One word (phrase in Korean) that describes how I feel very well. Despite the fact that I'm taking a year off from Yale, I forget sometimes how tiring it is to learn a language, especially when you're getting at least 50 words of vocabulary a day thrown at you, 4-6 grammar patterns every two days, constant 예습 (meaning "to study ahead," a word that my non-English speaking friends find humorous does not exist in English) and review every day, dealing with homework and writing about a page or so in writing class, etc. etc. the list goes on. And even when you're not in class, something about trying to make yourself understood in a foreign language can be very exhausting, so all I want to do now is just lie down and release all this tension, because I've just taken my speaking final! Phew.
Once again, I must apologize for missing a post because of finals coming up and work piling up more (I'll write another one tomorrow after the graduation). Not much has happened these two weeks, taking into account everyone buckling down for finals, but Henry, Kana, and I gathered our Korean friends and we had a fun exchange with them and then delicious dinner at our favorite samgyupsal place 팔색 삼겹살 (8 colors samgyupsal, where they literally give you 8 kinds of delicious samgyupsal, mm!).
As much as I try to meet more Koreans, many of them, especially guys, seem to just always be very busy! And a habit I've noticed is that some Koreans have a tendency to cancel often...something that quite a few of my friends have experienced. Alas, I keep trying, and hopefully I'll be able to make some more Korean friends who I consistently meet (there are only two now who I am able to consistently meet)!One thing that has felt really satisfying, that I am able to see as my improvement in Level 5 (though for a while it felt very much like a plateau) is my ability to now talk about societal issues or controversial topics with my friends and Koreans (including health insurance, abortion, contraception, study abroad, English in Korea, euthanasia, etc. etc.). Our textbooks have started to add more of these issues for us to debate about (and I've heard level 6 is all about debating), but even beyond the textbook, we've been able to talk about other topics of interest that we just want to talk about, which has instilled in me a new confidence in my Korean skills.
On the other hand, though, going to get a haircut and not understanding a lot of what one of the male employees said (most likely a combination of my not being very used to males speaking and lots of everyday words--a category I've noticed we kind of lack in the Sogang textbooks) reminded me that as always, learning language is still a longgggggg path to pursue.
Til tomorrow :).
1 comment:
Tyler Fighting!
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