国際交流センター

【留学先】  仁荷大学
【学　部】  外国語学部　国際ビジネスコミュニケーション専攻
【期　間】  2022年8月1日～8月21日　　　　　　　　　　　
【氏　名】  N・Dさん（留学時：4年生）

1. 留学の目的 / Purpose

The purpose of my study abroad at Inha University in Korea was mainly to learn and experience the culture and study Korean business. Since the summer program was intensive and only three weeks long, exploring the country was also one of my goals.

2. 留学を通して学んだこと / Learning

One of the biggest lessons I learned during the three weeks was to be patient and to learn how to adjust and adapt. The summer program had many participants from different parts of the world: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Germany, England, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and so on. We were more than a hundred in the program living and studying together. With all of these different nationalities, I had a really hard time communicating and working with people. The struggle came from the difference in culture and background, but also the difference in English ability. Just like what I experienced during my studies in Minnesota, the way we take an approach and work on our assignment was totally different, and that was expected. Therefore, I did not struggle that much at that point. However, I had a really hard time communicating and trying to understand my friend’s English. Having most of the participants from a country where English is not the national language, it was a hassle to talk and understand each other.
At the same time, I also had a hard time speaking and understanding Korean. I never thought I would stay in Korea for my studies. Although in classes, we got to learn and study in English, the outside school was all in Korean. Before going to Korea, I knew several words, and I also had a class for Korean basics, so I was learning the language at the same time. However, my ability in Korean was not enough to survive. Therefore, it was stressful for me to go out when I had to talk to locals.
Being able to speak three languages, I have never experienced the struggle with a language barrier, and I have never experienced the struggle in the use of the same language. However, throughout the three weeks in Korea, I have learned how to be patient with language problems. It was not what I had expected to learn the most, but I think it was an important issue to experience and learn from.

3. 達成できたこと・できなかったこととその理由 / Achievements

Seeing and experiencing a new culture in and out of the classroom was one of the goals I achieved. The language, the people, the tradition, and so on, every aspect of Korea has been eye-opening to me. One thing I was not able to achieve was using the language. Although I learned how to read and write Hangeul, I could not speak the language. I was too shy to speak and was afraid that I might say something inappropriate. However, I am still glad that I got to improve in reading and writing.

4. 留学前後での変化 / Changes

I did not know what to expect going to Korea. It was not something I wanted, and I wasn’t really into the culture. However, seeing the difference between the countries I have been to was very interesting. I think there are things that every country can learn a lot from each other. It was very interesting and exciting to see and experience new things that I thought I was not interested in. After all my great and fun experiences in Korea, I think I became more open and more curious about all the “new.”

5. 放課後や週末の生活と写真 / Memories

The staff and some of the students who helped us throughout the whole program took us out for dinner. We had typical Korean fried chicken and other foods. This is the picture from that day with the supporters from Inha University.