New In Town: Nahia Antoranz
Photograph by Joe Wabe
The city of Gwangju is blessed every year with the presence of thousands of visitors from abroad. Nahia Antoranz, a 23 year old student from Bilbao, in the Basque Country, an autonomous community of northern Spain, is one such new visitor to Gwangju, as well as a new GIC intern. Nahia’s major is Social Education, which she studied at the University of the Basque Country, and she considers herself to be happy and adventurous, but a bit temperamental at times. She fancies the color yellow, and although her Korean is still a work in progress, she has a special taste for Korean cuisine, especially kimchi jjigae. Her dream is to one day live in Costa Rica and complete a masters program at the United Nations University.
Here is a short interview to get to know her a little bit. Welcome to Gwangju, Nahia!
How did you decide to come to Korea?
For my last year of University, I wanted to study in a different country, so I started to look through the possible places that I could go to. My options were mostly in Europe and South America, and those weren’t really places I wanted to go since I wanted a complete change in culture and language. When I saw that South Korea was a possibility, I applied, and after a lot of paperwork, exams and interviews, I was accepted! And it was at that point that I really started to learn about Korean culture and language (even though I’m still so bad at it).
What do you do now?
Right now I work at the GIC (Gwangju International Center) as an intern; therefore, most of my days are spent at the office. I do a variety of different jobs: I teach Spanish Beginner 3, English conversation, and I give a hand anywhere that is needed. My day also involves meeting new people that walk into the office. At the same time I’m a student at a university in Seoul (I take online classes) and I’m writing my undergrad thesis with my hometown university in the Basque Country.
What do you like best about our city?
What I like the most about Gwangju is how diverse and vibrant it is. Gwangju is a city where the old and the new meet and live in harmony, and also where busy Korean society and art hold hands. Let’s take as a clear example the Daein Market downtown. During the day you can see a more traditional way of selling goods as well as amazing restaurants at this market, but on weekend nights this place completely transforms into what in my mind is the best example of what living in Gwangju is all about. You can find live music, jam sessions, art workshops, art galleries, handmade crafts, different community projects and the most heterogeneous group of people getting together under the same roof.
What kind of activities are you interested in?
Gwangju and Jeolla province are well known for their high food quality, so one of my favorite activities is to go out with friends to a new restaurant and try new food. I like to be gastronomically challenged, and the feeling of not knowing what to expect. I also enjoy going for drinks, hiking, discovering new places and I recently started to go to the Animal Shelter on the weekends to walk dogs. Besides this I am really interested in any project that aims to change society for the better, and I get chills every time I see a group of people protesting for social change or taking action to create a better community.