Sung-Min
Eating at the DUC I would watch the great amount of people pass by, so many different backgrounds, cultures and distinctive qualities that they brought from across oceans or long drives to make Emory what it is. It was that day walking to my room that I would meet Sung-min. We had talked before, but not for very long, so I took to the opportunity to get to know her better. One of the things that really stood out as striking for me was when she told me how it was fourteen hours to get from Busan, South Korea to Atlanta Georgia. It made my three and a half hour flight seem miniscule in comparison. Since I did not know much about Busan, I would ask her if she could describe it for me. She would describe it with the same enthusiasm as Suzanne or Juan, but you could feel she liked it. “Busan is near the beach and very relax”, the beach being one of the things I miss the most (the nearest beach being hours away) I would understand the importance she placed upon it, it was a way to relax, to think and to have fun with friends.
Talking about Emory, she seemed very content. She liked the campus, she likes Georgia as it feels very laidback and she was happy with the school academically, she likes how it’s academically rigorous but not to the degree of not being able to enjoy her experience. On the other hand, we talked about diversity and although Emory is diverse, she admitted that there’s a substantial amount of Asians. I would agree and add to this by saying how there are not many Hispanics, I felt like the minority of the minority. She was thoughtful for a second and would tell me that I was the only Hispanic person she had met in the weeks she had been here at Emory. I told her how I had made non-Hispanic friends, but mostly Hispanic people make me feel more at home. She nodded in agreement and said she understood how I felt; she has made many Korean friends that have made her feel more at home also. Although the one with the longest flight, she seemed pretty happy and said how she didn’t feel too homesick. I learned how she really wanted to overcome her situation by coming to a better school and that was mostly her decision, she was happy here and knows that good things will come from the decision.
Talking about Emory, she seemed very content. She liked the campus, she likes Georgia as it feels very laidback and she was happy with the school academically, she likes how it’s academically rigorous but not to the degree of not being able to enjoy her experience. On the other hand, we talked about diversity and although Emory is diverse, she admitted that there’s a substantial amount of Asians. I would agree and add to this by saying how there are not many Hispanics, I felt like the minority of the minority. She was thoughtful for a second and would tell me that I was the only Hispanic person she had met in the weeks she had been here at Emory. I told her how I had made non-Hispanic friends, but mostly Hispanic people make me feel more at home. She nodded in agreement and said she understood how I felt; she has made many Korean friends that have made her feel more at home also. Although the one with the longest flight, she seemed pretty happy and said how she didn’t feel too homesick. I learned how she really wanted to overcome her situation by coming to a better school and that was mostly her decision, she was happy here and knows that good things will come from the decision.