Seoul Searching

I traveled to Korea because I wanted to escape where I was.
When I travel abroad, I reinvent myself. I start with a new wallet. Move onto new bags, new notebooks, new stationery, new clothes, maybe even a new personality.
People always say the journey is very important, and others claim that it may be more important than the destination. I tend to disagree to some extent. If you have a bad destination your journey will never be that valuable.
Seoul was a location I chose with a purpose. It is dear to my heart. The interesting thing is that I teeter back and forth a lot between being out going and staying to myself. However, Seoul was a destination that made me want to go out, and the staff and people at CIEE drew out parts of me that I never thought about.
It's like this. I've always wanted to go to Korea, learn Korean, and travel by myself and answer to no one. This destination meant that I was looking for answers about myself. Arriving in Korea, CIEE provided everything to make that search possible. They provided the necessary structure to make me feel comfortable, while allowing me to move about and do what it is I wanted to do.
The journey that resulted was one where it was only possible because of CIEE. It was nice to go with a program because the program gave you a reason to talk with the people that came with you. It helped you branch out if you needed the extra comfort. CIEE however also allowed you to do what it was you need to do. If you wanted to go off by yourself to make friends outside of the program, you would not have been held back. It was truly a free feeling experience.

I would recommend the program highly. The staff at CIEE Korea truly does nothing besides provide a great experience.