conclusions and introductions

some concluding thoughts:
studying abroad was rad. it was a party everyday. never in my life have i ever spent my money and my time so luxuriously and freely. throughout my entire 5 months abroad, i saw musicals and ballets, visited museums and markets, travelled to 9 different cities and 4 small towns, watched 98357928579246 movies in my room, slept an ungodly number of hours, ate all sorts of food from around the world, walked around parks and gardens for hours, read for pleasure, and filled an entire journal.

it was good.

i am satisfied (there are still a few things i wish i did. but my time in europe got cut off short because i stupidly jumped on the "internship train" because all my obnoxiously overambitious friends were doing something productive this summer...) and i hope i never have to travel around european cities ever again, unless it's strictly for work/business. i don't say this to sound pretentious. i say this because i really don't want to do it again. don't get me wrong--i absolutely loved travelling around europe--all of the cities are beautiful and they all put me in awe. but they also gave me a frightening realization of how ridiculously opulent lifestyles in the West are. the shopping, the tourist commercialism, the freakishly fancified european version of McDonalds that somehow seems to stalk you wherever you are travelling, the designer brand stores that taunt you as you walk by, and the way some college girls in London dress like prostitutes--all of this i will not miss. now that i've seen a few old castles and palaces, my chapter in europe is complete. something i'll definitely miss, however, are all the free art museums. seeing all that art has inspired me to get back in touch with making music and writing. it's amazing how much visual inspiration can stir your desire to create in other mediums.

back to other things i will not miss--as a young asian girl travelling around europe, i became aware of a few things i no longer wish to tolerate: if i ever hear another non-asian man greet me with a "gonnichiwa" or "neehow" ever again, i will not hesitate to kick him where it hurts most. if someone ever asks me whether i'm from the north or the south, after i tell them i'm Korean, i will directly ask them: "are you a moron?" or i might just reply: "neither." and if i ever have to pay 8 pounds (equivalent to almost $14) for a shitty dish that is supposed to be some form of Korean food, i will throw that bowl against the wall and leave. no more tolerance.

academically, studying abroad was a joke. i now fully appreciate how hard american students work. (i wasn't particularly impressed by the British students i came across.) but because i did the bare minimum--going to class and submitting whatever i could get done--my work ethic is now nonexistent. going back to Philadelphia this friday to work full time is going to destroy me for the first couple weeks.

i am starting to realize that this blog has a wider audience than i initially thought it did. for those readers who are younger than i am, here's my advice: you will start to feel like you can't breathe on your campus by your third year in college. go abroad. it is a beautiful breath of fresh air. if school is stressing you out, it means you need a vacation. studying abroad is your chance. just do it and thank me later.

Philadelphia--i hear you are a hot, humid, melting mess right now. i've been living in cold, windy environments for nearly eight months. you better straighten up your act and have some mercy on me when i arrive. i don't like sweating.