The trip has completely come and gone, and it’s quite easy to say that it was the adventure of a lifetime. In the span of two months, I got to experience things that I could have only imagined. I’m so glad I was able to participate in such an opportunity.

​First, I’ll start with the internship. All-in-all, it was an extremely fulfilling experience, and I feel fortunate that I was placed in the Autonomous Robotics Intelligence Laboratory (ARIL). Although the professors were sometimes busy, Hunter and I were given enough tasks to develop some skills and learn a thing or two about robotics. Our primary mission revolved around developing our understanding of a quadruped robot that had been sent to the lab, a Unitree Go1 Pro. Essentially, Hunter and I, along with the help of our teammate/friend Hyunji,worked to crack the inside of this robot (metaphorically). We sought to get it to move using gestured prompts in front of a webcam. Although it took us a few weeks, we were eventually able to complete this mission, and even ran experiments with it.

​In the lab, I got to meet many excellent people and learn about Korean academics and professionalism. The head of the lab was a man by the name of Dr. Kim, but Hunter, Hyunji, and I worked more often with Dr. Shin, who gave us direction. Interacting with my coworkers was a highlight of the internship, and I made friends with a few of them. One graduate student, Dongwhi, is going to be at the University of Florida for this coming semester, which is cool to think about. I told him to come to one of my tailgates. At one point, we all went out for a lab dinner, and I’m bummed that we didn’t do any more throughout my time there, as it was great eating with everyone.

​Outside of the lab, it was go-go-go. The cohort had a healthy mix of personalities, and we all got along with each other swimmingly. People always had ideas about what to do and where to go, so it was always easy to tag along and explore. When I tell you that I saw and did a lot, you must believe me; I didn’t want to leave the country feeling as if I could have done more. Besides everything in Seoul, our group also explored Busan and Jeju Island. I could go on-and-on about all the things that I saw in Korea, but just know that I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

​By the end of the internship, I was extremely comfortable living in Seoul. Even though I didn’t know the language all too well, I had become acclimated to a point that I could navigate almost anywhere with ease, and get through day-to-day interactions. I had a heightened sense of independence and cultural awareness. Additionally, when going out to see the nightlife, I met not only many local Koreans, but also a lot of other foreigners as well. It was cool getting to talk to people from all over the world.

Fig. 1: Group photo of the cohort.

Fig. 2: Me at the flower garden.

Fig. 3: Riding the metro with the coworkers.