I studied as an exchange student at George Washington University in the United States during the spring semester of 2013.
Before I decided to go to the United States as an exchange student through a gap year, I worried a lot about things like living expenses and delaying graduation, but now that I have completed one semester, I have gained a much more valuable experience and have no regrets.
First of all, universities in the United States bring together students from much more diverse backgrounds and ethnicities than in Korea. Because I studied and lived with friends who grew up in different cultures, being exposed to different values and experiencing those cultures, even indirectly through them, became a valuable asset for me.In my case, I met friends from various countries such as India, China, Brazil, Germany, France, Austria, Singapore, and Pakistan. Also, American friends vary greatly in their personalities depending on the state they come from, so getting to know them was also very enjoyable.
Next, I was able to broaden my horizons through occasional travel and have time to myself that would have been hard to get in Korea. As an exchange student, I was often invited to travel to the homes of friends I had become close with. With the help of local friends, I could save on lodging and food and travel along routes different from those of typical tourists. The places I visited included Bermuda, Philadelphia, New York, and Virginia Beach. Especially, if I had only stayed in Korea, I would never have imagined meeting a friend from Bermuda in the U.S. and visiting the Bermuda Triangle I had only heard about.
Also, the confidence I gained from being an exchange student is another major asset I got from my gap year. Improving my English was to be expected, but more than that, American universities have frequent discussion and presentation-based classes, and communication between students and professors is very active. Since classes are often based on discussions of assigned readings, not participating in class is essentially equivalent to being absent. At first, I also found the classes challenging because English is not my native language and they required a lot of speaking. However, I asked professors for help many times, and they were more than happy to assist me, so now I have confidence in expressing my opinions freely in English.
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