Park So-ra (‘10, Economics) and her friends pose in front of Lincoln Memorial.
I studied Economics and Statistics at Stonybrook University for one semester this spring. When I first decided to visit there as an exchange student, I was somewhat worried about the life there since it was my first time studying abroad. For this reason, I met a few foreign friends in Korea and learned about their culture such as basic etiquettes. I read books about their life and reviewed materials about my major too because I wanted to fully understand the lecture which will be given in English. Thanks to this preparation, I could have lessen possible trial and errors there.
I took three economic classes  (Urban Economics, Labor Theory and Financial Economics), one statistic class (Data Analysis) and Stonybrook Chorale for an extra activity. In major classes, I tried to understand the lecture by myself, so I got to the class early every time and sat at the first line with foreign friends and asked questions to professor without hesitation whenever I had doubts about the subject. This positive and active attitude greatly helped me perform better, and as a result, I could obtain A’s for all of my major classes.
The chorale class was gorgeous experience for me too. We met once in everyweek and practiced various songs for about three hours during the whole semester. In the last week of the spring semester, we held a small concert in front of our friends and professors. The audience applauded us and we were deeply touched by that since that reminded us of the long training time. When some members had problems during practice, we sincerely helped them get better and become comfortable among one another, and I learned lots of precious things from this such as a cooperative spirit and scrupulous care for someone.
Life in New York was fantastic too. Every weekend, I went to Manhattan with friends and saw broadway shows like “Chicago,” “The Phantom of the Opera.” I really enjoyed appreciating lots of great arts in Gugenheim Museum and MoMA too. New York is the city of diversity. I met various people from lots of countries and it was the most memorable experience for me. I could broaden the way to interpret something, in other words, I could look at some events from a different angle and could understand more widely. For these reasons, I am deeply satisfied with the life as an exchange student, believe that I learned a lot and want to recommend other students to get an opportunity to study abroad.

* Park So-ra (’10, Economics) studied at the Stony Brook University in the United States.

저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지