While eating dinner, something came up that I thought was really interesting. Among the 5 of us, none of us were born in the same countries. My Peace buddy, though Korean, was born in India; InSung, also Korean, was born in the US; William, though he lives in Canada, was born in Hong Kong; Jenn, American, was born in Germany, and I was born in Korea. I thought it was really cool how all of us were born in different countries, but were all eating dinner together in the same restaurant.
Classes have been a lot of fun (and difficult). There is a lot of reading for homework, which I'm totally not used to, but I've managed to get it all done. It seems like we never stop studying; we have classes from 9:30-5:50 (with some breaks in between) and then we usually eat dinner, but then it's back to studying and doing homework. By the time Thursday comes along, everyone is drained and ready for the three-day weekend.
My Hallyu class is very interesting. We just ended our "Kpop" music week and learned how much it has spread and how fast it has spread in such a short period of time. We read an article that was about how popular Korean music is in Thailand and how much it affects the Thai youth especially. There is always an inconsistent number of people in my class, but there are now 2 guys who come regularly. So there are some different points of views.
In my Asian/American Representation in US Media class, we just had our first test. I think/hope I did well on it, but I've realized that analyzing the homework readings much deeper is very important, and that I should do better at that for the next exam. We've been discussing the stereotypes continuously and the clips shown in class are mind-boggling. I've never actually thought about most of these stereotypes before. When watching movie and TV show clips, (many of them contemporary), I look at the actual meanings more closely and the discussions in class help me to understand better. We talked about the 3 types of views of a move: preferred, negotiated, and oppositional. The preferred view is what is meant to be seen, what most people see when they watch the film. It takes the least amount of thinking when watching. The negotiated view is a view that someone can offer that is different from the preferred. It may take displeasure trying to figure out the actual meaning, which is why most people don't take this view. The oppositional view is the active effort to change the viewers' minds about the film. To give the oppositional view, one must understand the preferred view. This all may sound simple, but we did an activity using a film clip from "Lost in Translation" and the activity was harder than it seemed.
Korean class is going great. I think I forgot to mention the fact that my friend, Kasey, and I were put in the Basic class instead of the Beginner class. The level is the exact level we're supposed to be at and we're being challenged, but not too difficultly challenged. Everyone in our class is at the same level also. Even though it's 3 hours long, I feel that I'm getting better and better. Like I've said before, my professor is very well prepared and a really good Korean language teacher. About 85% of the class is spoken in only Korean, but we all can still understand what to do. Since there is almost no English spoken, it makes us learn better and faster, especially at listening. We had our first exam last week and I got a 12/13 on it (I made a silly error). We just finished learning lessons on time, some directions, furniture, setting up appointments, and a lot of grammar. We're able to have full conversations in Korean and what we usually do is get parters and role play. This really helps with understanding basic phrases like, "Are you busy after work/school? Where do you want to meet? How much is this?" Currently everyone in my class is a girl and we're all getting closer and more comfortable speaking in front of each other.
I just got back from meeting with a family friend. A family from Korea came to the US a long time ago, and my family was assigned to be their host buddy family during their stay. Mr. YunSuk Kim is the head of the family and today, I met with is daughter, ChiSeul. She was very nice and pretty, and although I hadn't seen her in a very long time, it was like having an older sister for a day. She treated me so well; we went out to lunch, and then she showed me something that's very popular in Korea. Photo-stickers are popular among young people and there is a place near Ewha that you can go to to get them done with friends. It was a Japanese place and there were a lot of young girls there in their uniforms (probable on their breaks from school). Here is the procedure: You take 8 pictures in the booth, (you can get props and put funny hats on), an then you pick 4 of the 8 that you like the best. Then you can decorate the pictures on the computer outside the booth. You can draw on them, pick backgrounds, pick frames, add stars, hearts, little decals, and almost anything. Then, the stickers are printed and you get big ones and smaller ones. I had never done this before except in America, where your level of choice is limited to picking a frame. It was yet another new, Korean experience and ChiSeul showed me some of the pictures her and her friends had taken. After this, we went shoe shopping. I love shoes and she told me she did also. She also told me her mom gave her money to buy me a pair of shoes. I was shocked and very thankful. She asked me if I had any high heels, and I said no. (In Korea, especially at Ewha, all the women wear high heels. No matter where they're going, or what they're wearing, they wear high heels. Kasey and I are amazed at how all th girls can run, climb the hills, and walk without tripping in 6-8 cm heels!) We found these pink sandals with about a 5-6 cm heel, and agreed they were the ones to buy. She said Korea is the best place to buy shoes because they're cheap and durable. I never wear high heels at home, so I guess I have to get used to walking in them if I want to be a true Ewhaian! I had a lot of fun with ChiSeul and it was so nice of her to take me out so we could catch up a little bit.
I'm getting more and more comfortable here, yet at the same time, I miss home. Some might think it would be easier being in your homeland where everyone around you looks like you. I'd have to say in that sense, it is, but there is still the language barrier that keeps us (adoptees and native English speakers) separated. I feel that when I'm home, I'm different, but even here in Korea, I'm different. I've gotten used to saying, "MiGuk saram imnida" (I'm an American). However, there are other times when people can just tell I'm from America, mostly based on the clothes. For Kasey and I, it gets a little frustrating not knowing where exactly we can fit in and feel completely comfortable. We love both countries, but each has its way of distancing us a little from the majority.
That's all for now, I hope everyone has had great weeks/weekends. Thanks to all those who have emailed me complimenting the blog. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Allie
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