When I was in Vancouver, I interview ed numberous native speakers when my teacher in Journalism class wanted me to get to know how to interview somebody. It was my first time to interview someone who speaks other languages. Although this experience made me really nervous at that time, it was unforgettable memory to me.

That's why I thought it's not going to be a difficult assignment for me when my professor told us about the interview. Also, I thought it's a perfect opportunity to practice English speaking which is getting worse after I came to Korea, so I decided to enjoy my time with foreigners. When I got an assignment, I was going to go Insadong to meet westerners. However, I changed my plan and decided to find interviewee in KMU because there are lots of students who are from other countries and can be good friends with me.

I met three students who are from England as an exchange student. Except for the smell of Kimchi, they have quite good impression on Korea and Koreans. Carry (20 years old, an exchange student) said that "Korean girls are really beautiful and elegant. They walk like an angel!" Also, her friends also agreed that opinion. I’ve never known that westerners think about Korean girls in that way. I promised them to send an e-mail with pictures of us. I hope we can keep in touch as friends for a long.

The most embarrassing moment among several interview happened when I interviewed a girl named Helen Davies. Even though she said the name of her country 'Falkland Islands' more than three times, I couldn't understand because I've never heard that country before. At that moment, I really worried about that I  might hurt her mind. By the way, she was very amazed because of skyscrapers, and serious traffic congestion in Korea which rarely could see in her country. From the conversation with her, I thought that if I didn't meet her, I've never known 'Falkland Islands' and how amazing the life stories in that country are. I learned many things through her.

It was an amazing experience even though there were some unexpectable moments. What I felt is that there are many people from various countries who can be friends with me. Unlike my expectation, they are kind to strangers and it made me comfortable during the interviews, so I want to tell you, "Don't be scared of talking to or interviewing foreigners. Do more actively!

Source : THE KOOKMIN REVIEW No.215