I can't believe it's finally time for me to head to Korea. I was just in Korea 10 months ago, but it seems like it has been forever since I was last there. For some reason it seems like time has gone by super slowly this year. After spending the summer doing chemistry research at Yale, I spent a restful 5 days at home in upstate NY. Being at home is nice and comfortable, but since my family moved here after graduation I don't know anyone here. Peru is a small town, so there are no current Yalies from here - I think that Yale Facebook says the closest ones live in Montreal. So while I like being at home, after a while boredom starts setting, especially on weekdays when my dad works. Hence my decision to stay in Korea for 5 weeks after my program ends (see above post).
I'm really looking forward to being a second-time Light Fellow because I made a lot of friends during my 6 month stay in Korea last year. Being in Korea for that long was hard on me at first because I really didn't know anyone. I have lots of relatives in Korea, true, but I don't really talk to most of them. My mom was born late, almost 15 years after her other siblings, so she wasn't really close to any of them growing up. After reading the blogs of other Light Fellows who were awarded multiple fellowships, it seems like they enjoyed and got more out of the second experience. I'm hoping that that will be the case for me as well.
I'll be taking the ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont, where I'll fly to JFK. Since I'm a Silver Elite member on Delta, I got bumped up to first class on that flight! After a 4 hour layover there, I'll be headed to Seoul on Korean Air. I'll actually get into Korea 2 days later (!) because my flight leaves JFK really late at night and arrives in Korea super early in the morning (3am). I'm hoping that I won't be too jet lagged because I have TONS of stuff to do when I get there. I have to find a place to live, register for an Alien Registration Card (ARC), meet with some old Level 3 friends and a friend from Yale. I could do this all later, but some of my friends are flying out of Korea the day after, and since I'm arriving on Friday I didn't want to wait until the following Monday to find a place to live and register with immigration. Without my ARC, I won't be able to open a bank account or sign up for a cell phone contract, and it usually takes about 2 weeks to process, so I want to get that done as soon as possible. My first day in Korea is going to be a long one - I just hope I can make it through!
Well, it's probably about time for me to head out. I'll talk to everyone again on the other side!
I'm really looking forward to being a second-time Light Fellow because I made a lot of friends during my 6 month stay in Korea last year. Being in Korea for that long was hard on me at first because I really didn't know anyone. I have lots of relatives in Korea, true, but I don't really talk to most of them. My mom was born late, almost 15 years after her other siblings, so she wasn't really close to any of them growing up. After reading the blogs of other Light Fellows who were awarded multiple fellowships, it seems like they enjoyed and got more out of the second experience. I'm hoping that that will be the case for me as well.
I'll be taking the ferry across Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont, where I'll fly to JFK. Since I'm a Silver Elite member on Delta, I got bumped up to first class on that flight! After a 4 hour layover there, I'll be headed to Seoul on Korean Air. I'll actually get into Korea 2 days later (!) because my flight leaves JFK really late at night and arrives in Korea super early in the morning (3am). I'm hoping that I won't be too jet lagged because I have TONS of stuff to do when I get there. I have to find a place to live, register for an Alien Registration Card (ARC), meet with some old Level 3 friends and a friend from Yale. I could do this all later, but some of my friends are flying out of Korea the day after, and since I'm arriving on Friday I didn't want to wait until the following Monday to find a place to live and register with immigration. Without my ARC, I won't be able to open a bank account or sign up for a cell phone contract, and it usually takes about 2 weeks to process, so I want to get that done as soon as possible. My first day in Korea is going to be a long one - I just hope I can make it through!
Well, it's probably about time for me to head out. I'll talk to everyone again on the other side!
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