Fernanda Barriga-Mateos, Maria

Maria Fernanda Barriga-Mateos

Why did you choose to study abroad and how did you select your program?
I chose my program through Carolina Spring forward with four options and one of them was South Korea. My first thought was all the other places were in Europe and I don’t really hear much of students traveling to Asia and I was drawn into learning more about Korean popular culture. 

What did you learn about yourself?
I took a DEI class and I found it very valuable learning about my identity and since there were many international students. For example, there are many students from America, but are minority in America, many of us could relate to we weren’t American enough or we weren’t from our heritage enough. And I think it’s really important to understand and value your identity and I came to the conclusion. Why can I not be both. I was raised in America and I adapted my life to here because of the education, language, and more because of my family and my friends. I am also Mexican because I was born from Mexican immigrants who decided to change their life for me and my siblings. My parents did showing us our culture, heritage, language, music, celebrations and I’m very proud to be Oaxaqueña. I didn't chose my identity but I am proud to be Mexican- American

What is one of your favorite memories from your program?
So there is the annual festival and concert for universities students in Korea and there’s always this rivalry between Korea university and Yonsei University of who will get the better lineup for their performance. Korea University doesn’t announce their lineup until they come on stage and I found that very special because it keeps all the students engaged during the festival and performanceThis is called Daedongje(대동제)’ and Ipselenti(입실렌티). Many of my cohort got to see big artist like New Jeans, Jannabi and more. I think that was the best part of it all all leading up to a reward for the students before finals. Another thing that made this special was, I did a research project on it for one of my classes and getting to learn more about the history an why its important to Korean culture.

What advice do you have for future study abroad students?
When you face uncertainties, I think you should think about your situation and think about what is in control and what is out of your control. If you need help, ask for help and use the resources you have such as the API resident Director because they are there to help you And they can connect you with more services at your university. One your situation isn’t permanent and remember If you care about it five minutes will you remember in five years? I wouldn’t stress but enjoy your time being there and make the most of it.

How do you identify?
Student of color, First Generation College Student, Student with a disability, Covenant Scholars, Heritage Seeker

Could you share any experiences where your identity played a role in your time abroad?
I have ARS accommodations and I had to use them for an exam. So if you have ARS accommodations please let the API Director know because if not, your request will not be sent through later in this semester. The professors were very understanding. Having a one on one conversation with them and they would gladly support you in anyway they could and offer any resources as well.

Is there any advice you would give to other students who share your identity?
I think you should embrace all your identities because believe it or not you will find people setting abroad that are also also exchange students from all over the world and they Ready to make friends with you and wanting to know more about your experience because every country you faced different challenges and it’s important to be aware of different perspectives you may hear about.

Memories