SNU - Kati's first impressions at the new university

While Philipp was still in Seoul, I had my first orientation days where I could gather my first experiences in the city and already got to know some classmates. Whether it was the group of exchange students from the Business Faculty or my 'buddy group', a project where Korean students take care of us foreigners and organize events, my impression of the people was always the same: Everyone was very open and interested! And I don't just mean the exchange students from all over the world who immediately asked about my classes or my origin, but also the Koreans. In my opinion, they are much more similar to Germans than, for example, the very polite Japanese or the somewhat rude Chinese, which made it much easier for me to interact with them!

My first activity with the exchange students and Koreans was bowling near the university. Since I hadn't met any members of my group yet, I left Philipp after dinner feeling very nervous and made my way there. Already at the subway station, I met my group, which immediately stood out from the Koreans and greeted me warmly. I was immediately integrated and involved in conversations, which interrupted the whole bowling game. Here I also met my best friends so far: Trygve from Denmark, Martin and Stefan from Germany, and Jennie from Sweden. I then met two more, Benjamin from Sweden and Mikkel from Denmark, later on, together with Philipp at another event, and Philipp was also immediately welcomed by everyone with open arms (I think he can confirm that!).

Philipp initially accompanied me on my first days at the university because he had to work on a report himself, and we both thought the same when we first entered the campus: This place is huge! I am firmly convinced that the entire city center of Maastricht could fit on the premises, which is also located on a slope, making it more difficult to get around between the faculties! But not only the appearance of the university, but also the content of the courses differs greatly from the Netherlands. In Korea, unlike our home university, it is almost impossible to be accepted at SNU (Seoul National University) because only the top 0.1% are accepted, but it is much easier to complete the education. So I only have to buy a book for one of my 5 courses, and two of my professors have already assured me that they usually only distribute A's, the highest grade.

All in all, I can't complain in any way - I have already met great people, sometimes even interesting courses, and the grades seem to come somewhat effortlessly!

My next trip will be to Jeju, a beautiful island in the south of Korea.

Best regards! Kati