Q: Initially, what made you decide to study abroad? Why did you choose your program?
A: I wanted to try study abroad since I heard that it would help you grow as a person, and it did as I learned so many things when studying at Korea. Mostly how to communicate with people which is what I had a hard time doing before going; I still do but I am able to adjust to it now.
Q: What was the highlight of your study abroad experience?
A: It was definitely my three day all nightery when I was typing out an essay for my East Asian Cinema class. It was a type of class that I would have never applied for at Merced, but abroad I wanted to try something new in my academics. It was very difficult as I never typed anything in regards to the film industry but I was always interested. Typing that essay made me realize that 3 days is not enough, and this was my first time actively typing three days in advance. I would type and type then realize I have no idea what message I was trying to convey. Every paragraph I would check my work and keep thinking to myself, does this makes sense? If it didn't I would change some sentences here and there until it did. On the last night when I finished the paper six hours before its deadline I felt so accomplished and proud, even though I typed the minimum page count of 6. But I was proud of having worked so hard on the paper even if it might not be my best paper, it had a lot of good memories of the last 3 days in Korea I was just trying my best. And also the 17 hour nap afterwards felt great; fixed my sleep schedule for me.
Q: What was your greatest challenge abroad and how did you overcome it?
A: My greatest challenge was trying to read and understand Korean, being bilingual I thought that I got this, I can learn Korean easily. I was so wrong. I would actively keep trying to learn the language even on my nights out and barely get any progress. I would put myself out there in Korean class just to fail epically. However, failing did not push me down it made want to keep trying and made the language learning so much fun. Even if I might have been the least literate one in my Korean class, I had fun trying my hardest. Although I can confidently understand people who speak to me in Korean, introduce myself, and order food (the essentials). Can I live in Korea with my limited Korean though... probably but that's what I believe. Preserving to learn Korean was one of the best experiences I had in my life so far.
Q: How did your coursework abroad compare to your courses at UC Merced?
A: The coursework abroad was just as heavy at UC Merced, although that might have been my fault as I decided to take Biochemistry, Beginning Korean, and East Asian Cinema instead of just taking two classes. Or just don't take a stem class I did not need. But I had fun regardless because I love to dive into a lot of work even if my outside attitude to work is very whiney. Having a busy schedule just makes me feel good and getting things done also feels good especially when good progress is being made. Although next time I might just go for two courses so I could do a better job on my courses, because stress was existent.
Q: What did you gain from your study abroad experience?
A: I gained a lot of unforgettable bonds and experiences, learning the culture and its people was something I always hungered for when studying abroad. Especially the different types of architecture in the cities. It was great to learn how different things can be in a different side of the world. I loved getting to connect with people the most as being able to talk with others who are also lost in a new culture feels so surreal. Its like, wow! Making connections and learning are one in the same as people always make the world feel so nice.
Q: What advice do you have for students considering study abroad?
A: If you want to do extracurricular activities take only two courses as you would find it close to impossible to find healthy times to study when your schedule is always packed. And don't trust the weekend to cover for all your study times because you would want to seize the moment and go out and explore all the country has to offer instead.
Q: Describe a typical day for you abroad.
A: I would begin everyday of the week at six in the morning and call one of my friends to wake them up and tell them let's go to the convenience store for breakfast. This is because nothing other than the convenience store is open before nine in the morning. We would eat grumpily since we are not morning dudes and admire convenience store food. But when it hits time to go to class we would begin to panic and sprint down the mountainous campus whether rain or shine, this was our morning routine. I would go through two of my classes till lunchtime to meet-up with my morning companion along with other people we have collected to eat lunch. The lunch areas were always packed when we go there as people are rushing to get food into there stomachs before the next class. Finding a seat for my group to eat at was always an ongoing mission as we had some people in our group who had class soon as well. We would rush our food and see our friend out to their class. I would then rush with my companions to a nearby cafe to practice Korean since later in the day that is my class. Once its time for Korean we would run up five flights of stairs to avoid the Korean class rush of full elevators. I would then be mortally wounded by the words in Korean class, as I would mostly fail and forget everything I learned. After Korean class, I would burst out running to Taekwondo since it is on the other side of campus and I would only have five minutes to get there. Once I'm at Taekwondo I would train for about two hours and finish at around eight. This here is the most challenging part of the day as I would go downtown with friends in search of food. Most restaurants close at eight so finding food is always close to a five star difficulty. Once we found a place to eat I would feel so delighted and have fun conversations with my companions. I would then get back to my dorm at either nine or ten and begin to study until twelve and go to sleep to get ready for another crazy day.
