On 25 February 2008, I came to Chungnam National University as a Ph.D student at the Department of Agricultural Economics, in the College of Agriculture. It was my first experience leaving my native country to pursue higher education in a foreign university, so I had to adapt myself to the new environment, culture and customs. The new environment was challenging and enjoyable for me. I learned many things from this environment that will be helpful in the future. I am still learning about different aspects of Korea because Korean people and their culture are very interesting to me. When I came to CNU campus the last snow of the year was falling. I was very surprised to see this natural beauty because it was first time in my life to see snow falling. I also enjoyed the beauty of the cherry blossoms in the beginning of spring. As a part of the cherry blossom festival an exhibition of Korean flowers, trees, and handicrafts was arranged at the CNU museum. I learned about CNU, Korean houses, household pots and etc. from that exhibition.

 

On 25 February 2008, I came to Chungnam National University as a Ph.D student at the Department of Agricultural Economics, in the College of Agriculture. It was my first experience leaving my native country to pursue higher education in a foreign university, so I had to adapt myself to the new environment, culture and customs. The new environment was challenging and enjoyable for me. I learned many things from this environment that will be helpful in the future. I am still learning about different aspects of Korea because Korean people and their culture are very interesting to me. When I came to CNU campus the last snow of the year was falling. I was very surprised to see this natural beauty because it was first time in my life to see snow falling. I also enjoyed the beauty of the cherry blossoms in the beginning of spring. As a part of the cherry blossom festival an exhibition of Korean flowers, trees, and handicrafts was arranged at the CNU museum. I learned about CNU, Korean houses, household pots and etc. from that exhibition.

 
Students of CNU spend their time reading and doing extra-curricular activities like gossiping, playing, singing and etc. There are friendly relations between students and teachers in the classes and outside the classes. It's a good atmosphere to receive knowledge from the teachers. As a foreigner, I am very interested in Korean foods. I have had opportunities to taste different kinds of Korean foods like kimchi, japchae, bindaeddeok, bibim bap, bulgogi, samgye tang, gyeran jjim, saengseon jean, shingmchinanul, hobak jean, janchi guksu, nukcha and etc. In my opinion, Korean foods have many different flavors and are good for the health. Of these foods kimchi is very special to me.

 

In Korea, I think foreign students face language and communication problems. For this reason, I went to the Language Institute to learn Korean through a program organized by CNU. I wasn't able to become fluent in Korean but the course was helpful and it also allowed me to meet different foreigners and learn about their cultures. The language course students were from Bangladesh, India, the USA, China, Japan, Vietnam, France, Mongolia and Cameroon. We enjoyed Korean songs, dramas and foods during the ceremony day, when we received our certificates. It was a memorable day in my life. I really feel that everyone in the language class were friends. There were several holidays observed on CNU campus, such as Teacher's Day, Children's Day, Mother's Day, Parent's Day, Chungnam University Day, Thanksgiving Day and etc. I really enjoyed all of these days because CNU organized some attractive events for international students. Likewise, on 20 May 2008, CNU celebrated a "Happy Hour" Party for International students. For this day the international office of CNU organized some programs for international students. We were introduced to students from about 22 different countries around the world. Not only were we introduced to one another but we were also introduced to various international cultural activities. I think such a program helps us get to know each other and helps build good international friendships.

 

Before this event, we also enjoyed "Korean Movie Day" and we were introduced to Korean theatre and cultural activities through three interesting Korean movies. It was a completely new experience for me. During this event we sampled many delicious Korean foods. Among these, I think Kimchi is a very tasty, nutritious and delicious food. As far as I know, Kimchi is the most traditional and popular Korean food. In the future, when I go back to my country, I will show this food to the people of my country.
Actually, my first year at CNU has been very attractive, enjoyable and memorable because it was a new environment for me. From my short experience, I can easily say that Korean people are helpful and friendly. The environment of this campus is very good for studying and favorable for sharing knowledge. Finally, I would like to convey my fullest thanks to Professor Kim Jai Hong and Professor Bong Duk Lee, for cordially helping me come to Korea and giving me a chance to study on the beautiful campus of Chungnam National University.

 


By Nazma Akter · Ph.D Student · Department of Agricultural Economics

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