There were, of course, some things that came as a shocker to me that I will mention in case you ever find yourself in South Korea one day. A major thing that I have noticed is that, in my experience, the people have all been extremely sweet in helping me find my way when lost and guiding me in the right direction. On the first night here, coming back from a restaurant, I had ventured too far from my dorm and only had a dead phone, rusty Korean and the navigational skills of a broken compass. Pro tip everyone: ask couples for directions, if last resort. I eventually had gotten the assistance of different people who helped me back to my dorm. Another major thing is the sense of unity you can get from the people living here. There is respect and pride for the environment, others, elders and themselves. It is commonly known here to leave your phone or wallet on the table, walk away and it will still be there untouched. There are also ice cream shops that have no workers; you just buy what you want and check it out yourself. It is an admirable trait to have as a society and I wish it could be seen more worldwide.
My takeaway from this experience is to never be afraid to take a leap in any direction. Always shoot for the moon because even still you might land among the stars. It's okay if things don't go your way at first; everything can be seen as a learning experience. You can always grow from a failed success, but you can never get back a missed opportunity. In conclusion, you should begin every new experience with an open mind because bias can often cloud fair judgment and could stop you from having an awesome time.
