Life as a Foreign Exchange Student Update 10/4/22 & Home School Instagram Takeover

On-campus Involvement: Being a foreign exchange student without having sufficient Korean, I am not involved in student life on campus. I experienced and learned the language barrier was more than struggling in communication. It hindered social interaction with native Korean students in classes and on-campus events. However, I found socializing with other exchange students was easier. Because we spoke the same language and reside in a foreign country, I made great friendships and connections with those students. Classes and CIEE programs gave me these opportunities.

Classes: I am on top of all of my classes. There were not many homework assignments and tests. I did not skip any classes. My computer science class felt like a first year level even though it is targeted towards 4th year students. The workload was a little below average than my home school’s except I have to take more than four classes. Most classes contain 3 units each, so CIEE students and myself must take 5 or more classes to maintain our eligibility in our program. This means we have to juggle numerous subjects rather than handling huge amounts of workload. But, with more free time, I get to have plenty of fun around Seoul.

On this day, I shared my study abroad experience to my home school, Occidental College, on their Instagram page (@occidentalcollege). I posted videos and pictures of my past activities on the stories. Because the stories are temporary, there is an Instagram Reel that highlights my takeover and my time in Korea.