Think International! Think Languages!

Read about Languages student Abigail Toman's multilingual exchange to South Korea.

안녕하세요 and ¡Hola!

I recently completed my exchange to Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. One of my favourite things to do was watch the confusion cross people's faces when they found out I was studying "Spanish? In Korea"? Yes. Studying a foreign language in Korea, while definitely an unusual choice to say at least, was still a fruitful experience for me. I was the only fluent English speaker in most of my clases, and didn't speak much Korean at all, which meant that I could only communicate with my classmates and professors in the target language - Spanish. Over the semester, my ability to comprehend and communicate in Spanish improved drastically. I also managed to pick up a bit of Korean along the way.

Due to Coronavirus, my exchange experience was a little atypical. I didn't get to explore tourist destinations or historical sites as much, or travel around the country. I don't feel like I missed out, though, because I was able fully immerse myself in the local lifestyle in a way that I couldn't have if I had been travelling during all my downtime. I genuinely made Seoul my home for the six months that I was there. I made many amazing friends, both foreign and Korean and I was even "adopted" by a Korean family who cared for me as one of their own. Being on exchange even gave me new insight into what I want to do after my undergrad - perhaps a Masters in Applied Linguistcs!