KWEON Chaelim

College of Asia Pacific Studies

Program

AP Language Immersion (Spanish)

Key Information

Program Location/Partner University	Mexico, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Year of Participation	February 2020
Program Length	Approx. 3 weeks

Q1.Please tell us what activities were prepared in the program. What did you learn from those activities?

There were a lot of activities which were prepared only for us. Every Saturday, my group went to the historic site of Mexico, or the famous museum in the city with professor of UNAM (shorten name of the host university). I could learn about the art, history, and what kind of meanings do these historical sites have. Not only that, but also, there was cooking class. This cooking classes were not only making the cuisine of Mexico, but also learn about the history of food in Mexico. This led to the further understanding of the food culture in Mexico and could enjoy those based on the knowledge. The Spanish classes were also enjoyable. After we were taught the Spanish, we went out with professor and had opportunity to use those in real life.

Q2.How do you want to make use of the skills and experiences from the program to your future?

I want to use this experience as the strength of me. As I want to work in the tourism industry, I think I need to learn foreign languages. The actual experience of using Spanish in the country which Spanish is the mother-tongue, caused deeper understanding of the language itself and I feel that I can speak more fluently than before. So, with the further study and this experience, I will develop my ability to use Spanish for my future career. Not only the knowledge about the language, I could learn how to communicate with Mexicans. The culture itself such as greeting and restaurant was very different from Japan, and this led to my understanding of different culture which will help me with working in tourism industry.

Q3.Please give a message to future participants.

Although it looks hard to be in country where you do not know the language well, please do not hesitate to participate. You think it will be hard to be in a place where you do not know and the language you know is useless. Yes, it is hard, but professors and friends will be around you and help if you need. Also, if you really want to improve your language skill, join this program and you can see how you were improved in 1 months. Not only that you can enjoy the culture and food of the country which you will feel those as meaningful. For me, I had a lot of fun, and hope you guys also experience and feel those joy.