Epilogue

Incheon

Incheon is located on the northwest coast of South Korea, 28 km from Seoul. It is the third largest city in the country after Seoul and Busan and is home to the huge international airport from which my 26-hour journey home begins. But I have one last evening left.

I'm sitting in a café, drinking mango lemonade and trying to update my travel diary. (Spoiler: I didn't manage it, there are still a few entries missing). Before that, I fulfilled one last secret wish: taking photos!

In South Korea, unmanned photo studios are all the rage. You go into a small room, pay 5,000 won (3.50 euros) at the machine and then use a remote control to take photos of yourself. There are lots of funny glasses, hats and wigs at your disposal.

I didn't know exactly how to do it and the machines are in Korean, so I hadn't dared to try it before. But in Incheon the studio was completely empty and it was my last chance. So let's go! Even though I did it alone, I had a lot of fun, as you can see 😅

To finish off, I had my favorite dish, 갈비탕 (beef soup), which I was now able to order from the machine without having to switch to English. Then a final ice cream from the convenience store, and that was it. One month in South Korea over.

The journey home takes a long time, but goes smoothly. The best surprise: my unexpected collection committee at the train station in Bielefeld. ❤️ (The second best surprise: thanks to my lovely neighbor, all my plants survived my absence.)

Conclusion:

A stolen umbrella, a lost T-money card (for public transport), countless nights with far too little sleep, several near-death experiences with spicy food, a shattered cell phone screen, a messed up knee and a broken heart - that's how you could sum up the last month.

But also: countless small and large encounters with people who touched me with their warmth, hospitality and genuine interest.

Lessons that were everything I had hoped for and more. Progress in my language skills that makes me a little proud.

Not a single sunburn!!! Tried lots of new foods. Often stepped out of my comfort zone.

Many new insights into the history and present of a country that has lost none of its fascination for me even after 4 years of intensive study.

I'm going home with a lot of new insights. For example, that 5 pairs of shoes were definitely too many, because I always wore exactly 1 of them - the ones I can walk in the longest. 😅

Or the realization that you shouldn't plan every weekend and should leave room for flexibility if you want to make plans with people locally. That it takes a week or two to make friends at school if you don't live together.

And of course, it is definitely easier to discover and try new things when you have a local guide with you.

And so I'm back in Germany now, full of anticipation for you and the beautiful summer that awaits us. I'm even excited... I can't believe I'm typing this now... I'm even looking forward to work. 😅

Hugs and thanks for joining us.

Best regards, your Nina

End credits

Things that caught my eye but didn’t fit into a blog post:

• no public garbage cans (because you pay an extra tax per garbage bag and people would then use the public garbage cans to avoid the tax)
• a lot of packaging waste and confusing rules regarding recycling (you have to separate even more carefully than in Germany and if you do it wrong, there is a fine or the rubbish is not taken out of the room) - e.g. bones and eggshells are not organic waste but residual waste
• Orientation aids for the subway (entrances are numbered, app tells you which entrance is best for the desired route)

• You only need cash for street food and to top up your Tmoney card
• a central switch for electricity/light in the apartment directly next to the entrance door
• Umbrella dryers in front of shops, museums etc.
• Parasols at pedestrian crossings
• Public, free toilets everywhere that are clean!!
• Buses and trains with plenty of standing space and narrow rows of seats (makes more sense with so many people)
• lots of people regulating traffic, including in the subway and at the train station during rush hour, outside with whistles, inside with those flashing lights like those you see air traffic controllers use
• Air conditioning/ventilation is always on everywhere, which is why people don't wear sandals/shorts even in very hot weather
• strange combinations: garlic bread with sugar, sandwich with potato salad and jam, beer with sugar and cinnamon, all in all very sweet