Living on the Other Side of the World in South Korea

Contributed by: Maria Teniza ’27

Living on the other side of the world has been an amazing experience.

Where the restaurants, photoshoots, and other fun activities are 24 hours- there is always something to do; whether it is ping pong, baseball, arcades, pool, thrift shopping, jazz cafes, pop-up events, parks, rivers, or hiking. A lifetime experience could be lived in a day.

The best days are meeting new people in the most intricate moments and finding ways to connect. Everyone is interested in getting to know who you are and showing their version of the city. Everyone is adventurous and ready to go on the move for the next spontaneous event. There is never a dull moment.

And there are also other smaller moments that make this journey so wonderful. The heated seats at bus stops, detailed lattes & desserts, locals helping me get around, or regular restaurant owners that give me free egg when I dine in. There are so many heartfelt flicks of time that make me stop and realize how much I’ll miss my time here. After this realization, I become eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to live through this.

Studying abroad while being a student Albertus Magnus College has allowed me to experience a life and culture outside my own. This is relatively nothing to what I’m used to back home, but I already feel settled in to my life here. I do feel like I belong here, and there is still so much left to experience.

It is vastly different from what I’m used to back home, in the best way possible.