Welcome to Korea Part II

The rest of the group has officially landed in the country and made it safely to the Seoul National University campus.  They were so happy to get off the plane and be in Korea that they let me take a picture of them - very kind of them, after three days of traveling!

Welcome to Korea!

We're here and checked in to the Seoul National University Faculty House!

Well, that's not quite true.  Everyone that was coming from State College was delayed getting into Detroit and did not make the plane.  They will arrive Monday afternoon. 

Everyone else in the group, those traveling from other locations around the U.S., are here safe and sound. We will post again once the entire group is here.

Introduction: Melanie, Assistant Professor at Penn State University

One of the hats that I wear in my current position is "Coordinator for Programs in Latin America."  No wonder I receive so many puzzled looks when I tell people that I'm traveling to Korea with a class this summer!

It is my great pleasure to take part in this experience.  One of the best parts of my job is witnessing students' global learning.  It's so much work to organize student travel yet so rewarding to see how it changes people's lives. 

Korea is brand new territory for me.   Call me a geek, but I really enjoy doing the "literature review" on a country - learning about the history, culture and language through books, movies, social media and any other type of media that you can think of. 

Years of experience have taught me that an international trip is much more enjoyable when you have more knowledge about where you are.  So on any given morning you can catch me making hot tea and jamming out to an online K-pop station, or watching a new KWOW video while I eat lunch.

When I'm not geeking out on international travel, I enjoy sewing and quilting, reading, gardening and my dog, Shiner.