When I think about my time in Korea and Sookmyung, two words come to my mind: opportunity and gratitude. Opportunity, because it was a great one for me. Gratitude, because, without KF＇s financing and my parents support, I would not have been able to seize and enjoy it. Through the door opened by the Korea Foundation I was able to explore a whole new world and a whole new culture. Although staying in Seoul, I was also able to visit Paju, Suwon, Gyeongju, and Busan. I was able to see beautiful palaces, mountains, valleys, rivers, temples, museums and was amazed by the profoundity and scope of Korean nature, culture and art.
Through Sookmyung＇s classes I was able to harness my academic knowledge of Korean customs both by the Understand Korea through Keywords classes with Chun Sehjae and the Taekwondo and Korean Sports Culture classes with Lee Cheon Hyeong, in a way that my travelling and studying experiences complemented each other. Sookmyung has, overall, a great structure, with a good environment inside campus to study, including a nice library, and the strong air conditioning in the main campus is perfect for hot day, and, since it stays right at the side of Hyochang Park, students always have a place to go to relax or stroll in nature. The dormitory is also great: my room was clean and well equipped, and it had a good air conditioner, something you just really can＇t live without when Korea is in it＇s summer season. The bathroom＇s shower is a hand/portable one, but, although it was quite a shock for me at first (being Brazilian, I didn＇t even know that hand showers existed), I ended up seeing that is works quite well, and it is able to release both hot and cold water. With both the dormitory and the campus structures being nice and well maintained, I was able to focus without any further problems in planning to and going to the places I wanted to visit, as well as to getting to know new places that are worth the visit and I didn＇t know about.
Another highlight of my journey were the SISS cultural activities, which were great and also granted me a precious insight into Korean culture. They included, besides the DMZ Trip I have talked about before, Korean Traditional Cuisine practice, Korean Traditional Calligraphy, K-pop culture class, K-pop dance practice, a visit to Gyeongbokdung palace with free hanbok trying and a Nanta Show, which was, for me, the best one of the cultural activities, and it is the funnier play I have ever watched.
Having spoken about so many of my adventures in Korea, I have to say, one more time, that all of this would not be possible without the help from Korea Foundation. I say that not only because of the financing, that was essential for the success of my journey and my studies in Korea, but also because of the gentle way by which they handled me. When I was in the process of preparing my documents I had a lot of doubts, problems and difficulties, and I had to ask many questions and send many emails to my correspondent in Korea Foundation to the point of being a nuisance for them, but in no moment I was mistreated, and all the doubts and questions were addressed with real attention and care. If I had not such a good correspondence with Korea Foundation and Sookmyung Women＇s University, which was also nice and gentle to me whenever I needed them, I am certain that I would not have been able to gather all of my documents and pass successfully through all of the difficult process I had. That＇s why I can say, without any doubt, that opportunity and gratitude are the first words that come to my mind when I think about my journey in Korea: I am grateful for the opportunity I was given, and I am grateful that, through the foundation and the help of my parents, I was able to come to Korea and fulfill something that before was only a dream, a dream that now is reality.