when I lived in America I was constantly
surrounded by different cultures and
people I lived in Miami Florida a place
with a large Hispanic population I am
Cuban and a majority of the people there
are also Cuban however there are also
many people from different countries
like Puerto Rico to Colombia two
countries in the Caribbean I grew up
seeing this whole mix of cultures and in
Miami it’s not hard to find one minute
you can be walking down the streets of
Little Havana in the next you’re in
Little Haiti when I moved to Korea in
2013 I definitely fell out of place
compared to my previous home there was a
lack of cultural diversity and I barely
saw any different people I remember
walking down the streets of downtown
rarely seeing any foreigners and while
of course loved Korea when I first came
here it still felt like something was
missing when I first came I had the
feeling of being stuck between two
cultures and not really fitting into
either of them typical of an
international student when I was in
Korea I felt that I needed to adapt to
Korean culture and when I was in America
I knew that it wouldn’t fit in with
other kids my age who lived there I knew
I could never fully fit in with either
place however at first that was a big
struggle of mine
I knew I’d look different from my peers
but I didn’t always want to be
classified as the foreign girl last year
I had the opportunity to participate in
a soccer tournament in Seoul with the
Busan International foreign school girls
soccer team it was a three-day
tournament and I was doing a homestay
with a girl from a school in Seoul
during it I played on a team with girls
from Norway England Japan Korea and
America and played against girls from
schools in Japan and Pakistan sitting
with the other girls on the team it was
interesting to listen to different
accents in different languages I hadn’t
heard in person before everyone was so
everyone was so nice and welcoming that
I didn’t even I didn’t even remember
that we were all different we got along
just like any other group of people I
wanted to share this story with you
today because this is one of the many
experiences I have been able to enjoy
this living in Korea that has shaped Who
I am today I have always been open to
interacting with different people
however I never had the chance to do so
on the scale and living in Korea has
been a much more international
experience for me I see myself now as
part of a
global community rather than just as a
member of the country I am in living
abroad and traveling has changed how I
view the world and my place it in I not
only have a stronger connection to other
cultures but an appreciation and not
only have a stronger connection to my
culture but an appreciation in
connection to cultures other than my own
for much of the time I have lived in
Korea I would have never dreamed of
doing half of the things I’ve been able
to experience about two years ago I want
an exchange trip to Guangzhou China and
it was the first time I had traveled
without my family and the first time I
had participated in an exchange I got to
live like a local in a city I had no
previous knowledge of and that’s what
made the experience so memorable for me
I enjoyed having an authentic experience
rather than sightseeing and I got to
learn a lot about Guangzhou that I
probably wouldn’t have been able to
learn if I hadn’t done the exchange
living under the same roof as a local
from the city made it very easy for me
to experience all aspects of the region
when I ignored my discomfort to immerse
myself in a new culture or even be
exposed to it I was able to enjoy
enriching experiences that I remember
for the rest of my life I realize now
that I don’t need to force myself to
belong to anywhere and that I can still
be a part of a global community while
staying true to where I come from five
years later as I look back at who I was
when I first came to Korea I see a
different person than Who I am today
thank you
[Applause]
surrounded by different cultures and
people I lived in Miami Florida a place
with a large Hispanic population I am
Cuban and a majority of the people there
are also Cuban however there are also
many people from different countries
like Puerto Rico to Colombia two
countries in the Caribbean I grew up
seeing this whole mix of cultures and in
Miami it’s not hard to find one minute
you can be walking down the streets of
Little Havana in the next you’re in
Little Haiti when I moved to Korea in
2013 I definitely fell out of place
compared to my previous home there was a
lack of cultural diversity and I barely
saw any different people I remember
walking down the streets of downtown
rarely seeing any foreigners and while
of course loved Korea when I first came
here it still felt like something was
missing when I first came I had the
feeling of being stuck between two
cultures and not really fitting into
either of them typical of an
international student when I was in
Korea I felt that I needed to adapt to
Korean culture and when I was in America
I knew that it wouldn’t fit in with
other kids my age who lived there I knew
I could never fully fit in with either
place however at first that was a big
struggle of mine
I knew I’d look different from my peers
but I didn’t always want to be
classified as the foreign girl last year
I had the opportunity to participate in
a soccer tournament in Seoul with the
Busan International foreign school girls
soccer team it was a three-day
tournament and I was doing a homestay
with a girl from a school in Seoul
during it I played on a team with girls
from Norway England Japan Korea and
America and played against girls from
schools in Japan and Pakistan sitting
with the other girls on the team it was
interesting to listen to different
accents in different languages I hadn’t
heard in person before everyone was so
everyone was so nice and welcoming that
I didn’t even I didn’t even remember
that we were all different we got along
just like any other group of people I
wanted to share this story with you
today because this is one of the many
experiences I have been able to enjoy
this living in Korea that has shaped Who
I am today I have always been open to
interacting with different people
however I never had the chance to do so
on the scale and living in Korea has
been a much more international
experience for me I see myself now as
part of a
global community rather than just as a
member of the country I am in living
abroad and traveling has changed how I
view the world and my place it in I not
only have a stronger connection to other
cultures but an appreciation and not
only have a stronger connection to my
culture but an appreciation in
connection to cultures other than my own
for much of the time I have lived in
Korea I would have never dreamed of
doing half of the things I’ve been able
to experience about two years ago I want
an exchange trip to Guangzhou China and
it was the first time I had traveled
without my family and the first time I
had participated in an exchange I got to
live like a local in a city I had no
previous knowledge of and that’s what
made the experience so memorable for me
I enjoyed having an authentic experience
rather than sightseeing and I got to
learn a lot about Guangzhou that I
probably wouldn’t have been able to
learn if I hadn’t done the exchange
living under the same roof as a local
from the city made it very easy for me
to experience all aspects of the region
when I ignored my discomfort to immerse
myself in a new culture or even be
exposed to it I was able to enjoy
enriching experiences that I remember
for the rest of my life I realize now
that I don’t need to force myself to
belong to anywhere and that I can still
be a part of a global community while
staying true to where I come from five
years later as I look back at who I was
when I first came to Korea I see a
different person than Who I am today
thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: