Jia Jung, TEAN: South Korea Spring 2024
School spirit. I never felt a sense of pride, harmony, or community in any of my school settings. I didn’t really attend high school spirit week or college games. However, due to program requirements, I had the opportunity to experience it during my time abroad. Ipselenti was the name of the event. This Ipselenti event was led by smaller events days before. During the weekday they had artists come out in front of the school courtyard and had students filling up the whole area! Students left class early to line up waiting even up to 5 hours. Sadly, I was not able to leave class and had to watch from the outside but it was still amazing! Right outside, food trucks ranging from sushi to hot dogs were present and also had tens of students waiting in the line.
My fellow international friends were also looking forward to these smaller events and the Ipselenti itself, which made me feel a little excited. Getting ready for the event, from buying temporary tattoos to basketball jerseys, was exciting, as was seeing others dressed in a fiery red. The spirit in this aspect was how boisterous we were as tigers and how competitive we were against the eagles at Yonsei University. We were guided onto the soccer field at the time of the event by a sea of red. It was really difficult to see students crammed into areas in an attempt to get closer to the stage. However, all of that became insignificant when the event’s hosts arrived. Every student was buzzing with anticipation, wondering who would take over the show as the performer.
I should address something before continuing: the chants. To ensure that we could chime with the others, we spent weeks perfecting the chants. However, when the moment arrived, I felt extremely reserved and under pressure. I was sweating and looking around when the local students welcomed us to join their circle. It was the greatest and only school event I’ve ever attended; there was never a dull moment as we jammed and chanted along with well-known K-pop stars and enjoyed Right after New Jeans (one of the best 4th generation girl groups) played, there were huge fireworks that lit up the night sky and left everyone in awe.
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