Akash Rajesh

Day 1 Reflections

My first selfie (with Teck En, at the street we had dinner)

Our bus leaving the airport ( at Incheon)

A monument describing the area's significance in the Korean War

Day 2 Reflections

A picture of a maple leaf look-alike.

Picture of the moon

A forest

One of the most interesting experiences was the Welcoming Ceremony by IASA, which was held in the school auditorium, in the morning. During the time we were there, I got the opportunity to witness the warmth and appreciation of the students and teachers of Incheon showed towards their visitors, which outdid the welcoming ceremony we had organised for them. Besides the welcoming speech by the principal and presentation on the school curriculum by the students, there was also a musical performance. The entire ceremony was very grand, and it more than impressed me. This was an eye-opener as to the culture of Koreans to welcome foreign visitors and hence their cross-cultural understanding. The event encouraged me to reflect on the significance of relationships and the responsibilities associated with them as well as treat everyone respectfully. As a result, I wish SST would also give better welcoming ceremonies the next time we have visitors.

Day 3 Reflections

A photograph of bird found in the IASA school field, later identified as the Oriental Magpie (Pica serica).

A cluster of fruits from a tree

A group of airbags at the Goyang Hyundai Motorstudio.

One of the most significant experiences that I went through today happened during the Songdo tour, a short while after I had dinner along with my buddy, and was going shopping. I happened to be walking slowly, and hence I just had a glimpse of my tour group disappearing around a corner. I rushed forward but found the place empty. I hurried towards my left and checked the lift lobby, and assumed that my friends had taken the lift up. Eventually, I decided to head back to the place where we were supposed to assemble again but finding another group, I joined the other group. I ended up digressing from my actual responsibilities, which I had later realised was to find a teacher and contact my buddy as soon as possible. When we met again, I learnt that he and two other IASA students had run around all 4 blocks searching for me, at every level, which I assumed must have caused great fear and concern amongst them. I felt guilty and remorseful for having let such a situation occur, and hence, learnt that I should fulfil my primary responsibilities before spending time for other things, to allow everyone to benefit, and not cause any negative consequences. I decided to talk to my buddy after reflecting on the situation.

Hence, I believe that this experience has allowed me to be more alert about prioritizing my responsibilities and fulfilling them accordingly. I have now learnt the importance of responsibility in relationships with peers and that being distracted or irresponsible can cause great negative consequences which can affect relationships with others. This matters because relationships are important to sustain, to bring harmony (and peace) between people.

Day 4 Reflections

An innovative magnetic stirring device.

One of my last sightings of IASA.

A signboard outside the school bearing its name.

A Tteokbokki dinner at Songdo.

Day 5 Reflections

A picture of the Gwacheon national science museum 

A fractional distillation column for oil refinery

A part of Cheonggyecheon stream

One significant thing that happened today was at the Gwacheon National Science Museum, where we could visit any exhibit in the museum and explore various concepts and applications of science and technology. However, we were only allowed to spend less than 50 minutes at the exhibition, so we rushed through many of them. Initially, we had planned to try out some simulators, but we learnt that we could not try 2-3 different simulators because the schedule for them was beyond the time allocated for us. There were more simulators left, but I assumed that they would also have a similar schedule, and hence, took my time to explore the exhibition slowly. Soon, we found out that there were actually a couple of simulators that we could have tried out because the timings were actually different. This made me regret jumping to conclusions as we lost an opportunity to try out great simulators. Hence, I learnt that I should not jump to conclusions and must get enough data before making resolute decisions.

Day 6 Reflections

Group photo at Samsung Innovation Museum

Book Cafe at Incheon International Airport, where we waited for the boarding gates to open

One significant thing that happened today was me leaving Incheon. It was a sad event as it was my first trip to Korea, and it felt like it happened very fast. I got

Conclusion