MacGregor ’25 and Mia ’26, share a great day with “an amazing mix of culture, catching up, and enlightenment.”
On one of the lovely days in South Korea, we started by taking a quick bus drive up past the bustling city and into the serene mountains. Bella, our tour guide, told us that we were in Bukhansan, which means the North mountain. There we had a short and peaceful hike up to a Buddhist temple, Geumsunsa. There we learned many things about Buddhism and ourselves. While at the temple, we participated in many activities that include but are not limited to meditating, making bead bracelets, praying, sipping special spring water with medicinal benefits, eating a yummy vegetarian lunch, and even journaling in the quiet remote crooks deep in the mountain. A specific moment I truly cherish from this day was when I had the honor to pray to the large golden Buddha. The moment was so lovely because not only could I show my love for Korean culture but it was a time I could stop and reflect during a full on trip. The cool Buddha hole was inviting and spoke to me in a way I had never experienced before. It was such a great breather. CSGC trips are almost always like this: full on learning and doing and trying but with sweet, slow moments that you will remember for a lifetime.
The second half of the day was a complete 180. After taking a quick break back at the hotel everyone put on their fancy outfits and climbed onto the bus. We were told to pack a fancy outfit for a special occasion, and this was the time we were all waiting for. As our team grew more and more excited on the bus, we arrived at the Ambassador Hotel. The venue was incredible; alumni, students and faculty lined the enclosed balcony. Great food, boisterous laughs and long speeches characterized the rest of the night, unlike the serene chants of the quiet monks that filled our morning. Overall, the day was an amazing mix of culture, catching up, and enlightenment.
-MacGregor ’25
Today we started our day with a hike up a mountain to a Buddhist temple. We met the head tour guide at the temple and learned many valuable lessons, the most important of them being to enjoy the silence. We ate vegetarian because Buddhists don’t believe in harming anything that has a beating heart. From there we went to the lower cave onto a lookout that had an incredible view of the mountain side. After hiking down we drove back to the hotel where we got ready for an academy event with Dr. Austin, alumni, current students, and new students. The event was so exciting and gave us a chance to meet people and learn about leadership in the Korean alumni community. Today we learned about what it meant to be a leader and how we should support and empower others to take on leadership roles in times of struggle. But the most important lesson we learned was to be empathetic towards others’ needs to be a well-rounded leader.
-Mia ’26
