One day in mid-February, before the spring buds had even sprouted, I set off to a place I had never been to before. It was the Czech Republic, a place I knew only as being famous for its beautiful cityscape and the birthplace of several renowned classical composers.
 

 

New challenges faced in college life

After spending the first half of my college life in the aftermath of COVID-19, and having spent a year as an intern due to the subsequent burnout, returning to school felt unfamiliar. Seeing the bustling school and the active streets of Cheongpa-dong, I thought it would be a waste to spend my youth burned out. Originally, I wanted to finish the remaining semester quickly and get on the path to employment, but my thoughts gradually changed. In particular, I realized that living abroad for a long time would be difficult unless I did it as a college student, so after much consideration, I applied to be an exchange student.
Which regional school should I apply to? While I was thinking carefully, the happiest moment during my college life suddenly flashed through my mind. The first thing that came to mind was the memory of participating in the on-campus amateur orchestra club S.O.Phi.A. In that club, I practiced and performed various classical composers' pieces on stage. That experience made me feel like I had gotten closer to European countries which had seemed distant. Driven by a desire to actually go there, I decided to apply to Europe as an exchange student and ended up going to the Metropolitan University Prague, located in Prague, Czech Republic.
 

 

Days of encountering unexpected difficulties

Since I knew the classes for exchange students would be conducted in English, I wasn't too worried about the fact that the Czech Republic is a non-English speaking country. However, there were many times when I didn't understand the class contents because the classes were conducted in European English, not the American English I was used to. In particular, I was anxious when I couldn't find the right time to speak up during discussion-style classes. Outside of class, people spoke in a language I could not understand, and this led to misunderstandings and sometimes people got annoyed with me. I also had to experience being separated from everything I was familiar with. The school and dormitory system were uncomfortable and the food didn't suit my taste. It was depressing that I had to buy food every day at an Asian market, paying more than twice the price I would pay in Korea. On top of that, I would get discouraged when I saw my Korean friends having a good time without me on social media.
 

 

No more hesitation

Nonetheless, I continued to move forward despite the challenges to gain meaningful experiences there. Rather than staying alone in my dormitory room, I would visit a museum or bookstore before or after school and go to the lobby of the dormitory and talk to the people I met, asking them what country they were from and how they were doing these days.
On weekends, I went on a trip by bus or train according to my planned schedule. I didn't hesitate to go anywhere, from places near the border to regions that required a long journey. Sometimes I went with a clear purpose, such as visiting an art gallery or watching a performance, but I also went for trivial reasons, such as just walking down the street, feeling the atmosphere of the country, or having a delicious meal.
I took on a somewhat reckless challenge. I wanted to join an orchestra club while studying abroad, but there was no such club at the school that I was attending. So I searched for schools with orchestra clubs nearby and sent them an email saying I wanted to be a part of it. As a result, I heard that one school needed a viola player, so I joined an ensemble and performed in four performances.
 

 

The days when I got to know myself

The past semester of my exchange student life was a time when I was able to find my own "beloved life." Watching performances and absorbing myself in them, looking around pretty stores that I found by chance and hearing small but interesting stories from people brought me happiness. In the end, I found happiness in a place, the Czech Republic, that seemed distant but was actually not too far away, and I realized it was sprouting in our daily lives.