To Gwangju University, in Gratitude
Written and Photographed By Carol Smith
Walking to school for the first time was a bit scary and at the same time quite exciting. The buildings seem towering, while the roads are endless and exhilarating. I would end up in the midst of Hogwarts-inspired structures that seemed to pop up in every corner of my limited surrounding. The toughest part for me was riding the elevator, which enabled me to reach my classrooms and gave me a quick view of the whole campus. I used to hold on to the iron bars until I forgot to do so in my preoccupation with the new faces, new smells, new hair colors and new fashion. Now every time I enter the fully packed elevator I simply assume my space and wait for the doors to come alive. I then realize that my fear of heights had been diffused by my eagerness to explore the university.
Despite the awe and wonder, I had times when I just wanted to curl up in bed and think of my own country, the Philippines. But my love of books brought me to a new level of eagerness, the way I felt in my elementary school years. My mom and I would compete to read books that I would borrow from the library. I wanted the feeling of the rough pages, the smell of the ink and paper, though these gave me terrible allergic rhinitis attacks. I felt free when I read books that were not my own, books that did not make me financially rich but wisdom wealthy.
The students and mentors are also people I will not simply forget. Some would have me thinking for days because of their obsessions with different things. Some are so much into coffee; some with sleep, so that every time I see them they are in dozing mode. Some are obsessed with noodles and they would smell like noodles. Some are obsessed with hair styles, and every day they would be sporting a new hair style or color. But the others I will definitely miss because of their amiable personalities and their positive dispositions.
Some situations gave me the funny feeling of being a foreigner. Sometimes I would convince myself that the people are real and are just being true to themselves. Sometimes I found it cute and entertaining, and at times educational. The short stay in Korea enabled me to understand better the Korean psyche, Korean atmosphere and Korean pace of life.
Kindness never runs out on campus and I felt blessed that my minute existence was nourished with love and affection. The people with whom I was able to mingle gave me so much love, which I would not barter for any experience. I am so grateful to the whole university for the wonderful memories and the love it has shared. I will not forget how the warmth of many kept me safe during the winter months. I will not discount the words of wisdom each person gave, either intentionally or incidentally. The selflessness that many exhibited is not something that I can easily find, no matter how hard I would look.
Wherever my steps bring me, I will always be thankful to Gwangju University, which I proudly call my alma mater.