<Foreign Community>

Realization in Confusion

By Fu Qin, Guest Reporter

  Here at CNU a precious opportunity exists for all foreign students who want to spread their wings and experience a different and varied life. We meet new friends who come from different countries. We breathe the fresh air and enjoy the freedom. We get closer to a totally different cultural life. 
  For most foreign students it will be the first time away from their country. We look around this strange land when we arrive with great interest and anxiety; we start our new journey which may lead us nowhere. This uncertainty in life and study makes us more confused and fearful.
  For the majority of foreign students, the fore-most problem is how to deal with the inconveniences of daily life and to get over the language barrier. Language surely is the most essential one whether in life or study. We only have a limited amount of time at our disposal during daily schedule; indeed, language study occupies most of it. At the Language Education Center, I met many overseas students who couldn’t speak Korean at all who were starting from scratch. Some of us feel puzzled and confused; the original intention of studying abroad was to further our major study. But from day to night, we just struggle in the language field. We always worry that our achievement will be influenced by our language proficiency. However, with the passing of time, we have become more accustomed to life at CNU. The one thing we have to do is study hard with great perseverance and patience. A lot of people would have given up in the face of such adversity, but those who have stayed and toughed it out will make it.
  When meeting Koreans for the first time, people are often asked the same questions, such as “How old are you?” The question would be considered as too personal from the perspective of westerners, and this goes for Chinese people too. Whenever you meet a Korean, he or she usually starts a series of questions like this. At first, I was confused by these questions, but now I have realized that age is the most essential aspect of Korean culture. When communicating with others, honorific forms like “yo” and “mida” must be used at the end of the sentence to refer to age. It is the golden formula in Korean culture.
  Another great difference between Korean students and Chinese students is in respect to graduation. Once, on the way to the library, I met a girl who had already graduated. We started a conversation about her post-graduate life. She told me that most Korean students opt to stay on campus to continue their studies even for one or two years after graduation, and try to get more certificates in order to obtain a satisfactory position. Even those students who work for a company will choose to live on campus. It confuses me because what is common in Korea is totally the opposite in China: most Chinese students never go back to school after graduation. Once they graduate, they break the relationship with their school.
  Although so much confusion abounds in our lives here, we will harvest a lot and learn more cultural knowledge. As the saying goes, “If you want to succeed, you should set out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success.”