#foreign exchange program

Life comes full circle for Fort Smith mom and former foreign exchange student

Margaret McLellan spent a year as a foreign exchange student when she was in high school. She and her host family have remained close in the decades since.

Now, she’s giving back by hosting one of their family members this school year.

April 24: Apgujeong/압구정, Gangnam Station/강남역, YFU meeting

Okay for some reason, YFU decided to have a meeting in the middle of the week during school (4pm??????). Half the students go on Thursday and half on Friday depending on where you live. Since I live in Seoul, I went on Thursday. I think I’m one of the luckier ones though since some people have to travel over an hour by subway/bus to get to the YFU office….OTL

I got out of school pretty early…

Being an Asian Exchange Student to an Asian Country (Philippines >> USA >> South Korea)

Being an Asian exchange student to an Asian country

  Okay, I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for a long time. I was worried about this subject way before I even left to Korea, and I tried to find a blogger online experiencing the same thing (high school student) but no luck, so I guess I’ll be the first one to write about this^^

By the way, if this post comes out as negative in anyway,…

Auf Wiedersehn!

You'll be intensely homesick for the first two or three days. Everyone is, and it sucks. It goes away very quickly though.

You won't be able to sleep through the first night. No one can.

Jet lag can make you sick for two to three days.

Your stomach will hurt really bad for the first two or three days. This is normal, and you aren't actually sick.

Bring over the Counter medicine for your stomach.

You won't be hungry at meal times, but then you'll be starving during the night. Jet lag.

Bring a pocket dictionary. I learned that one the hard way.

Seriously, don't Forget your pocket dictionary.

Your host Family intends to love you, so don't feel judged. They want to learn too.

You don't Need to be perfect in your language. Broken fragments convey Needs just as well as soliloquies.

Talk to People.

People will laugh at your Accent. Don't be bothered by that.

Try all the Food you're offered. It's probably great.

It's okay to not like the Food you tried. Everyone has Food they don't like.

Ask where the garbage can is on the first day. This sounds ridiculous, but I still don't know where the garbage in the kitchen is.

Don't be scared to mess up in your target language. If anything, People find it cute.

Don't be embarssed by culture shock. In Germany, most Foods are eaten with Utensils. I'm sure I looked pretty strange when I ate a strawberry with my fingers instead of picking the whole Thing up with a spoon, but you live and learn.

Be positive about everything.

Be polite.

Ask questions, even if they sounds dumb.

Make friends.