Kim Bo-kyung (Enlish Education, 3) poses with friends from the Dominican University, where she gaind unforgettable experiences. Photo provided by Kim Bo-kyung.
Honestly, I was in panic when I first arrived at Dominican University (DU). They didn’t send me any documents about the first day beforehand. Thus, I had to ask people who seemed to be DU students almost everything including where I should go and what I have to do. Although they did not have enough information about foreign exchange students, they led me to my dorm. There was already a girl who came from Germany in my room. She was assigned to be my roommate. However, we used different rooms until the other two suitemates arrived as no one informed us about it. Suitemates are different from roommates. Unlike roommates, we live in different rooms but share the same bathroom and living room. I had a hard time getting used to life in DU for the first two weeks. DU didn’t provide enough programs for foreign exchange students to help them settle down. They had just begun to admit foreign exchange students in DU so that many things were not settled for those students. While my roommate made many new friends and hung out with them, I spent most of the time staying in my room alone. Eventually, I became very lonely and got homesick so badly that I regretted coming to DU almost every night. Nevertheless, I had made lots of memories in DU for the next four months since the other two suitemates came. I do not know why and when it started but ever since the two suitemates came, we spent most of our time in the living room where we talked a lot for the first few months. As we did not get any information about who we would be living with, we needed some time to get to know each other. We usually talked about what happened that day. It was not easy for me at first. However, one day, I told them that I had trouble with my friends and how I felt about it. I thought that they would not care, but contrary to my worry, they listened to my words attentively and responded well. At that moment, I realized that they were ready to open their hearts when I open mine. After we got close, it became comfortable for us to be in the same place. Since then, we had done lots of things together such as watching movies, going to the market, hiking up the mountain and attending many school events. Thanks to them, I became confident and decided to do more interesting things in DU. I had planned to take all English-related courses because of my major, but I changed some courses into music classes. I thought of the things that I had enjoyed back in Korea. The first thing that came into my mind was Ewha Chorus, the choir club that I was a part of during my freshman year. I had made the most precious memories with my good friends there so I decided to take an Acapella and ensemble class in DU. As they were all performance classes, I got a chance to sing and play the piano on stage in front of a large audience. Life in DU was not easy at first of course, but it definitely let me experience a whole new world and have a different perspective. I will never forget not only the big events but also the little bits from my everyday life in DU.
