it was definitely one of my favorite trips. It felt very accomplishing, considering that 1) I spoke French 2) I explored many things on my own and 3) I went to a city that I've been dying to go to on my travel list! A few years back, I would have never thought I would be capable of doing what I did in Paris, and with anything that I experienced thus far. 

And yes, as lovely as Paris is, it does have its dodgy parts. Like dog poop randomly on the streets, a few rude people (but where isn't there any? but i must admit, they were the rudest) and perverted men (those including the ones that harass you going up the Sacre Coeur to sell you souvenirs). But the sights, the food, and language, the fact that it's freaking PARIS makes up for it. I would visit Paris again, and even travel around France.

I really should upload all my photos on flickr, but if you guys would like to see more photos of Paris, here's a link to my facebook album.

Until next time. Bon soir mes amis!