Love on the Emerald Isle

After going to Germany as apart of the GAPP program, I knew I had been bit by the travel bug, and hard. From that moment I knew I wanted to see more places, after all, there was so much of the world out there left for me to explore. Being young and in high school made it difficult to travel, and it wasn’t until 2016 that I was able to venture outside of the United States again, this time on a solo trip to Ireland.

I traveled to Ireland through EF College Break, a travel agency that specifically works with young adults to help them make their travel dreams come true. When I first learned about EF, I couldn’t stop looking at their website. The very first time I went on and read about the different trips, I knew I was done for. I started working extra hours at my job to save money, and after eight months I booked my trip to Ireland. EF made my trip possible only because they allow their travelers to make monthly payments rather than pay everything up front. These monthly payments meant I could keep working and paying off my trip while I was in school, and even though making payments each month came with a lot of added stress, each time I logged in I felt a sense of joy knowing I would soon be traveling again.

Ireland was a beautiful country and I met so many amazing people. My experiences in Ireland were vastly different than my experiences in Germany: in Ireland I felt like a tourist. I was staying in hostels, traveling with a group of young Americans, some of who became great friends, and took a giant tour bus from city to city. Even though I felt like a tourist, I was so grateful for the things I got to see and do. To this day, the Cliffs of Moher are one of the most breathtaking sites I have ever seen.

The people of Ireland were also incredible. Everywhere we went, people were kind and welcoming. They taught us Irish dances and one particularly kind group of people sang us a going away song the day before our flights back to the States.  That memory stays with me, as do the many memories I made in pubs, on hikes, and in sharing a room with five other girls. Travel changes you. It helps you to grow and stretches your worldview far wider than you ever thought possible. It makes you feel incredible, yet so infinitely small at the same time. It makes you realize that no matter where you come from, or what language you speak, we are all one people, and when we stop focusing on the differences, we have far more in common than you could ever imagine.

Advertisement

Where It Really Started

So I’m sure it has crossed your mind at least once: what kind of person just decides to move to a country that they have never been to, and what initially sparked that sense of

adventure? I’ve thought about that myself, because I’d never been to Korea, and didn’t really know anyone who had. But I have had other experiences abroad which stick with me even to this day, inspiring me to see as much of the world as I can in the time I have on this earth.

When considering the experience that started it all, I can handsdown say it was my experience as an exchange student in Germany. When I was seventeen, I had the opportunity to participate in the German-American Partnership Program (GAPP) through my high school, which has a sister school in Gladenbach, Germany.

I started studying German in seventh grade as a part of the exploratory language program at my school. I was required to take an exploratory course in Spanish, German, and French. Once I went to high school, I was able to choose which language I would study, and I chose German, primarily because of my family ties to the country, as well as to Austria, another German speaking country.

I loved learning German, so when I learned about the exchange program, I immediately applied, and was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate. I had never been on a plane before, let alone left the country, and I was giddy with excitement.

2012 GAPP

Traveling to Germany helped me realize just how big the world is, and how much you can learn just by being somewhere new. Before traveling abroad, I had a lot of misconceptions about the world, primarily life in other countries. I learned quickly that my views, which had only been informed by my hometown upbringing, were more narrowing than what this great, broad world really had to offer.

After arriving back in the States, my time in Germany was all I could think about and all I could speak about. I knew that one day I wanted to see more of the world, no matter what it took. I began researching other places to go, continued learning German, and started reading travel literature. My life really was changed by that single trip. Perhaps that’s why when I learned about teaching English in Korea, it was the only thing I thought made sense for where I am right now in my life. Without the GAPP program, I don’t know that I would have even developed such a strong sense of adventure and a deep desire to travel the world.