BA in Global Affairs

Paris Irizarry, 2021

1. How did you get to come to Mason Korea?

I came to Mason Korea after a friend of mine told me that they wanted to go. Originally, I attended George Mason because I heard about Mason Korea. However, while attending school in Fairfax, it was a goal that I put off to the side until my friend brought it up. From there we attended the meetings with Grace Lee, and started to fill out the application. I came to Mason Korea by having someone in my life once again remind me of a goal that I had put off for a long time.

2. What has your experience been like so far? What do you like about Mason Korea? Any special moments in terms of school activities you are involved with?

My experience so far is quite different from Fairfax but in a good way. For me I like to think of the positive side to everything even if it’s something I personally do not like. But, when it came to my experiences here, I was upset to see not as many students attend Mason than I would see in Fairfax, but at the same time, having fewer people attend means that it is easier to connect and make friends with others. This is what made my experience a wholesome one. What I especially like about Mason Korea is that it is so small, it is easy to get in touch with people. Specifically, professors and administration. In Fairfax, professors and administration have to make time for you to come see them which often makes students feel disconnected between themselves and those who work for Mason. But at Mason Korea, people are easy to see and friendly when it comes to the concerns that students may have. When it comes to school activities, I was very much involved with Mason Korea’s English Chat Club in Fall 2019. In this organization I met a lot of Korean friends that love practicing their English with me. Because I am also a Peer Advisor, they would often visit our office to talk comfortably about social life or academics.

3. How is it different or similar to Fairfax?

Mason Korea is different from Fairfax in terms of size. Because it is small, there are a lot of things that Mason Korea may not have but still offer its own form of diversity and community. Despite the campus being small, it allows us to grow closer to one another even more so than at Fairfax since the student population is so great. With community comes the diversity in the sense that instead of us setting apart that Mason Korea holds just international students and Korean students; we have different history and struggles and experiences that define us all as an individual. Something that I learned at Mason Korea is that everyone is different but that is something that you cannot take from them. And it is nothing to fear but instead something to celebrate.

4. Were you able to fully get to know the culture of Korea?

Before coming to Korea, I self-taught in Korea for two years before taking Korean classes in Fairfax for my first two years at Mason Fairfax. In these classes, I was taught about Korean language, history, literature, culture, and media. I would say that it was the perfect preparation before coming to Mason Korea. However, at Mason Korea my friends would continue to teach me new things and build up on the knowledge that I already knew. But because I was in Korea, I could actually implement what I learned from my friends which helped me in a lot of situations.

5. Did you meet many new people? Other international students? Korean students?

In Fall 2019, I came to Korea with a large group of friends. Therefore, the new friends that I made were all Korean students that were freshmen at the time. They were just as eager to meet international students as we were eager to meet Korean students. This semester, I still have these same friends in my life who I am thankful to have met. And even though those who I originally came to Korea with went back to Fairfax, I’m still glad that they look after me and ask me about my wellbeing at times. It was a friendship that we eventually called a family. A Mason family that grew and continues to grow as new international students and incoming freshmen meet each other.

6. What would you like to say to your friends back in Fairfax.

One thing I would like to say to all of my friends back in Fairfax is that I’m glad that they were never worried about me, but instead proud of me for taking this opportunity to be abroad for a full academic year. The only thing I would say is that I hope that they did not move on with their lives while I was away, and that I hope they await for my arrival when I return for my last year as an undergraduate at Mason.