By Dennys Paulino
Campus News
Certain events in life can engulf a person into new ways of thinking. I come from a family that has never really looked into traveling anywhere that is too far away or distant. For the year 2018 I decided to challenge those norms inside my household and focus on traveling to a place I have never visited. Being an undergrad and having these goals are a bit tough, since I would have to finance my whole trip. Beginning to plan for the event I looked into ways of doing it through CUNY, amazingly enough CUNY offers study abroad programs all over our world. I quickly began to look for one that caught my attention, Study Abroad South Korea instantly intrigued me and pushed me into applying. Soon afterwards I began to apply to scholarships in order to fund my trip, a couple weeks passed and just two weeks before the trip I got the Gilman International Scholarship, which without, I would have not been able to go on the trip, and thus my few days of preparation began!
The program was for a whole month! I have never left the country for much more than a week at a time and I was traveling alone; well, traveling with no family members. As the days got closer to my flight I began to study the Korean language on internet websites and books in the LaGuardia library. I looked into proper Korean etiquette videos online, brushed up on Korean music and pop culture in order to not be a complete stranger once arriving. I finally learned basic greetings and how to say some things in polite ways, such as thank you and have a good day. The flight date finally came; I met up with my study abroad class and boarded the longest airplane flight I have ever sat in for. The flight from our New York City airport to Incheon Airport in South Korea was 14 hours. This was the perfect time to brush. up on the little knowledge of the language I had. I passed the time watching Korean movies on the in-flight entertainment television and slept my hours away. Once waking up finally in South Korea, I would have never expected that this trip would have become such an important life-changing experience.
Arriving to the campus inside the Seoul University of Dongguk was a mystical experience, my eyes widened, my heart rushed and my anticipation grew. Before my flight I prepared meeting my roommate with a gift, so I went out and bought him a gift prior to ever meeting him. My roommate turned out to be another student, visiting from Hong Kong. We immediately began talking with one another; I told stories of America as he told stories of China. Our experiences inside our dorm room were experiences that unified my perception of the world. Learning about a person’s home through their point of view is an unforgettable thing. It made me want to learn more about the locations he spoke about. Granted I went to Korea to study abroad, but already I have done much more than just that, I made friends with a person who’s a world away from me.
My first class inside the Dongguk campus was a Korean language course, at which I didn’t understand much at all. After each class I would explore Seoul, walk around the campus and explore new locations I’ve never seen and eat food I’ve never tried before. Which led me to a local kimchi restaurant just a few blocks away from the university dorms. This restaurant was a small hole in the wall, in which English did me no good to communicate. I ordered by pointing at the food I wanted and waited patiently for it to arrive. My first plate ever of kimchi katsu was a beautiful sight. It was the first time I ever had foreign food outside of the United States all by myself with a completely different language being spoken around me; the experience and emotions I felt in that moment were surreal. The food was delicious, the waitress was magnificent and the experience felt like a story written in a “must-do in your lifetime” book.
Traveling itself is a wonderful thing, especially when it’s paired with gaining knowledge and making new friends. While on my study abroad trip to Korea, I had class with local students and local professors. I played soccer in Korea’s university of the arts, and I still talk to the people I met over there. My Korean language is still not too great, but I would lie if I said I don’t practice it. The memories I made on my trip sparked a new-found appreciation for the world we all share; I admire it so much more now, knowing how we have the world accessible to us through knowledge and knowing that CUNY can help manifest that dream.
Want to travel? Let this article be your nudge that pushes you toward new horizons.
Dennys Paulino is a student at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, N.Y.
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