It feels like only yesterday I was sitting in front of the computer at my workplace wondering about my days in South Korea. I applied for the student exchange program with Korean government scholarship which was highly competitive. There were only eight students selected from several countries and four of them included me came out from the same university. I am in the senior year of my study in Universitas Internasional Batam majoring accounting, working on my thesis and having no more classes to attend. Quitting a job never crossed on my mind, but who could resist the offer to study in South Korea for one semester?

I was really happy when I received a message from my university about the approval of the GKS student exchange which covers not only tuition fee but living costs as well.

After the long tiring trip we finally arrived in the dormitory of Woosong University, which is located in the town of Daejeon. At that evening, we were greeted by some korean students and we soon became friends. They were friendly and helpful. At that moment, I didn’t even feel tired so we toured around the building and got many helpful information about our living. They even took us to buy our dinner at a shop house near by the dormitory and I had my first deokboeki, kimchi, and odeng in Korea.

I met many great lecturers also some international students from China, Bangladesh, India, and Cambodia that are new just like me. During the orientation week, we went for a Daejeon city tour to Gyejoksan Mountain, Hanbat Arboretum, the National Heritage Center, Daecheong Lake and Wetland Park. Gyejoksan Mountain is famous with the red clay trail for walking with barefoot which is believed to have health benefits for the body, but I didn’t walk on it since I was wearing sneakers and feared of falling down to the dirt. At Daecheong Lake and Wetland Park, we could see breath-taking views of both the lake and dam surrounded by green hills.

The fall semester has begun and I study in three different faculties such as international business management, international hotel management, and international medical services management. Because I am here for only four months, so they allow me take courses in different departments to get as much experiences as I can. I do love baking and really want to learn some skills in culinary arts, but its schedule was totally different from other faculties.  Luckily, I still can join its students’ club activities where hopefully I can get some experiences in baking pastry, cooking, and some beverages serving with them. The department of international culinary arts has amazing practical kitchens where students learn practical skills professionally like chefs. It is cool that the university has its own bakery and restaurant, they all served by students and guided by international chefs or professors. Their standards are comparable to those in town that I have visited lately. Wel, I also enjoy my class in community health which requires us to visit an elementary school and make activity programs with children. And just the other day, our professor took us as international students touring the city with her car while the rest of the class listened to a lecture in Korean. It was a short tour but fun, we visited the famous bakery in the town where they served bunch kinds of mouthwatering breads. I also take a social dance class in business management department and I’m really excited; never thought that I would learn to dance Waltz and Cha Cha Cha. While in international hotel management department, we learn about food and beverage standards. So far, we have learned about cutleries, types of menus, and many more about restaurants and soon we will go to the restaurant learning practical service for the fine dinning. Apart from major classes, I also join a language exchange club and met some multicultural students from Solbridge University. I sure will make friends with them soon.

Talking about foods, well, korean foods are really fine for me, they are sour and mostly spicy. They are generous about portion and every restaurant serves kimchi or side dishes for free. Though foods are quite pricy to compare with food in Indonesia, but the mineral water is free.

My journey is not complete yet. I still have three months to enjoy. My friends and I plan to travel to Seoul, Jeonju, Nami island, and hopefully Jejju island within next month. The fall season in this September is really cold and I can’t imagine how cold the winter will be. However, I enjoy being a student as I used to work and study in tight schedule. I never really knew how the college life was and now I feel so lucky to get the experience of being a college student here in South Korea. I made a lot friends especially Koreans and I found many unique differences within them. Koreans are fashionable, cute, and respectful, they have typical gesture to bow when they meet seniors or elders. It’s a beautiful place and I never regret leaving my job to come here.

Linda Fortunatha – 19 September 2015