🌸Hirodai Ambassador Activity Report
Miyako Yamamoto, 4th year student, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
[Study Abroad Destination] Kyunggi University (South Korea)
[Study Abroad Period] October 2019 to July 2020
[Types of Study Abroad] Long-term study abroad at a partner university
What was your schedule like after arriving at the location and before classes started?
現地についてから授業が始まるまで、4日間ありました。到着した次の日にはオリエンテーションがあり、授業の進め方や、学校案内、学校周辺の施設などについての説明を受けました。この時感じたことは、非英語圏の留学であっても留学生に対する説明や書かなければならない書類は基本的に英語で用意されているため、ある程度の英語力がなければ大変だと感じました。4日間のうち2日はオリエンテーションや寮費の振込など様々な手続きをしなければならなかったため、自分の身の回りの環境を整える期間は2日間しかありませんでした。私は授業が始まる前に居住環境を整えておきたかったため、残りの2日間を大学の近くにある大型スーパーで、Wi－Fiのルーターや洗濯洗剤などの生活する上での必需品をそろえることに費やしました。
What was the most difficult part of going through all the procedures?
There were several difficult procedures I had to go through before studying abroad, but the visa application was the most challenging. It involved preparing a huge amount of paperwork under tight deadlines. Furthermore, since there is no Korean consulate in Aomori, I had to take all my documents to Sendai to apply. Applying for a visa requires considerable effort, so I recommend preparing well in advance.
Another thing that was difficult was that I had to decide which classes to take and register for them before studying abroad. However, classes I had planned to take were suddenly canceled, and whether or not I could take a class was on a first-come, first-served basis, so I remember feeling nervous having to apply as soon as registration started on the day with my smartphone in hand.
