Eunjee Choi
Q&A
"I've always wanted to study abroad. As a Korean American, I was curious about my heritage and living in the country that my parents grew up in. Given that Korea was one of the few countries continuing with their study abroad program during the pandemic, I decided that it would be the perfect place to go for my study abroad program."
I've always wanted to study abroad. As a Korean American, I was curious about my heritage and living in the country that my parents grew up in. Given that Korea was one of the few countries continuing with their study abroad program during the pandemic, I decided that it would be the perfect place to go for my study abroad program.
An interesting cultural experience I had was enjoying 'service' from street food vendors and restaurants. Sometimes, people will give you things 'on the house' if they are in a good mood or they just want to treat you. I would hang out with other foreign exchange students that would try to communicate in Korean and would be offered small samples or menus on the house :)
Having the covid pandemic made the study abroad experience extremely stressful and uncertain. Connecting with other students going through the same experience, communicating with counselors about expectations and changing regulations, and adapting to the way of life of the locals helped address these concerns.
Unfortunately, for me, classes were online. However, I would still leave my place often for meals, socializing, and extracurricular activities such as learning k-pop dance.
I took fun classes that were not major-related while I was abroad (ie: film production, child psychology and development, law). Taking courses for majors not available at Berkeley were really cool, making me wish that I considered going into the related field earlier.
Getting life experiences of settling in a new country by yourself and going through legal procedures really opened my eyes to what it's like to be a foreigner. Seeing how the way of life was in a different country made me realize that I really grew up in a bubble and helped me understand that the world is so much bigger than I thought and that there is so much to explore.
It broadened my view of the world and helped me make a decision to consider different career paths. It was also a breath of fresh air from intense academics in which I was able to relax and recover from my previous burn-out.
I really recommend joining student group chats for the country and meeting up with people early into the term. Everyone is looking for friends and people to go on adventures for. It's really nice to find people that vibe with you.