The Struggles of an Exchange Student: Yonsei University Edition

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Joselin Rosales

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Joselin Rosales

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> ์•ˆ๋…•ํ•˜์„ธ์š”! <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> Georgetown University <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2022 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Seoul, South Korea <i>Program provider:</i> CIEE <i>Major/minor:</i> Linguistics major, Japanese minor, Asian Studies Certificate <i>Demographics:</i> Mexican-American, first-generation, low-income <i>Future career aspirations:</i> After graduating, I hope to teach English in South Korea or Japan (or maybe both!) for a couple of years. Not only will this be a great way to test-try a potential long-term career in teaching, but it will also allow me to enhance my current Japanese and future Korean skills. As a linguistics major, it might be evident, but I hope to continue polishing up my current language skills and learn new languages throughout the course of my life. I have been exposed to cultures entirely different from my own by learning languages, and although it has not been easy, it has opened up the door to incredible opportunities which I will always be thankful for. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> 1. Communicate effectively in Korean for at least 10 minutes 2. Learn about English teaching programs in South Korea 3. Walk around the Han River while listening to "Love Maze" by BTS

The first week out of quarantine was blissful. I finally met some of the students who were in the same program, I got acquainted with the fast-paced life in Seoul, and I was exploring Seoul without worrying about homework. Sadly, the carefree life ended once classes started on June 29. That is not to say that I have completely stopped exploring just because I am in classes, rather it means that my travels are limited. You see, part of being an exchange student is finding a balance between school work and exploring. The way I think of this is โ€œdo I want to remember my experience abroad as solely doing homework, or do I want to remember both travels and maybe some school work?โ€ I would say the latter.

For the next 6 weeks, I will be enrolled in Yonsei International Summer School, and I will be taking a course called โ€œKorean Popular Culture and the Korean Waveโ€ and Beginner Level I Korean. Because of my interest in Korean pop music and Korean dramas, after I heard about the first course, I knew I had to take it. And indeed, after reading over our syllabus which contained a week dedicated to the BTS phenomenon and watching my favorite Korean drama as homework, I was absolutely ecstatic about the course. The language class was also something I knew I wanted to take if given the opportunity to come to Korea. I had always wanted to take Korean language classes at my home university, but because I was already taking intensive Japanese classes, I did not have the time. It was going to be a challenge to come to a country without knowledge of their languageโ€”and it still isโ€”but I also welcome the challenge as someone who loves learning about cultures and languages.

While I have adjusted fairly well to my classes, I have noticed some differences with my home university, particularly in the language class. Even though I have taken fast-paced, intensive Japanese classes for the past two years, the Korean class I am currently enrolled in is different. Whereas in my Japanese class we would have spent a couple of days on newly learned grammar, this Korean course allots just one day with minimal review the following day. I understand this is due to the shorted course schedule (6 weeks versus an entire semester), but it has not been easy. One thing I am grateful for is my knowledge of Japanese because it allows me to transfer certain grammar points or reasoning to Korean. I notice other students struggle in understanding why particles (for example) are needed, and I remember being in their place 2 years ago with Japanese. Nonetheless, while it is fast-paced, I have the advantage of being immersed in the culture and hearing the language all around meโ€”and I love that.

One of my goals for this program was to be able to communicate in Korean for at least 10 minutes. When I wrote that it seemed like such an impossible task, but now I can introduce myself, point to things, and make simple sentences. Suddenly that goal does not seem as scary.