“Love with Lithuanians~!” It is one of the aims of Siauliai University (SU) for exchange students. SU operates Erasmus and Tandem programs for exchange students. To receive an invitation letter from the university, Erasmus students should discuss courses they plan to take at SU with a coordinator at their home university and then it must be checked by a coordinator at SU whether they can take those courses.
    After classes begin in February, exchange students can change their course registration within two weeks which is longer than the one week of CNU. However, there are some inconveniences in the system of SU. Compared to the computer-based online registration system class, SU students should visit the International Center to change the class schedule in person. Meanwhile, foreign exchange students can also teach their native language to other students through the Tandem program, which is one of the programs for exchange students. It is a kind of extracurricular activity to learn foreign languages. Students can participate in the program by applying for it via an e-mail to the coordinator of Tandem.
     The atmosphere of classes looks free. Lithuanian people try to understand different feelings and opinions of foreign students. Professors respect students’ opinions especially in regards to their task work and the final exam. Lithuanians are very active and enthusiastic. They like drinking alcohol and go to the pubs regardless of whether it is a weekday or weekend. However, they think making an appointment is important. So, they always keep that in mind even though they got drunk the previous day. They are never late. If you have an appointment with a Lithuanian, you might as well go to the meeting place about 30 minutes earlier.
    Since I started my studies at SU as an exchange student last February, I have learned two key points, ‘participate actively’ and ‘Don’t be late”. If you have a plan to study in Lithuania, keep in mind these points, and you will have an awesome life in Lithuania.
 

By Jeong Jin-hyang, Overseas Correspondent