This week has been a week full of celebration. My birthday was Wednesday and all week the friends I have made here in Busan made me feel celebrated and loved along with my friends and family back home. Before I left for South Korea, last spring, a guy at Market Street asked me if I was excited to be turning 21 this year. I told him not really since I’d be in a different country and it wouldn’t be the same or as big of a deal as turning 21 in America, but I’ve truly had a special week and was excited to celebrate with my friends.

For my Wednesday adventure this week I went to Taejongdae Park, another costal park in a mountain with views on views. I sat on a beach for an hour in the sun, took a boat ride along the coastline, and hiked up to an observatory and a light house. I got to watch the sunset on my birthday out over the water, with the mountains in the background and shipping boats sitting the sea. It was truly one of the most incredible birthdays I’ve experienced yet.

When I got back to my dorm that night, my friends from Mexico surprised me with little tacos cakes, sticky notes all over my dorm door, and sang me happy birthday in English and Spanish. I’m so thankful for them and the friendship they’ve shown me here in Korea and also the care they’ve shown me as well as the day after I turned 21 I caught a cold. That didn’t stop my week though or my classes. Thursday I spent the day with my studio classmates doing site analysis, walking around in circles, and then sitting down at those really low tables eating soup and kimchi with everyone. That night we met again to go over the two groups site work and my studio surprised me with a cake for my birthday as well and sang to me in Korean. Through my struggles in my studio class, I’m really thankful for the kindness they show me and the efforts they go to to always make me feel at home in Busan.

Sunday morning the girls from Mexico and I got together for brunch, for my birthday again. We made pancakes and eggs with everything in them. I’ve said it several times already and I’ll probably say it a couple more times before I’m done, but I’m so thankful for these girls.

Aside from fun birthday celebrations, things have been wrapping up around here with final quizzes this next week before final classes the week after that. It’s the end of November and I only have four weeks left here in Korea. My mom gets here Monday and I’m so excited to be able to share a week here with her and show her some of my favorite places in one of my favorite cities now.

After struggling in some of my classes and talking it out, I’ve come to realize that academically I may not take as much from this semester as I initially thought or wanted. Some of my classes have been easy and some have been confusing and frustrating. My take away from this experience, this semester, is going to come from the adventures I have outside of school and the things I learn from the people I live and work with. After working with seven other people of a large group project this entire semester and dealing with a language barrier with six of them, I’ve gained a lot of insight on group work and the long process it can be trying to hear and give recognition to everyone’s opinions and ideas. I’ve learned about korean culture, some of the good and the bad, the way they think about design and their urban environment. The city, and how you think and interact within a city is completely different in Korea than in the United States, but there are things to learn and take away. I may not leave this semester with what I initially thought I would, but I believe I will be leaving Korea with a much greater experience and the knowledge that will help me to one day be a better architect.

I’m really excited for this week and getting the chance to share Korea and Japan with my mom. Wish we were gonna be having turkey and stuffing along with everyone back home, but I think rice and bulgogi will suffice. Happy Thanksgiving from Korea.