Tag: college

Pre-Departure Feels

Published on by Abigail HopperLeave a comment

As my departure date has quickly shrunk from three months to three days, I’ve found myself swept up in a whirlwind of emotions, challenges, and seemingly endless bullets on my to-do list. My ten months in France have gone from a silly abstract trip to very, very real. From spending hours comparing sim cards and the best banks for international use, it seems like there’s always one more thing that needs to be figured out. Where’s the nearest grocery store? What if I get sick (what’s a girl gotta do to get some acetaminophen :/)??

It’s 48 hours before my departure, and while there’s still much to be done, I can say that there is a lot that I have figured out. I’ve chosen an area I like in the city, signed a lease on a Banksy-themed studio apartment, acquired my visa, and registered for classes. I’m almost through the process of packing and filling in anything I might not be able to get when I arrive (resisting the urge to fill my bags with mac & cheese cups and chick-fil-a sauce).

I’m finding my excitement to be closely matched with anxiety, and can go from being thrilled to tearing up about leaving my friends and family in seconds. The thought of not knowing anyone in a new city is daunting, and I’m finding myself running through countless scenarios where things are wonderful or horrible or anything in between. So, if you’re also feeling nerves or guilty about the excitement being bogged down by fear, I can assure you that you’re not alone and that it’s a perfectly normal way to feel! Change is hard but there’s so much to be gained! I keep thinking back to how hard it felt when I first left my hometown to come to DU, and how many incredible people I got to meet and I’ll the experiences I’ve gotten to have.

Here’s to new beginnings!!

Finished the Hard Journey of Korean Mid-terms

Published on by stefaniepaikLeave a comment

Today, on October 24th, 2023 I have finished my last two mid-terms. The classes I am taking at Korea University currently are International Marketing, Marketing Management, Marking Strategy, and a Korean language class.

On Monday, October 23rd, I had International Marketing and then my Korean language class. Now I wouldn’t say I am facing culture shock, from how my International Marketing professor has decided to grade our mid-term. So basically the grades will be determined by who he sees as the best mid-term and then grade everyone else compared to it. Many of my fellow classmates were confused about this grading system. My fellow students and I were confused about the grading criteria because he did not give us one. Our professor said that if we know the material well then we will succeed. For me and how my brain works, I could answer one question in a million different ways, so for the mid-term it was difficult to prepare for an exam I couldn’t follow the directions of. For the most part, the learning in this class is independent, then the professor will facilitate discussions.

My Korean language mid-term was fairly straightforward. The class had the whole class period to take the exam; it was on paper and covered class topics. Most of the people in the class finished in 10 minutes.

For my Marketing Management class, the exam had two parts; 30 multiple choice and two short answer questions. The only issue I had with this exam was the short essay section because due to the exam being on paper, we had to write the answers. I have not hand-written an essay since high school, so not only was it giving me hand cramps, but also the entire page was smudged because I was left-handed.

The Marketing Strategy class was pretty similar to my Marketing Management class. This exam was 4 short essay questions, but we only had to answer 3/4 questions. Again, because I had to handwrite the answers my hands cramped so hard, and the smudging was awful, but I was able to write about 3 pages worth of knowledge.

Overall, while nothing was super different about mid-terms in Korea compared to the US, some of the personal preferences of the professors felt strange to me.