Harriet Kariuki, '16-Harvard Summer School in Seoul Program-Summer 2013
Having been born and raised in rural Kenya for 17 years, I was never exposed to any foreign culture, especially the East Asian culture. Our history books only had topics of African history and the world war, which was, I shallowly read in middle school. Coming to Harvard enabled me to connect with students from many places all over the world but going to Korea was a step that made me feel deeply connected to another culture for the first time in my life.
I went to Korea with only the knowledge of 2NE1 (a famous Korean girl band), Big Bang (a famous Korean boy band), Secret Garden (a famous Korean drama) and Running Man (a famous Korean variety show). The interesting bit is that I learnt of all this for the first time during my freshman spring and got hooked. When I got into Korea I learnt a lot more than is shown in the TV. I got to travel to places that I had never thought I would in my life. I got to meet people and bond with great people who have become part of my newly discovered self. I got to develop skills that I will live to use for the rest of my life. This was possible on within a short period of time.
I was able to join an amazing team of students in the making of the documentary, which emerged as one of the best documentaries. We were able to rediscover the Korean culture and their association with fish. Through this documentary, I was able to enhance my teamwork skills, which meant a lot for the team and my own growth. We traveled different places from the fish markets to the ocean where we interviewed people on their relationship with fish and nature. This adventure helped me deeply understand the Korean culture especially the Korean food.
By traveling to different parts of Korea and interacting with people and sharing stories of my life in Africa, I learnt a lot about the power of cultural heritage.
Most of the Koreans I interacted with were proud of their heritage whether religion, food, art, dance or fashion. Through this, I was able to see the strong bonds in the community. This was illustrated by the many events in the city that encouraged togetherness, the many karaoke bars and barbeque places that helped strengthen friendship and relationships. Coming from a totally different culture, I learnt a lot of things that my country can learn from Korea to help reduce conflicts between tribes and fellow citizens.
This program also helped me meet people who have now become part of my daily life. People whom I share the same memories and dreams. I was able to learn from their experiences and I on the other hand, shared my African experiences and the little international influence I have received in Harvard. Through this we were able to strengthen our friendship bonds and aimed at working hard to help discover our combined dreams with the much that we learnt from each other.
This was by far the best experience that I have ever had in my life and I believe this is just the beginning. The many lessons I learnt in Korea, I hope to implement them during my years in college and in my future endeavors. I am really privileged and lucky to have been in such an amazing progam.