Q. Could you briefly introduce your activities in Ethiopia?
There are three main categories of overseas service in Ethiopia: cultural service, educational service, and hard work. Cultural service refers to performing in a month-long performance that we have prepared,and educational service refers to teaching students, and finally hard work refers to repairing aging facilities. In particular, in the case of educational service, a local interpreter was in the middle of interpretingwhat we are teaching. It was a special experience for these local interpreters because they were volunteered by the bereaved families of Korean War veterans.

Q. What was the most impressive activity or cultural shock you experienced while adapting to Ethiopia?
Actually, I didn’t get used to it until I came back. I think I felt that way because life was much farther
away than I knew. And the visible gap between the rich and the poor remains very impressive even if you
drive for 5 minutes. In the capital city, buildings are high, traffic is good, and the roads are clean. If you
drive in 5 minutes, you will see a shantytown and some people lie down and sleep on the side of the
road.

Q. I understand that there are many things to prepare before you go to a volunteer trip
abroad. Wha tdid you prepare in Korea? Wasn't it hard to prepare?
What we prepared was fan dance, Nanta, Taekwondo, chorus, and K-pop. I prepared Taekwondo and K-pop, and the whole unit prepared chorus. After passing the process, we got to know each other first and then prepared for a month or two. It is not easy for more than 30 people to find the time that everyone is available, but I think the fact that each team leader shared the schedule and informed us so that we could fit in together is the driving force that made it easier.

Q. What is the most memorable part after volunteering abroad, and how do you feel?
Before I applied, most people stopped me. I did a lot of other overseas volunteer work, and many people wondered why I was applying because it had nothing to do with my career path. However, I can say that I had no regrets after it was over. Also, the most memorable things are my friends. We were together for a long time from the preparation process to the end. Even though it was small, there were many happy moments in it, and I think that it is still memorable to this day.

Q. Do you have any thoughts of recommending overseas volunteering to other students?

I definitely do. From an empirical point of view, I think it was an opportunity to discover myself in an extremely sensitive and extreme situation where I slept in a mosquito net or with a bottled water. The same goes for others. The process of solving problems also seems to have been an opportunity for growth. There are times when I get tired in my current life, and I think this overseas service was a comforting experience when I bring up memories of when I get tired. So, I hope you will experience it at least once!

sumin8101g@hanmail.net