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Saying Goodbye After a Year at Dongseo University

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2017-08-31 10:41

“It was the best time in my life.I was able to broaden my outlook, make lots of friends and have memorable experiences.After making unforgettable memories at DSU, I am leaving to achieve my new goals.”

Over the course of the past year, I have stayed at Dongseo University’s Institute of English Language Education. It was the best time in my life. Suddenly I had a new lifestyle and new friends. I had an opportunity to study Korean with oversees students from 40 countries.

I remember very distinctly the first day I came to Korea. On August 23 last year, I left behind my family, my friends, my home and even my everyday life. As soon as I got to Korea, everything I saw was new to me. At the airport, some international students gave me a great big welcome. One of them, Khuslen, was a Mongolian student, like me. We hit it off right away.

That day in Korea the weather was cloudy and humid. I was frightened by all the street signs, the busy roads and sidewalks, the new language, and all the people. I was a total stranger in Korea.

The beginning of the semester was too hard for me to learn a new language and adjust in class. The reason is that everything I was taught in class was in Korean. At first, I thought I could adjust easily, but I gave up after just three days. I changed my class from B to A, which is for people studying Korean for the first time. At that time, I was the only student changing class. It was a good choice and I have no regret. The A class was fun and easy to understand.

It was easier for me to learn Korean than for some of the other students, because Korean and Mongolian are similar. But our advisor took care of all of us just as if we were a family, and he did all he could to get the best results for us. And it worked. Even though we knew nothing about Korean initially, we were able to achieve Level 5 in the Korean test after just seven months. We owe this to our excellent professors. I want to thank all our professors from the bottom of my heart.

In class, everyone expressed their opinions freely and asked questions without hesitation. My class consisted of 16 students from 16 countries. Together we were able to exchange diverse ideas. I had never before imagined that I would take classes with various international students. I was able to learn about African culture, South American culture and Southeast Asian culture from my international friends.

For international students, living in a dormitory or just in a new country like Korea was a bit challenging at first, but we soon grew to love this new experience. We all got along well with our classmates. As time passed, I personally made a lot of unforgettable memories in Busan, especially with Karma, who is from Bhutan, and Rovil, who is from the Philippines.

We took part in many Korean cultural experiences, indoors as well as outdoors. Those were fun and really special. Also, we experienced the Korean lifestyle, people, and culture directly.

Those experiences have improved the image of Korea for me. It was the best time in my life. I was able to broaden my outlook, make lots of friends and have memorable experiences.After making unforgettable memories at DSU, I am leaving to achieve my new goals.

I know I will miss everything here, so my heart is already sad.

 

<August 2017 - Otogongerel, a student from Mongolia>