Saying Goodbye

As the time of my study abroad at Ewha Woman's University draws to a close, I have found that the hardest part of this experience is saying goodbye. It sounds very cliché, but it's the truth. The countdown began a month ago, and time seems to have sped up for me and my friends during this final month together. As it became less than a week, the tears came and realization was hitting. Hard.

I couldn't believe that all of my time for the past 4 months were spent in Seoul, where I needed to adjust to the lifestyle, culture, education system, and living accommodations. Not only is it hard to say goodbye to the country, but it's the hardest to part from friends. The friends I've made here were the biggest factors in making the experience what it was--the best time of my life. They were there to experience all of my first times: living away from home, living with a roommate, going on spontaneous adventures in the middle of the night, first birthday away from family and first Thanksgiving away from home. I cry hard knowing that we are all separated from each other and not knowing when the next time we are going to see each other. These connections became so strong in such a short period of time, and the emotional investments for these relationships show how far we have come these past few days. Crying and feeling depressed about the ending is something that I wasn't prepared for or even thought might happen to me, but it did. I'm not sure how to deal with it, but I find that talking about your experiences and keeping busy really helps.

I've also learned a few lessons that I'd like to share with you as you prepare for your study abroad :)

1. Keep a Study Abroad Journal and document EVERY SINGLE DAY of your time abroad. This little project may seem very tedious, but you will be so grateful to have done it at the end. I brought a journal with me and wrote everything I did and felt every single day. Reading back on it, I can remember small and big details from any day that I was abroad. When we remember our memories, we tend to just generalize the most important details. But with your journal, you can remember the small moments that may have touched your heart--like a bake sale or the time you randomly went to McDonald's at midnight with a friend and had the most heart-to-heart conversation you ever had in your life. But if writing's not your thing, you can try taking pictures everyday to remember your time abroad :)

2. Even if you feel sad (towards the end), push through and have fun with your friends. Time went by so fast and you don't want to remember a depressing ending. Make the most of your time with your friends having fun and creating more memories to look back on.

3. One of the things I wish I had done more was travel to other countries. If it's possible, go and visit other neighboring countries. I didn't because of my class schedules and tight money budget. Who says when you study abroad you only have to be in one country? :) But if money's tight and it doesn't look like it would work out, then explore and make the most of your time in your host country.

Those are the most important things I wanted to finish off with, and I hope you find this helpful! :)

-Kula