Minelli’s Journals

January 15, 2025

Chills and Thrills

     새해 복 많이 받으세요! It's 2025 can you believe it?! The new year is full of resolutions, reflections, and the realization that I'm almost halfway done with my exchange. It is intimidating to think about. That one day my life here will end, and I will have to pick up where I left off in my old one. It will all become memories and photos capturing only a small part of what this exchange is. Looking back on 2024, the accomplishments, losses, connections, and grief, I can say that I am truly blessed. I imagine what it would be like to talk to myself at the beginning of last year, the things I would tell her, everything that she will accomplish, and what I have done. I could say I did it all on my own, but that would be a lie. The love, guidance, generosity, and compassion of Rotary, my teachers, counselors, friends, and family, here and back home, I couldn't have made it this far without them. So, before I tell you of my bizarre adventures, let me once again show my gratitude.

     To those reading that are getting ready for their exchange, or thinking about going on one, cherish the people around you regardless. You will need the host dad who gives you time to form sentences. The girls that invite you to birthday parties and hangouts.  The girl that translates the school schedule for you and tells you what's for lunch. The coaches who give you a free uniform. The guy who reminds you to bow and greet people. The grandfather that gives you money every time you come over. The group that lets you in on the joke even if you won't get it. The bus drivers let you get on even when you forget to recharge your bus card.

     The host mom who stays up later than usual to see me come home after a long practice. Knowing I will be hungry, she cuts a bowl of sliced strawberries because that's the way I like them.  모든 것에 감사드립니다. 

     I left off my last journal talking about the warm, delightful weather in Laos. When I returned to Korea, it was getting colder, and as time went on people kept warning me about the impending snow. Being from Atlanta we don't get much snow, at least not until this year surprisingly. So, I was partially excited and partially dreading the cold temperatures. 

     A week after the Laos trip, Taiwan exchange student, Alex and I went on a Rotary trip to Naejang Mountain (내장산). Naejang is a hotspot for fall foliage and spring blossom. We went in early November, so we got to see the mountaintops were full of orange, red, and brown leaves. It was a lot of walking. We stopped to have a quick snack of Eomuk Guk, fish cake soup, and croffles (croissant waffles). Strange combo, I know. Littered amongst the mountain were various Buddhist temples with intricate designs and colors. It was cool seeing the history and the fall scenery. There was even a Buddhist hotel. You stay at the hotel and follow a Buddha's schedule, wake up early, eat, meditate, etc. The next trip I went on was back to Seoul. This time I stayed for 3 days at the Riize Hotel in Hongdae. I returned to the Seoul Tower but I also visited new places like COEX Mall, Changdeokgung Palace, and Gangnam. I learned how to navigate the subways even when we were packed in like sardines. I took the chance to buy winter clothes like gloves and a big puffer jacket. I had so much good food like tonkatsu (Fried pork cutlet) and so many cafes. I had such a fun time. 

     I came back home and returned to school and took a few more end of the year test. On December 13th, I had my last Korean class. Our teacher Ms. Choi decided to take us out to get Jajangmyeong (Black bean noodles). She took us to a popular restaurant that was in a scene of a movie.  So obviously when we got there it was busy. It was warm and cozy compared to the cold snow falling outside. The noodles tasted great and when we were done with our meal, we left to go to one of the top bakeries in Korea Inseongdang. Which was also a hotspot. We bought our treats and found a small cafe to stay in while the snow came down harder this time. We drank teas and coffee talking about winter break plans. When the snow let up, Ms. Choi took us to an area of the city with Japanese buildings, during their occupation in Korea. In this area, was a photoshoot studio. We went in and there was a cat to greet us at the door. We paid for about an hour took take photos and, in the studio, had cute accessories that you could put on. The photos came out great and after that, Ms. Choi to us back home.

      I went to one of my friend's birthday parties. She rented a Joy room, which is just a room with a TV, which also offers ramen and other snacks. Instead of getting those snacks, we order chicken and pizza. We cut the cake and played games afterwards and went to a karaoke room. It was a really fun time.

     5 days before Christmas, I went on a Rotary Ski trip to Muju mountain. I woke up early and packed my clothes to stay in a hotel overnight. We drove for a few hours and stop once for some lunch and eventually made it to the mountain. The first day wasn't as cold and the snow was all man made. I got on my gear and took a short lesson on Skiing. The instructor taught us how to break, how to fall, and how to get up. For my first time, I was very nervous. We went up on the ski lift and slowly going down the mountain. We were hitting the first curve of the mountain, and I went flying down super-fast. Which was honestly the scariest 5 seconds of my exchange. Of course, I implemented what I had learn but it wasn't working, so I fell before crashing into innocent bystanders. It took a second for me to recover from the trauma, but I got up and waited for the instructor to come down where I was. The rest of the way down I didn't fall again.  After a small break I went up again this time going slightly faster feeling more comfortable. Did I fall again? Of course, and this time it was a flat on my face. If I had to rate the experience, I would give it a 10/10 would do again! Rotary retreated back to the hotel after we returned our gear. The hotel was called Taekwondo won, which was a hotel that held Taekwondo matches. Around the building were multiple men, women and children in Taekwondo Doboks(Clothes).

     The next day, we packed up and checked out of the hotel, but before leaving to go back to the Ski resort, we made snowmen! Making my first snowman was certainly memorable. I didn't know it was that back breaking. Snow is not light at all. We got on the road and this time it was snowing hard and got drastically colder. Instead of Skiing, we decided to take a cable car up the mountain that had a cafe and a nice view at the top. The higher up we went the colder it got. After getting off the cable car, the wind was blowing so strong, there was snow everywhere and we couldn't see thing. In the cafe, we drank honey ginger tea to warm up before taking a cable car down and returning back home. 

     Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for. What the band and I had been practicing since I came to Korea, the Christmas festival. Christmas day we had off, the day after we had a day full of events. In the morning, each class transformed their rooms into booths. One class turned into a casino, and if you win you could go to the "bar" and get a drink (Like tea or a smoothie). Another room was a haunted house. Other rooms were more educational, my class focused on grammar games while another focus on geography. Overall, everyone did a great job, and I got a lot of snacks. In the lobby of the school, was a large maze with 8ft tall cardboard walls that you can't see over. The maze was huge and really well put together. My friends said it took 2 days. While classes were going from booth to booth, others were practicing their class dances. Yes, that's right, each class had to learn a dance to preform for the festival. I was surprised as well knowing I had to learn a dance 3 days before the festival. I was already apart of dance club, and band so I was lowkey stressed. Everyone chose a music video to learn a dance. Alot of the dances had props and costume changes. The production was surprisingly well done. There was a grammar rap, and another song dedicated to the teachers.  Honestly didn't know half of the students had it in them to dance as well as they did. Everyone really showed out. The band opened the performance. I sang four songs: APT, Thats what I like, When I was your man, and All I want for Christmas is you. I'm hoping the band teacher trust me with a Korean song when the school year starts again. After the band was the class performances and then ending the show was the dance club. We dance to Siren by Riize, a K-pop group. We did so good and then it was over. We had one more day at school, but it went by so fast I can't even remember it. That's when winter break started.

     For anyone still confused, a Korean school year starts in February or march and ends in December. In February, I will be a 3rd year (12th grade) because high school is only 3 years. The break has been really chill. To keep myself busy every day, I signed up for MMA classes. Monday through Friday, 7-9, I take variety of martial arts from wrestling to boxing to jiujitsu. 

     2 days ago, I switched host families for the first time. They were very welcoming and accommodating. My host mom has been helping me get adjusted to bus schedules and showing me the ropes.  I have already made plans with my 2 siblings that live in the same apartment. One of them just came back from their exchange to Australia. She knows English so she helps me out with my Korean sometimes. Speaking of, I'm getting a lot better in Korean now.  I can keep up with the speed of conversation, when I first got here, I had to ask people to slow down. Even if I might not understand every single word, I can identify most words and understand what they are saying in the context of the conversation. I can understand jokes now too, which is actually a much harder feat then you might think.

     Overall, it has been a really fun time doing all these things I've never done back at home. For a girl who goes to the beach every winter, I had a lot of fun in the snow. Each season brings a new set of challenges and experiences. This originally made me anxious, but everything finally seems to be settling into place and making sense. Knowing Korean makes it a lot easier as well.

Stay tuned for the next journals!  Until next time, and as always thank you for reading! Love ya!