Korea will forever be part of my heart and the lore of my life! I can’t believe that I got to live there for 3 months, soaking up the culture and food (and so much rain, fall of 2025 was WILD). Although my list to places to travel within the country and the foods I wish I’d eaten has only grown, I’m proud of myself for enrolling in FULL TIME classes (literally 20 hours a week of language school!!) and navigating a foreign culture for months, primarily on my own. I had to organize housing, enrollment, and transportation…as well as purchasing food at the local markets and making it at home, or eating out and ordering in a mix of English and broken Korean. I made so many friends, progressed in my Korean study, and generally had the best time. Of course it was difficult, and I cried and got sick and missed things about home. But I will NEVER regret this season.
Traveling with a camera is actually not easy, at least with professional gear. It’s bulky and heavy and there are restrictions on where and how you can pack the lenses and batteries etc. I almost didn’t take my gear, burt did end up packing a camera body and two lenses. And although I only used it handful of times, I’m thankful for the photos I do have!!
Meet Mia, a fellow American (one of just a handful I met!!) who also studied in my school’s KLEC (Korean Language Education Center) program. She brought a fun and funky fashion sense, and tho we didn’t hang out as much as I wish we could have, we enjoyed a magical summer evening at the DDP in a fashion inspired photo session!!
