Life as a Foreign Exchange Student Update 12/02/22
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Academics:
Only 3 school days left before reading and final exam weeks begin. I have been attending and keeping up with all of my classes due to my home school's study abroad grading policy. According to Occidental College, all classes must be taken for letter grades, not pass/fail. Some of my professors at Yonsei said they were concerned their students were missing excessive amounts of classes, which can result in failing their classes. In addition, I learn students and classmates I know were exploring around South Korea and traveling to other countries. Although having the urge to follow suit, I decided to stay in Seoul to save time, energy, and money.
CIEE activities with Seoulmates & YECCO:
I enjoyed socializing and getting to know native students who wanted to share their culture and practice their English communication. The CIEE staff hosted gathering and events that invited interns from the organizations to have more vibrant environments. There were opportunities to socialize with native students who were willing to be friends with foreign exchange students; thus, I felt more belonging in Seoul. Sadly, these reaccuring activities came to an end in the past two weeks, since final exams are about to begin.
Exploring Seoul with a Seoulmate:
From one of CIEE's activities, I was able to make a close friend who is a native student from Hanyang University, another school in Seoul. We enjoyed talking a lot about topics relating with our lives and cultures. Also, we helped each other practicing and exchanging mother-tongue languages. She taught me about aspects of Seoul culture that I never heard before. We met numerous times to study, shop, eat, and tour around Seoul. With her guidance while exploring Seoul, I felt more comfortable than unconciously strolling around places that does not have English.
Recently, the weather significantly dropped to freezing tempuratures. The autumn leaves finally vanished, signifying the beginning of Winter. The trees and plants became bare, only showing their branches. Compared with Los Angeles, California, South Korea's cold is more harsh which I am not used to. Long padding coat is a neccessity to survive this weather.
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