In this blog post, I’ll share how the shock and excitement of my first overseas trip during elementary school changed the course of my life, as well as the various insights I gained from my solo trip to Spain as a college student.
My First Travel Experience and Its Impact
I love to travel. My love for travel began in second grade, when I went abroad with my family for the first time. It was my first-ever trip, taking me far away from the place where I was born and raised. At the time, I believed that my home, school, and neighborhood were the entirety of my world, so finding myself suddenly dropped into an unfamiliar place came as quite a shock. That experience set the course for the rest of my life. A lot of time has passed since then. Over the years, I have visited many places both in Korea and abroad. I have grown through these travels, and the fragments of those memories have come together to shape who I am today.
What kept me going during the grueling, war-like process of preparing for college entrance exams was the anticipation of being able to travel freely to wherever I wanted once I was accepted. And finally, I became a college student. Until then, my travels had consisted of tagging along with my parents or going on package tours arranged by travel agencies. But this time, I wanted to take the lead: choose where I wanted to go, eat what I wanted to eat, and visit places that others rarely go to but that hold hidden beauty. So, I decided to go on an independent trip and recruited friends to join me.
Experiences and Insights from an Independent Trip to Spain
After exchanging ideas with my friends and consulting with a travel agency representative, we decided on Spain as our destination. We agreed that each person would take responsibility for 2–3 cities and act as a guide. To do this, we researched information about the destinations and made detailed plans.
On the first day, we gathered at the airport, feeling equal parts anxious and excited. Although I had taken many flights abroad before, the airport always gave me a new sense of excitement. Perhaps I had learned how to pass the long hours on the plane without getting bored, because it didn’t feel long at all. And late at night, we set foot on Spanish soil for the first time.
Our first stop was Madrid, the capital of Spain. The scenery and atmosphere there were completely different from Seoul. In Seoul, even inside the old palace grounds, you can see high-rise buildings; the entire city is filled with modern structures, and most people live in apartment-style housing. The wide roads are packed with cars, and people on the streets move about busily. Madrid, however, like most European cities, seemed to have preserved its appearance from hundreds of years ago. The buildings were rarely taller than three stories, and the classic-style structures built long ago were well-preserved and still in use today. Seeing this, I thought about how foreigners visiting Seoul might feel. While modern beauty is nice, I felt we need to preserve our traditions a bit more.
During our trip, the Euro soccer tournament was taking place. On the day of the match between Spain and Portugal, we were in Seville. Portugal, Spain’s closest neighbor, has been a rival since the Age of Discovery. At one time, Spain and Portugal divided the world between them, and today they are both powerhouses representing European soccer. Long before the match began that day, people wearing Spanish jerseys and waving flags were a common sight on the streets. Although we couldn’t understand their language, they conveyed a message asking us to cheer for Spain. That night, after finishing our planned itinerary, we decided to go to a bar to watch the game on TV, even though we hadn’t been able to attend the stadium. Watching the match alongside the Spaniards, we could truly feel their passion for soccer. One man, though we couldn’t understand him, provided expert-level commentary and analysis on every moment of the game. The tightly contested match went into extra time and eventually reached a penalty shootout. It was amusing to see people’s emotions swing wildly with every single kick.
Spain ultimately won the match, and we breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no one knows what might have happened in that bar if Spain had lost.
Food is an essential part of our travels. I’ve always placed a high value on food. So, if I find a restaurant with good reviews, I’ll go out of my way to visit it, no matter how far it is. Spain was no exception. When planning the trip, I had researched a list of good restaurants and their locations in advance. However, in Spain, as long as a restaurant looked appealing from the outside, the food was usually delicious. The local cuisine also seemed to suit Korean tastes well. One dish that stands out in my memory is paella, Spain’s signature dish made with saffron-infused yellow rice and a variety of seafood, vegetables, and meat. I also tried dishes made from beef cheeks and oxtail. I sampled cod dishes characterized by their unique sauces, and I even tried gazpacho made from fermented tomatoes, though it didn’t quite suit my taste.
True to its reputation as the homeland of great artists, Spain boasts a rich collection of artworks, both in quantity and quality. In particular, Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” which I had only seen in books, was a masterpiece beyond my imagination. The sheer size of the piece alone was overwhelming, vividly conveying the pain of war. I could truly feel that Picasso was in a league of his own. I regretted not having enough time to visit Figueres, the hometown of Salvador Dalí, a leading figure of the Surrealist movement that I love. However, I definitely want to visit Figueres someday.
My trip to Spain during the sweltering summer remains an unforgettable memory for me. Since it was a trip just with friends, we had plenty of fun moments. Even now, whenever life gets tough or boring, I often find myself thinking about just packing up and heading somewhere. I’m looking forward to my next trip, but for now, I’m still caught up in the daily grind.
