There is a student organization at UOG that helps international students adapt to the island’s culture and campus life.

The International Friendship Club assists foreign students visiting Guam and participating in UOG’s English Adventure Program.

IFC belongs to the Global Learning and Engagement Department at the University of Guam.

Junga Mok, 19, who joined in this short-term program for international students in August 2019, said the experience with IFC members were the most memorable in her days on Guam.

Mok currently attends Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea but participated in UOG’s English Adventure Program to improve language skills during summer vacation.

“IFC members helped me adjust well to life in Guam,” Mok said. “They became my real friends beyond the helpers who assist me in the UOG program as a visiting student.”

She also improved her English skills by spending time with club members.

Mok said she felt awkward using English when she first met the club members. However, as she spent time with them doing various activities, she was able to have a comfortable conversation with the IFC members with confidence in English.

“IFC friends helped me a lot in many ways,” Mok said.

Kolbric Diego, who is currently the IFC secretary, said the rule is to communicate only in English during club activities to improve the proficiency of the students participating in the program.

“They can speak English in a more comfortable state if we continue to communicate with them in English,” Diego said.

He said that the proudest moment of his IFC career was when a Korean male student, who could not speak any English at first, came to him on the last day of the program and talked excitedly in English.

“We begin as strangers, but by spending time together, we create and maintain long-lasting friendships together,” Diego said. “The great advantage of IFC is that I can interact and engage with college students from other countries in my age.”

Atsumi Ito, 22, a member of IFC, noted building happy memories with international students is one of the advantages of participating in club activities.

She is also an international student from Japan, but she joined IFC because she wanted to interact with students of various cultures.

“As a member of the club, I was able to make unforgettable memories through fun activities in Guam with many students,” Ito said. “I would like to describe IFC as the true internationalization of friendship in my words.”

Mok and Ito both said it was most interesting to be able to exchange cultures with each other while doing activities.

Mok mentioned that it was most interesting to be able to exchange cultures with each other while doing activities.

She mentioned that she was most impressed when she learned how to make coconut candy on beach day and visited the Chamorro village to learn more about Guam’s culture.

She recalled memories with IFC members, saying that if she had visited Guam only for sightseeing, she would not have experienced these things.

Ito also thought positively about cultural exchange among club activities.

“I always bear the beach day in mind among club activities. It is because beach day starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon, so there are always many opportunities to come across new cultures from them,” Ito said.

If you become a member of IFC, you can not only build international friendships, but also be given the opportunity to study abroad.

Although all IFC activities have been suspended due to COVID-19, the club is asking students to consider becoming a member.