Josh Friesen

Wow, what can I say? We’ve been back for 2 months now and it’s kinda hard to believe. I knew I would fall back into routine and Korea would just be a blur in the back of my mind but I was wrong. Every time I think about my trip to Korea I feel elated and my spirit revs up. I get these vivid pictures of us waiting for a bus, or a scene of one of the many field trips we took, or hanging out with the friends we made. Needless to say I really miss Korea. This trip has forever changed the way I feel and think about the world. Although it was only one place and time, I have definaltely been knocked off of my own perception of the world and it has been replaced with a more open one.

Basically, this trip’s value can not be measured with a price. The experience gained and the relationships formed can not be replaced or bought again. For sure I want to visit Korea again, but it would not and could not occur in the exact same way, with the same circumstances. It wouldn’t be the same. A first experience/impression can, as you know, only happen once. My trip to Korea (and as my friend said think of Korea as a part of Asia and further as a part of the world) will not be forgotten any time soon.

You know the saying “I wouldn’t wish that upon my greatest enemy”. It has a certain denotation and feeling attached to it. Well, I feel the exact opposite with my travel experience. I WISH everyone to travel and go out with an open mind and just experience. Don’t go with any expectations or premeditations; let the experience dictate what’s left in your mind after the trip ends.

Last but not least, I HAVE to thank all the people involved with sending us over there and taking care of us while we were there. Thank you Auburn Montgomery and specifically the Political Science and Public Administration department for choosing us and paying to send us over there. Without that huge help, I wouldn’t have been in a position to go myself. And thanks to the University of Ulsan for providing room, board, and meals and for taking us to all these cool places and letting us experience a tremendous time in Korea. Like, I said in a quote in the Montgomery East paper, you guys have a fantastic program. And like I said above, I WISH for this program to continue so that other people may have the chance to experience what we did in that wonderful month in July ‘08.

I leave you with some goodbye pictures at the airport coming home:

And here is where my roomate Gil Young and I left it: