Seems like only yesterday vacation started, but now it's time to go back to school. If comparing with mobile speed, maybe everyone would think like this: The exam period is like 2G and the vacation period is like LTE. When I ask students I met after vacation, most of them said that their vacation went very fast even though they did nothing. So, I met KMU students who did something special this summer vacation and heard their story.
Students from the Forest Science Department just came back from Turkey where they spent meaningful time with international students who share the common denominator, Forest Science, for 15 days.
The special stories of Park Geon Young (Forest Products & Bio Technology '11), Bae Ho Kyeong (Forestry Environment '12), Lee Su Jin (Forestry Environment '12) are coming up.

Turkey, the crossroad of Eastern and Western civilization.

Turkey is one of the best countries for students studying Forest Science because not only does it have one of the biggest woodland landscapes, which is 20 million ha (area acres) or 25% of the entire territory, but also most of their timber demands can be covered by themselves. The IFFS that we took part in is a big symposium which the IFSA (International Forestry Students Association) hosts every summer for 15 days.
This 2012 event was hosted by Turkey with 100 students from 30 countries. Korea, the 2010 host city, currently has 3 LC teams, KMU, Chungnam National University and Seoul National University. Our team used a less expensive stopover flight; Sleeping in the airport on the way was an unexpected episode, since we arrived there too early in the morning, however we felt more excited and happy while we were waiting for our local staff to arrive.

The schedule by students and for students.

Workshop//We shared our ideas and opinions through regional or pre selected themes, according to individual options. They allowed us to choose our interest subject. It was like swimming in a flood of English for 15 days and 14 nights. We were very nervous at first because of the English stress, however we were able to talk a bit easier with students studying the same major. And many colleagues were so into their field, which stimulated us very much.

LC Presentation// It was time to make an official presentation with simple paper subtitles. We prepared a paper titled: Climate Change and the Forest, about how climate change effects the Korean peninsula. We were embarrassed because of unexpected questions even though we prepared throughly and organized the content in advance. It especially came into our minds we were in trouble when a colleague from Austria asked with insistence about regulations related to domestic carbon emission restrictions. We felt some pressure about English, but many people gave as good feedback and their compliments made us happy, so it became the most memorable moment.

General Assembly// Due to the nature of international associations, the time to gather together was short so we had an official meeting in our spare time for continuous managing. We selected the next host country and board members through a vote; each joining university was able to have only one vote. First we thought it was boring and not that fun because it was mostly about managing. But we became sad as time went by, and we didn't want to finish it. Even this meeting became precious at the end.

International night// It was like a small party where 30 countries prepared their traditional liquor, food and costumes and shared together. The Korean team introduced traditional snacks such as the oil and honey pastry called U-gua and Korean traditional sweets and cookies called Han-gua. Also we showed laver (seaweed), kimchi and the liquors, makgeolli and soju. Everybody felt it was interesting.
It was a precious chance to experience a bit of different customs all in one spot. There is one episode regarding chocolate from Switzerland. We ate lighted on fire chocolate right after dipping it in a liquor. We won't forget the thrilling feeling at that moment.

Tour // We often visited national parks or mountains. It was such a real experience to be able to enjoy the nature there because we realized that area is one of the biggest forest areas in the world.
While we walked in the wild forest, we could experience mother nature in its entirety.
Thanks to Turkey's wide land, sometimes we had to travel through the night for 2 days by bus.
We tricked ourselves in the bus where we turned on party music loud and danced together; we kept our eyes open all night even if we felt really tired.
The university dormitory in Turkey offered us accommodations, and we had chances not only to tour the campus but also to meet students in person. Local colleagues living in the dormitory invited us to their rooms. We talked until late at night, took photos and had lots of fun. After a short meeting with each other, we had to say goodbye, but we learned that language is not the only thing needed in order to make deep connections.

About 30 universities, communication with 100 students.

One of the biggest benefits of IFFS is that we could communicate with students who have only one major, Forest Science, and talk with them in depth. Of course, we became closer with the Korean students as well. As the forest field especially requires regional character, we could obtain wide knowledge through students from different countries, and we promised to maintain continuous exchange by using SNS with Indonesia's Borgor Agricultural University through partnership.
We feel reassured since we have support with which to share information together. We totally recommend this event for underclassmen who are interested in the field.

While I write their 15 day story in this article, I can still feel their emotions and excitement. If you participate in various activities during vacation, I am sure the positive energy from that precious time will make it easier to endure the semester.
In a survey, 65% of university students go to school for seasonal semester or studying for different tests, it was reported in recent news. Although it happens during vacation, their hard work absolutely deserves to be applauded; however I can't hide my bitter sweet feelings. As one book's title states: "I wish I knew more when I was 20." I hope young people can explore many different things as much as they can. Because it will become harder and harder as you are getting older.