The last week of Winter term is coming, with some final school work to be done. Though it is a busy season of the year for many students, I decided to give myself some quality time to relax and enjoy the beauty of early spring; a trip to Washington DC!
Because it was an impromptu trip, I booked accommodation and bus tickets just before the journey. I reserved a hostel which was one of the items on my traveling bucket list! It seemed cool that I could meet various people and have a fun night together. After packing a bag, I started off to DC. DC was always one of the place that I was interested in. Not only does the city has amazing museums and art galleries to visit, but it has a huge number of historical buildings as well. You cannot talk about DC without mentioning its historical importance and the numerous sites of DC. I am a huge history fan – explains why I am in Philly – and that was enough reason for me to get excited.
The bus is almost never late in Korea, but for US I heard that delays are pretty common. I constantly checked the website for delay updates, and got on the Flixbus to DC. The Union Station of DC was impressive, I actually liked it better than Grand Central Station. After checking in to the hostel, I threw my stuff in the drawer and hurried out for my trip.
My first destination was, obviously, National Mall. National Mall is the site of collective historical buildings and monuments including the White house, Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Since I did not plan the trip very thoroughly in advance, I couldn’t get in to see the White House up close. But just looking across the fence, the White House was cool enough. From there, I walked to Washington monument, the tallest architectural structure of DC. Though the design was simple, that actually made it more trendy and beautiful. Reading the descriptions and history from the internet about the places and structures added to the fun.
I walked all around the National Mall, including Korean War Veteran Memorial, Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorial, took a good look at US Capitol building which unfortunately seemed to be going through partial reconstruction. Walking around the city, I once more realized that I am experiencing so much here in the US that I never went through in Korea.
Coming back to Philly, I had time to think about how amazing of a time I am having here. I am not going to lie, being an exchange student in the US requires a lots of things such as time, money, personal efforts, etc. And sometimes I thought maybe Philly is not “the best” place to be in among American cities. But still, I love the life I am having here. I love every moment that I spent here with new people in a new environment. It is a period of my life that I won’t regret!
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