The Best Semester of College

After coming back from Korea, I keep getting one question: What did you like the most?

Every time I've heard this question, I find myself giving a different answer. There's no way I can decide on just a single thing out of the many, many experiences I had abroad - I loved every aspect of being abroad, and am dying to go again. From the CIEE excursions that left us trekking through Mudd flats and experiencing rural Korea, to exploring the city night-life in Seoul, to sitting down and eating traditional meals to getting McDonalds at 3am with friends - I had so many varied amazing experiences that picking any single one of them is impossible. My time in Seoul was by far the best time I had had during college, because not only did I get to meet new friends, experience a new culture, and have fun, I actually got to learn a lot. Not just through classes, but through interacting with so many people from various backgrounds and learning how to navigate a country that speaks a different language and lives a different culture, I was able to learn things I would never be able to in my college in the US.

The only downside that this program had - which, for me, wasn't a downside at all - is that the academic program itself is not very rigorous. I personally preferred this, since it gave more time to explore the country itself, though I know some other people would prefer a more rigorous academic environment. The Korean language program, however, was quite good, and my skill in Korean improved a lot.

All in all, I would recommend this program to anyone, regardless if they have a previous interest in Korean culture or not. There's no way you can go wrong with this program.