Living in America

by Meagan Parish

Hyunju Lee is a student here at Wilson College on foreign exchange from South Korea. She has a kind, but shy demeanor and is in her third year of college, studying communications. Back home, she attends the Seoul Women’s University, located in the Nowon District of Seoul, South Korea. Upon deciding to come study aboard, Hyunju explains, “I wanted to have new experiences; America is so big. I want to explore and learn more English.”

 

Hyunju, along with many other of our foreign exchange students, spend much of their time here traveling and earning their new experiences. Hyunju herself has visited places such as Florida, D.C., and New Jersey, among other places and states. She along with her friends from the same university are here for the entire year. This leaves ample time on breaks and weekends for these trips. “Traveling is my favorite part of being here,” she says, “The U.S. is much larger than Korea.”

However, being aboard in a foreign country comes with hardships and difficulties especially when you’re still learning the language.

English is proven to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Americans study English for years in school before college. Learning English as a second language gets even more complicated due to its complexity. Hyunju says, “Learning English has been difficult, and it makes it hard to make friends.” Outside of her English classes, she doesn’t have many chances to practice English. When difficulties arise, the language barrier only makes things harder.

During the first semester here at Wilson, she ended up breaking the back of her iPhone. With Americans common travel being by car, it makes it hard to go anywhere off campus and it is hard to locate where a place that could fix her phone. Though the challenges are difficult, she enjoys the experience it gives her.

While studying in America, Hyunju and other foreign exchange students take different classes than what full-time students take here at Wilson.

The classes she has been taking have been geared more toward learning about American culture and the English language. She says, “It is hard to have class discussions. I can answer questions, but continuing a conversation is hard.” While this adds to the difficulty, she is steadily getting better at speaking and is determined to continue.

Attending school here has made her want to reach out and go to other countries. It has provided her with choices for her future. She may not come back to America, but is open to exploring other countries for career opportunities.

With coming to America, Hyunju has noticed many culture differences between America and South Korea with both education and with people.

“There is a divide between generations in Korea,” she says. The older generations have more traditional views and believe the younger generations should focus on having a successful family and contributing to the country. The younger generation has begun to split from this idea; they want instead to work on personal goals. Specifically, many women have been choosing not to get married and instead put more time into their careers.

Additionally, she explains that when passing strangers in Korea on the street, they won’t smile at you or say hello. “It surprises me when strangers greet me or smile, I am not sure what to do,” Hyunju explained.

Educationally wise, the countries have too completely different grading systems. She explains that in Korea, a student can still receive an overall poor grade even if they got good individual scores. In America, the overall grade of a student can change quickly with just one good or bad grade.

Dorming can also be quite different. At Hyunju’s university in Korea, students who lived the farthest from school got dorms first and if a student did not get a dorm, they would have to commute to school every day. Whereas in America most colleges offer dorms to everyone as well as having an off-campus option.

Overall, Hyunju really enjoys being on exchange in America; it changed a lot for her. It has greatly impacted what she might choose her future to be.

Hyunju Lee is a student here at Wilson College on foreign exchange from South Korea. She has a kind, but shy demeanor and is in her third year of college, studying communications. Back home, she attends the Seoul Women’s University, located in the Nowon District of Seoul, South Korea. Upon deciding to come study aboard, Hyunju explains, “I wanted to have new experiences; America is so big. I want to explore and learn more English.”

Hyunju, along with many other of our foreign exchange students, spend much of their time here traveling and earning their new experiences. Hyunju herself has visited places such as Florida, D.C., and New Jersey, among other places and states. She along with her friends from the same university are here for the entire year. This leaves ample time on breaks and weekends for these trips. “Traveling is my favorite part of being here,” she says, “The U.S. is much larger than Korea.”

However, being aboard in a foreign country comes with hardships and difficulties especially when you’re still learning the language.

English is proven to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Americans study English for years in school before college. Learning English as a second language gets even more complicated due to its complexity. Hyunju says, “Learning English has been difficult, and it makes it hard to make friends.” Outside of her English classes, she doesn’t have many chances to practice English. When difficulties arise, the language barrier only makes things harder.

During the first semester here at Wilson, she ended up breaking the back of her iPhone. With Americans common travel being by car, it makes it hard to go anywhere off campus and it is hard to locate where a place that could fix her phone. Though the challenges are difficult, she enjoys the experience it gives her.

While studying in America, Hyunju and other foreign exchange students take different classes than what full-time students take here at Wilson.

The classes she has been taking have been geared more toward learning about American culture and the English language. She says, “It is hard to have class discussions. I can answer questions, but continuing a conversation is hard.” While this adds to the difficulty, she is steadily getting better at speaking and is determined to continue.

Attending school here has made her want to reach out and go to other countries. It has provided her with choices for her future. She may not come back to America, but is open to exploring other countries for career opportunities.

With coming to America, Hyunju has noticed many culture differences between America and South Korea with both education and with people.

“There is a divide between generations in Korea,” she says. The older generations have more traditional views and believe the younger generations should focus on having a successful family and contributing to the country. The younger generation has begun to split from this idea; they want instead to work on personal goals. Specifically, many women have been choosing not to get married and instead put more time into their careers.

Additionally, she explains that when passing strangers in Korea on the street, they won’t smile at you or say hello. “It surprises me when strangers greet me or smile, I am not sure what to do,” Hyunju explained.

Educationally wise, the countries have too completely different grading systems. She explains that in Korea, a student can still receive an overall poor grade even if they got good individual scores. In America, the overall grade of a student can change quickly with just one good or bad grade.

Dorming can also be quite different. At Hyunju’s university in Korea, students who lived the farthest from school got dorms first and if a student did not get a dorm, they would have to commute to school every day. Whereas in America most colleges offer dorms to everyone as well as having an off-campus option.

Overall, Hyunju really enjoys being on exchange in America; it changed a lot for her. It has greatly impacted what she might choose her future to be.

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