외국인과 친해지는 팁
The Way to Make Friends: Do Not Hesitate!
By Park You-jin, Overseas Correspondent
At the beginning of my exchange program, I had no friends except a Korean exchange student coming from the same university. I did not know where to go to buy what I wanted and how to get to particular places. I needed people who would help me with these difficulties. Luckily, the matters facing me were cleared up thanks to friends I met through the two ways: The International Student Office (ISO) and classes at the University of Winnipeg.
The ISO has plenty of events for international students. They not only organized dialogue group meetings on the last Friday of every month, a city tour and watching sports games but provided services to take us to enjoyable events such as Voyageur Festival and Sunset Goose Flight. Through these opportunities, I was able to meet lots of students from various countries and make more personal connections. I would suggest that you take advantage of all these meetings, events and services. This is because these are gatherings of exchange students who have lots of interest in different cultures, which means it would be easier for you to make friends by introducing Korea and Korean cultures. The office also provided a mentor program for students who are in their first year or need to adjust to a new campus life. My mentor, Devon, who majors in Education, was a nice helper, and we had great times as good friends as well as a mentor and mentee.
It was in classes that I met my best friends in Canada. Canada has an interesting culture from my point of view. They tend to feel free to initiate conversation with others, which is different from Koreans who rarely try to start a conversation unless necessary. I think I was the one who benefited from the culture. Canadians taking courses with me seemed to feel comfortable saying hi to and having conversations with people they just met. To get used to the culture, I tried to say hi before my friends did and did not hesitate to ask them questions about what I learned in classes. They were willing to help me out because they knew I was having a hard time listening to lectures in English. Sometimes, our conversations that started with my questions turned into small talk. Through the conversations, we learned we had the same religion; I was invited to her Bible study group and we studied together. I was also able to meet friends who had similar personalities. We often hung out and had potlucks. The conversations with them were good opportunities to get to know and get close each other.
As mentioned above, I had plenty of chances to make foreign friends through the ISO and classes. However, what counts more is that you can be friends with people all around the world if you treat them kindly with all your heart, no matter how you get to know them. Are you afraid of or worried about making foreign friends due to different culture and language barriers? Keep in mind that although they come from cultures based on different values and languages, they are also all people who are attracted to your thoughtful, warmhearted words and behavior.
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