Throwing frisbees and catching feelings in Korea

In this episode of THE Study Abroad Pod, Wright State University student Celeste Irwin shares her unique journey of playing Ultimate Frisbee in South Korea while studying abroad at the USAC Gwangju program. With USAC Verona alumna Sophia DeYoung as host, they discuss the thrill of connecting with a new culture through sports, balancing academics and athletics abroad, and the unforgettable friendships forged on the field. Whether you're an athlete, a student, or just curious about the intersection of sports and study abroad, this episode is for you.

Have an idea for a future episode or just want to learn more about study abroad? Email us at studyabroad@usac.edu.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Introduction: Hello (Korean, 안녕하세요)! Welcome (Korean, 환영)!

[00:00:06] Welcome back to THE Study Abroad Pod, where we dive into stories that inspire, connect, and take us around the globe. Today, we're throwing it back - and by it, I mean a flying disc. Picture this: Celeste Irwin, a Wright State University student and longtime K-Pop fan, signed up to take classes in South Korea.

[00:00:23] Introduction: But she's not just there to study abroad. She's there to soar through the Ultimate Frisbee scene. From pickups to tournaments, she's competing internationally. Winning games and making connections on and off the field guiding us through this episode is a USAC Verona alumna, Sophia DeYoung. They'll chat all about what it's like to be an athlete abroad and Celeste will share how she balanced her studies with her athletic commitments,

[00:00:45] Introduction: and of course, all the unforgettable moments in between. 

[00:00:50] Sophia DeYoung: Hi everybody and welcome back to THE Study Abroad Pod. I'm Sophia, a USAC Verona alumni, and I'm here today with Celeste to talk about some athletics abroad. How are you doing today, Celeste? 

[00:01:03] Celeste Irwin: I'm that's all Korean. I just said, hi, my name is Celeste. I am a university student at Wright State University.

[00:01:20] Sophia DeYoung: And when did you study abroad? 

[00:01:23] Celeste Irwin: I studied abroad last year in South Korea in 2023. I studied in Gwangju at Chonnam University. And I was abroad for seven months. 

[00:01:33] Sophia DeYoung: So, you went a month early.

[00:01:34] Sophia DeYoung: What made you choose Korea specifically? 

[00:01:38] Celeste Irwin: So, I have liked K-Pop for a long time. I've been liking K-Pop since I was 13. So that's been 15 years now. And I, I also have been wanting to travel a lot. So, I've always wanted to go to Korea, but also other places. I really have been interested in learning a lot of different languages.

[00:02:02] Celeste Irwin: And when I was talking about wanting to do some traveling, my friend mentioned that she had gone to Korea to study abroad, and she was talking about her experience there and how it was a great experience. And it was so fun. And so that was sort of where I just started looking with my study abroad, like, options, and then, when I was looking at the options, that was one of the cheaper programs, so I was like, well, I guess that just signs it, like, 

[00:02:30] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah, that's so, so awesome.

[00:02:33] Sophia DeYoung: When you were in Korea, did you have trouble adapting to the culture norms though? 

[00:02:38] Celeste Irwin: I don't think so. I always sort of joke, when people were asking me before I went to Korea, what I was looking forward to the most. The thing that I told them was public transportation. I was very excited because, here in Ohio, we don't have a lot of public transportation.

[00:02:57] Celeste Irwin: And I, you know, going and learning what I learned, that was definitely the thing I should have been looking forward to, because public transportation is fantastic. And, because of that, I sort of when I was feeling a little bit lost or unsure, subway stations were always felt like safe spaces for me. Because they always had like air conditioning,

[00:03:20] Celeste Irwin: Because I was there in the summer when I started out and it's really hot. They always had trash cans, restrooms. There was always like a, convenience store, like a Seven 11 or a GS 25. And, I could always get water and food there and there was a place to sit. And if I was in a subway station, then I could go anywhere I needed to.

[00:03:40] Celeste Irwin: So I think it wasn't. necessarily hard for me. I just sort of learned really quickly that subway stations are your friend. 

[00:03:47] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah, absolutely. So I have to know, I'm not too much into the K-Pop world myself. I don't know a lot of artists or anything, but who's your favorite K-Pop artist? 

[00:03:57] Celeste Irwin: So I'm a little bit of an old second generation girly. And, so when I got into K-Pop, it was around like 2010 ish. And my favorite group is SHINee. They debuted in, I think, 2000... 2008 or 2007. It seems like I'm such a bad fan, but it's fine.

[00:04:15] Sophia DeYoung: So, what about concerts? Did you ever go to a concert at all there? 

[00:04:19] Celeste Irwin: So, the, I did go, I bought tickets to SHINee World... 6? 6? Yeah. Which is a world tour that they were doing. And, I went to that by myself, but I had a lot of fun, you know. We're all fans of SHINee, so I got along with a lot of people. I did cry, because I was so happy. And it was a really great concert. They're always, they always do so well. And then also, Korean schools have these festivals, and I think each semester they have the festival, and they get just start like singers and stuff to like come sing at the festival,

[00:04:59] Celeste Irwin: it's free, so it's not like a paid concert. And like I don't know if anyone knows of Achtung Musician but they're like a very popular group, like it's a brother sister duo and they're very popular, in Korea and some other countries. And they came and performed and there was a couple other groups that came and performed, the band Lucy, a rapper called Woo Won-jae another rapper called, Mino. And I like, I just happened upon the concert while my friend and I were walking around campus and I was like, wow, this is crazy.

[00:05:33] Celeste Irwin: Um, so it was just crazy to me because like, you know, act on musician, if they would have a concert tickets would be like in the hundreds, you know, if not more. So they're very popular and they just, you know, came to the school and performed. And that's a common thing, for like a lot of K-Pop stars to be invited to schools and they perform for the students.

[00:05:54] Celeste Irwin: So. Yeah, 

[00:05:56] Sophia DeYoung: that is awesome. Love a free concert, too.

[00:05:59] Celeste Irwin: Absolutely. 

[00:05:59] Sophia DeYoung: All right. So I've never really seen Ultimate Frisbee. Can you tell us more about that and what the game is like? 

[00:06:06] Celeste Irwin: So, Ultimate Frisbee is the best game in the world, , so Ultimate Frisbee is a sport that basically combines soccer, well, football, American soccer, whatever you want to call it, um, American football, and basketball, so the idea is that you have an American football sized field, and there's two end zones, um, and there's two teams, Each team has seven players on the field at a time.

[00:06:33] Celeste Irwin: Um, the goal is the people with the possession of the disc, um, are trying to throw the disc to one of their teammates in the end zone. So you have to catch the disc in the end zone to get a score. So it's very similar to football. However, when you have the disc, you're not allowed to run. So it's sort of like basketball.

[00:06:53] Celeste Irwin: You're allowed to pivot. Um, but if you run or walk with the disc. Then that's called a travel. Um, and then it's, uh, the movement of the disc is very much like soccer. So, uh, American football is very like yard space. Like you need to get yards. You need to get closer to the end zone. Um, things like, uh, like soccer and Ultimate Frisbee, it's much more fluid.

[00:07:16] Celeste Irwin: Like we don't care about loss of yards because it's easy to, um, to get it back up the field. Um, but the difference between soccer is that it's possession is very important. Um, so it's most important is to keep possession because, um, in soccer, you see like possession going back and forth, back and forth, and it's pretty easy for possession to change with Ultimate Frisbee.

[00:07:38] Celeste Irwin: I think it's much more difficult for possession and change. So you want to keep that possession because, um, if you don't keep that possession, then it's very likely that the other team is going to score unless you play like very hard. D. Um, and games are usually two points, not to time. Um, so. Generally, regular games are like to 15, whoever reaches 15 points, um, first wins, we do have time caps in case the games go on long periods of time and those just sort of work, you know, when the time cap goes off, you, um, just lower the amount of points that you play to, um, and I think that's about it.

[00:08:17] Celeste Irwin: It's a non contact sport. Technically, I think soccer is supposed to be non contact, but it's not really, um, but Ultimate is much more non contact than that. And one of the other, one of probably the most important things about Ultimate is that it's a self officiated sport. So we have things called observers and, uh, Advisors so game observers and game advisors.

[00:08:40] Celeste Irwin: Those are can sort of be synonymous to the referee role, but they are not they do not make calls. It's the players that make the calls and the whole sort of like tenant of Ultimate is that you're supposed to have this. Good sportsmanship, what we call spirit, and when you have good spirit, you're able to, like, talk with your competitors and reach an agreement about whether a foul happened or whether a violation happened or whatnot, and observers and advisors are pretty much there as, um, Uh, resources to ask about specific rules and you can ask for their opinion.

[00:09:14] Celeste Irwin: Do you think this was a foul? Do you think this was not? But Ultimately, the final call is up to the players. Um, so it's a, that's one of the most important things about Ultimate is that it's self officiated. And because of that, we have this very like, um, almost like, uh. How can I say it? It's not like, I don't want to say like, it's like a religious, but we like subscribe to this idea of spirit.

[00:09:37] Celeste Irwin: Like we're very invested in having spirit. And a lot of times that big competitions, the spirit prize winners are the ones that are announced last, not the first place winner is the spirit prize winners announced last. Cause that's what we think is most important. 

[00:09:51] Sophia DeYoung: No, I, I love that. And I feel like. It makes all the difference in a game when not only the crowd, but the team has spirit.

[00:10:00] Sophia DeYoung: Because then that just gets the crowd up and going too, so you're all going for the same goal, you want to see everybody happy. But, I want to know, what got you into Ultimate Frisbee in the first place? 

[00:10:11] Celeste Irwin: Um, so I, I've gone to college a lot. I've been to like, I think now six higher education institutions. Um, and so my very first college that I went to was a community college and I decided that I needed to take at least one class.

[00:10:28] Celeste Irwin: That was a fitness class. That was something fun and not my major related. So that way I had times each week where I had to do physical activity because it's very difficult to juggle school and working out and stuff. And at that point, it'd been a while since I'd been athletic. So I originally started by taking a running class.

[00:10:47] Celeste Irwin: Um, I don't know why I hate running. I'm sorry. Um, I just, it's, I can't, I just, I don't like it. But in the running class, the teacher also liked to play Ultimate Frisbee. So there was like one or two days where he said today, we're going to play Ultimate Frisbee. We played it once or twice. And then I sort of started liking it.

[00:11:06] Celeste Irwin: And then there was an Ultimate Frisbee class, which is basically just. Here's a disc. We're going to play Ultimate Frisbee for the class period. Um, so then I decided the next semester that that was the class I was going to take. Um, so I started that. Once I finished that associate's degree, I sort of stopped playing Ultimate because I had a lot, life was busy.

[00:11:26] Celeste Irwin: And then I made a big move. From, uh, New Mexico to Ohio. And when that happened, I thought to myself, I want to be in an activity. I want to meet new people. I'm not going to be able to meet people through school and there's no one my age at my job, so I should start an activity. So I decided to look into Ultimate.

[00:11:45] Celeste Irwin: Um, I started playing pickup in the area. Um, the people that I played with invited me to play league, which is like recreational leagues in the area. And then I started playing club level and, uh, and then it's become my life now. 

[00:12:00] Sophia DeYoung: Awesome. And for those of us who don't know what pickup is, can you describe that?

[00:12:06] Celeste Irwin: So pickup is just like a group of people that meets at a certain time and place. And, um, we just sort of divvy up teams based on how we feel. Or, um, and then we just play games until people leave or until the time is up or whatever. So it's just a way to, to play with community members and, um, get, you know, touches on the disc and whatnot.

[00:12:29] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah, I love that. And kudos to you for putting yourself out there and doing everything that you did, starting from Making yourself do a workout class and then putting yourself out there when you move. That's already a huge life adjustment. So to put yourself out there. Not many people can do that, so good on you.

[00:12:50] Sophia DeYoung: I want to know about the game in Korea, though. How was the sportsmanship? Were the fans similar to how the fans are here? Run me through that. 

[00:12:59] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, so I think people in Korea are very spirited. I do have to say, Korean culture is not very, there's, it's not very sporty per se. Like a lot of people play sports.

[00:13:12] Celeste Irwin: Um, but there's a lot of people that aren't very like invested in sports. It's more of a social activity, which is absolutely fine. We love people going as a social activity, but it's very, um, like. I, I would almost say people are a tiny bit more dainty about it. Like a lot of people aren't as like, um, invested, um, specifically in Ultimate, but a lot of other sports to soccer is very popular there.

[00:13:38] Celeste Irwin: Um, but that being said, it, while it is still competitive, it's very, very spirited. There's a lot of sportsmanship. Um, so, and there's. You know, even while watching soccer, and I'm sure this is very different from like, um, the, like, European levels of play and whatnot, but, um, even though there is contact, it's like, I think, much less contact, like, and also it's like, very, like.

[00:14:04] Celeste Irwin: Everyone is very polite and, um, and everyone has a lot. I think, I think a lot of sportsmanship. And so, and I mean, specifically, like, 1 example is I was watching me and my friend were watching this soccer tournament that the school was hosting and it was different majors. Playing on teams in the soccer tournament.

[00:14:26] Celeste Irwin: And there was a team for these, like, uh, like most of the players were Korean. There was some like, uh, exchange students playing on these teams, but, um, there's one team that was like specifically exchange students. And I mean, they knew how to play soccer very well. They were very good, but. Seeing them play a Korean team versus like two Korean teams playing.

[00:14:48] Celeste Irwin: It was like very different. Like they were way more loud and competitive and they like, there was a lot more like arguing. Um, and I'm not saying that's necessarily a good or a bad thing. Like, you know, some people play sports because it like gets their blood going and they like to like argue with the ref or whatever, but there was, it was definitely much more arguing.

[00:15:08] Celeste Irwin: Whereas like a lot of the other games where it was just like Korean team versus Korean team, it was. Um, there wasn't as much arguing. There might've been some like contentious points, but not nearly as many as there was with like the, um, the exchange student team. 

[00:15:20] Sophia DeYoung: Gotcha. So can you tell me about your favorite game day in Korea?

[00:15:25] Celeste Irwin: So I would probably have to say, I mean, there's a lot of good, there's like hat tournaments. Um, probably the, the one that means the most to me is probably when we went to Korea, like nationals. Um, so my team, my club team that I was part of, we went to nationals for Korea. Um, and it was like the second day and something that I've struggled with playing Ultimate is I, um, struggle with like, Almost like imposter syndrome or feeling like I'm always doing something wrong.

[00:15:59] Celeste Irwin: And I definitely have, um, struggled with like highly competitive situations. I get very nervous and I start not playing well. And so that's something that I before Korea had been trying to work on. And Korea definitely gave me a big opportunity to work on that. Um. But on the second day of nationals, I felt like we had done great the first day.

[00:16:19] Celeste Irwin: And the second day was like pretty important because we were playing some of the more difficult teams. Um, and we were playing, I guess, the favorite to win nationals in the morning, and then we were going to have to play them a second time for the first place title. Um, and so we were warming up and our coach.

[00:16:39] Celeste Irwin: Isn't like super heavy on the compliments. Um, and he's very like all business. And, um, so I was really struggling with some like negative self talk and I was struggling with like, um, feeling like I wasn't doing well and all this stuff. And I, um, I just ended up starting to get overwhelmed. And so I went over to my captain who, um, is a wonderful person.

[00:17:03] Celeste Irwin: And I said, I am feeling Overwhelmed and I need help and he was like, okay, like tell me what's going on. Let me see if I can help and I was like, I feel like I'm doing everything wrong. Adam just said that he said my name, but I don't know what he wanted me to do. I don't know if he meant I was doing it correctly or if I needed to do something else.

[00:17:23] Celeste Irwin: And I just don't know if I'm doing everything wrong and I just can't. He said, okay, it's okay. I haven't been no. Paying attention to you specifically, but I'll like pay attention to you more and let you know if there's anything that I see that you can be doing better. And then I can go talk to Adam and see if he has any feedback for you.

[00:17:39] Celeste Irwin: And like, I think, you know, it's all going to be well, and even though I didn't really get any feedback, like hearing that from him and knowing that like my teammates had my back, my captain had my back and they were willing to help me when I was like feeling, you know, like I was struggling. Um, that really helped me and that sort of calms me down.

[00:17:59] Celeste Irwin: And then, you know, I was able to calm down and I was able to contribute a lot. And then, you know, during one of the games, I got a compliment from the coach. So I was like, Oh my gosh, great. And then we went on to win the nationals tournament and life was great. So, um, that was probably the most memorable.

[00:18:15] Celeste Irwin: Um, I was happy to be there with my teammates. I was so happy to have teammates that I could trust to be vulnerable with and to support me. And, you know, just having that, like, like teamwork. situation. Like, it was just wonderful. 

[00:18:29] Sophia DeYoung: That is awesome. The community, the backbone, the helping, helping each other out.

[00:18:37] Sophia DeYoung: That's just, that's something that I reflect on a lot on my study abroad time. And something that I didn't think that I would create until I was there and in the moment and I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm in another country. I don't really know how to speak the language. What are we doing here? Um, but that is so awesome.

[00:18:56] Sophia DeYoung: And I'm really glad that you had people around you to help facilitate that sense of community and protection for you. And at the end of the day, help you through what you're feeling. Um. On other days when you weren't feeling as good, did you what processes did you do? Did you set yourself up? Did you do like meditation to help you become calm and go forward with your situations?

[00:19:23] Celeste Irwin: So I would say I did a lot of walking, which, um, I don't do a lot of in the US, um, because not a lot of places are very walkable, especially where I live. Um, Walking helps a lot and I'm probably going to sound like a broken record, but like the community I have was the best thing. So, um, and I, I met a bunch of new people.

[00:19:44] Celeste Irwin: Most of the people that I met were Ultimate Frisbee players. Um, one person I met, it wasn't until. fall semester that she came, but she was also one of the international students and she was in my group because they create little buddy groups with like two Korean students and then some international students.

[00:20:02] Celeste Irwin: So you have a support system. Um, she was really the only one in my group that I spent any time with, but I was actually feeling very, very anxious. Very anxious about using the cafeteria for the first time because I didn't know the process I didn't know anyone who had used the cafeteria before I didn't at this point.

[00:20:22] Celeste Irwin: I didn't feel very confident in my Korean now. I would feel okay going and asking things in Korean um, but I was very anxious and so I was like I just need to go to dinner with some people because usually if I’m with other people my like Mom persona takes over and I'm like, okay, I need to take care of the other people so I don't have time for social anxiety.

[00:20:43] Celeste Irwin: So then I can do these things. And even that was like very nerve wracking. But we met the first time we didn't end up going into the cafeteria. We decided to go to a restaurant right by the cafeteria, but we sat down and we started talking and she's from France. Um, and then it's sort of like history from there.

[00:21:01] Celeste Irwin: Um, she's like one of my best friends. We contact each other a lot still. And we spend almost all of our time together. So we had classes together. We would go everywhere together. We took trips together. She would come watch me play Ultimate. And She, yeah, so we, a lot of times both of us were not feeling well or having a hard time with something.

[00:21:23] Celeste Irwin: And honestly, we would just walk and then, you know, if we happen to stop by Baskin Robbins, we might get some ice cream, you know, and then we might go to the, like, uh, to the, um, like sports field and like watch some, like. You know, cute guys play soccer, run on the track, you know, like that was a, may or may not have been our favorite activity.

[00:21:47] Sophia DeYoung: Um, I don't blame you. 

[00:21:48] Celeste Irwin: Yeah. Yeah. But we, you know, we were a very big supporter for each other. And even like towards the end, there was one night we had been hanging out. And then we both went to our dorm rooms and like, not 10 minutes later, I like text her. I was like, I'm not doing great. And she was like, what's wrong?

[00:22:04] Celeste Irwin: I'm like, I don't know. I'm just not doing great. And so she like came down to my room and I just like started crying and I was like, I just feel like nobody likes me. And she was like, it's okay. And then she started crying and we just had this like little cry fest. And then we were, you know, then we started joking with each other and laughing about stuff.

[00:22:20] Celeste Irwin: So she was definitely very, a big, big, like, you know. And, uh, yeah, I just think in general, like having the people that I had and having her just like, that's the most important thing that helps me feel better in almost any situation. 

[00:22:36] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah, sometimes you really do got to cry it out and I can relate to you heavy on finding an international bestie.

[00:22:44] Sophia DeYoung: Um, in my study abroad program, I met my best friend who now lives in Australia. Um, yeah, so it was. It's really awesome to see because you don't know what to expect from study abroad and then you do it and then you're like, I mean, I knew I didn't, like, I didn't know what to expect, but I also didn't expect that if that makes any sense.

[00:23:05] Celeste Irwin: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And I like, that's actually, I think one of the hardest things about not just studying abroad, but traveling abroad. Like I feel like my heart is split in a. Bunch of different pieces. Cause like, I have like, I have a friend in Florida. She's like one of my best friends. I've got my friend in France.

[00:23:22] Celeste Irwin: I've got so many people in Korea. I went to Taiwan this last summer and I've got like a couple of people there. And like, it just feels like my heart's just like split into so many different areas and like, no matter where I go, I'm always going to leave pieces of my heart, other places. And I was only in Taiwan for like three weeks, but there's still people that I like left there.

[00:23:41] Celeste Irwin: And I was like, I just want to see you again. 

[00:23:44] Sophia DeYoung: I totally understand. Literally, I'm like, my heart is still in Europe and I, I'm like, itching to go back. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's while like, it is like a really like, I miss it feeling. It's to me. I'm also like, I'm really grateful that like, you have, like, you get to meet those kind of people.

[00:24:05] Sophia DeYoung: And that. You can have so much love for them like you do and yeah, and you know what now you're just an in an international rock star and now you can go to Taiwan and you might as you might have a place to stay. 

[00:24:18] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, it was, it's great just having people and be like, hey, can I just like crash on your floor for a bit.

[00:24:23] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah, those were. The best times, the best times. Absolutely. So did you know any Korean before you arrived in Korea? 

[00:24:31] Celeste Irwin: Um, so I had what I call like the K-Pop slash K drama starter pack to Korean. Um, I knew all of the important things, like how to say I love you and you know, all the like pet names to call people.

[00:24:49] Celeste Irwin: I know how to say like, hi and thank you. And I'm sorry. Um, And, yeah, I knew some basic stuff. I had learned how, um, to write in Korean or read Korean from, like, a little comic strip online. Um, and so I already sort of knew how to read, but I was, like, very rusty on how to read the letters. Um, so I had a very, like, tenuous grasp of some words, but I really didn't know a lot about sentence structure and a lot of things.

[00:25:21] Sophia DeYoung: So what about in class? Did you take Korean language?

[00:25:25] Celeste Irwin: So I took, um, uh, Korean language class, like everyday Korean level one in the summer. And that was the only class I took in the summer. And in the fall I continued on to do everyday Korean too. Um, and so that, that was sort of like, I think it was. I think it was pretty easy for me.

[00:25:46] Celeste Irwin: Um, I enjoy learning languages and I enjoyed it. So I that's probably part of why it seemed easy to me, but a lot of Korean level one was teaching you how to read or write in Korean and some basic things like hello and. My name is and I sort of knew, you know, a lot of that stuff. Cause when you watch K-Pop stars introduce themselves over and over again, you tend to pick up on what the introduction is, you know?

[00:26:10] Celeste Irwin: Um, so I already knew some things and that was like pretty helpful. Um, and so I was a little bit, I think, impatient to get more into the like conversational areas of Korean, because I definitely wanted to like. practice with my teammates and there were some of my teammates that spoke English less well.

[00:26:26] Celeste Irwin: And so I really wanted to like get into the part where I could start speaking to them in Korean and, and, you know, learning all the, the like slang and like what the kids are saying nowadays and all that jazz. 

[00:26:39] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah. So by the end of it, did you feel like comfortable to navigate the city and basic interactions on your own?

[00:26:47] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, I definitely did. Um, like by the end, I think I was very confident. I think. A lot of people commented that I learned a lot while I was there. One of my, uh, Ultimate friends that hardly spoke any English. She said like, every time I see you it seems like you're just like leaps and bounds ahead of where you were before with Korean.

[00:27:08] Celeste Irwin: And I think a lot of that is attributed to having the people to practice it with. Um, even more so than my classmates in class. Like, playing Ultimate, um, it makes me like not afraid to like, Try something like try a new phrase or like try and talk to people. Um, cause if I mess up, then they just like laugh and tell me what the right one is, or like it becomes an inside joke or something.

[00:27:30] Celeste Irwin: I think that was really, really helpful and really sped my learning on a lot. Um, now. One of the, like, one of the funniest things with learning Korean was I would get, like, really nervous at, like, restaurants or, like, in those things, and I would often focus on, like, okay, what's the question I'm going to ask to, like, know things, and I would figure out the question, I would practice, I'd be like, okay, this is great, and then I would ask the question, and then I realized that I did not look through what the possible responses to the question were, so I could ask the question, but did I understand any of what they said to me?

[00:28:05] Celeste Irwin: Okay. No, but like, I got a lot better at that. And so, yeah, so now I'm pretty good with restaurants. Um, the next step is to get through the post office and the bank in Korean. Those are my next obstacle. So, yeah, 

[00:28:24] Sophia DeYoung: plenty of times I was in your same position and ordering in a restaurant and then I looked and I was just like.

[00:28:31] Sophia DeYoung: And then the waiter saw my face, and then they were able to speak to me in English. So, I was very grateful for that, but, yeah. That definitely was funny. 

[00:28:43] Celeste Irwin: Yeah. So, even though I took classes to take, uh, to learn Korean, and I had a lot of people that I could practice, uh, speaking Korean with, um, there was one thing that actually, I think, taught me the most Korean, and it's sort of stupid.

[00:28:57] Celeste Irwin: Well, it's My favorite thing ever. Um, but I became very well known for learning and telling, um, Korean dad jokes, um, and those probably taught me the most Korean out of everything. Um, and I am a menace, very much a menace. Um, these dad jokes, they're called ajegyegeu, which basically just mean dad jokes in Korean, essentially.

[00:29:23] Celeste Irwin: And, um. That is one of my favorite pastimes is telling a dad joke and seeing everyone's reaction because people get so mad about it. I tell a dad joke and they're like, get out of here. We don't want to talk to you. And they're, you know, they're all joking, but that was like one of, I think that was something like that surprise.

[00:29:44] Celeste Irwin: Like when I met someone new. And like a new Korean, I, you know, I would tell like a dad joke and they wouldn't even be expecting it. It was like coming out of left field and they, they think I'd be asking, like I'd ask a question and they think I'd be asking a legitimate question. And then I give them this like nonsense answer.

[00:30:00] Celeste Irwin: And then they'd be like, Oh man, like you got me. Um, so yeah, that, like those are, yeah, they're the best thing in the world. 

[00:30:12] Sophia DeYoung: I like it. I like that tactic a lot. 

[00:30:15] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, and there's so many, like, funny stories. I've become a lot more comfortable, I think, with, like, navigating new languages, even if I don't know anything from them.

[00:30:24] Celeste Irwin: Um, even this summer when I went to Taiwan, I don't know any Taiwanese. I don't know any Mandarin. I know how to say hi. That's it. And, but I, even with people that, like, barely spoke English, I feel much more comfortable, like, basically talking through a translator app, and, like, I still feel like I can get that, like, person to person connection, even though we don't speak the same language, and I think that's a, also a big thing, like, Some people are just like really like nervous about using the translation app and I'm like, they're just like, they're just like, Oh, I'm sorry.

[00:30:56] Celeste Irwin: I don't know English. And I'm like, no, I'm sorry. I don't know, like your language. And so, you know, it's much like, it's, it's fine to just use a translation app to talk to someone. It's like perfectly fine. People are still nice. So. No, yeah, 

[00:31:10] Celeste Irwin: that was the most, I think that was the most intimidating part for me, but I had a lot of those interactions.

[00:31:15] Sophia DeYoung: There was a staple coffee shop right by our school that we would always go to and, um, we, I had a lot of those same interactions and yeah, I was very decently surprised at like how welcoming and open they were to. My little, little, little, little, little knowledge of Italian, so I'm glad that you had also same experience and that helped you hopefully feel a little bit more comfortable in your space and in your city abroad, but I want to know overall reflecting on your entire time abroad.

[00:31:51] Sophia DeYoung: How would you say you've changed? 

[00:31:53] Celeste Irwin: Um, I feel like I've changed a lot. Um, I feel like the biggest thing is that I, this is going to sound like super cheesy and whatnot, but I feel like I found a sense of inner peace and I feel like I have learned to be happy with my own company, which I think is a lot of, it's something that a lot of people struggle with.

[00:32:15] Celeste Irwin: And I didn't, I don't think I really realized it right away and it sort of turned me more of into an introvert. Um, but I've noticed, especially since I've got back from Korea, I am very much more happy to, like, be on my own. Um, I like having my own space. I like doing things on my own. I don't feel uncomfortable going by myself to places to eat food or get coffee.

[00:32:41] Celeste Irwin: Um, and I think that was, it's very different from before because Before I went to Korea, I think it's a slow thing that's been going on and Korea just sped it up, but before I went to Korea, I would always be looking for people to spend time with, like, no matter what we were doing, I would always be happy to be around people, um, and I would almost, like, Sacrifice my like, uh, like, whether I like this person or not just to be around a person.

[00:33:11] Celeste Irwin: And now I feel like I'm much more like, uh, I guess, like, picky about the people I spend time with because I only want to spend time with people that bring joy to me and that I actually, like, actually want to be around, um, instead of just like the needing to be around anyone, regardless of who they are.

[00:33:28] Celeste Irwin: Um, so I think the, like, Independence of like having to do all of this by myself and not even knowing anyone when I went to Korea and having to figure all this out for myself. It really like brought this like sense of like I'm comfortable with myself. I'm happy to hang out with myself. I like myself and I'm a good friend to myself.

[00:33:47] Celeste Irwin: So, um, having that like sense of independence of like. piece of like, I know I can be happy just on my own and I don't really need people, um, like to, I don't need to be around people to feel like whole, like a whole person, so. 

[00:34:03] Sophia DeYoung: You put it beautifully. I totally understand and agree with what you're saying.

[00:34:09] Sophia DeYoung: I have been looking for the words on like how to describe it and I feel like I've done a lengthier, very, very, very lengthier process on explaining that, but inner peace is definitely it's beautiful. It literally is beautiful. I loved it. And my favorite thing was going around town by myself and like people watching and listening to the language, even no matter where I went.

[00:34:33] Sophia DeYoung: I love listening to different languages because it's just it's so, so beautiful. And 

[00:34:39] Celeste Irwin: Yeah. 

[00:34:40] Sophia DeYoung: I like, I'm speechless about it to this day as I am right now. 

[00:34:44] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, yeah, no, I agree with that. I, I again, a lot of walking by myself. Now, yeah. Be safe about it, right? Korea is very safe. I think Korea is a very safe place for foreigners to go to, um, because, you know, there's always people around.

[00:34:59] Celeste Irwin: So, it's not like you're going to be in like a dark alley or whatnot. And there's always lights on even at night. Um, but, yeah, I was, I felt comfortable and safe enough to be able to walk at any time of the day and just walk somewhere and. be comfortable with myself and watch people and listen to people and I think I sort of liked it because I didn't know what people were saying so then I didn't have to like pay attention I just was hearing sounds and I think that was very calming and then also I didn't get like annoyed with what people are saying because sometimes you know when I hear what they're saying I'm like Are you silly?

[00:35:33] Celeste Irwin: Um, but yeah, so, so having that just like and having the anonymity and just, you know, being able to relax by yourself and not have people that's what I liked a lot about Korea is not worrying about people approaching me and like, you know, talking to strangers and whatnot. That was sort of nice for me.

[00:35:51] Celeste Irwin: It's not necessarily for everyone, but I really, really liked that. 

[00:35:55] Sophia DeYoung: Absolutely. So, I want to know, do you have any advice or tips for future students going abroad or traveling in general to connect with the local culture? I mean, 

[00:36:07] Celeste Irwin: Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee, yes! Everyone should play Ultimate Frisbee.

[00:36:12] Celeste Irwin: Um, I, like, I, um, I'm sort of like beating a dead horse, but like, I Ultimate Frisbee is my community, no matter where I go. I played in Taiwan when I went to Taiwan. When I went to like the first day, I played pickup in Korea, like the second day that I was there. And you know, I knew zero people in Korea at that point.

[00:36:35] Celeste Irwin: And once I played pickup, I knew like 20 people. And I met one of my other best friends who is a Korean American. And we had played in the same tournament in the U. S. We just never met each other. Um, you know, Ultimate Frisbee really has been my rock because I always feel like I fit in there and I always feel like I'm welcome.

[00:36:53] Celeste Irwin: Um, but also like, I think it goes like. Further than that is, like, just like activities. So, like, finding group-based activities that, like, take the, like, sort of awkwardness about around, like, 1st introductions or, like, breaking through that, like, introduction barrier because a lot of, like, having just a lot of, like, um.

[00:37:15] Celeste Irwin: Activities you can go to. It's like, there's something that you're doing. So, it's like, oh, let me help you with that. Or like, do you have any questions? Or like, oh, nice to meet you. Like, do you like doing this? How long have you done this? Having that, like, shared activity that you can talk about and do together.

[00:37:30] Celeste Irwin: Um, and then you meet people through it and then you can, you know, and then you. Meet other people because they have friends that do this other thing that you like as well. And then, oh, let's go to this concert with these friends or let's go to a movie together. Let's go eat together. Um, so just finding like a, an activity, like a sport or anything really will really help you meet people in like a non-awkward, socially anxious way.

[00:37:55] Sophia DeYoung: Absolutely. Well, last but not least. If you were to study abroad again, would you do anything differently? 

[00:38:02] Celeste Irwin: I think the thing that I would just remember is just do it. Um, one of my captains commented, he was like, well, it's not like I'm not going to see you again. You're planning to come back. I'm like, yeah, but you never know.

[00:38:13] Celeste Irwin: And like the most important thing. For me is like, even if I do see you again, I want you like, I want people to know how I feel about them because we don't humans don't say enough how people like, make them feel or the impact that they've had on them and. I just think it's really important, no matter if you're gonna see, no matter if you're gonna see him tomorrow, like, it's, just say it right now, like, Thank you so much, or I really care about you, or like, you're one of my best friends, or like, I'm so glad I met you, and I'm gonna miss you, like, Those things are just like, so important to say, it's just like, you always want someone to know.

[00:38:51] Celeste Irwin: how you feel about them and how they've helped you or how they've, you know, impacted you. And so, you know, just taking the leap and saying the maybe embarrassing thing or saying the thing, you know, that's nerve wracking or doing the thing that might be embarrassing, like asking someone out or like, Being like, I want to be your friend.

[00:39:12] Celeste Irwin: Like those things, just do it because you've got a short timeline. Like even when I was in Taiwan, I definitely was like, I should have done this sooner or I should have said this thing sooner. Um, yeah, just, you know, do the thing you want to do. Say the thing you want to say, make those connections. Even if you make a fool out of yourself, it's just, you know, a joke for later.

[00:39:31] Celeste Irwin: It's just a funny story for later. Just do it for the plot, you know? 

[00:39:35] Sophia DeYoung: I love your perspective, um, you got me tearing up over here a little bit and chilled, like, I'm being so serious, like, just that everything that you said is so true and something that I heavily believe in as well, and something that being abroad did teach me, um, you know, like you said, you have a friend in France now, and I have a friend in Australia, Australia.

[00:39:56] Sophia DeYoung: I fortunately got to see her this year, um, which was not expected, but you know, you never really know. So, like Celeste said, make those connections, be brave, just make yourself happy and be your authentic self. Yeah, I don't know if I just repeated myself twice and if I did, whoops, but it's important. It deserves repeating.

[00:40:17] Sophia DeYoung: Absolutely. It was great to get to talk to you today and learn a little bit more about your experience abroad, especially with Ultimate Frisbee. I might have to try it out now. 

[00:40:27] Celeste Irwin: Yeah, you definitely have to. I one hundred percent recommend it. 

[00:40:30] Sophia DeYoung: Yeah. Your blog post was awesome too. You're a great writer. Um, I was reading this, and I was like, okay, but like I said, again, it was great to get to talk to you and I'm glad that you were able to share your experience and thank you for joining us today.

[00:40:46] Celeste Irwin: Thank you. 

[00:40:48] Closing: Thank you for listening to THE Study Abroad Pod, a podcast brought to you by the University Studies Abroad Consortium. Please listen, subscribe, and review us on Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow USAC on all your favorite social media channels @studyabroadusac, and if you have an idea for a future episode or you want to learn more about study abroad, you can email us at studyabroad@usac.edu.