This past July, I had the opportunity to visit Seoul, South Korea with a friend. My stay was a week. Being there for a week my life was so much different from New York City. Prior to my trip, I had seen several YouTube videos of foreigners talking about their experience living in South Korea. I was well aware of some of the challenges I would face such as Korean people staring at me, trying to talk to me or and touch my hair or face.

To begin my journey I had to take a plane from New York City to Shanghai, China. Once I got to Asia, specifically Shanghai the awkward foreigner interactions started. On the airport shuttle bus, one Asian woman stared at me the whole ride to the airport. At the airport, the workers directed me to the wrong counter. The counter worker had an attitude while talking to me. In Shanghai, I got my connecting flight to Seoul. When I got to South Korea the cultural curiosities continued. I eventually met up with my friend who is also a woman of color.