Jaime Cacciola ’04

My mother had always wanted me to attend Hood, so it had been on my radar. I visited campus as a prospective student and met some faculty in the English department. I was impressed by the beauty of the campus and the effort made to get to know each student. That’s when I knew that Hood was the right place for me.

In my sophomore year, I started to think about studying abroad because I wanted to take advantage of as many of the opportunities offered at Hood as possible. The only problem was I wasn’t sure how to fit it into my course load. Then I discovered the Bahrom International Program, which allowed students to spend a summer month in South Korea. The study abroad office offered an information session about the program, and five other Hood students signed up to go. As it was my first trip out of the country, it was comforting to travel with a group of fellow students.

The Bahrom International Program (BIP) was offered by Seoul Women’s University, and each study abroad student was paired with a South Korean student. We lived in a residence hall on campus, and both the study abroad students and the South Korean students took classes together in English. We learned about Korean culture and history, and the BIP even took us on field trips to the Sea of Japan and the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. Technically, I’ve stepped foot in North Korea at the DMZ.

At first, the most challenging part of the experience was the food as Korean food is very spicy and kimchee is served at every meal including breakfast. But after a month of eating Korean food and greatly improving my chopstick skills, I grew to love it, and I now search for good Korean restaurants here in the U.S. The most rewarding part of the experience was being welcomed by another culture. World Cup had just been hosted by Seoul when I arrived in South Korea in 2002, and the South Koreans were very friendly and helpful. Often people would break out in the soccer chant “Daehan Minguk” and loved it when we would join in.

All of the BIP students (those from the U.S., Canada, Russia, and South Korea) took classes together as one large cohort. As we numbered about 50, that was very different from Hood where roughly 12 students were in each class. We had to write a paper each week, and the best papers were posted on a bulletin board for everyone to see. I believe the South Korean academic culture has more of a competitive edge than what is normally found in the United States. K-12 education in South Korea is very rigorous, and many students spend hours after school with tutors so they can get into the best colleges. That exists somewhat here in the U.S., but I don’t think it’s as widespread as it is in South Korea.

The Bahrom International Program was an exceptional experience and planned very well. When we went on a road trip to the ancient capital of Gyeongju, we spent one evening on a pleasure boat on the Hyeongsan River, and it was such a beautiful, surreal experience. Another favorite memory was going to a coffee shop just down the street from Seoul Women’s University. Angela Kolb Aylor ’05 and I would make frequent trips there, and we got to know the owner. When it was time for us to return home, the coffee shop owner had cross-stitched a coaster for us to remember her by. 

I would absolutely recommend it! I would suggest preparing for a long (13 hour!) flight and to be open to all of the wonderful new opportunities offered. You only live once, so make the most of your time soaking in new experiences.