Vacation with My Cousins

Summer break always goes by faster than I expect, but before everything gets busy again, I wanted to write a little about one of my favorite parts of this summer: our family trip to Paraspara Seoul. It was a short one-night getaway with my cousins’ family, and it was exactly the kind of trip I needed — simple, cozy, and full of those little moments that stick with you.

The Resort

Paraspara itself was beautiful — one of those places that feels just far enough outside of the city to feel peaceful, but still pretty easy to get to. The rooms were bright and cozy, with huge windows that let in sunlight every morning. Even at night, it was so quiet and still, which felt really calming after a semester of constantly running from class to meetings to work. The resort also had a bunch of little fun things built in — enough that we basically stayed on-site the whole time and didn’t feel the need to go anywhere else.

Pool Days in the Middle of Summer

The pool was easily the highlight for my cousins (who are 13 and 6 — much younger than me but very fun to hang out with). It was blazing hot outside, but the water was perfect. We swam every single day we were there — racing, floating, playing random pool games, and trying to see who could be the fastest swimmer (I lost, unfortunately. Never underestimate an eager youngling).

There’s something so refreshing about being in the water during the middle of a hot Korean summer — you just forget everything else for a while and enjoy being completely weightless. And watching my cousins have the time of their lives splashing around made it even better.

Karaoke Marathons

It turns out that a love of singing may be a family trait. We ended up doing karaoke for hours — full-on marathon sessions that started out casual and quickly escalated into full performances. My younger cousin confidently jumped in on every song, even when he didn’t know the words, while my older cousin was fully committed to singing amazing songs that I didn't even know. I definitely pulled out a few dramatic songs myself (as one does).

Somehow, we’d start singing in the afternoon, and suddenly it would be like two hours, and we’d be bargaining for “just one more song.” It’s one of those simple things that never really gets old.

The Arcade & A Small Figurine Museum

Between pool sessions and karaoke, we also spent plenty of time in the resort’s small arcade corner, which became our daily post-dinner hangout spot. There was a lot of very serious arcade basketball competition happening, and my cousins and I also got pretty competitive.

Paraspara also had a tiny figurine museum area tucked inside one of the buildings. It was a small display, but surprisingly fun to look through. What made it even better was watching my dad and my uncle get so excited as they recognized all these characters from shows they watched as kids. They were pointing at every figure, laughing, and basically turning into little kids themselves. It was very wholesome watching them geek out together.

A Little About My Cousins

Even with the big age gap between us, I really love talking to my cousins. They always have these thoughtful little observations that catch me off guard in the best way. I think a huge part of why our conversations feel so natural is because they don’t have personal phones yet — which is something I’m grateful for.

My aunt has been intentional about not giving them phones, and I can genuinely see the difference. They’re present. They know how to carry a conversation, how to ask real questions, how to tell stories. And as someone who works in a developmental psych lab studying kids and technology use, I’ve seen what early phone addiction can do — shortened attention spans, difficulty holding conversations, and just less ability to engage in the world around them.

It’s not easy for parents to hold that boundary these days, but my aunt has, and I admire her for it. And even though my cousins don’t always love being the only ones in their friend groups without phones, I think they’re starting to see the benefits, too. They have a particular emotional awareness and curiosity that’s hard to develop when you’re constantly distracted by screens. It makes spending time with them feel really meaningful.

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This trip wasn’t some big, complicated vacation — no packed schedules or elaborate itineraries — but that’s exactly why I loved it. Just being with family, swimming, singing, playing arcade games, and having simple conversations was more than enough.

Sometimes the best part of summer isn’t about going far away or doing something huge. It’s about slowing down enough to actually enjoy the people around you. And I know these are the kinds of little memories I’ll hold onto later.

Just like the little rabbit bracelet my dad made with green foxtails!