Howdy! I’m Nick Cohen.
I was born and raised in the village of North Fond du Lac, WI. After completing high school, I decided to continue my educational career at UW-Stout as a Technology Education major, where I am currently a sophomore. This semester, however, instead of studying in Menomonie, I am about 10,000 km away at Chung-Ang University in South Korea.
As one might expect, getting used to the cultural differences in such a foreign land has been quite an experience, but not a bad one. Experiencing what it’s like to learn in an environment so foreign from my own is one of the main reasons I decided to study in Korea this semester; along with being able to hike some of Korea’s gorgeous mountains and try some delicious local cuisines. There’s never a dull night in Seoul; whether you want to go sing karaoke with friends or play some billiards with the bros, there’s always something to do.
While the initial adjustment period did take a little bit, I thankfully made many great friends who were going through the same process, and we were all able to struggle together. Being in such a foreign environment makes you appreciate little things from home that you would’ve never thought of, like seeing a McDonald’s or an Outback Steakhouse (even though the menu is completely different here).
Aside from the numerous cultural differences between Korea and the U.S., there are many differences in the educational system as well. Seeing a different approach to education will certainly help me in my future career, and it’s been very interesting to hear different approaches from friends I’ve made from all across the globe here. Not to make anyone jealous, but the use of AI like ChatGPT is not only allowed, but encouraged in our assignments here (yes, seriously)! There’s also much less of a focus on homework and more of a focus on tests and group projects, something I’m not sure that I like yet. Regardless, Chung-Ang offers over 200 courses with English-speaking professors, making learning here much less of a challenge than one would initially think.
It’s hard to believe that I have less than three months left here, but I’m trying to make the most out of every day. Stay tuned for more updates!
UW-Stout Study Abroad 