Seoul U

Samantha Penny's Korean Exchange

Outstanding Scholar Samantha Penny, a fourth year Communication, Media, and Film student, spent ten months in Seoul, Korea, on Exchange. Here's what she wrote about the experience:

"Embarking on Exchange allowed me to become culturally aware. It is one thing to learn in a classroom about another culture’s practices but it is another entirely to experience them. Living directly inside a foreign country so incredibly different from Canada provided me with a unique and beautiful perspective for viewing and understanding cultural differences. I cannot stress enough the impossibility of grasping another country’s way of life without living it yourself—and the takeaway of this knowledge never leaves you when you do. I have become a more knowledgeable and understanding person because of my own struggles and successes to adapt. Specifically, I enjoyed the language immersion, as linguistics is a primary academic interest of mine."

A street in Seoul Korea

"This has been simultaneously the biggest and most important step I have taken in my life so far, maybe ever. It was an opportunity that shifted my priorities, my awareness, and helped me develop myself as an individual. I have made memories I will keep for a lifetime and plan to live through again. Exchange was enriching for me equally academically and personally, and has the opportunity to be so for anyone willing to take a chance."

A traditional Korean meal

Check out Samantha's blog at https://seoulexchangeblog.wordpress.com/

Sam Penny in traditional Korean dress