Oops, this would actually be my 52nd post :)
So here is my evaluation of the program:
In one word? Go.
If you are not a heritage speaker, I say that Sogang is an amazing program to be able to bring you up to a level where you will feel extremely comfortable communicating in the language with others. The environment of international students, most of whom do not speak English, allows for you to be forced to speak Korean, even without a language pledge. Also, you may not believe it when you first go there, but you will be able to cultivate very very deep relationships with these people who are mere strangers when you first meet them (especially if you go for a whole year). Being forced to use Korean in all kinds of situations with your friends, especially if you take trips or decide to talk about more difficult subjects, will let you slowly gain vocabulary and figure out different forms of speech.
One thing I would advise though is to meet with Korean friends as often as possible too. Although speaking with your friends from class will give you amazing practice, they are second language learners just like you and will not be able to correct you like a Korean friend can.
Yes, there are improvements that can be made to the program (one thing I think is that it would be nice if there were less students per classroom), but Sogang is indeed a young program, so it is rapidly changing and I'm sure will only get better over the years.
The teachers are, for the most part, devoted and very sweet and try to involve the students as much as possible in discussions, and you will find yourself being able to discuss virtually anything with Koreans by the end of your studies at Sogang.
As for workload--Sogang is probably one of the less intensive Korean programs, but don't take the work too lightly. It's very important to keep up by studying the next lesson's vocabulary and grammar (known as 예습) and important to review as well. Otherwise, you WILL find yourself quickly falling behind your classmates and unsure of what is going on in class. That said, the homework is not unbearable, which is a plus in and of itself, because it allows for you (for those who try) to expose yourself to the Seoul environment as much as possible and to meet friends often, which will skyrocket your speaking skills and make you much more familiar with Korean culture.
There are two tests per semester--the midterm and the final, which can be very stressful as 90% of your grade depends upon them. It's not ideal, and I would argue for more common little tests so that there isn't a lot of stress built up for two exams (not to mention, cramming--which is not effective for retaining information) or for class participation to actually count as more than 10% of the grade.Try to take them with as little stress as possible. If you 예습 every day and review often, the tests should not be horrible. My feelings about the test are, don't take them as indicative of your ability--they're designed to see how much you've retained from the course. One thing that I do think is done well, though, is the interview test at the end of each semester. Albeit super stressful, as oral tests tend to be, the teachers will often go off the set questions, allowing you to have a natural conversation and really show your ability to carry on a conversation in Korean. Memorization is a large part of the interview for the first three levels, but by level 4 and definitely by 5, if you go in with a general idea of what you want to talk about with the questions, you should have no problem, and the teacher will actually be able to evaluate well your ability.
Sogang gets a big plus from me--possibly one of the best language experiences I will ever have in life.
~*~
Now let's go into specifics:
SPEAKING: As I've emphasized, Sogang is centered around improving your speech skills in multiple situations. The makeup of the classes with students that do not share a common language allows for optimization in practicing your speaking in natural situations. By the end, you will find that Korean is almost as comfortable language for you to speak in as English is.
LISTENING: Levels 5 and 6 are wonderful examples of using media to improve listening skills. Although Levels 1 through 4 have normal, possibly dry dialogues, they are necessary for building a strong base in listening. Through those levels, if you have a television, it would be very good to try to attune yourself to listening to Korean through it. By Level 5, you get a video class, which is excellent for attuning your ears to natural Korean. Listening is done very well at Sogang. One thing that I found myself struggling a little bit with (as well as some of my friends) was listening to Korean men speaking. One reason is that they often slur their words more, but also, the vast majority of Sogang teachers are women, so if you want to even out your listening skills more, I suggest you to find a Korean male language partner.
READING: The Sogang readings are nothing super intense and you will be able to synthesize the vocabulary you learn from the chapters. By the end, you will definitely be able to read Korean at a very decent speed and be able to capture a lot, but if you possibly find time, I suggest looking for Korean texts on your own once you reach a higher level (perhaps from Level 4 or even Level 3 onward), because even if you do not memorize every piece of vocabulary, you will expose yourself to a lot and will find yourself recognizing more and more words and also be able to get a taste of natural Korean, as most of the texts in the books are artificially written to train certain grammar skills.
WRITING: One of Sogang's weaker points, but that's because of the great emphasis on speaking. I do agree that writing should come secondary to speaking, but my advice would be to take advantage of writing class to try to write creatively and incorporate as much new vocabulary and grammar as possible. Don't be afraid to experiment writing different sentences or using different words and seeing if they're acceptable in Korean or not. That's one of the best ways to improve your writing in the mere 50 minutes of writing class. The topics given are very diverse and so you'll have plenty to write about. As long as you take advantage, writing class can be very fruitful.
~*~
Okay, now I'll evaluate the levels that I took:
LEVEL 3: The first level I took at Sogang. Level 3 is a difficult level, partially because you start to learn many grammar patterns that are not quite translatable into English (not to mention the languages your classmates speak as well) and partially because there is a large jump from Level 2 (I have heard). 예습 is very important here and it's good to ask the teacher anything you're unclear about. As Level 3 is where you'll start to reach intermediate Korean, DEFINITELY try to hang out more with your classmates, as it will be very important to start cementing your Korean speech before heading into the higher levels. All in all, the topics are pretty fun, so Level 3 is a good, but difficult level.
LEVEL 4: Ah, the hazy Level 4. It's hard to tell exactly what goal Level 4 is trying to achieve. The grammar is nothing very difficult and the material is rather dry, not to mention, there's no color in the books! Alas, I had an amazing Level 4 experience, as it was where I met a few of my closest friends. As long as your classroom dynamic and teacher makes the material fun, it will be a fun level. Try to look past the dry material and focus on increasing your vocabulary. As the level is easier than Level 3 (in my opinion), take the advantage to hang out more and cement your abilities to speak. By the end, you should find yourself fairly comfortable conversing in everyday conversation.
LEVEL 5: The dreaded Level 5. Actually, Level 5 is a very fun level with lots of well-written chapters and interesting grammar points and a plethora of vocabulary. Yes, it is a difficult level. Yes, you will have to put in quite a bit of time if you want to get the most out of the level. 예습 and review are crucial and the level is very fast paced, so be careful not to fall behind. You will start to talk about advanced topics in this level so test the waters and don't be afraid to make mistakes. My teacher in Level 5, 오승은 선생님, was absolutely amazing and taught us very well. Don't be afraid to ask the teacher questions, as there should be nothing you should be unclear about. Take in the material and enjoy using your new knowledge with your classmates. Also, Level 5 is where Listening class becomes Video class, an excellent introduction to Korean media. You will watch one drama (새는...) and one movie (그해 여름), both obscure pieces of work. Although it may feel very difficult at first to understand what they're saying, don't give up hope, as by the end, even though you may not understand everything, you will probably understand at least 90% of the media in Level 5 and will probably be able to understand at least 50% in other Korean media you listen to. Level 5 gets a big thumbs up from me as one of the best designed levels at Sogang.
Level 6: The notoriously "boring" level. Level 6 is an interesting one. Reading past blogs and/or reports, as well as hearing from other Sogang students, Level 6 is well known for being "boring" and not very useful. I agree in the sense that Level 6 is not exactly the most fast-paced or fun level, but it is a nice break from the fast pace of Level 5. Also, I would disagree that Level 6 is a useless level. The lenience of the level and atmosphere in class allows for a LOT of natural discussion. You also really tackle advanced topics, and by the end of Level 6 you will be comfortable speaking to Koreans about virtually anything, from health care reform to population problems to the ethics of abortion, cloning, and euthanasia. It's a nice close to the curriculum (as most students graduate at Level 6--I can't speak for Level 7 as I did not take it) and will give you the skills to be able to study Korean on your own. Take the advantage of time to bulk up any skills you feel you're lacking in and make the most of your time in Korea in this level. You deserve it after Level 5! As for the video class, although my teacher was far from the best, the material is very useful. You will encounter all kinds of media (news, lectures, a drama, a game show, a talk show, and a documentary) which will bring up your listening to understanding probably at least 75% or more of Korean media out there. The one complaint I have about Level 6 (apart from that it would be nice if it were more organized and more interesting) is that there is no grammar taught. Yes, there are some patterns you go over in review session, but there is no core grammar, which would be very nice to learn as there is still a lot of grammar after Level 5 that would be useful to know.
All in all, as I said before, go to Sogang! You won't regret it :)! If any of you are reading my blog and decide to go to Sogang, say hi to any of my teachers for me :D. Just ask about 세창 and see if they remember me ^_^.
박다래: Level 3 Writing, Level 6 Speaking
이혜전: Level 3 Speaking
정영미: Level 3 Listening
신효원: Level 4 Writing
구은미: Level 4 Speaking
최연재: Level 4 Listening
박진희: Level 5 Writing
오승은: Level 5 Speaking, Level 6 Writing
조재희: Level 5 Video
윤혜숙: Level 6 Video
And with this I conclude my blog! It's been a good year :).
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
내일 보자
"See you tomorrow"
A line I can no longer say to my friends in Korea :(. So sad how much circumstance and location affects friendships! Alas, our time together has come to a close. It's pretty crazy--none of us ever thought it would be possible to become close with people from other countries with whom we don't even share a common mother tongue, but we did it, through Korean. It makes me really see the importance of language in understanding and building relationships. Our graduation meant that all of us were leaving each other, and although it's time to part, we'll never forget the good times!
As I said in my goodbye to my friends:
여러분 만나게 돼서 내 운이 진짜 좋은가 봐. 정말 인연이라고 믿어...지금 헤어지는 날인지 믿고 싶지 않아도 마침내 왔네...건강하게 살고 우리 다시 만나길 바래~전혀 잊지 말자~9개월동안 모두랑 지내다 보니 정이 엄청나게 쌓였어. 이렇게 친하게 지낼 수 있는 줄 몰랐는데 이제 얼마나 섭섭한지...안녕~ 사랑해~
It seems like I was very lucky to have met all of you. I really believe it was fate...although I don't want to believe that it's our day of separation, it's finally come...I hope for us to live healthily and meet again some day~let's never forget each other~spending time with you for 9 months has made you all very dear to me. I never knew that we could become so close and now it all feels so sad...goodbye~ love you all~
Corny, I know :), but over the nine months, I learned not only Korean, but how dear such friends can become by the day of separation. If only our world were smaller...
Here are some final pictures from Korea ^^:
Our class, everyone so dressed up!
Our silly play, based off the show "Roller Coaster" hehe (also, it was rehearsed in less than a day LOL).
Oh Sogang students ;D
Level 6!
Our class, with 박다래 선생님.
The other class, with 곽 선생님.
Kana, Kevin, and me :)!
Me and 박다래 선생님~
All of us who were in the play, with the ever-so popular 김형일 선생님 hehe.
박다래 선생님 showing off the gift we made and the flowers we got her :).
The food was actually good for once! :D Although it was a bit much...especially the chicken XD.
Me and the professor who I helped with editing some papers and whose daughter I helped with English.
Eating at On the Border with 오승은 선생님!
My best Korean friend 문정 Munjeong and me ^^.
My other Korean friends 경민 Kyungmin and 정민 Jungmin.
Last meal! 팔색 삼겹살 ^^
Celebrating Henry's birthday early because we'd all be gone when his birthday came--May 30th!
So many faces!
Congratulations on graduating Sogang!
The final crew!
And the final goodbye!
Now that I'm back in the States, I'm of course readjusting ^^. No extreme reverse culture shock has hit me yet but I can bring up a few things:
1) You know those automatic words like "mm," "no," or "uh," etc. Well I've gotten used to the Korean equivalents of those. So, while talking to my mother or father, I've recently accidentally said 아니 or 뭐 in the middle.
2) Instead of cellphone, I accidentally said "handphone" to my dad yesterday.
3) While my parents were driving me home, on the Chinese radio that my dad was listening to came up a song, which sounded horribly familiar, and then I realized it was 8282 by Da Vichi, but in Chinese! Oh, how pervasive Kpop is.
4) Only after coming back to the States did I realize how different the atmosphere is between New York City and Seoul! Especially my neighborhood, which looks much older and less modern. Very quaint, different from bustling Seoul; although parts of Seoul, like Sinchon, do remind me more of places closer to Grand Central for example.
5) When I was ordering food for the first time back here, I almost completely forgot how to, having not ordered in English for a very long time, so I hesitated for a while before placing my order hehe.
6) I almost completely forgot to pay tip at a restaurant haha.
7) Getting used again to swiping my metro card as opposed to scanning the T-card, and also getting used to not taking out my Metro Card to scan when I get out of the subway haha.
8) The dollar feels so foreign to me!
Well this is some stuff for now, I'll write more if I think up some ^_^.
It feels very surreal to be back home right now--but relaxing at the same time. Just a lot of busy work to do ^^.
I'll write my evaluation of Sogang in a separate post, as it falls into a bit of a different category ^^.
As a last note, I feel it's very nice that this is my 52nd post--52 weeks in a year. Captures very well my year in Korea :D (summer two years ago + fall/winter/spring this year).
A line I can no longer say to my friends in Korea :(. So sad how much circumstance and location affects friendships! Alas, our time together has come to a close. It's pretty crazy--none of us ever thought it would be possible to become close with people from other countries with whom we don't even share a common mother tongue, but we did it, through Korean. It makes me really see the importance of language in understanding and building relationships. Our graduation meant that all of us were leaving each other, and although it's time to part, we'll never forget the good times!
As I said in my goodbye to my friends:
여러분 만나게 돼서 내 운이 진짜 좋은가 봐. 정말 인연이라고 믿어...지금 헤어지는 날인지 믿고 싶지 않아도 마침내 왔네...건강하게 살고 우리 다시 만나길 바래~전혀 잊지 말자~9개월동안 모두랑 지내다 보니 정이 엄청나게 쌓였어. 이렇게 친하게 지낼 수 있는 줄 몰랐는데 이제 얼마나 섭섭한지...안녕~ 사랑해~
It seems like I was very lucky to have met all of you. I really believe it was fate...although I don't want to believe that it's our day of separation, it's finally come...I hope for us to live healthily and meet again some day~let's never forget each other~spending time with you for 9 months has made you all very dear to me. I never knew that we could become so close and now it all feels so sad...goodbye~ love you all~
Corny, I know :), but over the nine months, I learned not only Korean, but how dear such friends can become by the day of separation. If only our world were smaller...
Here are some final pictures from Korea ^^:
Our class, everyone so dressed up!
Our silly play, based off the show "Roller Coaster" hehe (also, it was rehearsed in less than a day LOL).
Oh Sogang students ;D
Level 6!
Our class, with 박다래 선생님.
The other class, with 곽 선생님.
Kana, Kevin, and me :)!
Me and 박다래 선생님~
All of us who were in the play, with the ever-so popular 김형일 선생님 hehe.
박다래 선생님 showing off the gift we made and the flowers we got her :).
The food was actually good for once! :D Although it was a bit much...especially the chicken XD.
Me and the professor who I helped with editing some papers and whose daughter I helped with English.
Eating at On the Border with 오승은 선생님!
My best Korean friend 문정 Munjeong and me ^^.
My other Korean friends 경민 Kyungmin and 정민 Jungmin.
Last meal! 팔색 삼겹살 ^^
Celebrating Henry's birthday early because we'd all be gone when his birthday came--May 30th!
So many faces!
Congratulations on graduating Sogang!
The final crew!
And the final goodbye!Now that I'm back in the States, I'm of course readjusting ^^. No extreme reverse culture shock has hit me yet but I can bring up a few things:
1) You know those automatic words like "mm," "no," or "uh," etc. Well I've gotten used to the Korean equivalents of those. So, while talking to my mother or father, I've recently accidentally said 아니 or 뭐 in the middle.
2) Instead of cellphone, I accidentally said "handphone" to my dad yesterday.
3) While my parents were driving me home, on the Chinese radio that my dad was listening to came up a song, which sounded horribly familiar, and then I realized it was 8282 by Da Vichi, but in Chinese! Oh, how pervasive Kpop is.
4) Only after coming back to the States did I realize how different the atmosphere is between New York City and Seoul! Especially my neighborhood, which looks much older and less modern. Very quaint, different from bustling Seoul; although parts of Seoul, like Sinchon, do remind me more of places closer to Grand Central for example.
5) When I was ordering food for the first time back here, I almost completely forgot how to, having not ordered in English for a very long time, so I hesitated for a while before placing my order hehe.
6) I almost completely forgot to pay tip at a restaurant haha.
7) Getting used again to swiping my metro card as opposed to scanning the T-card, and also getting used to not taking out my Metro Card to scan when I get out of the subway haha.
8) The dollar feels so foreign to me!
Well this is some stuff for now, I'll write more if I think up some ^_^.
It feels very surreal to be back home right now--but relaxing at the same time. Just a lot of busy work to do ^^.
I'll write my evaluation of Sogang in a separate post, as it falls into a bit of a different category ^^.
As a last note, I feel it's very nice that this is my 52nd post--52 weeks in a year. Captures very well my year in Korea :D (summer two years ago + fall/winter/spring this year).
Thursday, May 13, 2010
생일 축하합니다~
"Happy birthday to you"
First birthday I've celebrated in a foreign country! And as my gift from Sogang? The final interview exam haha. Well, I guess I can turn it around and think of my gift as being done with everything today woo! Tomorrow's graduation. Crazy to think that it's all finally and truly coming to an end! Ah, the ambivalent relief and sadness that is bittersweetness T_T!
Alas, that will be a word saved for my final post, which I think I will do when I'm back in the States ^^.
As I was studying for finals with friends and practically living in Meeple (I think I went maybe 4-5 days in a row this past week...), I pretty much have their soundtrack drilled into my head. The cafe plays the same music all the time, including I swear, at least ten remixes of Amazing Grace. All the songs have a very peaceful aura, pretty much making you feel like there are no worries in your life! The atmosphere of Meeple definitely helps with that too, which I think is a nice feeling to have while sitting in a cafe and preparing for finals.
The relief of finishing my final level at Sogang is pretty great, and I'm sure it'll feel even better tomorrow as we each step up to the front. Congrats to everyone! It's been a wonderful year :). I wonder how the students who have stuck through from Level 1 must feel!
After the interview today, my friends threw me a birthday lunch at a yummy shabu shabu restaurant :). I also received two of my favorite flavors of cake--fruit and tiramisu mm mm! Lots of picture taking ensued, and then just hanging out. Of course, with the graduation up ahead and a short play to be done during it, everyone was a bit busy, but there will be time for goodbyes tomorrow night and the day after tomorrow, and then on Sunday, I'm on a plane back to the States!
Pictures from the week:
So we were being silly because of this funny ad we saw on TV about hair loss. Here's Kevin(who shaves his head)'s "before" picture.
And after, with the help of Yoshiko haha!
Of course, they then wanted to do that to me too.
Friends friends friends :).
Me and my yummy cakes!
As usual, camera-crazy friends!
Interesting piece of art near Kyobo bookstore, where I was buying Korean books to read back at home!
I'm bracing myself for the reverse culture shock hehe. It's gonna be big! :)
First birthday I've celebrated in a foreign country! And as my gift from Sogang? The final interview exam haha. Well, I guess I can turn it around and think of my gift as being done with everything today woo! Tomorrow's graduation. Crazy to think that it's all finally and truly coming to an end! Ah, the ambivalent relief and sadness that is bittersweetness T_T!
Alas, that will be a word saved for my final post, which I think I will do when I'm back in the States ^^.
As I was studying for finals with friends and practically living in Meeple (I think I went maybe 4-5 days in a row this past week...), I pretty much have their soundtrack drilled into my head. The cafe plays the same music all the time, including I swear, at least ten remixes of Amazing Grace. All the songs have a very peaceful aura, pretty much making you feel like there are no worries in your life! The atmosphere of Meeple definitely helps with that too, which I think is a nice feeling to have while sitting in a cafe and preparing for finals.
The relief of finishing my final level at Sogang is pretty great, and I'm sure it'll feel even better tomorrow as we each step up to the front. Congrats to everyone! It's been a wonderful year :). I wonder how the students who have stuck through from Level 1 must feel!
After the interview today, my friends threw me a birthday lunch at a yummy shabu shabu restaurant :). I also received two of my favorite flavors of cake--fruit and tiramisu mm mm! Lots of picture taking ensued, and then just hanging out. Of course, with the graduation up ahead and a short play to be done during it, everyone was a bit busy, but there will be time for goodbyes tomorrow night and the day after tomorrow, and then on Sunday, I'm on a plane back to the States!
Pictures from the week:
So we were being silly because of this funny ad we saw on TV about hair loss. Here's Kevin(who shaves his head)'s "before" picture.
And after, with the help of Yoshiko haha!
Of course, they then wanted to do that to me too.
Friends friends friends :).
Me and my yummy cakes!
As usual, camera-crazy friends!
Interesting piece of art near Kyobo bookstore, where I was buying Korean books to read back at home!I'm bracing myself for the reverse culture shock hehe. It's gonna be big! :)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
소통
"Mutual understanding"
Language is such an important tool to people understanding one another, and it makes sense that that's why the Light Fellowship funds students to go to these far off lands to just focus on learning the language. Being a language geek, the Light Fellowship was like a dream come true, but I realize how much merit there is to just learning a language without taking other classes. There's definitely a large difference between studying abroad in a country (유학) and language study in another country (어학 연수), although they both have their merits. I think the one downside of studying abroad is if you take all your classes in English other than your language class. Yeah, you get to experience the country and meet natives, enhancing your experience, but I think that because a lot of time is put into the classes, you don't really learn the language as efficiently and effectively as if you were to just focus all your energy into language learning and utilizing it. I have two friends who did/are doing study abroad here and they felt/feel like they weren't/aren't able to learn Korean as well as they could if they were just focusing on the language. In that way, I feel that my choice to take a year off to just focus on learning Korean has allowed me to improve my Korean vastly, not to mention that being put in the same boat as people from all over the world has definitely allowed us to bond over mutually learning about each other's culture and Korean culture, as well as to create friendships with people thousands of miles away from my home. To sum it all up, yes, the Light Fellowship has given me an amazing opportunity to both foster my understanding about Korean culture as well as to dabble in the cultures of the friends I have made here. Woo Light Fellowship :)!
And to address this weekly question, I feel like I've probably mentioned this a few times in this blog, but it's definitely a different experience being an Asian American here (who is not Korean-American but still blends in looks-wise). On the one hand, I'm able to dispel many people's views of Westerners (for example, Westerners cheat often--a view created by dramas like Gossip Girl or Beverly Hills, America is a dangerous place and everyone carries a gun--well, look at how many violent American movies there are, and not so much a "stereotype" but rather a misconception, the West is a cold place). Of course, the flip side is that being Asian American, they can attribute me as just being an *exception* because my Asian background is different from that of other Americans. Alas, what can I do but continue to preach? Hehe. Funny enough, I did meet a Korean girl recently who has never really met a Westerner who asked me "젓가락질이 힘들겠죠?" "Using chopsticks must be difficult for you." For one thing, I did grow up using chopsticks considering my background is Asian, but for a second and larger thing, I'm pretty sure virtually everyone in the States can use chopsticks considering how prevalent Chinese food is...
I saw one of my Korean friends recently and watched a small play in Daehangno 대학로 (a popular area among college students that I'm surprised I hadn't gone to you--what a shame I didn't get to check it out more!). A picture with the actors :D (and my friend to my left):
With a little bit more than a week left, I've been finishing up work, saying some goodbyes, and doing some packing. Ah! Very surreal to be leaving here!
Language is such an important tool to people understanding one another, and it makes sense that that's why the Light Fellowship funds students to go to these far off lands to just focus on learning the language. Being a language geek, the Light Fellowship was like a dream come true, but I realize how much merit there is to just learning a language without taking other classes. There's definitely a large difference between studying abroad in a country (유학) and language study in another country (어학 연수), although they both have their merits. I think the one downside of studying abroad is if you take all your classes in English other than your language class. Yeah, you get to experience the country and meet natives, enhancing your experience, but I think that because a lot of time is put into the classes, you don't really learn the language as efficiently and effectively as if you were to just focus all your energy into language learning and utilizing it. I have two friends who did/are doing study abroad here and they felt/feel like they weren't/aren't able to learn Korean as well as they could if they were just focusing on the language. In that way, I feel that my choice to take a year off to just focus on learning Korean has allowed me to improve my Korean vastly, not to mention that being put in the same boat as people from all over the world has definitely allowed us to bond over mutually learning about each other's culture and Korean culture, as well as to create friendships with people thousands of miles away from my home. To sum it all up, yes, the Light Fellowship has given me an amazing opportunity to both foster my understanding about Korean culture as well as to dabble in the cultures of the friends I have made here. Woo Light Fellowship :)!
And to address this weekly question, I feel like I've probably mentioned this a few times in this blog, but it's definitely a different experience being an Asian American here (who is not Korean-American but still blends in looks-wise). On the one hand, I'm able to dispel many people's views of Westerners (for example, Westerners cheat often--a view created by dramas like Gossip Girl or Beverly Hills, America is a dangerous place and everyone carries a gun--well, look at how many violent American movies there are, and not so much a "stereotype" but rather a misconception, the West is a cold place). Of course, the flip side is that being Asian American, they can attribute me as just being an *exception* because my Asian background is different from that of other Americans. Alas, what can I do but continue to preach? Hehe. Funny enough, I did meet a Korean girl recently who has never really met a Westerner who asked me "젓가락질이 힘들겠죠?" "Using chopsticks must be difficult for you." For one thing, I did grow up using chopsticks considering my background is Asian, but for a second and larger thing, I'm pretty sure virtually everyone in the States can use chopsticks considering how prevalent Chinese food is...
I saw one of my Korean friends recently and watched a small play in Daehangno 대학로 (a popular area among college students that I'm surprised I hadn't gone to you--what a shame I didn't get to check it out more!). A picture with the actors :D (and my friend to my left):
With a little bit more than a week left, I've been finishing up work, saying some goodbyes, and doing some packing. Ah! Very surreal to be leaving here!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
매애
"Baa"
Just from that you can probably guess what this blog post is about...well, vaguely :). This weekend, my friend planned a day trip to 강원도 Gangwon-do, where we checked out a sheep farm, a mineral spring, and an herb farm. As usual with these trips, the actual bus trip itself took much longer than actually exploring the places but as usual with these trips, there's no time for bonding with friends like bus time!
Our first stop, the sheep farm, was, well, not too full of sheep, as maybe it was because of the weather? I'm not sure, but for some reason the sheep were in their pens rather than roaming the pastures. Still, because of the blue skies above and the somewhat chilly, but in the comfortable range, weather, we had fun wandering the scenery and taking pictures with the sheep and amongst ourselves.
Hehe is it just me or are they smiling like anime characters?
Our group!
Yup that's a patch of snow. Not quite my idea of the end of April...
Buds :D Kevin, Kana, Henry, and Xue Qing.
Ah, wouldn't it be nice to lie on the field and just watch the clouds float by? ^^
Jump!
Kick!
After that, we went to a restaurant for lunch where we had 황태찜 (a spicy pollack dish) after arguing with the ajumma for about a minute or two that we would be able to handle the spiciness (which, ironically, did not turn out that spicy in the end). Ah, one of the things about some Koreans is how they will assume that if you're not Korean you can't handle spiciness, when there are many cultures that are abundant with spicy food, but that's stereotypes for you ^^. I also got the other day, "Oh, using chopsticks must be difficult for you."
황태찜
But, moving on to the second place! The mineral spring was a short trip, but we tried the mineral water there from the spring and it tasted pretty gross...pretty much like water filled with a LOT of metal. On the bright side, it's supposed to protect against cancer, swine flu, and other diseases ^^. We also had a bit of fun here taking pictures with Kevin being a monkey hehe.
Our last destination was 허브나라 herb farm, which had very pretty gardens and had a delicious bakery that sold yummy herb pastries and delicious herb jam that I decided to buy as a souvenir :). There were also herb aromas and other neat products, not to mention we were able to take some nice pictures there =].
One thing that's been really nice is how we've all developed from Level 4 when we all first met (well I entered a bit late as quite a few had known each other since Level 2 ^^) but how we've reached the point that we can all talk to each other in Korean as if it's our language and how it's not awkward even to speak to our English-speaking buddies in Korean too! It's fostered a new kind of bond I've definitely never experienced before and has led to some lifelong friends =]. It just makes me sad that I'll be going back home soon and leaving them, unsure of when I'll see them next :'(. If only the world were just a bit smaller! It's at least metaphorically become so in recent times, what with all the travel and foreign exchange. Woo for Light Fellowship! :)
Just from that you can probably guess what this blog post is about...well, vaguely :). This weekend, my friend planned a day trip to 강원도 Gangwon-do, where we checked out a sheep farm, a mineral spring, and an herb farm. As usual with these trips, the actual bus trip itself took much longer than actually exploring the places but as usual with these trips, there's no time for bonding with friends like bus time!
Our first stop, the sheep farm, was, well, not too full of sheep, as maybe it was because of the weather? I'm not sure, but for some reason the sheep were in their pens rather than roaming the pastures. Still, because of the blue skies above and the somewhat chilly, but in the comfortable range, weather, we had fun wandering the scenery and taking pictures with the sheep and amongst ourselves.
Hehe is it just me or are they smiling like anime characters?
Our group!
Yup that's a patch of snow. Not quite my idea of the end of April...
Buds :D Kevin, Kana, Henry, and Xue Qing.
Ah, wouldn't it be nice to lie on the field and just watch the clouds float by? ^^
Jump!
Kick!After that, we went to a restaurant for lunch where we had 황태찜 (a spicy pollack dish) after arguing with the ajumma for about a minute or two that we would be able to handle the spiciness (which, ironically, did not turn out that spicy in the end). Ah, one of the things about some Koreans is how they will assume that if you're not Korean you can't handle spiciness, when there are many cultures that are abundant with spicy food, but that's stereotypes for you ^^. I also got the other day, "Oh, using chopsticks must be difficult for you."
황태찜But, moving on to the second place! The mineral spring was a short trip, but we tried the mineral water there from the spring and it tasted pretty gross...pretty much like water filled with a LOT of metal. On the bright side, it's supposed to protect against cancer, swine flu, and other diseases ^^. We also had a bit of fun here taking pictures with Kevin being a monkey hehe.
Our last destination was 허브나라 herb farm, which had very pretty gardens and had a delicious bakery that sold yummy herb pastries and delicious herb jam that I decided to buy as a souvenir :). There were also herb aromas and other neat products, not to mention we were able to take some nice pictures there =].
One thing that's been really nice is how we've all developed from Level 4 when we all first met (well I entered a bit late as quite a few had known each other since Level 2 ^^) but how we've reached the point that we can all talk to each other in Korean as if it's our language and how it's not awkward even to speak to our English-speaking buddies in Korean too! It's fostered a new kind of bond I've definitely never experienced before and has led to some lifelong friends =]. It just makes me sad that I'll be going back home soon and leaving them, unsure of when I'll see them next :'(. If only the world were just a bit smaller! It's at least metaphorically become so in recent times, what with all the travel and foreign exchange. Woo for Light Fellowship! :)
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