Lee Sung-ui (second from left) poses with her friends at Oita University while visiting a mountain near Oita.

         I was an exchange student atOitaUniversity in. When I decided to go toOita , I was felt anxious about how my life in Japan would be. Although I was the third student who went to theOitaUniversity , I basically did not have any information about university life in Oita. Moreover, I could not search for the information of Oita region andOitaUniversity itself . However, the moment I arrived at the university in April, I realized that I have been worrying too much about nothing.

        Even though I studied Japanese for more than two years, I was not able to speak Japanese fluently compared to others. So it was somewhat difficult for me to communicate and deliver what I think in mind in Japanese. However, this did not let me down from living a new happy life in Japan. My private tutor, friends and teachers always helped me improve my Japanese speaking skills and they also cheered me up. Thanks to their supports, as time passed, I improved gradually and was able to have a convesation with anyone in Japanese with great self-confidence. 

       While I was staying at Japan, I worked for some part-time jobs. Once at a restaurant and at other times at supermarket. Reminiscing back those times, I can surely say that it was valuable experience for me. To be honest, I have not much experience of working in Korea, both as a part-time and full-time worker. Thus, I was quite new to this kind of work. While I worked at supermarket, I could have a lot of chances to talk to Japanese people, who were customers and colleagues. Through this opportunity, I could not only learn Japanese language but also the culture and manners of the country. Then, I realized that having part-time job is very helpful experience for foreigners.

        People who live in Oita speak with a provincial accent. So many exchange students could not understand what they said at first. Although I was Korean, they always speak with Oita Hougen. And I can speak standard Japanese andOita hougen.

       Now, I believe that the exchange student program that I experienced at Oita Univesity was the best opportunity in my life. I want to express my appreciation to Ewha for giving a precious opportunity.

 

 

Lee Sung-ui (Statistics, 4 )

Lee studied at Oita University for a year in 2007.

 

 

 

저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지