To decrease the anxiety for junior abroad students of Lanyang Campus and help them prepare well to study abroad and adapt themselves into the local life, Counseling Section held a forum, “Birds Want to Fly: Preparing for Studying Abroad” in Lanyuan Campus (9th and 12th).

Chung Yi Ling, a psychological consultant, adopts the concept of “decreasing oppression” and the technique of “art expression” to inspire students that they can comfort their anxiety with speaking, discussing, and sharing. In the forum, students bring up their own questions; for instance, studying abroad needs a lot of money, feeling lonely in the foreign place, and some safety problems. After sharing experience and decreasing oppression through groups, students learn how to live abroad with positive and healthy way.

Yang Hsiu-Wen, a junior of Department of Global Politics and Economics, will study abroad at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in America, expresses that she is nervous before going abroad. However, after participating in this activity, she knows how to prepare and how to deal with the problems in abroad. She gets a lot of benefits from the forum. Lo Tzu-chi, counselor of Counseling Section, expresses that TKU has built “group connection web” which divides the students in nearby neighborhood into the same group to promote students’ competence when they face the difficulties. Besides, it reduces students’ sense of anxiety, provides foreign assistant information, makes students safe, and leads a solid life in abroad. ( ~Shelley Tang )