Closing

Wow! It's been a hectic few weeks between finals, closing ceremony, flying back home, and adjusting back to American time. Again, sorry for the extreme lack of posts!

To sum up the final weeks at Ewha, I'd say they were bitter-sweet. I was definitely ready to come back home to America, but at the same time, it was really hard to leave what I called "home" for 6 weeks. My dorm was my home and Seoul was beginning to feel more and more comfortable each day. Also, just as I started getting closer to friends, it was time to say goodbye. During the last couple weeks I started spending time with 3 girls from Hong Kong. My closest friend, Pat, was in my first 2 classes and was one of the nicest people I met while at Ewha. She introduced me to 2 of her friends, Hangie and Keyman, and invited me to shop with them a lot. We went to Myung-Dong, one of the many towns in Korea dedicated to shopping, and it was the first time I met Hangie and Keyman. One of the things I loved about them was that they were so friendly; It was not awkward at all getting to know them. Because of their personalities and outlooks on the world, they treated me as if we'd been friends for a year already. Pat told me that Hong Kong girls were crazy when it came to shopping, but I definitely underestimated her warning. I began to learn that they loved cosmetics and any store that sold cosmetics. Every cosmetics shop we passed, even if we'd already been in the same one in a different place that same night, they'd go right in and buy something. We'd been in these shops so many times that I began to memorize the prices for items! Shopping with Pat, Hangie, and Keyman was definitely one of the most memorable times I had while at Ewha. They're English was so good and they were all so funny; I never stopped laughing. I think the hardest thing about leaving Korea was that I had to say goodbye to my new friends.

The closing ceremony was sad, but exciting for me. It was the last time the whole program was to be all together. We all got black gowns and caps for "graduating," (as you can see in the pictures below), and Kasey and I joked that we at least got some kind of graduation. I took lots of pictures with friends and classmates and was the second person to "walk across the stage." (They went in alphabetical order by first names). It was kind of sad because the first time I graduated, my parents couldn't be there to see it. The music class practiced Arirang, (Korea's national song), by playing traditional instruments, and performed during the ceremony. They also wore traditional Korean clothing called Hanboks. We all took a program picture and as I said goodbye for the last time to many of the people I'd spent the last 6 weeks with, it began to hit me that I was going home soon.

The day before I left I spend the night at my friend, Hoi-Jung's house. Hoi-Jung was a foreign exchange student at my school this past school year, and I was so excited to switch roles with her and meet her family and share her culture. Her family was so hospitable and welcoming. I had home-cooked meals and they were delicious! I will definitely miss Korean food. Hoi-Jung and her father took me to the airport and I was starting my long "journey" back home. I was ecstatic because neither of my two bags were overweight and I was allowed to have 3 carry-ons, since they were all small. I didn't have to pay a cent extra for all my luggage that was coming home! My family and my best friend, Kim, met me at the airport with signs and ballons that said, "Welcome Home!" It was so nice to see them, and I really did feel like I was home.

My summer at Ewha was one of the best experiences in my life. The program itself was very good and educational, but the whole package of being in Korea and being there by myself was worthwhile. I learned a lot about people from all over the world, not to mention I learned alot from them, and I learned a lot about Korea. Most importantly, I learned more about myself and my identity. I feel a lot closer to my Korean identity, which is important to me. My language skills have gotten so much better, and I feel my connection with Korea is stronger now. My American identity is still strong and the same as before, and my adoptive identity is too.

I had some deep conversations with some of my Korean-Adopted friends that made me look deeper into my feelings and identity. To keep confidentiality, I won't go into too much specifics, but I thought I'd share some interesting points of view and thoughts. For the most part, my friends and I think it can be difficult being adoptees. In America, we're not fully comfortable simply because we're not part of the majority race. Looking toward Korea, however, we're not completely comfortable either because we can't speak the language and we're looked at as foriegners. This, therefore, leads to our questioning of, "Where do we fit in?" My friend and I joke that we should inhabit our own island somewhere where only Korean-adoptees are allowed because only then would we feel completely comfortable. Even though we joke, there's some part of it that's serious. We would obviously never want to live this way forever, but sometimes it gets so hard finding our identites and where we "fit in" that these thoughts become present. This is why many of us love Camp MuJiGae so much. (MuJiGae is a camp in Albany once a year specifically for Korean adoptees. Many of us grew up going to this camp and still go every summer). For 4-5 days out of the whole year, we, Korean adoptees, are the majority. Back to the discussions I had with my friends, we all agreed we would never trade anything in the world for our adoptive families or our lives we've been given. We all know our parents are the ones who raised us for the majority of our lives, but reconnecting with our biological families does come up often. Two of my friends that I talked with reconnected with their biological families and shared their stories with me. Both stories were very different and have helped factor into my decision of whether I want to do "The Search" or not. Being honest, I don't really prefer to search right now. I'm still completely confused about if I even want to at all. It's a difficult thing to think about and definitely, in my opinion, risky. There are so many different scenarios that can occur, ones that I've thought about and also ones that I've heard about. These talks with my friends, however, definitely helped me feel more comfortable with my adoptive identity, knowing that other adoptees think the same thoughts as I do.

I've really matured since my time at Ewha, and I think my parents have definitely noticed. My mom said to me today that she believes learning comes from personal experiences and she used my Ewha experience as an example. She said it seemed that I learned more personal, life-long facts while at Ewha and in Korea than during my highschool years. I agree.

I've learned so much by meeting so many different people with different backgrounds and by experiencing my motherland first-hand. My first trip to Korea with my family was great and memorable, but this trip was also important. Being in Korea without my family helped me to be independent and to rely on myself for the first time in my life.

I had an amazing time at Ewha and in Korea and I would definitely encourage anyone to participate in the Ewha program! (They suggested to us numerous times to tell everyone at home about Ewha, haha). I would especially recommend the Ewha International Summer Co-Ed Program to Korean-adopted Americans. I had a fun summer full of memorable experiences, great classes, and life-long friends from all around the world.

Thank you to all those who have kept up with this blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it! If you have any questions or comments in the future or want to know more about Ewha, Korea, and/or my experience, please e-mail me and I will do my best to give helpful replies!

Thanks again,
Allie