大三出國、全英語課程 - 國際視野 : 淡江大學大三出國通報及學分採認系統

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2018大三出國輔導通報系統 - 留學心得報告[編輯]

政經 405820316 　郭芳銓　　留學學校：賓州印第安那大學

(一)基本資料

Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is located at Indiana, PA, about 90 minutes drive to Pittsburgh International Airport. The first semester starts on August 27th until December 14th in 2018 (Fall 2018), and the second semester starts on January 21th until May 10th in 2019 (Spring 2019). Each semester I take four courses: Fall 2018: Intro to Theater, Geography of US & Canada, World Politics, Terrorism Spring 2019: Power & Democracy in America, Asian Studies, Integrated Korean, World Geography (70字)

(二)課程學習

【照片說明：Korean Class (한국어 수업)】

I like all of the courses here in IUP, but my favorite lecture in IUP is Integrated Korean class, not only the course is great, the reason I want to learn Korean is that South Korea is experiencing a golden age of rapid progress and economic growth. During 25 years, Korea has transformed from the previously war-torn country into the 11th largest economy country in the world, and I want to know more about it, so I want to learn their language to connect with them. The professor who teaches the course, Dr. Lee Gi Seung, is a nice guy, he knows that most of the students (including me) choose the lecture because of the culture of Korea, K-pop or K-drama, so sometimes he plays some K-pop videos to teach us some related Korean words. At the first week of the class, I felt so nervous about it because the professor looks a little bit serious, but it came out that he is a nice person, we learned about Korean Consonants and Vowels and some Korean manners, he helps us correct if we pronounce it wrong. Every time during the class, Dr. Lee will do vocabulary practice to help us memorize those words and sentences we learned during the past. Because Korean is similar to Chinese, also it's easier to learn to speak by using English so the class wasn't too hard for me, even the seniors say that most of the Taiwanese students learn really well during the lecture. Thanks to Dr. Lee, right now I can read some of the words in Korean news and understood some of the sentences when listening K-pop music. The best part of the course is made friends, we came to class for similar reasons and sometimes we study together at the library, that bring us together. Hopefully, we can meet again even I left IUP this year.(314字)

(三)生活環境

【照片說明：Wallwork Hall at Autumn】

I like the IUP campus, especially the library because its available to eat and drink on the first floor, and free Korean tutor class on Thursday. During the four seasons, the campus shows up the breathtaking scenery in each way. The temperature is really freezing in winter, cold enough to snow for a couple of months, if the temperature falls into a certain range, there will be no classes on that day because it's too cold. The dormitory here is awesome, all of the rooms here are suites, each room has a fridge and a microwave, the best part of it is that students have the chance to choose the private suite, it means that each person has an individual personal room in a suite, the advantage is that doesn't need to worry about bothering roommates. The food here in the campus isn't really bad, the Folger and North Dining Hall mostly provide some American food, but as a Taiwanese, I prefer Asian dishes so sometimes at the weekend, I will go to the Chinese Restaurant for some hometown tastes. About the surroundings, there's Walmart and Martins Supermarket near the University, sometimes I can watch my favorite movies at Indiana Mall Cinemas. All of those places can go through by taking Indigo Bus, Route 12 has some stops inside the campus, and it's free by showing the driver the student ID. Every day the Fullington Trailways comes to IUP twice a day, It can bring passengers to Pittsburgh and PIT (Pittsburgh International Airport), suitable for students to travel around the United States.(261字)

(四)自我成長

【照片說明：Korean Class (한국어 수업)】

About the difficulties of living, courses and cultural impact that I met during in IUP, first thing is that when I arrived at the United States, it feels like everything went back to the day when I was a freshman in Lanyang, but this time is in IUP. The surroundings and environment are totally different, everything is new, I’m all by myself without any friends coming with me, so for the first time, it feels lonely. By the times passes, I join lots of events and meet some friends here. The second thing is transportation, it’s really inconvenient here in the United States. I always need to spend about two hours to go to Walmart for groceries if I take a bus. There are no train stations in here, only the Fullington Trailways that only two schedules per day, can bring me outside the town. About renting a car, because of the law that 21 is considered as an adult here, I cannot rent because I'm 20. The third thing is the weather, not like Taiwan, the winter of Pennsylvania is pretty cold, usually under 32 Fahrenheit degrees that is cold enough to snow, every time I have to wear a lot of clothes to go to class. In Pittsburgh, the summers are warm and partly cloudy, and the winters are very cold and mostly cloudy. Over the year, the temperature typically varies from 23°F to 83°F and is rarely below 7°F or above 91°F. In conclusion, there are some difficulties here in the first time, but by the time passes, I’m getting used to it. (266字)

(五)大三出國建議

For sophomores and freshmen who are about to study abroad, IUP is a great choice for you. The first thing I suggest is that bring as many Taiwanese snacks and cup noodles as much as you can in case you miss home because it’s very hard to find those in Indiana. Even Asian markets in Pittsburgh, the closest city near to IUP, doesn’t have lots of choices of it. Also bring an umbrella and some medicines, too, it rains a lot during the autumn at here, brings some medicines just in case if you’re sick or uncomfortable. Second thing is about the lecture, I strongly recommend choosing the lecture you can find it related to Tamkang University, no matter Lanyang or Tamsui Campus, because the credits here in IUP need to transfer into TKU Credits, it means that if you choose a course doesn’t relate to any course in TKU, you cannot have the credit even you pass the course. For anyone who likes to learn different languages, it is a great chance to learn in here at IUP, it has more opinions than in Lanyang. The last thing is cherishing the times studying in IUP, join the events and make lots of friends as much as you can, try to travel around during the break, find out what’s the difference living in the United States and Taiwan. Hope you guys can gain lots of experiences and memories here. (244字)