The autumn semester at the Language Institute of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
Wing
5 months ago
The fall semester will close registration in early August, but I decided a bit late, so I bothered the staff at Creatrip to help me contact the school and confirm the relevant documents. I really appreciate the staff at Creatrip for helping me follow up on the progress until I actually received the email from the school. Finally, just about 4 to 5 days before departure, I safely obtained the D4 visa issued by the embassy and started my short-term study abroad life in Korea :)
Because I applied too late, all the dormitories at the school were full, so in the end I chose to live in a share house where I can meet more people. Assuming that I don't make any new friends at school, I can still go out with the people here. If you want more privacy, I recommend renting a one room near the school or the exam institute. School starts on September 4th, but I arrived in Korea three days early. I plan to familiarize myself with the nearby roads and figure out how to get to school or which bus number to take. Fortunately, my roommates go to the same school, so they will take me to school together, so I don't have to worry about not knowing when to get off!
The first two days of school, my classmates were still unsure because some classmates did not participate in the placement test at the end of August, so it usually takes until the third day to confirm which classmates are in the same class. Our classmates are relatively diverse, with foreign classmates, Chinese classmates, and Japanese classmates, so we mainly communicate in Korean when talking to classmates. But our classmates and teachers are all very nice, so we quickly became close and even made plans to go out to eat and explore together.
Foreign language courses at the university only take half a day, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with 3 breaks in between. You can go to the restroom during the breaks, and if you're hungry, you can buy something to eat during the break time. Honestly, the teachers are quite easygoing, as long as you don't hinder the progress of the class or disturb other students, the teachers won't really bother you. In the third level class, we read texts, explain vocabulary words, and sometimes have dictation exercises, but the majority of the class is speaking practice! It's rumored that there is a lot of speaking practice at the university compared to other schools, and there really is a lot even after class. For example, during regular class, you will have speaking practice with your classmates using the grammar learned that day, and before midterm and final exams, there are experience sharing sessions and drama performances. On the other hand, there is relatively less writing practice, probably around 4 to 5 times in a semester excluding exams. If you really want to practice speaking more, I highly recommend choosing the university!
Some schools seem to have cultural experience activities in addition to classes, but the Language Institute of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies does not. Students who want to experience it can only go out and explore with friends or classmates. The school also holds a sports day, and basically all students can participate. The atmosphere is pretty good~ Since it was before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the school also distributed some mooncakes for us to eat, but whether they are tasty or not... XD Personally, I quite like them, but all the foreign students can't accept it, XD I'm not sure if the school holds different activities every semester, but they also have mentoring that you can apply for. There are about 3 to 4 mentoring programs organized by different units, so if you want to make Korean friends, be sure to apply quickly! Because the applicants are not only Language Institute students, but also exchange students who come to the Language Institute, it fills up quickly! Whether you can meet good Korean friends depends on luck, but at least when you live in Korea, if you have any questions or uncertainties, there are people you can ask. Of course, you can also ask the school teachers, they will answer your daily life questions~
When studying abroad, besides classes, the most important thing is of course eating! After all, food is a top priority (just kidding :P). Currently, there are only two cafeterias open on campus, the student cafeteria and the faculty cafeteria. The student cafeteria has prices starting at 4000 won or higher, while the faculty cafeteria has prices starting at 6500 won. The faculty cafeteria offers only one menu for lunch and dinner, but the advantage is that there are more side dishes, so you can eat more and the taste is not bad, although it's not incredibly delicious. The student cafeteria offers three menus for lunch, usually two main dish menus and one noodle dish. If none of these options interest you, they also serve seaweed rice rolls and ramen every day. The prices are cheaper compared to the faculty cafeteria, but the side dishes are relatively fewer and the variety of dishes is really limited. However, if you like kimchi, you can add as much as you want for free at the cafeteria, and the taste is proportional to the price. Sometimes if you don't want to eat at the school cafeteria, you can eat outside the school. There are also many different restaurants near the school. You can also walk about 10 to 15 minutes to the Kyung Hee University area to eat. There are also many restaurants there.
If you want to practice speaking more, or if you want to have more personal time for different activities after class, or if you are a fan who wants to chase stars after class XD, it is recommended to consider studying a foreign language. Hope everyone can have a wonderful study abroad experience!~ :) (Attached is a photo of autumn leaves taken at school in the fall~ Beautiful~)
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