Before going to Germany, I watched lots of movies to improve my English and , a German fairy tale, was one of them. Although she longed to leave the tower, Rapunzel hesitated to leave despite having the chance. On the last day of August 2015, I boarded a flight to Germany full of excitement

What comes to mind when you imagine your life in a foreign country as an exchange student? I am pretty sure you’ve dreamt of dormitory parties almost every night and mingling with roommates and classmates from different countries, just like the images presented on American TV series. You will also l

“As a Tree with the Passage of Time” This is the motto of the University of Toronto (U of T). Just as the motto states, inside everyone is a trees that is growing constantly. Its appearance changes and matures over time. In my case, I used to suffocate my small sprouting tree under a thorny bush for

One day I pondered why I was leading a life full of struggle. I dreamed of seeing the world. How could I better learn firsthand a culture outside of Korea. It was then I decided to apply for Sookmyung Women’s University exchange student program. Just the thought of it excited me: living overseas, le

Santa Claus, Moomin, lakes, saunas, birch trees and xylitol. What do all of these things have in common? They are all from Finland. From August 2014 to August 2015, I studied at the University of Tampere as an exchange student. Everyone, including my parents, criticized my choice, but it was a wise

I lived in the United States for two semesters as an exchange student. I had a fabulous time at Coe College (Coe), and it’s my pleasure to share my experience with fellow Sookmyungians, especially students considering applying for an exchange program. At first, I enrolled in the program expecting to

After completing my fourth semester of school, I wondered how to best improve myself. I came across the exchange student program on our university community website. At first it was really hard to decide which university to apply because there were so many available and in so many various countries.

Hello Sookmyungians. I am a student from the Department of Education who went to University of California, Davis for half a year; i.e., the Fall and Winter Quarters, as an exchange student. UC Davis is located in the city of Davis and offers students a pleasant study environment. Since Davis is loca

Becoming an international exchange student was one of my goals after entering university. After applying for and being selected, I started on my journey to Griffith College Dublin, Ireland for my senior year. Despite the reluctance by some people to persuade me to give it up for this being my final

I had always dreamed of living in a foreign country and wanted to experience a different culture. However, I was also a little worried, and I didn’t really expect my dream to come true. My days in Switzerland were like a dream come true, but some days were scary nightmares. Nevertheless, I love my d

I spent a dreamlike summer vacation at UC Berkeley, which I summarize as long yet short. It was a completely new environment for me, but I was able to attain good scores by studying hard just as I do at Sookmyung. I also traveled a lot in my spare time and made friends from all over the world. In th

After graduating high school, I thought I would finally do something that I wanted, not something I was required. However, I had to make choices that would benefit my future job. “I learned how to play piano and traveled around the world simply because I loved those activities” is not a a good state

In winter of 2013, I participated in the Global Best Program in Hawaii to have a new experience. Throughout the 3 weeks of the program, I used my English skills in the real world, and I had a wonderful time experiencing a new culture. It was a short time but I learned and experienced many things. Al

Life is the C (choice) between B (birth) and D (death). The one summarize my year exchange at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM). Not only did I have to make a choice when selecting the program, I had to make several choices to open doors that presented themselves in front of me. Hiking mountai

“I thought you wanted to learn Chinese. Why are you going to Taiwan? The nation uses traditional Chinese characters and does not include character substitutions created after 1946 or newly developed ones either. It does not use the Chinese language of mainland China.” The thought of not using simpli

Europa Universitat Viadrina Frankfurt (EUVF) is located near the border of Poland and Germany. Whenever we wanted to eat pizza, we had to cross the river that links Poland and Germany. We went shopping for cosmetics and groceries in Poland but lived in Germany. It was a really unique experience as a

Last summer, the famous TV program, Grandpa over Flowers, which aired on tvN network, attracted great attention from audiences in Korea. I learnt for myself about the trend of traveling to Taiwan when I found Taiwan travel book on display as a bestseller in bookstores. People of all ages have opened

Reminiscing over the precious moments I had in Geneva last August, I suddenly felt as if I were still there. The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) program, not only gave me the s

Repeating the same routine every day was draining. I wanted to experience something new and feel excited every single moment. I contemplated whether studying abroad could offer me such an opportunity

There is a Chinese saying “Above, there is heaven; below, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.” I heard this saying many times, but I wondered whether Suzhou and Hangzhou were really good places